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Walgreens sells Pharmacy Benefits Manager to Catalyst Health Solutions

Catalyst Health Solutions Inc said it will buy Walgreen Co's pharmacy benefits management unit for about $525 million in cash, a deal that might spur more consolidation before big generic drug launches that could boost the business.

11 Mar 2011

Canadian House of Commons passes bill that could ease access to generic drugs in developing countries

Canadian lawmakers in the country's House of Commons on Wednesday "approved a bill aiming to ease the process that lets generic drug manufacturers produce patented medicines for export to poor nations at cheaper prices in a move the pharmaceutical industry says could undermine intellectual property rights," Bloomberg reports.

11 Mar 2011

Sec. Clinton launches global partnership to improve maternal, child health

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday announced the launch of a global partnership between USAID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the non-profit Grand Challenges Canada, the World Bank, and the government of Norway to reduce the number of deaths among mothers and infants in developing countries, the Globe and Mail reports.

11 Mar 2011

Experts ponder questions regarding law's 'essential benefits' package

When it comes to health insurance, deciding what is an essential benefit — and what isn't — is a political and medical minefield, with far-reaching consequences.

11 Mar 2011

GSK announces new NovaMin-containing dental formulation for sensitive teeth

This year, for the first time, millions of Americans will be protecting their sensitive teeth with NovaMin in everyday dental products. Co-inventor Gary Hack, DDS, couldn't be happier.

11 Mar 2011

Medicare fraud costs taxpayers big money

Medicare could wrench as much as $70 billion a year in savings by cracking down on fraud, experts told Congress this week.

11 Mar 2011

Justice Dept. seeks fast consideration of health law appeal

The Justice Department is asking for quick action on its appeal of a Florida judge's decision that declared the health overhaul unconstitutional.

11 Mar 2011

State roundup: Concerns about pay for Mass. health executives, board members

Health insurers Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan said yesterday that their board members will meet later this month to discuss whether to bow to state Attorney General Martha Coakley's wishes and stop taking five-figure annual payments.

11 Mar 2011

Volume-based referrals do not necessarily improve patient outcomes

Referring patients to hospitals that have the largest volume of surgical procedures does not necessarily lead to improved outcomes for the overall population, according to the results of a new study in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

11 Mar 2011

New initiative for pregnant women and newborns in rural settings

Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development, was launched today to seek innovative prevention and treatment approaches for pregnant women and newborns in rural, low-resource settings.

11 Mar 2011

Viewpoints: Vinson's backdown, Ariz. Death Panels and The Pentagon's Achilles' heel

A federal district judge in Florida backed down, as he should have, from his effort to bully the Obama administration into halting implementation of the new health care reforms even before the issue of the law's constitutionality is resolved by higher courts.

11 Mar 2011

Opinions: Cuts to U.S. foreign aid; sustainable agriculture to feed the world; gender gap in agriculture

The U.S.' "influence and strength depend far more on convincing and enabling the peoples of the world to look to us as a partner for prosperity and security," Truman National Security Project Fellow Michael Lieberman writes in a Huffington Post opinion piece reflecting on House Republican's continuing resolution proposal to reduce foreign aid spending.

10 Mar 2011

New book on issues related to female circumcision

According to a new book by Professor Aud Talle, most Somalis who live in Norway have changed their attitude towards female circumcision and are now against the practice.

10 Mar 2011

Survey reports education and health care are the top two American spending priorities

In its 27th survey of American spending priorities since 1973 conducted as part of its General Social Survey, NORC at the University of Chicago Wednesday released a report on its most recent findings.

10 Mar 2011

BMC anesthesiologist receives Letter of Commendation from WHO for pulse oximetry video

Rafael Ortega, MD, an anesthesiologist at Boston Medical Center and vice-chairman of academic affairs at Boston University School of Medicine, received a Letter of Commendation from the World Health Organization for producing a training video on pulse oximetry.

10 Mar 2011

Ecological farming methods can boost food production in developing countries, U.N. report says

If developing nations shift to using ecological agriculture methods, which rely more on organic and sustainable practices rather than the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, they "can double food production within a decade," according to a study by Olivier De Schutter, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food, released on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

10 Mar 2011

First Lady Obama, Sec. Clinton mark International Women's Day

First Lady Michelle Obama joined Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to mark International Women's Day on Tuesday by honoring recent gains in addressing global women's issues while reflecting on the scope of the task of achieving gender equity in the future, the Associated Press reports.

10 Mar 2011

House Foreign Affairs Committee hears testimony on security, human rights, health in Democratic Republic of Congo

At a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing on Tuesday, Ben Affleck, the actor, writer and director, and "other witnesses urged the Obama administration to immediately appoint a special envoy" for the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is due for a national election in November, CNN reports.

10 Mar 2011

Survey reveals impact of health care law on seniors

A survey of 460 seniors 65 and older revealed that 70% believe the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will reduce their Medicare benefits, despite the fact that the bill does not cut Medicare benefits and instead adds some, including a yearly free checkup and other free preventive care services.

10 Mar 2011

New research identifies major surgeries that face risk of developing postoperative sepsis

Sepsis, a life-threatening bacterial infection of the blood, is an unwanted and costly complication to patients and the health care system. New research at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has identified major elective surgeries in which sepsis occurs most often post-procedure, along with extenuating conditions such as age, gender and type of hospital that increase the risk for sepsis.

10 Mar 2011

Health Care News and Research

Walgreens sells Pharmacy Benefits Manager to Catalyst Health Solutions

Canadian House of Commons passes bill that could ease access to generic drugs in developing countries

Sec. Clinton launches global partnership to improve maternal, child health

Experts ponder questions regarding law's 'essential benefits' package

GSK announces new NovaMin-containing dental formulation for sensitive teeth

Medicare fraud costs taxpayers big money

Justice Dept. seeks fast consideration of health law appeal

State roundup: Concerns about pay for Mass. health executives, board members

Volume-based referrals do not necessarily improve patient outcomes

New initiative for pregnant women and newborns in rural settings

Viewpoints: Vinson's backdown, Ariz. Death Panels and The Pentagon's Achilles' heel

Opinions: Cuts to U.S. foreign aid; sustainable agriculture to feed the world; gender gap in agriculture

New book on issues related to female circumcision

Survey reports education and health care are the top two American spending priorities

BMC anesthesiologist receives Letter of Commendation from WHO for pulse oximetry video

Ecological farming methods can boost food production in developing countries, U.N. report says

First Lady Obama, Sec. Clinton mark International Women's Day

House Foreign Affairs Committee hears testimony on security, human rights, health in Democratic Republic of Congo

Survey reveals impact of health care law on seniors

New research identifies major surgeries that face risk of developing postoperative sepsis

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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