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Language skills are essential to a child’s ability to communicate and develop. These skills enable children to engage with other people and learn from their surroundings and in the classroom.

Conway to deploy PatientKeeper's physician healthcare information systems

PatientKeeper, Inc., the leading provider of physician healthcare information systems, today announced that Conway Medical Center has purchased PatientKeeper's suite of advanced clinical applications to automate physician workflow and drive physician adoption of healthcare information technology at their 210-bed hospital located near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

7 Nov 2011

Abortion and 'personhood' on GOP campaign agenda

State-level initiatives to restrict access to abortions help make social issues a major focus of the Republican presidential nomination contest.

7 Nov 2011

National survey reveals top barriers to better oral health among Hispanics

The majority of Hispanics in the United States believe more information about good oral health habits, access to affordable oral health care, and more Hispanic and Spanish-speaking dentists and dental hygienists in their communities would help them "a lot" in achieving better oral health.

5 Nov 2011

State roundup: Puerto Rico settles disability battle with Feds

Puerto Rico has reached an agreement with the U.S. government ending a 12-year legal battle to improve the island's health system for the mentally disabled, local justice officials said Thursday. Federal officials had accused the U.S. territory of abusing and neglecting hundreds of mentally disabled people by not providing food, medication, adequate housing, therapy or mental health care.

5 Nov 2011

University of Nebraska to honor UT Dallas director for communication research

The University of Nebraska will honor Dr. Thomas Campbell, executive director of the UT Dallas Callier Center for Communication Disorders, for a long record of research and academic achievement at the university's annual Alumni Masters Week.

4 Nov 2011

Longer looks: A doctor's dilemma on C-sections; apology for a death sparked a hospital's change

I was the obstetrician on hospital duty that Sunday morning, so I introduced myself and learned that the patient, pregnant with her first child, wished to have as few interventions as possible. Respecting her desire, we decided to reevaluate her in a few hours to see how her labor had progressed. But would she get her wish? ... the odds were greater than 1 in 4 that this woman would end up not with the natural delivery she wanted, but with a surgical delivery in one of the two operating rooms down the hall.

4 Nov 2011

Roundup: N.Y. autism coverage mandate; Miss. 'personhood' referendum; Wis. MLR controversy

The dazzling new hospital that will open here in Hopewell on Sunday looks more like a five-star resort than a medical center. It may also be the best hope for survival of its corporate parent, Capital Health, a nonprofit company that operates three health care facilities in New Jersey.

3 Nov 2011

New e-tool to catch youth depression before it takes hold

Australian researchers will for the first time harness e-technology to develop a customised internet program to identify and arm healthy young people most at risk of depression before the illness takes hold.

1 Nov 2011

Researchers discover biomarker for earlier diagnosis of MS

Researchers from the Department of Neurology at NYU Langone Medical Center identified for the first time that changes in the tissue located at the junction between the outer and inner layers of the brain, called "blurring", may be an important, non-invasive biomarker for earlier diagnosis and the development of new therapies for degenerative brain conditions, such as multiple sclerosis.

1 Nov 2011

Study explores how physicians describe their language skills

Communicating with patients who do not speak English is a challenge facing all health care providers. New research shows that even those physicians who say they are fluent in a second language may be overestimating their actual skills.

29 Oct 2011

State highlights: Wash. Gov. announces more budget cuts

For the fourth year in a row, Gov. Chris Gregoire on Thursday outlined more than $1.5 billion in state cuts to health care, social services, prisons and education.The latest round would increase public-school class sizes, eliminate subsidized health care for the working poor and release hundreds of inmates early…. The state's Basic Health Plan would close, ending state-subsidized insurance for about 35,000 low-income people.

29 Oct 2011

Atwater collection of AIDS education posters now available online

When Edward Atwater, M.D., boarded a subway car on Boston's Red Line in the early 90s, he found himself staring at a poster unlike any he had seen before. It showed two hands, a condom wrapper, and text reading, "Prevent AIDS. Use One." Intrigued by what he saw, Atwater began to track how different societies viewed and responded to the worldwide epidemic through posters and other public messages, eventually gathering together the largest collection of AIDS posters in the world.

28 Oct 2011

SafeMinds praises UNEP's draft treaty ban on use of mercury in pharma products

SafeMinds applauds UNEP's draft treaty language which does not exempt the use of mercury in pharmaceutical products, including vaccines, from the global ban. Governmental regulators, public health officials and pharmaceutical companies have recognized that the toxicity of mercury in pharmaceutical and personal care products, to which people are directly exposed, justifies a preventive approach to minimize all exposures.

24 Oct 2011

Physiological changes, chronic illness make older adults more susceptible to illness during disasters

In a summer with unprecedented weather events, from tornados, floods, fires and hurricanes, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing found that physiological changes associated with aging and the presence of chronic illness make older adults more susceptible to illness or injury, even death, during a disaster.

22 Oct 2011

Imaging study shows slower brain growth in children with autism

Researchers at UCLA have found a possible explanation for why autistic children act and think differently than their peers. For the first time, they've shown that the connections between brain regions that are important for language and social skills grow much more slowly in boys with autism than in non-autistic children.

21 Oct 2011

Researchers identify facial characteristics of children with autism

The face and brain develop in coordination, with each influencing the other, beginning in the embryo and continuing through adolescence. Now, University of Missouri researchers have found distinct differences between the facial characteristics of children with autism compared to those of typically developing children.

21 Oct 2011

Crib protect by removal of bumpers: AAP

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommended Tuesday that parents stop using all bumper pads in cribs because of the risks to infants. The academy previously warned only against pillow-like versions of these cushions attached to crib slats. Last month, Chicago banned the sale of all bumpers, and Maryland health officials proposed a statewide ban.

20 Oct 2011

Medication therapy management in interprofessional heath care

Akinyele and other University of Maryland School of Pharmacy students at the Mercy Health Clinic in Gaithersburg, Md. are learning firsthand about the remarkable effectiveness of medication therapy management (MTM), a hot new pharmacy trend in interprofessional heath care.

19 Oct 2011

King's researchers create traditional Chinese medicine database

A comprehensive database developed by King's College London researchers that features the chemical components found in traditional Chinese medicines has been released to market this month, allowing researchers to explore age-old remedies in the search for tomorrow's new drugs.

19 Oct 2011

With clock ticking, super committee weighs suggestions, battles doubts

Last week the deficit-reduction panel received a slew of recommendations from across Capitol Hill on how to tame the nation's deficit problems. The input evidenced partisan differences and intra-party fissures. All the while, questions persist about the committee's ability to actually reach a deal.

18 Oct 2011