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Salix Pharmaceuticals announces novel patient and health care provider support program for HE

Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. today announced plans for the Hepatic Encephalopathy Living Program (H.E.L.P.). H.E.L.P. is a first-of-its-kind patient and health care provider support program for the management of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) and will launch on May 24, 2010. The program will provide patients with HE educational materials, co-pay assistance, treatment adherence support and a 24-hour toll-free hotline.

27 Apr 2010

3M first-quarter worldwide sales up 25% to $6.3 billion

3M today reported first-quarter earnings of $1.29 per share on sales of $6.3 billion. Operating income margins were 22.8 percent, up 7 percentage points year-on-year. Sales and per-share earnings increased 24.7 percent and 74.3 percent, respectively, versus the first quarter of 2009.

27 Apr 2010

First Edition: April 27, 2010

Today's headlines focus on the details of health reform that continue to emerge -- including states' reactions to high risk pools and questions about the sweeping expansion of Medicaid.

27 Apr 2010

Universite de Montreal demographer offers prediction of boomer future

Baby boomers are retiring healthy, financially secure and with a desire to travel. According to Universit- de Montr-al demographer Jacques L-gar-, baby boomers will remain among the most self-reliant generations to reach their golden years.

27 Apr 2010

Researchers to commence enrolling participants in National Children's Study

After years of planning, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers are ready to begin enrolling participants in the National Children's Study, which will examine the effects of environmental and genetic factors on child and adult health.

27 Apr 2010

New DaVita Phosphorus Challenge tool for CKD and dialysis patients

DaVita Inc., a leading provider of kidney care services for those diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, today announced the launch of the DaVita Phosphorus Challenge, an online resource designed to serve as a core learning tool for CKD and dialysis patients.

27 Apr 2010

Department of Justice not to challenge Hospital Value Initiative proposal

The Department of Justice announced today that it will not challenge a proposal by the Hospital Value Initiative (HVI) to establish an information exchange program that will provide data on the relative costs and resource efficiency of more than 300 hospitals in California. The department said the proposed information exchange may reduce health care costs by improving competition among hundreds of hospitals in California and facilitating more informed purchasing decisions by group purchasers of health care services.

27 Apr 2010

Laughter increases production of antibodies and activates body's protective cells

Laughter is a highly complex process. Joyous or mirthful laughter is considered a positive stress (eustress) that involves complicated brain activities leading to a positive effect on health. Norman Cousins first suggested the idea that humor and the associated laughter can benefit a person's health in the 1970s. His ground-breaking work, as a layperson diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, documented his use of laughter in treating himself—with medical approval and oversight—into remission.

27 Apr 2010

Health care costs of abused women change from year to year after abuse ends: Study

Victims of domestic violence endure significantly higher health costs than other women for three years after the abuse ends, a new study finds.

27 Apr 2010

WHO experts to examine polio outbreak in Tajikistan

The WHO said it sent six technical experts to assess a small outbreak of polio in Tajikistan, VOA News reports, adding that WHO "says this is the first importation of polio in the European region since Europe was certified as polio-free in 2002."

27 Apr 2010

Wall Street Journal examines changes to polio eradication strategy

The Wall Street Journal examines upcoming changes to the global strategy to eradicate polio with a focus on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's role in fighting the disease. "[O]rganizations behind the polio fight," which include the WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International and the CDC, "plan to announce a major revamp of their strategy to address shortcomings exposed by" the increasing number of polio outbreaks in "countries believed to have stopped the disease." The plan is expected to be announced next week.

27 Apr 2010

AMGA reports success in first two regional meetings on ACOs

The American Medical Group Association announced that the first two meetings in a series of regional meetings focused on accountable care organizations (ACOs) were unqualified successes, drawing healthcare leaders together to network in an intimate setting and to learn from leading medical groups and organized systems of care that are exemplars of the ACO model.

27 Apr 2010

Opinions: G8 summit; World Malaria Day; Family planning; Global Food Security Act

As G8 development leaders gather in Halifax, Nova Scotia, this week to discuss priorities for the upcoming summit, Josette Sheeran, executive director of the WFP, calls for world leaders to focus on the nutritional needs of mothers and children in developing countries in a Toronto Star opinion piece.

27 Apr 2010

News outlets examine World Malaria Day 2010

Ahead of Sunday's World Malaria Day, news outlets examined global efforts to combat the disease and the mood among advocates.

27 Apr 2010

World Bank-IMF report tracks impact of global economic downturn on MDGs

Though the global economic crisis has slowed the pace of efforts to reduce poverty in developing countries, the countries remain "on track" to meet the Millennium Development Goal target to halve extreme poverty by 2015, according to a report released Friday by the World Bank and IMF, Agence France-Presse reports (4/26).

27 Apr 2010

Military trauma transition units breed culture of drug abuse, depression

The New York Times reports on a Warrior Transition Battalion unit in Colorado used by the military to transition injured veterans back into the military or their home lives. "Created in the wake of the scandal in 2007 over serious shortcomings at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Warrior Transition Units were intended to be sheltering way stations where injured soldiers could recuperate and return to duty or gently process out of the Army.

27 Apr 2010

Humana posts first quarter earnings despite health reform 'uncertainty'

Reuters: Humana, a large provider of Medicare plans, projected second-quarter profits ahead of estimates. Reuters reports that pre-market trading reflected gains but shares then fell 2.8 percent in the morning as a result of "uncertainty" stemming from the new health law. "Humana is the second major health insurer to report results since Congress passed an overhaul of the health system.

27 Apr 2010

Medical marijuana dispensaries going corporate

Medical marijuana dispensaries are going corporate as "more and more states allow medical use of the drug." As "California considers outright legalization, marijuana's supporters are pushing hard to burnish the image of pot by franchising dispensaries and building brands; establishing consulting, lobbying and law firms; setting up trade shows and a seminar circuit; and constructing a range of other marijuana-related businesses."

27 Apr 2010

High incidence of MDS among seniors, elderly at increased risk of premature death: Study

Myelodysplastic syndromes - a group of serious blood cancers - are nearly five times more common in seniors than previously thought, according to a new study by researchers from the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center.

27 Apr 2010

New health law will require industry to disclose payments to physicians

Doctors who accept speaking fees, five-star meals and other compensation from pharmaceutical or medical device companies will soon see their names - and the value of the gifts they accept - revealed on the Web, under a new federal law that follows several states in drawing attention to such financial benefits" (Weintraub, 4/26).

27 Apr 2010