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New computer-based tool developed to benefit cancer patients

Cancer patients and doctors are finally getting on the same page about cancer survivorship, thanks to a free new tool that can benefit anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer.

12 May 2010

Opinions: Abortion in Canada's G8 initiative; Security of Afghan women; U.S. global development strategy; Mother's Day; U.S. food security initiative; Polio eradication

National Post columnist Jonathan Kay examines the ongoing debate over whether Canada's G8 child and maternal health initiative should include abortions, which according to a 2006 Oxford University Press-World Bank report, are "one small chunk of a bigger puzzle. A much larger problem, in terms of the number of female lives affected, is the decidedly less headline-grabbing subject of hemorrhages - which include antepartun hemorrhages … and primary postpartum hemorrhages.

12 May 2010

Studies: Trauma centers would be strained by patient load in terrorist attack

The Wall Street Journal reports that, according to experts and private studies, "[m]any urban hospitals lack sufficient medical staff, beds, equipment and 'surge' plans to provide optimal care for potentially hundreds or thousands of patients from a large bombing, emergency and trauma doctors say."

12 May 2010

Patients who participate in physical therapist-led exercise achieve higher functional mobility: Report

Patients who are critically ill and participate in mild exercise programs led by physical therapists achieve higher functional mobility and spend fewer days in intensive care units and hospitals than those who receive less exercise, according to a report published in the April issue of the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

12 May 2010

R.I. overhauls Medicaid payments for elderly, disabled; Medicaid delays reported in Kansas

Rhode Island received a waiver from the Bush administration to revamp its Medicaid program for the elderly and disabled, despite concerns from "community health activists [who] feared that it would push some of the neediest onto waiting lists or worse — throw some poor people off the Medicaid rolls altogether.

12 May 2010

Tensions escalate between Obama administration, health insurers

CQ HealthBeat: "WellPoint CEO Angela Braly is protesting comments President Obama made about how a health insurance company treated women diagnosed with breast cancer. [Her] letter marks another battle in the ongoing clash between the administration and the insurance companies — most prominently WellPoint — that hasn't lessened after enactment of the new health care law" (Norman, 5/10).

12 May 2010

NY public hospital system plans to lay off about 500 workers and other state news

The Wall Street Journal: "New York City's Health & Hospitals Corp., the nation's largest public hospital system, plans to stanch a $1.2 billion budget gap in the next year's budget by laying off about 500 workers and ending contracts with 'a significant number' of physicians, its president said.

12 May 2010

Colorectal cancer screening rates much lower among African Americans: Study

Among African Americans, colorectal cancer is the third most common cause of cancer-related death. With the proper screening, it has a 90 percent cure rate, yet screening rates are much lower among this group than other ethnic groups.

12 May 2010

Group worries about proposals to allow drug marketing on social media websites

The Center for Digital Democracy is concerned about proposals to allow pharmaceutical companies to market drugs on social media websites. Such a change is under examination by the Food and Drug Administration, the National Journal's Tech Daily Dose reports.

12 May 2010

DOD struggles with health care costs, VA faces challenges in providing care

Defense Secretary Robert Gate spoke about the need to control soaring defense costs, especially health care expenses, while Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki responded to several health care challenges facing veterans' health care.

12 May 2010

African countries meet in Brazil to discuss food security

Representatives from African countries kicked-off a meeting about food security on Monday in Brazil, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports. The meeting is part of a series of Brazilian initiatives, which aim to strengthen ties between the country and Africa and help the continent expand its agricultural capabilities (5/11).

12 May 2010

Transparency debate: Leftover of health overhaul

Some lawmakers, from both parties, have proposed more aggressive legislation to unveil the prices of health care services, arguing that the recently passed health overhaul doesn't go far enough on this topic, Politico reports. "Rep. Steve Kagen (D-Wis.), a physician, has introduced a bill that would require all health care providers — from hospitals to insurance companies — to disclose publicly all prices on a continual basis."

12 May 2010

Sebelius heralds early successes of health law

"In a letter to leaders of Congress, the secretary of health and human services, Kathleen Sebelius, reported on Monday that the Obama administration is moving quickly to carry out the expansive new health care law, particularly provisions that she referred to as 'early insurance market reforms,'" The New York Times reports.

12 May 2010

Parents of autistic children say health reform should help them

The Dallas Morning News: Parents and families of autistic children and adults are hoping that the federal health law will help them. "The new federal regulations will prohibit spending caps, prevent insurers from excluding pre-existing conditions and behavioral health care, and extend dependent care to age 26.

12 May 2010

Adult patients with sickle cell disease may develop cognitive problems: Study

Sickle cell disease may affect brain function in adults who have few or mild complications of the inherited blood disease, according to results of the first study to examine cognitive functioning in adults with sickle cell disease.

12 May 2010

Obama administration issues rules for young adults on parents' insurance plans

The Obama administration Monday issued rules to allow children as old as age 26 to remain on their parents' health insurance plans, but such changes will likely increase the cost of insurance for families next year.

12 May 2010

COBRA subsidy slowed growth of uninsured, report says

USA Today reports that a new Treasury Department study says the federal COBRA subsidy to allow people to keep their employer's health insurance after being laid off "may have slowed the growth in the number of uninsured Americans during the recession.

12 May 2010