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Legal scholar calls for FDA to regulate all health-related genetic tests

An opinion piece by a legal scholar from the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics in this week's issue of Nature calls for the Food and Drug Administration to regulate all health-related genetic tests — whether available directly to consumers or through a health care provider — using an approach that imposes requirements proportionate to a test's level of risk.

13 Aug 2010

UT System Board of Regents approve plans for new University Hospital at UT Southwestern Medical Center

The UT System Board of Regents today gave its approval to plans for a new state-of-the-art University Hospital at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. The project now will go to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for its review and final approval.

13 Aug 2010

Today's opinions: Rep. Ryan's plan to aid Medicare; The burden on health law supporters in Va.; Evaluating Medicare actuary's estimates

Only in Washington could the government raid one entitlement program to finance a brand-new one and still claim that deficits have been reduced and entitlements have been reformed (Rep. Paul Ryan, 8/13).

13 Aug 2010

Hospitals' 'bad debts' grow as even insured patients have trouble paying medical bills

A "local hospital group says the fastest-growing part of what hospitals call 'bad debt' -- basically, uncollectible bills -- is money owed by patients who have insurance. As employers dump costs onto workers, so now are workers dumping costs onto hospitals. Because of rising deductibles and cost-sharing rules, patients are increasingly faced with bills that would have been unusual for someone with insurance a few years ago. Growing numbers of them can't pay, or won't. Total bad debt grew 12 percent, from $490 million in fiscal 2007 to nearly $550 million in fiscal 2008, at 36 area hospitals that responded to a 2009 survey by the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council of HAP, a hospital association that released the data this week. But bad debt from insured patients grew twice as fast: 28 percent, from $76 million to $97 million."

13 Aug 2010

KHN column: Medicaid rescissions worse than private insurers

On Tuesday, members of the House of Representatives interrupted their August vacation and returned to Washington to vote on a bill to send money to the states. The issue that dominated the news was saving the jobs of teachers, police officers and other public employees. But most of the money allocated will prevent the states from cutting off health benefits for millions of people.

13 Aug 2010

Canadian Red Cross ramps up relief efforts in flood ravaged Pakistan

The Canadian Red Cross is ramping up relief efforts in flood ravaged Pakistan. A Red Cross distribution planned for Sunday will put much-needed emergency supplies into the hands of 400 families in the SWAT valley. The supplies, funded by Canadian donations, will include tents, blankets and hygiene kits.

13 Aug 2010

THN President applauds FTC, State enforcement officials for crackdown on insurance scammers

Betty Heiman, Founder and President of Transparent Health Network, praised the announcement made today that the FTC and State enforcement officials will crackdown on scammers who target uninsured, unemployed and uninsurable individuals by peddling fraudulent medical discount plans. These plans, according to government officials, are marketed as health insurance but possess few or none of the features either of insurance or of actual plans.

13 Aug 2010

Challenges in interrelated disciplines of information governance in effective e-Health systems

According to a new report from Accenture, healthcare organizations planning large investments in e-health solutions face challenges in five interrelated disciplines of information governance - data privacy, confidentiality, security, quality and integrity.

13 Aug 2010

First Edition: August 13, 2010

Today's headlines explore a variety of health policy issues, ranging from consumer protections regarding benefit rights to the cost of electronic medical records.

13 Aug 2010

Insurers' actions mirror credit card companies' interest rate increases ahead of new consumer rights

Consumer Watchdog and the Center for Media and Democracy today asked the Obama administration to investigate how the major for-profit health insurance companies are reducing their proportion of spending on health care in advance of health reform, even as premiums spike upward. In a letter to Health and Human Services chief Kathleen Sebelius, the groups compared insurers' actions to those of credit card companies, which spiked annual interest rates last year in advance of new federal regulations that would curb corporate abuses.

13 Aug 2010

Lamictal can cause aseptic meningitis: FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today warned that the drug Lamictal (lamotrigine), approved to treat seizures and bipolar disorder, can cause aseptic meningitis, an inflammation of the protective membranes (meninges) that cover the brain and spinal cord not caused by bacterial infection.The agency is working with the drug's manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, to update the prescribing information and patient medication guide to include this risk.

13 Aug 2010

National organization releases “Lessons from the Frontlines” report on H1N1

The Canadian Medical Association (CMA), the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC), and the National Specialty Society of Community Medicine (NSSCM) today released Lessons from the Frontlines, a collaborative report on H1N1 describing the physician experience on the frontlines of the pandemic.

13 Aug 2010

Women's eNews examines recent global focus on women farmers

Women's eNews looks at how women farmers are receiving more international recognition for their role in agriculture.

13 Aug 2010

U.S.-funded center to improve Haitian garment manufacturing opens in Haiti

The U.S.-funded Haitian Apparel Center, which aims to train about 2,000 workers per year, was opened in the capital of Port-au-Prince on Wednesday, the Associated Press reports. The new center will help Haitian companies evolve from making "simple things, like sheets and T-shirts, to more complex garments," according to U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Merten. "And more complex garments mean higher profit margins and more money coming into the country," he added (Lush, 8/11).

13 Aug 2010

NewCardio second-quarter net loss decreases to $1.5 million

NewCardio, Inc., a cardiac diagnostic technology provider, today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010.

13 Aug 2010

Floods: U.N. issues $459.7M appeal for Pakistan, China concerned about disease outbreaks after mudslides

The U.N. appealed for $459.7 million on Wednesday "to aid flood victims in Pakistan as the magnitude of the disaster widened, with about one-fifth of the country submerged and the annual monsoon season still potent," the New York Times reports (MacFarquhar, 8/11).

13 Aug 2010

AHRQ selects Outcome Sciences to study effects of different treatments for open angle glaucoma

Outcome Sciences, Inc. (OUTCOME), the leading provider of patient registries, studies, and technologies for evaluating real-world outcomes, today announced that the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has selected Outcome as the DEcIDE Center for a study designed to compare the effectiveness of medications versus surgery for the treatment of open-angle glaucoma. The study will enroll 2,600 patients from 30 sites across the United States and is intended to provide new scientific information about the effects of different treatment approaches in individuals who have glaucoma.

13 Aug 2010

Companies reorganizing under Chapter 11 battle with former employees over lifetime health benefits

The Wall Street Journal: "Linda Roberts thought she would enjoy lifetime health benefits after a dozen years lifting radiators and iron in a factory for Visteon Corp. But the car-parts maker won bankruptcy-court approval to terminate those retiree benefits, just months after Ms. Roberts, 62 years old, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and leukemia.

13 Aug 2010

U-M dentistry agrees to use Interleukin's PST test for gum disease clinical study

University of Michigan School of Dentistry has signed an agreement with Interleukin Genetics Inc. to conduct what may be the largest clinical study to date using genetic testing to assess the risk for gum disease.

13 Aug 2010

Mass. docs will soon track patients who abuse prescription drugs; Wis. Catholic Church employees now eligible for birth control

The Boston Globe: "With a few computer keystrokes, Massachusetts physicians will soon be able to identify patients who travel from clinic to clinic in pursuit of potent prescription drugs that feed lethal addictions. State health regulators yesterday unanimously approved the new detection system designed to stop 'doctor shopping' by addicted patients who try to dupe doctors into prescribing narcotics. The practice, specialists said, has fueled a surge in drug-related deaths in Massachusetts" (Smith, 8/12).

13 Aug 2010

Health Care News and Research

Legal scholar calls for FDA to regulate all health-related genetic tests

UT System Board of Regents approve plans for new University Hospital at UT Southwestern Medical Center

Today's opinions: Rep. Ryan's plan to aid Medicare; The burden on health law supporters in Va.; Evaluating Medicare actuary's estimates

Hospitals' 'bad debts' grow as even insured patients have trouble paying medical bills

KHN column: Medicaid rescissions worse than private insurers

Canadian Red Cross ramps up relief efforts in flood ravaged Pakistan

THN President applauds FTC, State enforcement officials for crackdown on insurance scammers

Challenges in interrelated disciplines of information governance in effective e-Health systems

First Edition: August 13, 2010

Insurers' actions mirror credit card companies' interest rate increases ahead of new consumer rights

Lamictal can cause aseptic meningitis: FDA

National organization releases “Lessons from the Frontlines” report on H1N1

Women's eNews examines recent global focus on women farmers

U.S.-funded center to improve Haitian garment manufacturing opens in Haiti

NewCardio second-quarter net loss decreases to $1.5 million

Floods: U.N. issues $459.7M appeal for Pakistan, China concerned about disease outbreaks after mudslides

AHRQ selects Outcome Sciences to study effects of different treatments for open angle glaucoma

Companies reorganizing under Chapter 11 battle with former employees over lifetime health benefits

U-M dentistry agrees to use Interleukin's PST test for gum disease clinical study

Mass. docs will soon track patients who abuse prescription drugs; Wis. Catholic Church employees now eligible for birth control

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