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Study examines world-wide use of HSCT

An examination of the world-wide use of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, which involves transplantation of blood stem cells derived from the bone marrow or blood, finds that there are significant differences in transplant rates between countries and continental regions by indication and donor type, and that HSCT is most frequently used in countries with higher gross national incomes and governmental health care expenditures, according to a study in the April 28 issue of JAMA.

28 Apr 2010

Maryland startup Rhemisphere signs agreement with UMB for right to commercialize Blink system

Maryland startup Rhemisphere, LLC has licensed a unique, "all-in-one" patient monitoring system invented by clinical researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

28 Apr 2010

State Round-up: Federal prosecutors investigate bid rigging at New York hospitals; Montana prepares for health reform implementation; and Florida spares Medicaid from budget cuts

The Wall Street Journal: "Federal prosecutors are investigating allegations that bid rigging and fraud at Mount Sinai Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital resulted in the hospitals awarding contracts worth tens of millions of dollars to outside contractors. Purchasing officials at the hospitals ... are alleged to have gotten more than a million dollars in payments from companies that were then given lucrative contracts to perform work such as re-insulating pipes and removing asbestos, according to documents filed in the Southern District of New York.

28 Apr 2010

Trade negotiations between EU, India could affect access to low-cost generics

The Associated Press examines the ongoing free-trade negotiations between the EU and India - a country that according to PricewaterhouseCoopers currently "makes one-fifth of the world's generics." The negotiations "could make it harder for millions … across the developing world to get lifesaving drugs. The deal is taking shape as India tries to transform itself from a generics powerhouse into a base for drug discovery - a trend that could ultimately do more than any trade agreement to curtail its reign as a pharmacy to the poor."

28 Apr 2010

Canadian government says Canada's G8 maternal, child health plan will not include abortion

Canada on Monday at a meeting of G8 development ministers in Halifax, Canada, said its maternal and child health initiative, which is expected to be a "centerpiece issue" at the G8 summit in late June, will not include funding for abortion, the Associated Press/Washington Post (Gillies, 4/26).

28 Apr 2010

53% of middle-aged Americans favor new health care legislation: Poll

Overall, support for the new health care legislation remains low, but a new poll indicates that middle-aged Americans are much more likely to approve of it.

28 Apr 2010

Master's programs focus on new generation of health care management professionals

Health care management is growing in popularity among business schools, according to a report in the New York Times. "Health care is the target career for 10 percent of students working on a master of business administration degree at Harvard Business School," according to the Times. Many other universities are also highlighting programs that meld health care and management.

28 Apr 2010

FDA issues warning over faulty components in external defibrillators

About 280,000 external defibrillators used worldwide in health care facilities, public places, or in the home may malfunction during attempts to rescue people in sudden cardiac arrest, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned today.

28 Apr 2010

Companies providing home care receive large Medicare reimbursements

An analysis of Medicare payments to home health care companies by The Wall Street Journal indicates that some might be taking advantage of the system. According to the analysis, the industry's largest company, Amedisys Inc., "provided many of its patients just enough therapy visits to trigger the extra $2,200 payment.

28 Apr 2010

Commission on debt will focus on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security

Lawmakers are prepping for a battle over the role of government in entitlements such as Medicare and Medicaid as a the Commission on Fiscal Responsbility and Reform prepares to begin work Tuesday, The Washington Post reports.

28 Apr 2010

Report looks at AIDS funding in developing countries

"A global pullback on commitments to fund and fight AIDS is resulting in restrictions on the number of people being enrolled into treatment programmes, more frequent drug shortages, and reduced national AIDS budgets," according to a report released Monday by the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, BMJ News reports.

28 Apr 2010

News outlets continue malaria coverage

World Malaria Day was Sunday and news organizations continued to cover local events.

28 Apr 2010

Ontario seniors stand against McGuinty government's $750M cuts to front-line healthcare

The Alliance of Seniors/Older Canadians Network, an organization of approximately 20 seniors organizations, representing in excess of 200,000 seniors across Ontario, along with concerned seniors from our communities, have come out today to stand against the McGuinty government's $750M cuts to front-line healthcare.

28 Apr 2010

Moody's report: States will feel pinch of reform's Medicaid, health care expansions

"The Medicaid expansion under health reform is expected to strain state budgets already distressed by the recession, despite delays for new eligibility rules and federal aid, Moody's Investors Service said in a newly released report. States that see the largest gains in Medicaid enrollment under health reform will likely see the greatest financial burden, Moody's said."

28 Apr 2010

Doctors struggle to contact ER patients as departments bear larger patient burden

MSNBC: Doctors in ERs face significant barriers in providing the best care when phone numbers that patients give turn out to be fake or inaccurate. "It's a scenario becoming more common in emergency departments across the country, where doctors from Connecticut to Colorado say they find themselves desperately seeking patients with potentially serious or life-threatening illnesses and injuries.

28 Apr 2010

House lawmaker discusses possible five-year Medicare physician payment fix

Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said the House might introduce legislation that would end the need for a constant Medicare payment fix, at least for five years. "Industry sources said that a five-year extension would not require offsets under recent pay-as-you-go rules. However, they said they were not aware of any legislative proposals.

28 Apr 2010

CNN: Hospital markup on supplies can be big

CNN: "When Dr. Linda Galloway learned she needed surgery to save her vision, she scheduled the procedure immediately with her opthamologist. And what an eye-opener it was - when the hospital bill arrived."

28 Apr 2010

Takeda announces submission of azilsartan medoxomil NDA for hypertension to FDA

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) announced today that Takeda Global Research & Development Center, Inc., U.S., submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for azilsartan medoxomil (development code: TAK-491), an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) under investigation for the treatment of hypertension. Discovered by Takeda, azilsartan medoxomil is designed to lower blood pressure by blocking the action of a vasopressor hormone, angiotensin II.

28 Apr 2010

Experts debate rationing and end-of-life care; Hospice use rises in Colorado

PBS NewsHour reports on end-of-life decisions and rationing by examining a recent debate at the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs. "Arguing for rationing: Ira Byock, a doctor and director of palliative medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics and a professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

28 Apr 2010

Gangs increasingly involved in Medicare fraud

ABC News: "Gangs across the country are arming themselves with powerful weapons to bilk taxpayers out of billions of dollars through Medicare fraud. What used to be a mostly non-violent, white collar crime has turned potentially deadly, and Federal agents who once combed through paperwork are now firing rounds at the shooting range to prepare for extreme dangers.

28 Apr 2010

Health Care News and Research

Study examines world-wide use of HSCT

Maryland startup Rhemisphere signs agreement with UMB for right to commercialize Blink system

State Round-up: Federal prosecutors investigate bid rigging at New York hospitals; Montana prepares for health reform implementation; and Florida spares Medicaid from budget cuts

Trade negotiations between EU, India could affect access to low-cost generics

Canadian government says Canada's G8 maternal, child health plan will not include abortion

53% of middle-aged Americans favor new health care legislation: Poll

Master's programs focus on new generation of health care management professionals

FDA issues warning over faulty components in external defibrillators

Companies providing home care receive large Medicare reimbursements

Commission on debt will focus on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security

Report looks at AIDS funding in developing countries

News outlets continue malaria coverage

Ontario seniors stand against McGuinty government's $750M cuts to front-line healthcare

Moody's report: States will feel pinch of reform's Medicaid, health care expansions

Doctors struggle to contact ER patients as departments bear larger patient burden

House lawmaker discusses possible five-year Medicare physician payment fix

CNN: Hospital markup on supplies can be big

Takeda announces submission of azilsartan medoxomil NDA for hypertension to FDA

Experts debate rationing and end-of-life care; Hospice use rises in Colorado

Gangs increasingly involved in Medicare fraud

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

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