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La Clínica de La Razaa selects Wellpartner to administer 340B Drug Discount Program

Wellpartner, a nationally recognized provider of pharmacy distribution and contract pharmacy services, today announced the addition of La Clínica de La Raza in Oakland, CA, to its rapidly expanding list of community health organization clients. Working with Wellpartner, La Clínica has chosen Safeway as its retail pharmacy partner for this program.

19 Jun 2010

Senate reaches deal, passes short-term "doc fix"

The Senate passed a bill Friday to block the 21 percent cuts to Medicare physician pay for six months, after failing Thursday to pass a larger bill extending tax and jobless benefits that also included the Medicare provision, The Hill reports.

19 Jun 2010

Patients' relationship with primary care physician improves health care quality: Study

Patients who report having a regular doctor either at a community health center or at the physician's office report receiving better quality health care, and have a better health care experience, than patients who have a regular place of care, but lack an established physician relationship. The findings are part of a study published in the May Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, and authored by Anne Beal, MD, MPH, head of the Aetna Foundation, and Susan Hernandez, MPA, formerly of The Commonwealth Fund.

19 Jun 2010

UNDP releases 8-pronged strategy to help developing countries meet MDGs

The U.N. Development Program (UNDP) on Thursday released a report (.pdf) outlining "an eight-pronged strategy it hopes can help poor nations advance sustainable development, considerably reduce poverty and essentially drive the attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the next five years," BusinessDay reports (Nwachukwu, 6/18).

19 Jun 2010

Obama administration names eight 'GHI Plus' countries

"The Obama administration has selected eight countries to serve as learning labs for a new global health strategy aimed in part at reducing maternal and child deaths and combatting preventable diseases," the Wall Street Journal reports. "The move is among the first steps in the administration's" roll-out of the Global Health Initiative and "comes amid mounting concerns about how much support President Barack Obama will win from Congress for a proposed 9% increase in global health spending for fiscal 2011," the newspaper reports.

19 Jun 2010

New partnership established to reduce newborn mortality

The U.S. Agency for International Development signed a Memorandum of Understanding this week with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Laerdal Medical AS, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and Save the Children. The objective of this Global Development Alliance is to reduce newborn mortality by expanding access to high-quality, affordable newborn resuscitation training materials and devices, improving the competence of birth attendants to resuscitate newborns, strengthening health systems and promoting global commitment and resources for life-saving newborn care.

19 Jun 2010

N.Y. tries to get more patients in clinical drug trials; Atlanta hospitals create partnerships

In New York, state medical centers and drug makers have begun an effort to address a problem associated with clinical drug trials: "getting patients to sign up. More than 3,000 clinical trials are actively recruiting in New York state, and an additional 8,000 trials involving New York are already running or were recently completed, according to the government clinical trials registry. Patient recruitment is one of the top reasons that clinical trials are delayed or fail, according to the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development.

19 Jun 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

The U.N.'s plan to improve maternal health is lacking "the one element that will make it work. Human rights," according to blog post on Huffington Post. "Medical causes of maternal death - hemorrhage, sepsis, hypertension, unsafe abortion, HIV and AIDS - are inextricably linked to human rights. Each one of these instances can be prevented or treated by simply respecting women's human rights in health policies and delivery of services, and addressing systemic gender inequality."

19 Jun 2010

Medicaid funds may not come through, leaving states in a lurch

If increased federal support for Medicaid isn't extended, states will have to fill budget holes next year that many legislatures have not anticipated.

19 Jun 2010

Hospitals work to reduce wait times, readmission rates

The Baltimore Sun writes about hospitals working to reduce emergency room wait times and then advertising the results. "St. Joseph Medical Center [in Towson, Md.] posts the anticipated wait time on its website. Harbor Hospital in South Baltimore has put up billboards and handed out brochures door-to-door to tell residents about its 'quick' emergency room experience.

19 Jun 2010

Equatorial Guinea strengthens health facilities to boost access to reproductive health services

The Republic of Equatorial Guinea (Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial, along with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), is working to strengthen and equip health facilities throughout the country to boost access to reproductive health services. The rebuilding process includes the construction and renovation of health centers and maternity units as well as proper training for medical students.

19 Jun 2010

Federal agencies will establish a 'do not pay list' to prevent fraud

President Obama will order federal agencies Friday to establish a national 'do not pay list' to prevent the government from paying benefits, contracts, grants and loans to ineligible people or organizations, according to senior administration officials. The moves are part of a series to cut government waste and fraud and come amid calls for more fiscal restraint from Republicans and moderate Democrats.

19 Jun 2010

Survery: Most respondents don't really get health IT

Only one in ten respondents to a Harris Interactive survey use electronic medical records or interact with their doctors by e-mail, HealthDay/Bloomberg Businessweek reports. Half were unsure whether their doctors even use these technologies. "Still, most of those polled said they would like their doctors to access their medical records with the click of a mouse. On the other hand, only about a third (30 percent) believe their insurer should have that same access."

19 Jun 2010

BFAR subsidiary signs agreement to acquire ZHRK

BioPharm Asia, Inc., a producer, distributor and retailer of medical products in China, today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, China Northern Pharmacy Holding Group Limited, has entered into an agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Beijing Zhihe Ruikang Hospital Management Ltd., a professional Chinese hospital management consultation group, for a consideration of RMB2,400,000 (approximately $350,000).

19 Jun 2010

Health care issues major factors in Utah, Florida races

Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, is facing an angry progressive base as he pushes for re-election after his "no" vote on health reform legislation, Politico reports. "The pushback against Matheson took its fullest expression in early May, when a restless Democratic base delivered the lawmaker a surprisingly narrow 55 percent to 45 percent victory at this spring's party convention — an unimpressive result for an incumbent that fell short of the 60 percent necessary to avoid a primary for the nomination."

19 Jun 2010

Friday Opinions: Uwe Reinhardt, Reps. Ron Paul and John Sarbanes, Minnesota nurses' strike

Alas, the penalties baked into the bill for disregarding the mandate, though not trivial, are low enough that many younger and healthier individuals are likely to find paying the penalty cheaper than owning up to the mandate. If that happens in significant numbers, as well it might, the premiums that private insurers will have to charge for the mandated coverage in the small-group market will be driven correspondingly higher (Uwe Reinhardt, 6/18).

19 Jun 2010

Lawmakers want crackdown on drug agreements that keep generics out

Democrats are looking at proposals to crack down on licensing agreements between drug companies that keep generic drugs out of the market, Politico reports. In the agreements, pharmaceutical companies pay generic manufacturers to "delay introduction of generic drugs, which are often cheaper than brand-name drugs.

18 Jun 2010

Advisory panel recommends FDA approve new "morning after" pill

The New York Times: A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel Thursday recommended that the agency approve "a medicine that could help prevent pregnancy if taken as late as five days after unprotected sex. The pill, called ella, sprang from government labs and appears to be more effective than Plan B, a morning-after pill now available over the counter to women 18 and older that gradually loses efficacy after intercourse and can be taken at latest three days after sex.

18 Jun 2010

Walgreens reaches agreement with CVS Caremark on participation in PBM national retail network

CVS Caremark Corporation and Walgreens today announced that the companies have reached an agreement on terms under which Walgreens will continue participating in the CVS Caremark pharmacy benefit management (PBM) national retail network for existing, new or renewal plans. The companies are not disclosing the financial terms of the new contract.

18 Jun 2010

PCPCC welcomes Obama's announcement to promote primary care workforce training

The Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative welcomed the announcement today by the Obama administration that some $250 million in new funding will be put towards funding of primary care workforce training.

18 Jun 2010