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Best ways for proper disposal of unused medicines

Patients in cities all over the country will learn tomorrow about one of the best ways to avoid today's rampant prescription drug abuse – proper disposal of unused medicines.

15 Nov 2010

Science and precedent do not support biosimilar approach for plasma protein therapies

The current science and experience does not support the safety and efficaciousness of a biosimilar pathway for plasma protein therapies. At a public hearing last week, the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association (PPTA) urged the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make patient safety its top priority by adopting a global approach in its evaluation of plasma protein therapies for the biosimilars process.

15 Nov 2010

New York Times examines aid effort challenges for slow-moving disasters with a focus on Pakistan

The New York Times examines the international aid response to the recent floods in Pakistan and takes a closer look at aid challenges that arise for what the article calls "slow-moving disasters."

15 Nov 2010

Reproductive health forum in Ghana addresses unsafe abortions in Africa

The issue of unsafe abortion and its role in women's health was the focus of a four-day conference this week in Accra, Ghana, involving health experts, policymakers and health workers from across Africa, Ghana News Agency reports.

15 Nov 2010

Health IT reshaped veterans health; What will it do for 'mobile telephony'?

Health IT reshaped the United States system for caring for veterans, The Toronto Globe and Mail reports. "Ken Kizer is the miracle man of U.S. health care. Mr. Kizer brought in bold reform that transformed the vast and woeful Veterans Health Administration into an efficient, effective model institution with sky-high patient satisfaction. Starting in 1994, it took him five years to reduce costs and increase quality of care, while nearly doubling the number of patients."

15 Nov 2010

Health law expected to boost Medicaid enrollees in managed care

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz, working in collaboration with USA Today, reports: "HealthCare USA is one of dozens of private managed health care plans providing care to nearly half the nearly 50 million Americans on Medicaid, a state-federal program for the poor and disabled.

15 Nov 2010

Members of Congress and economists to submit arguments in states' suit against health law

Bloomberg: "Eight U.S. senators, along with Representative John Boehner and 35 economists, won the right to submit their arguments in a lawsuit by 20 states seeking to undo the Obama administration's health-care overhaul. U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson in Pensacola yesterday granted requests by the eight Republican members of Congress and the economists to offer their views on the administration's bid to have the suit thrown out.

15 Nov 2010

Support for comparative effectiveness research is gaining momentum, experts say

The Wall Street Journal: "A national push to increase research to find out which medical treatments work best for which patients is gaining momentum, even though many worry the findings may be used to ration care.

15 Nov 2010

Insurers consider shake-ups to business models under health law

Reuters: "Become tech-savvy. Bulk up. Venture abroad. Those appear to be among the most appealing alternatives for U.S. health insurers with their core U.S. markets in upheaval following passage of the healthcare overhaul, speakers at the Reuters Health Summit said this week.

15 Nov 2010

Healthcare costs rise for people insured through an employer

Reuters: "Healthcare costs for people insured through an employer rose 6.3 percent for the year ended June 30, according to a new Thomson Reuters index released on Thursday. It found spending for hospital care rose especially fast -- 8.2 percent, compared to a 5.5 percent rise for physician services and a 3.4 percent increase in drug costs.

15 Nov 2010

Oregon scientist investigates safety, effectiveness of novel low-cost family-planning option

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded nationally prominent Oregon Health & Science University reproductive scientist Jeffrey T. Jensen, M.D., M.P.H., a $100,000 grant to investigate the safety and effectiveness of a novel low-cost family-planning option that may be applicable to women in low-resource countries worldwide.

15 Nov 2010

Report documents increase in R&D projects on developing world diseases

Drugmakers are now working on over 100 R&D projects designed to tackle diseases of the developing world and almost 80% of them are being carried out with non-industry partners, according to a report released on Wednesday by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA).

15 Nov 2010

State roundup: Calif. speeds ahead on health reform; Nebraska abortion provider expanding clinics; Ky. hospital merger

California has moved quickly to implement key provisions of the federal health care overhaul law, including a health benefits exchange, but the exchange and California's plans could be vulnerable as House Republicans threaten to starve the federal health program of funding.

15 Nov 2010

States and providers threaten to drop Medicaid; shortage of providers threatens Medicaid managed-care networks

After Republicans in the Texas legislature floated a radical cost-saving proposal to opt out of Medicaid last week, experts are trying to determine how serious they are, and whether other states are likely to follow suit, Kaiser Health News reports.

15 Nov 2010

Long-term care: MetLife dropping policies, NFL union rejects management offer

MetLife Inc. said it will halt sales of long-term-care insurance, a type of coverage that repeatedly has flummoxed insurers and forced some to pay significantly more in claims than they expected.

15 Nov 2010

Research on E.Coli bacteria could help develop new vaccine for urinary tract infection

Urinary tract infections are a painful, recurring problem for millions of women. They are also getting more dangerous as bacteria develop resistance to the most common treatments.

15 Nov 2010

Governors line up against the health overhaul

In Wisconsin, Republican Governor-elect Scott Walker asked [Democratic] Gov. Jim Doyle Thursday to freeze his administration's push on high-profile issues ranging from the implementation of the federal health care law to a costly upgrade of a state power plant until Walker takes office on Jan. 3.

15 Nov 2010

Drug industry: Pharmaceutical companies find ways to cope as patents expire; FDA criticized for consulting contracts

There is a simple explanation for most of the mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical world these days the so called Patent Cliff. Simply put, many of the drug industry's biggest earners blockbuster medications that have paid the bills for the last decade are about to lose their patent protections.

15 Nov 2010

Republicans take hard line, look for Democrat health law repeal allies

Republicans aren't softening their tough criticism of the health law even as they seek Democratic allies to join them in their bid to repeal the overhaul.

15 Nov 2010

Baucus to offer bill to amend business provision in health law

A leading Senate Democrat vowed Friday to introduce legislation killing a part of the new healthcare reform law that imposes new tax-filing requirements on small businesses.

15 Nov 2010

Health Care News and Research

Best ways for proper disposal of unused medicines

Science and precedent do not support biosimilar approach for plasma protein therapies

New York Times examines aid effort challenges for slow-moving disasters with a focus on Pakistan

Reproductive health forum in Ghana addresses unsafe abortions in Africa

Health IT reshaped veterans health; What will it do for 'mobile telephony'?

Health law expected to boost Medicaid enrollees in managed care

Members of Congress and economists to submit arguments in states' suit against health law

Support for comparative effectiveness research is gaining momentum, experts say

Insurers consider shake-ups to business models under health law

Healthcare costs rise for people insured through an employer

Oregon scientist investigates safety, effectiveness of novel low-cost family-planning option

Report documents increase in R&D projects on developing world diseases

State roundup: Calif. speeds ahead on health reform; Nebraska abortion provider expanding clinics; Ky. hospital merger

States and providers threaten to drop Medicaid; shortage of providers threatens Medicaid managed-care networks

Long-term care: MetLife dropping policies, NFL union rejects management offer

Research on E.Coli bacteria could help develop new vaccine for urinary tract infection

Governors line up against the health overhaul

Drug industry: Pharmaceutical companies find ways to cope as patents expire; FDA criticized for consulting contracts

Republicans take hard line, look for Democrat health law repeal allies

Baucus to offer bill to amend business provision in health law

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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