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Geriatric population soars while NIH devotes modest resources to aging research

With a nudge from the new health care law and pressure from Medicare, hospitals, doctors and nurses are struggling to prepare for explosive growth in the numbers of high-risk elderly patients. More than 40 percent of adult patients in acute care hospital beds are 65 or older. Seventy million Americans will have turned 65 by 2030.

30 Jun 2010

Oil spill disaster raises concern in the Gulf region

Two months after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion caused the oil spill now globally acknowledged as the worst environmental disaster in our nation's history, the residents of the Gulf region immediately impacted are exhibiting dramatically high levels of anxiety, both among adults and children, about the future health and well-being of the region. Many children – and parents – still recovering from Katrina are now reeling from a second major trauma as a result of the oil catastrophe.

30 Jun 2010

U.S., China open Shanghai Epidemiology Center for chronic, epidemic diseases

Chinese and U.S. health officials opened an epidemiology center in Shanghai Tuesday to train experts to deal with and prevent chronic and epidemic diseases, the Associated Press reports.

30 Jun 2010

Health experts to discuss OA prevention and treatment strategies at international Arthritis Summit

Hospital for Special Surgery plans to host a two-day international Osteoarthritis Summit in June 2011.

30 Jun 2010

Survey of doctors suggests widespread 'defensive medicine'

HealthDay/Bloomberg Businessweek reports that a new survey published in the Archives of Internal Medicine shows that 91 percent of 2,416 doctors believe their colleagues practice defensive medicine by giving patients more tests and treatments as a means of protecting themselves from lawsuits. "In addition, 90.7 percent of the respondents believe better protection against unwarranted malpractice suits is necessary to reduce the number of unnecessary medical tests" (Preidt, 6/28).

30 Jun 2010

Recent, upcoming FDA efforts address rare, 'neglected' diseases

The FDA's new rare disease review group will hold its first public hearing on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss how to expand efforts to develop treatments for rare diseases that affect fewer than 200,000 people, Reuters

30 Jun 2010

News round up: UniCare will drop health coverage for Virginians; Hawaii concerned about lack of physicians

The Washington Post: "About 3,000 Virginians who have health insurance through UniCare, a private insurer, will lose that coverage Jan. 1, a UniCare spokesman said Monday. Most live in Northern Virginia and get their coverage through the individual market, officials said.

30 Jun 2010

AMP commends Advisory Committee for addressing genetic education, training needs

The Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) commends the Secretary's Advisory Committee for recognizing the importance of professional and public education and training in genetics and addressing the needs in this area. AMP offers a number of continuing education programs for health professionals in genetics and genomics, including the AMP annual scientific meeting, outreach courses to health professionals, a review course in molecular genetic pathology, and online webinars geared to health professionals.

30 Jun 2010

White House to release domestic strategy against AIDS

The White House is poised to release the country's first comprehensive domestic strategy against AIDS, as funds to prevent infections have failed to halt the epidemic in those most at risk of the disease, AIDS groups said. Release of the National AIDS Strategy may come as early as today, fulfilling Obama's campaign pledge to unify priorities among federal agencies and state partners, said Mitchell Warren.

30 Jun 2010

Doctors want pain drugs to be tracked

The Hill: Doctors who belong to the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians want lawmakers to give money to help states begin collecting and sharing data on patients who "doctor shop" for pain medications. The group wants $55 million for the program and are asking Congress "to reauthorize a 2005 bill providing grants to states that collect prescription drug information and share it with physicians and pharmacists — and law enforcement officials when there's an investigation — while protecting patients' privacy.

30 Jun 2010

Wishard-Regenstrief partnership earns NAPH President's Award for Health Reform Readiness and Leadership

Wishard Health Services, the nation's third-largest safety net health care system in outpatient visits, and the Regenstrief Institute Inc., an internationally-respected medical and public health informatics innovator, earned the NAPH 2010 President's Award for Health Reform Readiness and Leadership.

30 Jun 2010

Consumer guides about part-time workers, Medigap coverage and navigating medical costs

News outlets offer consumer guides about health insurance.

30 Jun 2010

New strategies can improve continuity of primary care, shorten patient waiting time

A national shortage of primary care doctors plus a growing population of older adults, many with chronic diseases, is leading in some underserved areas to longer wait times to see a doctor and is reducing patients' chances of seeing their own physician, experts say.

30 Jun 2010

GOP objecting to management of health fund for 9/11 workers

As the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee holds a hearing Tuesday on a proposed fund to cover additional health care costs for first responders to the 9/11 attacks, Senate Republicans are planning to take issue with the management of the fund, CongressDaily reports.

30 Jun 2010

Greenwire/New York Times examine dengue vaccine development

Greenwire/New York Times reports on the growing number of cases of dengue worldwide, including the CDC's report last month that the virus has now been locally acquired in the continental U.S. for the first time in 65 years. "While a few cases were reported earlier, they were primarily in Americans who had caught the virus abroad or at the Texas-Mexico border," the news service writes.

30 Jun 2010

Supreme Court will not review San Francisco health plan

"The justices on Monday denied an appeal from the Golden Gate Restaurant Association of an appeals court ruling upholding the program's requirement that employers help pay the bill or give their workers health coverage," The Associated Press reports. The decision allows the program to maintain its emphasis on sharing the financial responsibility for health care — a cost borne by the public, employers and employees, said Tangerine Brigham, director of Healthy San Francisco.

30 Jun 2010

COBRA, jobs bill in further jeopardy after death of Sen. Byrd

Roll Call: The death of Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W. Va., has jeopardized further the passage of some bills in Congress, including a bill that would extend unemployment benefits. "Democratic leaders have been thwarted numerous times in recent weeks on jobs legislation, despite scaling down the measure dramatically after Republicans and some moderate Democrats balked at adding to the deficit.

30 Jun 2010

Rise in hospital admissions over last five years

According to a new ‘State of Our Public Hospitals’ report there is a 17 percent hike in the number of people seeking treatment at Australian hospitals in the last five years. This report was released by Health Minister Nicola Roxon on Tuesday.

29 Jun 2010

Omnicell's OmniCenter qualifies for VMware Ready logo

Omnicell, Inc., a leading provider of system solutions to acute healthcare facilities, today announced that its OmniCenter® server has achieved VMware Ready™ status. This designation indicates that OmniCenter has passed a detailed evaluation and testing process managed by VMware and is now listed on the VMware Partner Product Catalog.

From Omnicell, Inc. 29 Jun 2010

Aging of workforce a threat to health care sector: Report

As the nation prepares to provide care for the increasing proportion of older adults and the widespread implications of healthcare reform, healthcare workers are aging out of the sector, revealing an increased need for skilled workers, according to a new report by the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College.

29 Jun 2010