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Feds announce comprehensive plan to combat painkiller abuse

The new strategy will put increased pressure on the state of Florida, which has a reputation as being "the nation's pill mill."

21 Apr 2011

Viewpoints: Would Ryan plan save or 'assault' Medicare?; Controversial Kansas abortion law

Congressional Budget Office chief Doug Elmendorf dropped a bombshell on his Director's Blog this morning: federal spending on all health care programs will exceed $1 trillion this year. But when he turned to spelling out options for trimming that figure in the years ahead, he offered a limited and not very satisfying menu of choices, all of which involved doing less or charging people more.

21 Apr 2011

ACSI reports that customer satisfaction with energy utilities increases 0.8% to 74.7%

Customer satisfaction rises for hospital services and electric and natural gas utilities, according to a report released today by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).

21 Apr 2011

CMS unveils 2012 hospital Medicare payment proposal

The American Hospital Association responded by saying it was "deeply disappointed" by the proposal, which would cut acute-care hospital payments in the coming year.

21 Apr 2011

Stepped up measures to tack rising painkiller abuse

Prescription drug abuse is one of the largest problems in the country say experts and according to White House drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske, the Congress must require special training for doctors and other health care workers before they are allowed to prescribe powerful drugs such as OxyContin.

20 Apr 2011

First Edition: April 20, 2011

Today's headlines include reports about new poll results showing that Americans oppose cuts to Medicare as a means to deal with the debt problem.

20 Apr 2011

LMP1 viral protein needs TRAF6 cellular protein to promote B cell activation signaling pathways: Study

By identifying a surprising association of two intracellular proteins, University of Iowa researchers have laid the groundwork for the development of new therapies to treat B cell lymphomas and autoimmune disease.

20 Apr 2011

ALI-ABA's new practical book on Navigating Health Care Reform

The American Law Institute-American Bar Association (ALI-ABA), the first national provider of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) and the industry leader in professional development for over 60 years, today announced that Navigating Health Care Reform: A Practical, Affordable Guide is now available.

20 Apr 2011

Consumers decide to use mail-in genetic tests based on rational and emotional reasons

Consumers decide whether to use mail-in genetic tests based on both rational and emotional reasons, a finding that adds to a growing body of health-care behavior research on information seeking and avoidance, according to researchers at the University of California, Riverside.

20 Apr 2011

Viewpoints: On debt, Medicaid, Medicare and the budget; planned parenthood; one couple's insurance rates

Sen. Marco Rubio said he wouldn't vote for an increase unless it included "a plan for fundamental tax reform, an overhaul of our regulatory structure, a cut to discretionary spending, a balanced-budget amendment, and reforms to save Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid" — everything on the conservative agenda, basically.

20 Apr 2011

Supreme Court stays quiet on fast-tracking review of health law

The court released a list of cases it has decided to take up or decline and Virginia's lawsuit regarding the health law was not included. Because the Court releases "a regular list of orders" every Monday it is in session, there was speculation that the justices would act on this issue yesterday.

20 Apr 2011

North American legal injection drug site helps decrease overdose deaths, study shows

North America's only authorized facility for injecting illegal drugs has helped cut drug overdose deaths significantly in the Vancouver community where it is located and "should be used as a model in other cities," according to a study published on Monday in the Lancet, Reuters reports (Dowd, 4/18).

20 Apr 2011

Researchers to wind down HIV prevention trial in women after interim results find drug not offering protection from HIV

Researchers on Monday announced they were calling off a trial to test whether taking an oral HIV drug reduces the risk of HIV infection in women after interim analysis of the study showed women taking the medication were no less likely to become infected with HIV than those who were not taking the medicine, the Associated Press reports.

20 Apr 2011

Diagnostic test Xpert MTB/RIF proven fast and effective in low-resource settings

The Lancet published a significant development for TB diagnostics yesterday with concrete and encouraging study outcomes on the effectiveness of the new Xpert MTB/RIF test for TB and rifampicin resistance in realistic health care field conditions. One of the authors, Prof. Mark Nicol of the University of Cape Town (South Africa) who contributed to this study, is an EDCTP Senior Fellow. The article demonstrates that the test can effectively be used in low-resource settings to simplify early and accurate diagnosis of patients. The potential impact is a reduction in the morbidity associated with diagnostic delay, dropout and mistreatment. The article has appeared online on 19 April 2011 and will be published in volume 377 on 30 April 2011.

20 Apr 2011

How peppermint helps to relieve Irritable Bowel Syndrome

University of Adelaide researchers have shown for the first time how peppermint helps to relieve Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which affects up to 20% of the population.

20 Apr 2011

Report: Impact of Ryan's 'Roadmap' on health law unclear

A report by the Congressional Research Service found that neither the House-passed budget resolution nor the "Roadmap to Prosperity" document provide enough detail to make a determination.

20 Apr 2011

MSF calls on African governments, WHO to switch to newer, more expensive treatment for severe malaria

Nearly 200,000 deaths from severe malaria could be averted if African governments replaced the low-cost antimalarial quinine with the more expensive but more effective drug artesunate, according to a report (.pdf) released Tuesday by Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF), Reuters reports (Kelland, 4/19).

20 Apr 2011

State roundup: Michigan tries new strategy on high risk pools

Michigan today announced a new effort to sign up the chronically uninsured onto health plans after the state's first attempt did not attract enough customers.

20 Apr 2011

Poll: Fight deficit by raising taxes for rich, steer clear of Medicare, Medicaid

A new McClatchy-Marist poll found that Americans overwhelming oppose Medicare and Medicaid cuts as a means to address the nation's deficit. Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is pushing seniors to oppose the GOP's proposed Medicare changes.

20 Apr 2011

Planned Parenthood backers: Group does more than perform abortions

House Republicans were eager to cut off money to the organization, which is the nation's largest abortion provider and a political force in Washington. President Obama blocked the effort, but groups that oppose abortion rights have vowed to raise the issue again and, in the meantime, are pushing for congressional hearings.

20 Apr 2011

Health Care News and Research

Feds announce comprehensive plan to combat painkiller abuse

Viewpoints: Would Ryan plan save or 'assault' Medicare?; Controversial Kansas abortion law

ACSI reports that customer satisfaction with energy utilities increases 0.8% to 74.7%

CMS unveils 2012 hospital Medicare payment proposal

Stepped up measures to tack rising painkiller abuse

First Edition: April 20, 2011

LMP1 viral protein needs TRAF6 cellular protein to promote B cell activation signaling pathways: Study

ALI-ABA's new practical book on Navigating Health Care Reform

Consumers decide to use mail-in genetic tests based on rational and emotional reasons

Viewpoints: On debt, Medicaid, Medicare and the budget; planned parenthood; one couple's insurance rates

Supreme Court stays quiet on fast-tracking review of health law

North American legal injection drug site helps decrease overdose deaths, study shows

Researchers to wind down HIV prevention trial in women after interim results find drug not offering protection from HIV

Diagnostic test Xpert MTB/RIF proven fast and effective in low-resource settings

How peppermint helps to relieve Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Report: Impact of Ryan's 'Roadmap' on health law unclear

MSF calls on African governments, WHO to switch to newer, more expensive treatment for severe malaria

State roundup: Michigan tries new strategy on high risk pools

Poll: Fight deficit by raising taxes for rich, steer clear of Medicare, Medicaid

Planned Parenthood backers: Group does more than perform abortions

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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