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Obama's debt commission to consider Medicare cuts, new health care law

President Obama's bipartisan debt commission met Tuesday to discuss ways to reduce the federal deficit. The President said that everything was up for discussion, including provisions of the federal health care law, and entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security.

29 Apr 2010

Boston hospital case study in balancing mission and profits

The Boston Globe: A proposed acquisition of Boston's Catholic hospital system Caritas Christi Health Care by private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management may test the theory that "profitability and religious mission can be integrated." However, another local hospital provides a possible window into that future.

29 Apr 2010

Experts disagree on health law's effects on jobs

"There is profound disagreement about healthcare reform's overall impact on jobs. … While the net effect on jobs remains uncertain, it is clear that certain professions will do better than others." Among the specific job categories likely do well are insurance agents, who "may get a boost since approximately 32 million uninsured Americans will be required to buy health insurance starting in 2014.

28 Apr 2010

After bad publicity, insurer to act early on ending practice of canceling policies of sick patients

WellPoint will put into effect this week a health overhaul provision preventing insurers from canceling policies -- a practice known as rescission -- except in fraud cases, even though the change isn't required until September, the Indianapolis Star reports.

28 Apr 2010

The Prevention Plan program for Nevada PEBP employees and retirees

State of Nevada public employees are taking steps to get healthier and feel better by participating in The Prevention Plan, a U.S. Preventive Medicine program designed to encourage healthy behaviors, detect disease in the earliest stages and manage chronic conditions before they progress.

28 Apr 2010

New study links psychopathy to frontal lobe dysfunction

Psychopaths are known to be characterized by callousness, diminished capacity for remorse, and lack of empathy. However, the exact cause of these personality traits is an area of scientific debate. The results of a new study, reported in the May 2010 issue of Elsevier's Cortex, show striking similarities between the mental impairments observed in psychopaths and those seen in patients with frontal lobe damage.

28 Apr 2010

Awareness of cancer health disparities, burden of current economic crisis to be explored at 3-day forum

Awareness of cancer health disparities, the burden of the current economic crisis on these inequities, and interventions and policy initiatives to improve health disparities will be explored during a three-day forum hosted by the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies.

28 Apr 2010

Health Net provides option to keep adult dependents on their parents' policies

Health Net, Inc. is providing the option of continuing coverage for adult dependents up to age 26 who are currently enrolled on their parents' health care policies.

28 Apr 2010

FDHN announces 2010 AGA Research Scholars

The Foundation for Digestive Health and Nutrition has announced the 2010 American Gastroenterological Association Foundation research scholars. The grants have been awarded to seven outstanding young gastroenterologists who promise to make significant strides in the field of gastrointestinal research.

28 Apr 2010

Study evaluates cost benefits of new interventions for treating, preventing PDN and PHN

Constantly rising U.S. health care costs could be reduced significantly by preventing and treating neuropathic pain conditions associated with diabetes and herpes zoster virus infections, according to research published in The Journal of Pain, the peer review publication of the American Pain Society, www.ampainsoc.org and jpain.org.

28 Apr 2010

GE Healthcare joins TRIL Centre as second industry partner

The TRIL (Technology Research for Independent Living) Centre, Ireland is delighted to announce a new industry partner, GE Healthcare. TRIL is a groundbreaking research initiative, founded in January 2007 by Intel Corporation and the IDA Ireland (Industrial Development Agency), to explore the physical, cognitive and social consequences of ageing and design technologies to help address them. The addition of GE Healthcare as an industry partner will help TRIL to extend and expand its research programme.

28 Apr 2010

Kaiser Permanente approves over 250 grants and donations totaling $7 million

Kaiser Permanente, one of America's leading health care providers and nonprofit health plans, announced today it approved more than 250 grants and donations nationwide totaling approximately $7 million in the first quarter of 2010. The grants focused on expanding access to nutritious food, providing safe spaces for all ages to increase physical activity, increasing opportunities for continuing education, and eliminating health disparities.

28 Apr 2010

Cancer-related expenditures increase faster than any other area of health care: JAMA

From 1999 through 2006 the use of diagnostic imaging for Medicare patients with cancer increased, with use of positron emission tomography increasing the most significantly, according to a study in the April 28 issue of JAMA. Imaging costs for these patients also increased, outpacing the rate of increase in total costs among Medicare beneficiaries with cancer.

28 Apr 2010

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

Health Care News and Research

Obama's debt commission to consider Medicare cuts, new health care law

Boston hospital case study in balancing mission and profits

Experts disagree on health law's effects on jobs

After bad publicity, insurer to act early on ending practice of canceling policies of sick patients

The Prevention Plan program for Nevada PEBP employees and retirees

New study links psychopathy to frontal lobe dysfunction

Awareness of cancer health disparities, burden of current economic crisis to be explored at 3-day forum

Health Net provides option to keep adult dependents on their parents' policies

FDHN announces 2010 AGA Research Scholars

Study evaluates cost benefits of new interventions for treating, preventing PDN and PHN

GE Healthcare joins TRIL Centre as second industry partner

Kaiser Permanente approves over 250 grants and donations totaling $7 million

Cancer-related expenditures increase faster than any other area of health care: JAMA

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

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

How microplastics and bacteria interact to drive antibiotic resistance

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