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Sudan referendum approaches, highlighting health, development challenges facing the south

"Southern Sudan is scheduled to start voting on January 9 on whether to become an independent country or remain part of Sudan, Africa's largest nation which has been wracked by decades of conflict," CNN reports (Wilkinson, 1/5).

6 Jan 2011

First web-based TBI screening tool for veterans

A team of researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine has developed the first web-based screening tool for Traumatic Brain Injury. This instrument has recently been used by soldiers returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who participated in the Sixth Annual Road to Recovery Conference and Tribute in Orlando to determine if they sustained a TBI.

6 Jan 2011

NY Times: U.S. alters rule on paying for end-of-life planning

The Obama administration, reversing course, will revise a Medicare regulation to delete references to end-of-life planning as part of the annual physical examinations covered under the new health care law, administration officials said Tuesday (Robert Pear, 1/4).

6 Jan 2011

Indian drugmaker seeks to make, sell generic version of Pfizer's HIV drug

The Indian drugmaker Natco Pharma "said Wednesday it has informed Pfizer Inc. that it wants to make and sell a low-cost generic version of the U.S. company's [drug] maraviroc for treating the HIV infection under a so-called 'compulsory license'," Dow Jones Newswires/Smart Money reports.

6 Jan 2011

States continue implementation efforts; Some newly-elected AGs step up legal attacks

Even as health overhaul drama continues on Capitol Hill, news outlets continue to watch how developments at the state level will impact the law's implementation.

6 Jan 2011

AOA says 3D viewing may help uncover vision disorders in children

The American Optometric Association, representing America's family eye doctors, says 3D in movies, TV and even 3D on Nintendo's 3DS isn't necessarily bad for adults or children.

6 Jan 2011

State roundup: Minn. Medicaid expansion, Mass. health costs, Calif. free clinic

[Gov.] Dayton is scheduled to sign an executive order that would expand Medicaid coverage in Minnesota -- a move Republicans in the Legislature oppose. Dayton's decision won't put an end to the debate (Scheck, 1/5).

6 Jan 2011

OpEds: Sebelius, Fla. Attorney General, USA Today, Wash Post opine about repeal strategies

Over the past nine months, I've traveled around the country and seen the benefits of this law firsthand. Unless we want to take coverage away from cancer patients, reduce oversight for insurance companies, raise prescription drug costs for seniors, weaken Medicare, add $1 trillion to the deficit and undo dozens of other reforms that are improving health around the country, we can't afford repeal (Kathleen Sebelius, 1/5).

6 Jan 2011

Outlook continues to be negative for insurers, modern healthcare reports

Health insurers' outlook continues to be negative as the sector faces new regulations, heightened political pressure and a weak economy, which are expected to squeeze earnings, one major ratings agency said (Evans, 1/4).

6 Jan 2011

Politics and advocacy swirl around the health overhaul's next chapter

News outlets examine how lobbyists and policy advocates have fared thus far and look ahead to the 2012 election.

6 Jan 2011

Democrats defend health law, prepare to fight back as House minority

Democrats who initially voted against the health overhaul are now considering where they stand on the repeal effort.

6 Jan 2011

FAO's food price index for December 2010 exceeds 2007-2008 levels

"Food prices hit a record high" in December, exceeding 2007-2008 levels when price spikes resulted in riots around the world, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Wednesday in its monthly Food Price Index, the Financial Times reports (Blas, 1/5).

6 Jan 2011

Water Street Healthcare announces acquisition of OraPharma from Johnson & Johnson

Water Street Healthcare Partners announced today that it has acquired OraPharma, Inc. from Johnson & Johnson. Water Street, a strategic private equity firm focused exclusively on health care, plans to build OraPharma into a leading specialty pharmaceutical company focused on dental and oral health care.

6 Jan 2011

First Edition: January 5, 2011

In today's headlines, reports about how Republicans and Democrats are preparing for the new power dynamic in the House.

5 Jan 2011

HCI signs deal with VHA for Community Health Needs Assessment System

Healthy Communities Institute (HCI) announced today it recently signed a deal with VHA Inc. to make available the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) System to hospitals that belong to VHA Inc., the national health care network.

5 Jan 2011

20% of patients who received implantable cardioverter-defibrillators did not meet guidelines for receipt of ICD

A study that included more than 100,000 patients who received implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) found that about 20 percent did not meet evidence-based guidelines for receipt of an ICD, and that these patients had a significantly higher risk of in-hospital death than individuals who met criteria for receiving an ICD, according to a study in the January 5 issue of JAMA.

5 Jan 2011

New Wisconsin Governor backs legal challenge

Taking the position that the law is unconstitutional, the state's new republican governor gave the attorney general permission to proceed with legal action.

5 Jan 2011

Men are more willing to receive HPV vaccine, trend may help reduce cancer deaths

Men are more willing to receive human papillomavirus vaccine when they learn the vaccine can prevent cancer, according to a recent University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study.

5 Jan 2011

Alzheimer's Association applauds President Obama for signing National Alzheimer's Project Act into law

As the leading care, research and advocacy organization for Alzheimer's disease, the Alzheimer's Association® applauds President Obama for signing the National Alzheimer's Project Act(NAPA) into law. NAPA creates for the first time a coordinated national strategy to confront one of America's most feared and costly diseases, a disease that will only plague more baby boomers as they age.

5 Jan 2011

Indian government rejects Abbott's patent application for second-line ARV

India's patent office "has rejected American drug maker Abbott Laboratories' patent application for an HIV combination drug, allowing low-cost local drug makers to make and sell their generic versions in India and other countries where the medicine is not patented," Economic Times reports (1/4).

5 Jan 2011