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IBC offers more personalized online information about PHR to its members

Independence Blue Cross now offers its members more personalized online information about their health – as the amazon.com experience is to the savvy shopper, the ibxpress.com experience is to the smart health care consumer. Personal health information began to flow into members' electronic health records this month – available through ibxpress.com, the company's member website.

9 Jul 2010

Accudial's weight-based rotating labels prevent underdosing and overdosing in children's OTC medications

There is plenty to worry about when it comes to the job of parenting. However, wondering if a child is receiving the correct amount of over-the-counter (OTC) medication can now be a concern of the past, thanks to Children's AccuDial(R), a patented new line of children's medication available across Canada, with a dosing system based on body weight, not age.

9 Jul 2010

Que She herbal weight loss supplement contains harmful ingredients, FDA warns

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today warned that Que She, marketed as an herbal weight loss supplement, contains active pharmaceutical ingredients not listed on the product label that could harm consumers, especially those with cardiovascular conditions.

9 Jul 2010

State AIDS programs struggle as joblessness increases demand

Growing joblessness and shrinking state and federal budgets have exacerbated the financial burden on the government that provides prescription drug treatment to people with HIV/AIDS. "Now, many people with HIV are losing jobs, along with insurance, or discovering that they are infected at a time when the AIDS Drug Assistance Program — ADAP — they depend on is being overwhelmed by demands being made on it.

9 Jul 2010

New rules pave way for veterans' PTSD disability claims

The New York Times: Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder who are seeking disability benefits will get a break when new rules go into effect as early as next week.

9 Jul 2010

Move to have businesses manage Medicaid is triggering concern

The Washington Post: Since Congress passed the health overhaul, businesses that manage Medicaid "are rushing to get a foothold in states that outsource Medicaid. … But the experience in some states suggests pitfalls ahead. A recent report found that 2.7 million children on Medicaid in nine states, most of them states that outsource Medicaid, are not receiving required screenings and immunizations.

9 Jul 2010

Media outlets examine efforts to tackle HIV/AIDS worldwide

Ahead of the International AIDS Conference, set for July 18-23 in Vienna, Austria, Reuters features an interview with Gottfried Hirnschall, the new director of the WHO's HIV Department, who speaks of the need for current funds for the global HIV/AIDS programs to be used more efficiently to achieve universal access to treatment for all HIV/AIDS patients.

9 Jul 2010

U.N. report recommends changes for fragmented global aid system

"A proliferation of aid agencies, donors, and projects is fragmenting the global aid system, increasing transaction costs, and weakening efforts to reduce poverty and poor health," according to the U.N.'s recent World Economic and Social Survey (.pdf), BMJ News reports.

9 Jul 2010

Woman sues California Blue Shield for alleged safety-net insurance overcharges

Los Angeles Times: A Los Angeles woman is suing Blue Shield of California for allegedly overcharging policyholders for safety-net insurance for the jobless or sick. "Amalia Lample said in her lawsuit that Blue Shield, the state's second-largest not-for-profit insurer, knowingly exceeded maximum insurance rates set by the state and falsely reported to regulators that the charges stayed within official guidelines.

9 Jul 2010

Medicare agency releases data on hospital performance

MedPage Today: "The public can now review data on the quality of outpatient care provided by individual hospitals at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Hospital Compare website. The site previously contained only data on inpatient care quality. All the data are derived from records of Medicare patients treated at more than 3,600 hospitals nationwide."

9 Jul 2010

Qualaquin for treatment of night time leg cramps leads to serious side effects, FDA warns

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today warned that the unapproved use of the malaria drug Qualaquin (quinine sulfate) to treat night time leg cramps has resulted in serious side effects and prompted the manufacturer to develop a risk management plan aimed at educating health care professionals and patients about the potential risks.

9 Jul 2010

Officials look to stop 'medicalization' to stem health care costs

The Florida Times-Union: Stopping the "medicalization" of good health is being targeted again by economists and policymakers as a way to stem health care costs. "If Americans would stop thinking of certain problems in a medical context, experts argue, it might chip away at the more than $2 trillion the nation spends annually on health care.

9 Jul 2010

Hospitals struggle to escape unsuccessful Wall Street wagers

"Hospitals nationwide are tangling with Wall Street to get out of disastrous wagers that have complicated their financial problems," The Wall Street Journal reports.

9 Jul 2010

Health Care REIT reports $292.9M of gross investments during second-quarter 2010

Health Care REIT, Inc. announced today that it completed $292.9 million of gross investments during the second quarter of 2010. During the quarter, the company had dispositions of $14.6 million, resulting in net new investments of $278.3 million. For the six months ended June 30, 2010, the company completed $877.6 million of gross investments, offset by $47.5 million of asset sales and loan payoffs, which generated $830.1 million of net new investments.

9 Jul 2010

American, Canadian officials discuss global health developments at recent G8, G20 summits

The recent G8 summit in Canada's Muskoka region took an important step forward in improving maternal and child health in developing countries, Canadian and American officials said at a forum Wednesday in Washington, DC.

9 Jul 2010

Lawmakers, pundits offer mixed reaction to Berwick appointment

Politicians and pundits are reacting to President Barack Obama's recess appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick to run Medicare and Medicaid, with some saying such an appointment bypasses an important process while others praise the move.

9 Jul 2010

Experts to Medicare: Don't make the same pilot errors twice

The New York Times: Congress created the new $1 billion-a-year Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to experiment with new — and possibly better or more efficient — ways to pay for and deliver health care as part of the overhaul law. But, the Center's efforts won't be Medicare's first attempts at innovation.

9 Jul 2010

KHN column -- High-risk pools: A rare opportunity for bipartisanship

In his latest Kaiser Health News column, Harold Pollack writes: "This month a key program created by the new health overhaul law, the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, becomes operational in many states. Over the next 40 months, this high-risk insurance pool will provide $5 billion to cover Americans who face the dual challenges of chronic illness and uninsurance.

8 Jul 2010

Study demonstrates causal relationship between onset of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and general surgery

A new study spearheaded by Spanish scientists demonstrates a causal relationship between the onset of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), caused by a protein called a prion, and general surgery. CJD manifests itself in hereditary acquired; and sporadic forms, or for unknown reasons, which accounts for the majority of cases.

8 Jul 2010

Elsevier and Legacy Interactive release Top Doc iPhone app for medical students, practitioners

Elsevier, a world leader in health care, medical publishing and online solutions, and video game developer and publisher Legacy Interactive(R), announced today the release of Top Doc, an iPhone app that features medical content and quizzes designed to let medical students, residents and junior faculty practice and improve their visual diagnosis skills. Elsevier and Legacy Interactive(R) developed the app's interactive format to engage and challenge users with multiple elements.

8 Jul 2010