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Tobacco companies increase marketing to women in developing countries

Agence France-Presse examines a trend among tobacco firms targeting ads toward women in developing countries: "Advertisements telling smokers they are smarter, more energetic and better lovers than their non-smoking counterparts are a familiar sight across Bangladesh - something unimaginable in most other countries," the news service writes.

3 May 2010

Researchers develop asthma medical home to care children with asthma

A comprehensive, patient-centered approach to asthma care that includes education, referrals to specialists and home visits not only improves patients' health but also has tremendous potential to decrease health care costs, according to research to be presented Saturday, May 1 at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

3 May 2010

Some Republican states opting out of high risk health insurance pools

News outlets covered state responses to the federal government's deadline on high risk insurance pools.

3 May 2010

New 3-D mapping and labeling system reduces scan time and improves work flow

Researchers have developed an automated 3-D mapping and labeling system that reduces scan time and improves the work flow, efficiency, and accuracy of routine freehand ultrasound exams, according to a study to be presented at the ARRS 2010 Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA.

3 May 2010

Exposure to violent crime may exacerbate asthma in children

Exposure to violent crime may exacerbate asthma in children, according to a study to be presented Saturday, May 1 at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

3 May 2010

Research roundup: Managing nursing home patients, streamlining medical billing, financial disclosures

Saving Billions Of Dollars--And Physicians' Time--By Streamlining Billing Practices - "The U.S. system of billing third parties for health care services is complex, expensive, and inefficient," write the authors, who analyzed Massachusetts General Physicians Organization staffing and cost data in fiscal year 2006.

3 May 2010

FDA oks 'vaccine' to treat prostate cancer

Provenge, developed by Dendreon Corporation, is the first approved "treatment that uses a so-called cancer vaccine, a drug that trains the body's own immune system to fight the disease," The New York Times reports.

3 May 2010

Vita Breath may contain hazardous levels of lead, warns FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is advising consumers not to purchase nor consume Vita Breath, a dietary supplement manufactured by American Herbal Lab Inc. of Rosemead, Calif., and marketed at health fairs and on the Internet, because the product may contain hazardous levels of lead.

3 May 2010

Hartford, Salt Lake City and Denver outshine other U.S. cities on skin cancer awareness

At first glance, Hartford, Salt Lake City and Denver might not seem to have much in common. But a new survey by the American Academy of Dermatology (Academy) found these three cities outshine other U.S. cities in heeding dermatologists' advice on preventing and detecting skin cancer.

3 May 2010

Philadelphia insurer to implement pay-for-performance model

The Philadelphia region's largest health insurer, Independence Blue Cross, will begin a pay-for-performance model that pays physicians more if their patient's health gets better. The program rewards primary care doctors who provide higher quality care at less cost. "A key element of the program rewards doctors who meet standards as so-called patient-centered medical homes.

3 May 2010

NPR examines U.N.'s effort to stop sexual violence in war

"Hundreds of thousands of women in conflict zones around the world have been or are now becoming victims of rape and sexual torture," reflects Michel Martin, host of NPR's "Tell Me More," as she interviewed Margot Wallstrom, U.N. special representative on sexual violence in conflict, in a show examining the U.N.'s "ramped up" campaign to end systemic sexual violence in war.

3 May 2010

Federal deadline on state health insurance 'pools' sparks confrontations

States must tell the federal government whether they will help run new insurance pools for high-risk patients by Friday, which could set up political confrontations, The New York Times reports.

3 May 2010

Children living in kinship care experience a multitude of health issues

It is well-known that children in foster care are at increased risk for physical and mental health problems. But what about kids who live with relatives other than their birth parents?

3 May 2010

Modern Healthcare reports on health IT implementation meeting

Modern Healthcare: "Since passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act early last year, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has had its hands full doing what its name implies—stage managing a massive national health IT promotional production.

3 May 2010

Boston hospital program prepares doctors for emergency medical situations

WBUR/NPR reports on a hospital program that replicates the scenario in Haiti to better prepare doctors for emergency medical situations.

3 May 2010

Mass. report on insurers' financial health provides mixed portrait

"A long-awaited state report to be released today will probably add fuel to the debate about surging health costs by portraying a mixed financial picture of Massachusetts health insurers. The state's eight health insurers finished 2008 with a total surplus of $2.5 billion, a more than four-fold increase from 1999 when the study period began, according to a 17-page executive summary of the report from the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy that was obtained by the Globe."

3 May 2010

Foreign Policy examines global food security

One article, Robert Paarlberg, a professor of political science at Wellesley College, who has written a book about food security, argues that "[p]overty - caused by the low income productivity of farmers' labor - is the primary source of hunger in Africa, and the problem is only getting worse." Paarlberg writes about the need for "greater resources" to be put towards "farm technology, irrigation, and rural roads" in order to benefit small farmers in Africa.

3 May 2010

Children's health suffers when families choose between basic necessities and healthcare costs

When the high cost of health care forces families to forgo paying for basic household expenses, such as rent, utilities or food, children's health suffers, according to research to be presented Sunday, May 2 at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

3 May 2010

Schwarzenegger expresses support for health law while Reid uses reform as campaign issue

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Thursday announced his support of the health reform law, even as other Republicans around the United States look for ways to roll back the measure's reach.

3 May 2010

Latinos have higher rates of developing visual impairment than non-Hispanic whites: Researchers

Latinos have higher rates of developing visual impairment, blindness, diabetic eye disease, and cataracts than non-Hispanic whites, researchers found. These are the first estimates of visual impairment and eye disease development in Latinos, the largest and fastest growing minority population in the United States.

3 May 2010