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Diabetes and peripheral artery disease are costly; PAD may spur growth in medical device industry

Diabetes cases in the U.S. are expected to double or triple by 2050, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

25 Oct 2010

State Watch: N.Y. approves rate hikes; Arizona referendum on health insurance mandate; Md. insurer cuts broker fees

The Sacramento Bee: "A Sacramento federal judge has ordered the state to keep providing adult dental, podiatric and chiropractic services to poor people in underserved rural areas until it gets permission from federal health authorities to discontinue the benefits. U.S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. ruled Wednesday that, while the services are not mandatory under the federal Medicaid program (Medi-Cal in California), the Legislature's decision to end them last year as a cost-saving measure was unlawful without federal approval.

25 Oct 2010

Daschle on health law: Defunding is 'a serious threat'

Tom Daschle, the former Senate Majority Leader and a senior, informal, advisor to President Obama during the health debate has been writing and talking about how the law got passed.

25 Oct 2010

Researchers find evidence that A. gambiae mosquito is evolving into two strains, could present challenges for malaria control efforts

The Anopheles gambiae mosquito, one of the major carriers of the malaria parasite in Sub-Saharan Africa, is evolving in two directions, according to two studies published Thursday in the journal Science, Scientific American's Observations blog reports.

25 Oct 2010

Aid agencies threaten to leave Afghanistan as President Karzai orders private security firms to dissolve

Companies and aid organizations implementing hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S.-funded projects here say they are preparing to leave Afghanistan unless President Hamid Karzai amends a decree that outlaws their private security protection, the Wall Street Journal reports.

25 Oct 2010

72% of patients misdiagnosed with pneumonia upon readmission : Study

Patients were misdiagnosed with pneumonia at an alarming rate when they were readmitted to the hospital shortly after a previous hospitalization for the same illness, according to two Henry Ford Hospital companion studies.

25 Oct 2010

State regulators recommend new health insurance rules

Insurance regulators unanimously recommended controversial rules Thursday governing how much insurers must spend on patients' medical care.

25 Oct 2010

ASD-related health care expenditures escalate in state Medicaid programs

Autism was described as early as 1940, but a marked increase in the prevalence for the broader class of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) during the past decade highlights the demand for treatment of affected individuals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the prevalence of ASD was one in 110 children in 2006 and increased at an average annual rate of 57% between 2002 and 2006. The rising prevalence has heightened concern about the financial impact of treating ASDs in the private and public health care systems.

25 Oct 2010

Candidates debating health law as election nears

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) needled President Obama upon his planned campaign stop in the state on Saturday. Pawlenty, a potential Republican candidate to challenge Obama in 2012, leveled criticisms against the president.

25 Oct 2010

Opinions: U.S. aid for Haiti delays; U.S. Medical Education Initiative

In a Washington Examiner opinion piece, Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) writes about U.S. aid to Haiti and addresses allegations that he is holding up funding The situation in Haiti is confusing, but there are some things we know. First, we know that immediately after the earthquake the United States responded quickly and compassionately with aid and relief.

25 Oct 2010

Primary care-based patient navigation can reduce healthcare disparities

A new research study conducted by Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) shows that patient navigation services significantly improve biennial mammography screening rates among inner city women. The results, published online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, indicate the importance of patient navigation in reducing health disparities in vulnerable patient populations.

22 Oct 2010

First Edition: October 22, 2010

Today's headlines detail the National Association of Insurance Commissioners vote on recommendations regarding a key provision of the health law.

22 Oct 2010

Justice dept. pushes for services to move patients out of mental hospitals

A sweeping agreement this week between the Justice Department and the state of Georgia highlights an aggressive new campaign by the Obama administration to ensure that people with mental illness and developmental disabilities can get services in their communities and not be forced to live in institutions.

22 Oct 2010

U.N. reports explore issues facing women worldwide

Two U.N. reports released on Wednesday examine the conditions faced by women around the world, the New York Times reports (MacFarquhar, 10/20). The World's Women 2010: Trends and Statistics report, which is published every five years, offers a compilation of "the latest data documenting progress for women worldwide in eight key areas: population and families, health, education, work, power and decision-making, violence against women, environment and poverty," according to a U.N. Statistics Division press release.

22 Oct 2010

Health care fraud roundup: 30-year sentence for doctor upheld; KY. cracks down

An appeals court has upheld a 30-year prison term for a Medicare fraudster in Florida. Dr. Ana Alvarez-Jacinto, a Miami endocrinologist, was convicted of health care fraud and sentenced to 30 years behind bars.

22 Oct 2010

Nurses in health care facilities may perform better through harm reduction strategies: Researchers

University of Maryland School of Nursing researchers say nurses in hospitals and other health care facilities may perform better by following the lead of airlines, trucking, and nuclear plants, by limiting hours of service, ensuring prompt and definite breaks during shifts, and other scheduling strategies.

22 Oct 2010

Patients are under-informed about treatments; Home-based care gains popularity

A survey of more than 3,000 patients age 40 and older reveals that physicians often leave information out when they present treatment plans to patients, who "hear far more from doctors about the pros than cons of medications, tests and surgeries." Often, "physicians tend to offer opinions, not options, the researchers found, and rarely mention to patients that they can decide not to do anything," according to the study, which was funded by the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making.

22 Oct 2010

FDA announces new label for HIV antiviral drug Invirase

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that new safety information has been added to the label for the HIV antiviral drug Invirase (saquinavir), describing potentially life-threatening side effects on the heart when used with Norvir (ritonavir), another HIV antiviral medication.

22 Oct 2010

ACOG joins Jay Monahan Center to develop new chapter on Female Cancers resource guide

The New York State Chapter of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, District II (ACOG) has partnered with the Jay Monahan Center for Gastrointestinal Health at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center to develop the fifth and final chapter to the Focus on Female Cancers resource guide.

22 Oct 2010

KHN column: Yeah, those emergency rooms are crowded

"Almost everyone understands that our emergency medical care system has real problems. Yet a surprising number of people, on many sides of the policy debate, wrongly view reducing emergency department use as a key measure of health reform's success" (10/21).

22 Oct 2010