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Intensive rehabilitation therapy with robotic aids can help stroke patients regain limb movement

Patients show modest yet meaningful gains in limb movement and an improved outlook on life years after suffering a stroke, a major clinical study has found. The paper, published online this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, provides the best evidence yet that stroke sufferers in a controlled study can regain limb movement long after an injury, through intensive therapy with specially trained personnel and newly created robotic aids.

17 Apr 2010

Conservative target Rep. Betsy Markey on health law: 'I'm proud to have voted for it'

Kaiser Health News staff writer Andrew Villegas reports: "Like other swing-district Democrats, Rep. Betsy Markey has a health care target on her back, and is working to defuse criticism before the November elections.

17 Apr 2010

Funding cuts to Ontario pharmacists would have devastating effect on patients

Funding cuts to Ontario pharmacists would have a devastating effect on patients, particularly those cared for by independent pharmacists, Janet McCutchon, vice-chair of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Pharmacists' Association, told the Economic Club of Canada yesterday.

17 Apr 2010

Pennsylvania awarded $1M in Recovery Act funding for managing chronic disease in older citizens

Governor Edward G. Rendell today announced that $1 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has been awarded to Pennsylvania to prevent and manage chronic disease in older citizens.

17 Apr 2010

Minnesota OMC's $20.9M series 2010 revenue bonds rated 'BBB-' by Fitch

Fitch Ratings assigns a 'BBB-' rating to the following City of Rochester, Minnesota health care facilities revenue bonds: --$20.9 million series 2010 revenue bonds (Olmsted Medical Center Project).

17 Apr 2010

State round-up: Penn. Medicare advantage; N.J. cuts immigrant care; Hospitals face hardships

Independence Blue Cross has lost 30 percent of its Medicare managed-care members in the region this year in the wake of federal government rate cuts as its major competitors saw enrollment gains. The cuts came after the Philadelphia insurer eliminated some product offerings for senior adults and raised rates for others.

17 Apr 2010

West African health experts to meet to address health in region

More than 150 health experts from West Africa will meet in Freetown, Sierra Leone, next week for a multi-day gathering aimed at addressing health issues facing people in the region, AfricaNews reports.

17 Apr 2010

Opinion: After health reform, U.S. should focus on responding to global health needs

"Now that the Obama administration has delivered on health care in the United States, we should think about families around the globe who suffer from malnutrition and lack access to basic maternal and child health-care services, including family planning," Thomas Lovejoy of Population Action International and Jim Harkness, president of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, write in a MinnPost.com opinion piece that examines the health needs of people living in developing countries and ways Congressional leaders can respond.

17 Apr 2010

President's Executive Order supports bedside access to legally designated health care agent

Aging with Dignity President Paul Malley praised President Barack Obama's Executive Order dated April 15, 2010 in which he instructs hospitals participating in Medicare/Medicaid to allow bedside access to the patient's legally designated health care agent.

17 Apr 2010

Obama extends hospital visitation rights, medical decisions, to gays and other non-family members

The Washington Post: "President Obama mandated Thursday that nearly all hospitals extend visitation rights to the partners of gay men and lesbians and respect patients' choices about who may make critical health-care decisions for them. ... The president directed the Department of Health and Human Services to prohibit discrimination in hospital visitation in a memo that was e-mailed to reporters ... while he was at a fundraiser in Miami."

17 Apr 2010

Massachusetts Senate stiffens penalties for assaulting nurses and health care workers

The Massachusetts Senate cast a unanimous vote today to pass legislation which will stiffen the penalties of those who assault nurses and other health care workers, one of a series of measures the state's nurses are proposing to address the growing problem of workplace violence in health care settings. The House of Representatives had passed the bill in March.

17 Apr 2010

Mass. health official quits, rumors say he's Washington bound

"Jon Kingsdale, head of the quasi-state agency that oversees Massachusetts' landmark health law, is stepping down June 4, Governor Deval Patrick said yesterday."

17 Apr 2010

Sen. Rockefeller casts 'a watchful eye' on insurers' accounting practices

Dow Jones Newswires/ NASDAQ: "A report released Thursday by the chairman of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee cautioned against health insurers using 'creative accounting' to meet new requirements for the amount of premium dollars they spend on patient care." The requirement is that insurers spend 80 percent of the premiums they collect on patient care for small group and individual plans, and 85 percent for large group plans (Brin, 4/15).

17 Apr 2010

Health law help for those with preexisting conditions; IRS to enforce individual mandate through refunds

"Starting in July, a special high-risk pool will offer coverage to uninsured people with pre-existing health conditions at a cost similar to what everyone else pays. It's the first test of whether the administration can deliver on Obama's vision within the budget Congress set. But some vulnerable patients are probably going to feel a little cheated."

17 Apr 2010

Health sciences professionals meet to discuss public health care issues

Members of the Health Sciences Association, the health care union that represents health sciences professionals who deliver diagnosis, treatment and recovery in BC's hospitals and communities, is meeting this weekend at its 39th annual convention in Vancouver.

17 Apr 2010

States gear up for implementation, others continue to fight overhaul

Chillicothe Gazette/Gannett: "The spotlight on health care has shifted from the federal government, which wrote the recently passed overhaul legislation, to states, which will be in charge of much of the implementation. States will oversee the expansion of Medicaid, enforce the new insurance reforms and set up and run the new insurance 'exchanges' for small businesses and people who aren't offered coverage through an employer.

17 Apr 2010

Researchers study effectiveness of TeleCare in keeping individuals healthy

Like the bleeps of an alarm clock, TeleCare, a home monitoring device, gives the chronically ill a wake-up call: "It's time to take your vitals."

17 Apr 2010

Federal cancer research is 'at a breaking point,' IOM study finds

Bloomberg: "The government's cancer research network is 'approaching a state of crisis' as waste and inefficiency cause 40 percent of late-stage trials it funds to be abandoned before completion, according to a report released yesterday. The government-funded National Cancer Institute's clinical trials group isn't able to effectively study the benefits of new and current treatments, according to the analysis by the Institute of Medicine.

17 Apr 2010

Coburn casts doubt on health repeal this year; Health groups lobbying on implementation

The Hill reports Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said Friday that "Republicans can only 'nip at' the law until healthcare opponents take back the White House and gain majorities in Congress, or gain veto-proof majorities in both the House and Senate. … Many conservative activists and Republican lawmakers have argued for full repeal right away, but others have said that won't be possible."

17 Apr 2010

COBRA subsidies continued, Medicare cuts delayed

President Barack Obama signed legislation Thursday night extending extra unemployment benefits through May, including subsidies to help the laid-off buy health insurance under so-called COBRA rules, The New York Times reports. "The measure, which would continue added unemployment benefits and other expired federal programs through May, will restore aid to thousands of Americans who had exhausted their benefits or whose eligibility was expiring. "

17 Apr 2010

Health Care News and Research

Intensive rehabilitation therapy with robotic aids can help stroke patients regain limb movement

Conservative target Rep. Betsy Markey on health law: 'I'm proud to have voted for it'

Funding cuts to Ontario pharmacists would have devastating effect on patients

Pennsylvania awarded $1M in Recovery Act funding for managing chronic disease in older citizens

Minnesota OMC's $20.9M series 2010 revenue bonds rated 'BBB-' by Fitch

State round-up: Penn. Medicare advantage; N.J. cuts immigrant care; Hospitals face hardships

West African health experts to meet to address health in region

Opinion: After health reform, U.S. should focus on responding to global health needs

President's Executive Order supports bedside access to legally designated health care agent

Obama extends hospital visitation rights, medical decisions, to gays and other non-family members

Massachusetts Senate stiffens penalties for assaulting nurses and health care workers

Mass. health official quits, rumors say he's Washington bound

Sen. Rockefeller casts 'a watchful eye' on insurers' accounting practices

Health law help for those with preexisting conditions; IRS to enforce individual mandate through refunds

Health sciences professionals meet to discuss public health care issues

States gear up for implementation, others continue to fight overhaul

Researchers study effectiveness of TeleCare in keeping individuals healthy

Federal cancer research is 'at a breaking point,' IOM study finds

Coburn casts doubt on health repeal this year; Health groups lobbying on implementation

COBRA subsidies continued, Medicare cuts delayed

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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