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Over 28,000 patients access myMDAnderson web-based portal for personal health information in one year

Just one year after The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center launched its secured, Web-based portal for personal health information, more than 28,000 patients (57 percent) who logged into myMDAnderson - a personalized, online connection to the center - have accessed their personal medical information, test results and records.

2 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 2, 2010

Today's health policy headlines include the latest developments regarding Virginia's legal challenge to the federal health care overhaul.

2 Jul 2010

Two questions to identify families whose young children suffer from hunger

Asking parents just two simple screening questions could help health care providers and social workers to easily and quickly identify families whose young children are suffering from hunger, enabling early interventions that could prevent serious health consequences, according to a new study led by University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers. The study, published July 1 in the journal Pediatrics, analyzed data gathered from more than 30,000 families nationwide, about a quarter of whom suffered from hunger.

2 Jul 2010

Online health insurance broker that once feared overhaul now sees new opportunities

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz reports: "EHealthInsurance, a large online health insurance broker, had once feared that its business might be imperiled by the health care overhaul.

2 Jul 2010

SNMTS honors contributions in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging at 57th Annual Meeting

SNM's Technologist Section (SNMTS)-an international scientific and medical organization-recognized the contributions and work to the field of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging during its 57th Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City. Several awards ceremonies were held to recognize the value that SNMTS members play in advancing the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease, cancer and neurological conditions.

2 Jul 2010

Parkinson's Disease Foundation awards $1.2M for research programs

The Parkinson's Disease Foundation (PDF) is pleased to announce awards totaling $1.2 million for research projects designed to understand the cause(s) of and find a cure for Parkinson's disease (PD).

2 Jul 2010

Federal officials ask judge to order upgrade of Georgia's mental health system; VA. officials in court today on suit against health law

Atlanta Journal Constitution: "Talks to settle a federal investigation of Georgia's mental health system came down to a single meeting Wednesday." And, "the talks failed. Federal authorities immediately went to court, asking a judge to force Georgia to make substantial and potentially expensive improvements in its state psychiatric hospitals and in its community-based treatment services — the same measures state officials rejected during the negotiations.

2 Jul 2010

FUISZ files new patent, receives notice of issuance for patent claims for blood analysis devices

First, FUISZ announced that it has received a notice of issuance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for patent claims that cover a direct connection between prescribing physicians and blood analysis devices.

2 Jul 2010

BIDMC calls for new training program for personalized healthcare

The Department of Pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have issued "A Call to Action" for the medical profession to catch up with the technology and business communities in the application of genomics to personalized health care.

2 Jul 2010

HHS launches website to provide consumers with public, private health coverage options

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today unveiled an innovative new on-line tool that will help consumers take control of their health care by connecting them to new information and resources that will help them access quality, affordable health care coverage. Called for by the Affordable Care Act, HealthCare.gov is the first website to provide consumers with both public and private health coverage options tailored specifically for their needs in a single, easy-to-use tool.

2 Jul 2010

House Subcommittee approves $52.7B FY11 Foreign Ops appropriations bill

The Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs approved a $52.7 billion FY 2011 spending bill on Wednesday that withheld $3.9 billion in aid for Afghanistan over concerns about corruption in the country, CongressDaily reports. The bill "already cut $4 billion from President Obama's request to fund the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development and dozens of foreign assistance and cooperation programs," the publication writes.

2 Jul 2010

Pay-for-performance program may cause inequalities among healthcare providers

Pay-for-performance is an increasingly popular approach to improving health care quality. But the planned nationwide implementation of institutional bonuses mandated under federal health care reform threatens to act as a "reverse Robin Hood," potentially causing hospitals in less-advantaged regions to lose funds to health care facilities in more affluent areas of the country, according to a study published in the academic journal PLoS Medicine.

2 Jul 2010

Anthem submits new insurance rate plan in Calif. after earlier effort rebuffed

The Los Angeles Times: "Embattled health insurer Anthem Blue Cross is reviving its plan to raise rates for tens of thousands of California policyholders, some of whom could see their premiums rise as much as 20%. California's largest for-profit insurer submitted new rates Wednesday amid pressure to scale back increases of as much as 39% that had provoked fury from consumers, lawmakers and even President Obama" and helped revive the effort to pass a national health care law.

2 Jul 2010

National debt will continue to surge, CBO predicts, while experts increase scrutiny of health care costs

The Washington Post: "In its latest long-term forecast, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted that the national debt, which has surged to nearly 60 percent of annual economic output in the wake of the recession, would continue rising in the coming decades despite cost-containment measures in the health overhaul Obama signed this spring.

2 Jul 2010

Medical groups back medicare nominee Berwick

About 90 groups, including medical societies, patient and employer groups, all backed the nomination of Donald Berwick, a physician and health care quality advocate, to lead the federal Medicare agency.

2 Jul 2010

Virginia Lawsuit: Federal health reform law faces initial consitutional test

District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson said Thursday that "he will decide whether to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Virginia challenging the constitutionality of the federal health-care law within 30 days, providing an initial legal test in the landmark suit."

2 Jul 2010

Blacks often diagnosed with advanced cancer, more likely to have other underlying health problems

Black people with cancer are up to twice as likely as other races to die from their disease. While disparities exist for nearly every common cancer type, the largest differences occur among cancers that benefit most from treatment -- suggesting that black patients are not getting needed lifesaving treatments, according to a review from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

2 Jul 2010

Unemployment will run out for 1.3 million as GOP again blocks jobless bill

The Associated Press: Slightly more than 1.3 million people won't get unemployment benefits reinstated before Congress goes on its July 4th recess and an "additional 200,000 people who have been without a job for at least six months stand to lose their benefits each week, unless Congress acts."

2 Jul 2010

Federal government launches new health insurance website

NPR reports that the website, which was mandated in the new health reform law, is meant to guide consumers through the process of securing health insurance.

2 Jul 2010

HHS grants $96M to increase diversity in health workforce

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced the awarding of $96 million in grants to increase diversity in the health professions workforce and encourage nurses to choose careers as nurse educators.

2 Jul 2010

Health Care News and Research

Over 28,000 patients access myMDAnderson web-based portal for personal health information in one year

First Edition: July 2, 2010

Two questions to identify families whose young children suffer from hunger

Online health insurance broker that once feared overhaul now sees new opportunities

SNMTS honors contributions in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging at 57th Annual Meeting

Parkinson's Disease Foundation awards $1.2M for research programs

Federal officials ask judge to order upgrade of Georgia's mental health system; VA. officials in court today on suit against health law

FUISZ files new patent, receives notice of issuance for patent claims for blood analysis devices

BIDMC calls for new training program for personalized healthcare

HHS launches website to provide consumers with public, private health coverage options

House Subcommittee approves $52.7B FY11 Foreign Ops appropriations bill

Pay-for-performance program may cause inequalities among healthcare providers

Anthem submits new insurance rate plan in Calif. after earlier effort rebuffed

National debt will continue to surge, CBO predicts, while experts increase scrutiny of health care costs

Medical groups back medicare nominee Berwick

Virginia Lawsuit: Federal health reform law faces initial consitutional test

Blacks often diagnosed with advanced cancer, more likely to have other underlying health problems

Unemployment will run out for 1.3 million as GOP again blocks jobless bill

Federal government launches new health insurance website

HHS grants $96M to increase diversity in health workforce

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