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Accord reached on draft declaration for MDG summit

World powers have reached an accord, after weeks of tough talks, on a document to be adopted at a Millennium Development summit this month for which [U.N.] Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is seeking billions of dollars of new funding,Agence France-Presse reports in an article that describes how representatives from donor and developing nations debated how best to pay for a kick start to the ambitious development goals first set at the Millennium summit in 2000.

13 Sep 2010

Lawmakers plot health overhaul tax provision change, other provisions under fire

Senate aides expect Republicans and Democrats to offer competing amendments to change a tax-reporting provision in the health law. "The provision requires businesses to report to the Internal Revenue Service purchases over the course of the year that exceed $600.

13 Sep 2010

Ill. prepares high risk pool; Calif. residents struggle with rising health care costs

"At first glance, the new Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan sounds like welcome relief for jobless Illinoisans who have serious medical issues and are struggling with the loss of employer financed health care. The federally financed $5 billion plan $196 million of which is earmarked for Illinois provides an affordable health insurance option to people who previously were limited to the far more expensive, state run Illinois Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan.

13 Sep 2010

Hospitals lobby for broader health IT rewards; Mobile devices infiltrate health care

The American Hospital Association stepped up its advocacy efforts to get lawmakers to revisit a program that will reward hospitals for adopting electronic medical records by expanding its opportunities for hospital systems with multiple facilities, The Hill reports.

13 Sep 2010

MRSA infection hVISA linked to mortality

A MRSA infection with a reduced susceptibility to the potent antibiotic drug vancomycin is linked to high mortality, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.

12 Sep 2010

Physician shortage could grow under new health law

HealthDay/Bloomberg BusinessWeek: With tens of millions of patients newly insured under the law, "[s]ome experts worry that there could be longer wait times to see a doctor, particularly in rural areas and underserved markets where primary-care physicians are in short supply. … [P]rimary-care physicians make up only 35 percent of America's physician workforce, and the pipeline of fresh talent is tapering off.

10 Sep 2010

CMS issues hospice benefit guidance for terminally sick kids

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released a guidance Thursday regarding a health overhaul mandate that state Medicaid programs allow terminally ill kids to get curative treatment even if they take hospice benefits, The Hill's Healthwatch Blog reports.

10 Sep 2010

Dartmouth study says primary care not always a cure-all

A new study by Dartmouth Health Atlas researchers contends that making primary care more widely accessible -- one of the goals of the health overhaul -- won't necessarily improve the nation's health, Reuters reports. The researchers found wide variations in the quality of care that do not always match up with the level of access to physicians.

10 Sep 2010

Today's Opinions: Democrats running away from health care; One company's success with insurance; Calif.'s effort on mental health parity

Facing a grim November, Democrats are now running on another quarter-baked stimulus plan and the specter of John Boehner's perpetual tan, instead of the bill they spent more than a year debating and hailed as the liberal triumph of the century. Democrats now barely mention ObamaCare on the trail—unless they're trashing it (9/9).

10 Sep 2010

Research Roundup: Shifting ER visits to urgent care centers; Evaluating doctors; Medicare Advantage quality ratings

Health Affairs: Many Emergency Department Visits Could Be Managed At Urgent Care Centers And Retail Clinics - Researchers analyzed samples of patient records and found "13.7 percent of all emergency department visits could take place at a retail clinic" - 7.9 percent when hours are restricted - and "an additional 13.4 percent of emergency department visits could take place at a urgent care center—8.9 percent when hours are restricted.

10 Sep 2010

Employers gravitate toward wellness programs

Wellness programs are hot right now, The Wichita Eagle reports. "Employers are increasingly taking a broader look at the health of their companies and viewing a wellness program as an important business strategy.

10 Sep 2010

Sebelius warns insurers not to blame rate hikes on health overhaul

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Thursday said insurers who blame their rate increases on the new health overhaul could be excluded from health insurance exchanges and the 30 million new customers they promise, The Associated Press reports. "'There will be zero tolerance for this type of misinformation and unjustified rate increases,' … Sebelius said in a letter to the insurance lobby.

10 Sep 2010

Doctor works to measure outcomes of provider care

Forbes profiles "the most powerful doctor you never heard of," a Yale cardiologist who does "outcomes research" in which he measures "how well doctors are doing in the real world, outside of controlled trials--what they are doing right, what they are doing wrong and what they are forgetting to do entirely."

10 Sep 2010

Appeals Court ruled that Feds can temporarily fund stem cell research

The Washington Post: "An appeals court ruled Thursday that the federal government can resume funding human embryonic stem cell research while the court reviews a judge's order that had temporarily prohibited such funding. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted a request from the Justice Department to lift a temporary injunction issued Aug. 23 blocking the funding on the grounds that it violated a law barring funding any research that involves the destruction of human embryos.

10 Sep 2010

Commonwealth among 103 Pennsylvania employers qualified for federal retiree benefit assistance

Governor Edward G. Rendell announced today that the commonwealth is among the 103 Pennsylvania employers accepted into a federal program to help offset the rising health care costs for retirees.

10 Sep 2010

More men than women discontinue medications due to side effects

Men are more likely than women to discontinue a medication due to side effects. More and more men are diagnosed with age-related issues like enlarged prostate and men are being prescribed medications that have side effects. These side effects often cause men to say "NO." In the U.S. and Canada, Prostate prescriptions dominate the treatment of enlarged prostate.

10 Sep 2010

NACHC Conference to discuss primary care foundation in America under Affordable Care Act

Former Health and Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt will address a national conference of Community, Migrant and Homeless Health Center representatives scheduled to convene this week. The 2010 Community Health Institute (CHI) and EXPO, hosted by the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), will take place in Dallas, TX, September 10-14th.

10 Sep 2010

First Edition: September 10, 2010

In this morning's news, the Obama administration takes a hard line against insurers -- warning them not to blame the new health law for their rate hikes.

10 Sep 2010

Perception of danger during disaster can impact health long-term

Feeling like your life is in danger during an accident or disaster can have long-term negative effects on health—whether or not the threat to your life was real. This is one of the results of a new doctoral thesis from Sweden's Karolinska Institutet on the experiences and mental health of Stockholm residents who survived the 2004 Tsunami in the Indian Ocean. A few simple questions to survivors early on could help health care personnel identify those in need of extra support and follow-up, according to Lars Wahlström, the researcher behind the thesis.

10 Sep 2010

Sebelius calls upon AHIP to stop misinformation, false blame on premium increases on patient protections

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wrote America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the national association of health insurers, calling on their members to stop using scare tactics and misinformation to falsely blame premium increases for 2011 on the patient protections in the Affordable Care Act.

10 Sep 2010

Health Care News and Research

Accord reached on draft declaration for MDG summit

Lawmakers plot health overhaul tax provision change, other provisions under fire

Ill. prepares high risk pool; Calif. residents struggle with rising health care costs

Hospitals lobby for broader health IT rewards; Mobile devices infiltrate health care

MRSA infection hVISA linked to mortality

Physician shortage could grow under new health law

CMS issues hospice benefit guidance for terminally sick kids

Dartmouth study says primary care not always a cure-all

Today's Opinions: Democrats running away from health care; One company's success with insurance; Calif.'s effort on mental health parity

Research Roundup: Shifting ER visits to urgent care centers; Evaluating doctors; Medicare Advantage quality ratings

Employers gravitate toward wellness programs

Sebelius warns insurers not to blame rate hikes on health overhaul

Doctor works to measure outcomes of provider care

Appeals Court ruled that Feds can temporarily fund stem cell research

Commonwealth among 103 Pennsylvania employers qualified for federal retiree benefit assistance

More men than women discontinue medications due to side effects

NACHC Conference to discuss primary care foundation in America under Affordable Care Act

First Edition: September 10, 2010

Perception of danger during disaster can impact health long-term

Sebelius calls upon AHIP to stop misinformation, false blame on premium increases on patient protections

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

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