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Tough action against underperforming hospitals and primary care trusts in UK

Health Minister Ben Bradshaw today set out new plans to drive up standards of care and tackle underperformance in our hospitals and primary care trusts.Tough action against underperforming hospitals and trusts

4 Jun 2008

Edward Kennedy has successful surgery for deadly brain tumour

Doctors in the United States treating Senator Edward Kennedy for a brain tumour say he has undergone successful surgery.

3 Jun 2008

Gene discovery could help answer basic questions of upright walking

What are the genes implicated in upright walking of humans? The discovery of four families in which some members only walk on all fours (quadrupedality) may help us understand how humans, unlike other primates, are able to walk for long periods on only two legs, a scientist will tell the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics tomorrow (Monday 2 June).

1 Jun 2008

New studies provide insight into oral cancer, chronic pediatric ear infections, and hearing health

Three new studies published in the June 2008 edition of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery focus on what role gender plays in the prognosis of oral tongue cancer, chronic ear infections in children, and the success rates of hearing aid implants in the elderly.

1 Jun 2008

Quality of life predicts cancer survival

Head and neck cancer patients who reported lower physical quality of life were more likely to die from their disease, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. The findings could mean that identifying patients with poor quality of life could also identify patients with particularly aggressive tumors.

30 May 2008

Bilateral cochlear implants: A case when two are definitely superior to one

A study of cochlear implant patients seen by Indiana University School of Medicine physicians is the first research to show evidence that cochlear implants in both ears significantly improves quality of life in patients with profound hearing loss and that the cost of the second implant is offset by its benefits.

30 May 2008

Old age is the new middle age - Health Secretary Alan Johnson says

Health Secretary Alan Johnson today called on the NHS to rise to the challenge of providing more and better preventative care for older people.

21 May 2008

New lifesaving options come to Rochester for stroke

While Superbowl Sunday started out like any other Sunday for Webster resident Christine Skolnick, by kick-off time, things clearly went from bad to worse for the 42-year-old mother of two. An apparent stomach virus and mild headache at midday had, by 6 p.m., become deadly, as Skolnick's face drooped on her right side, and she had difficulty moving her right legs and arms.

20 May 2008

Separation from parents linked with learning trouble in kids

In the wake of divorce, illness, violence and other problems that can unsettle homes, countless young children are liable to experience temporary separations from one or both parents before packing their knapsack for kindergarten. Published in the May/June issue of Ambulatory Pediatrics, a new, community-wide study from Rochester, New York, warns that such kids are at increased risk for learning difficulties and that these separations are good predictors of which children may require special educational interventions to succeed.

18 May 2008

Palatal surgery in less lexically advanced, younger children associated with better speech outcomes

A new study published in The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal has found that the timing of palatal surgery and size of lexicon, or vocabulary, in children are important factors to consider in determining the most beneficial management of children with cleft palate.

15 May 2008

New discoveries in hearing health

Three studies published in the May 2008 edition of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery reveal substantial new findings in several areas of hearing health, including research that indicates that patients with profound hearing loss benefit substantially from having cochlear implants placed in both ears, rather than one, as is the common practice.

1 May 2008

HHS Secretary Leavitt urges lawmakers, public to 'start now' to make changes to Medicare

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said Tuesday that it is "simply unreasonable" to think Medicare can maintain its solvency without changes to the program and that if "we start now, the change can be made over time and with genuine fairness," CQ HealthBeat reports.

30 Apr 2008

Presumptive GOP Presidential nominee McCain provides further detail on his health care proposal

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) on Tuesday in a speech at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute in Tampa, Fla., detailed his health care proposal and for the first time proposed a plan to help individuals who cannot obtain private health insurance because of pre-existing medical conditions, the Miami Herald reports (Dorschner, Miami Herald, 4/30).

30 Apr 2008

McCain promotes health care proposal at Miami Children's Hospital

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) on Monday at the Miami Children's Hospital promoted his health care proposal, which he said would "put families in charge," USA Today reports (Jackson, USA Today, 4/29).

29 Apr 2008

Wall Street Journal examines Presidential candidate proposals to address health care costs

Presidential candidates Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) each have announced proposals that seek to reduce health care costs, but "it is unclear how many of the candidates' ideas could actually make a dent in the rising cost of care," the Wall Street Journal reports

28 Apr 2008

Northern Devon Healthcare Trust reduces call waiting times with speech recognition solution

The Northern Devon Healthcare Trust (NDHT) is using a speech recognition solution, from voice automation specialist Telephonetics VIP, to answer external calls at busy times.

23 Apr 2008

Number of HIV-positive state and federal inmates drops

Between 2005 and 2006 the number of state and federal prisoners who were HIV-positive decreased 3.1 percent -- from 22,676 to 21,980 inmates, according to a report by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Another BJS report estimated that 44 percent of state inmates and 39 percent of federal inmates reported a current medical problem other than a cold or a virus.

22 Apr 2008