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Supreme Court strikes down critically needed medical liability reforms: Illinois Hospital Association disappointed

The Illinois Hospital Association is disappointed that the Illinois Supreme Court has struck down critically needed medical liability reforms that were improving health care access throughout the state and restoring predictability to our broken medical liability system.

5 Feb 2010

Safety checklist reduces bloodstream infections in ICUs

The state of Michigan, which used a five-step checklist developed at Johns Hopkins to virtually eliminate bloodstream infections in its hospitals' intensive care units , has been able to keep the number of these common, costly and potentially lethal infections near zero - even three years after first adopting the standardized procedures.

5 Feb 2010

Study finds some vegetative patients show awareness, raising ethical questions

"In a study certain to rekindle debate over life-sustaining care for those with grievous brain injuries, researchers report that five patients thought to be in a persistent vegetative state showed brain activity indicating awareness, intent and, in at least one case, a wish to communicate," The Los Angeles Times reports.

5 Feb 2010

NIH panel convened to increase the use and quality of colorectal cancer screening in the U.S.

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Despite evidence and guidelines supporting the value of screening for this disease, rates of screening for colorectal cancer are consistently lower than those for other types of cancer, particularly breast and cervical.

5 Feb 2010

Deadline for RNAO annual awards is one week away

The deadline to enter the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario's (RNAO) annual Awards for Excellence in Health-Care Reporting is Friday, Feb. 12 at 4:30 p.m.

5 Feb 2010

Substance use disorder treatment for workers without health insurance promotes safe and productive workplaces

An estimated 3 million full-time workers in America without health insurance (16.3 percent of all full-time workers without health care insurance) needed substance use treatment in the past year according to a national survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Levels of need were particularly high among those in this category who were aged 18 to 25 (24.4 percent) and males (19.2 percent).

5 Feb 2010

Nearly 50% of essential services provided for cancer treatment not reimbursed by Medicare

A comprehensive study of the components of the delivery of modern-day cancer care in community oncology practices revealed that Medicare covers only 56% of the actual costs of administering chemotherapy and providing related infusion room services to seniors with cancer. The remaining costs -- for essential services provided such as treatment planning, care coordination, and follow-up care planning -- are not reimbursed by Medicare, causing many oncology practices to struggle to continue to provide care under the Medicare program.

5 Feb 2010

Virginia Tech professor wins grant to formulate mathematical framework for flu prevention

An assistant professor with the Virginia Tech College of Engineering has won a $750,000 federal grant to formulate a mathematical framework that can track the spread of pandemics among populations and malware across wireless computer networks, as well as how a blackout occurring on one major power grid can cause a cascade of additional neighboring networks to fail.

5 Feb 2010

U.S. lawmakers introduce resolution condemning Uganda's anti-gay bill

U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday introduced a congressional resolution condemning an anti-gay bill before Uganda's parliament, "calling it an attack on human rights and an obstacle to battling HIV/AIDS," Agence France-Presse reports.

5 Feb 2010

New report finds low adult vaccination rates in U.S.

A new report, Adult Immunization: Shots to Save Lives, released today by the Trust for America's Health (TFAH), the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) found that more than 30 percent of adults ages 65 and older had not been immunized against pneumonia in 36 states as of 2008.

5 Feb 2010

TGen completes strategic alliance and affiliation agreement with VARI

The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) today announced the completion of a strategic alliance and affiliation agreement with the Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) that will maximize the research capabilities of both non-profit institutes.

5 Feb 2010

U.N. taps Bill Clinton to lead Haiti rebuilding; 200,000 people died in quake, Haitian PM says

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday asked former President Bill Clinton, currently the U.N. special envoy for Haiti, to oversee aid and rebuilding efforts in Haiti, CNN reports (2/3).

5 Feb 2010

Opinions: G8 and maternal, child mortality; rebuilding Haiti

In a National Post opinion piece, Canadian Member of Parliament Keith Martin, "who chaired the drafting committee at the 2009 G8 International Parliamentarians' Conference in Rome, which put together a plan of action to reduce maternal and infant mortality," welcomes the recent announcement by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper that maternal and child mortality will be a focus of the G8 summit this summer.

5 Feb 2010

Anthem Blue Cross introduces DailyMed Pharmacy program for Medi-Cal members

Imagine having to face the daily struggle of taking six or more different medications a day to manage a chronic health condition; add to this the worry of missing or taking a dose incorrectly. For Anthem Blue Cross (Anthem) Medi-Cal members, that daily struggle will now be simplified to help increase medication adherence and reduce medication errors.

5 Feb 2010

Attempt by Idaho lawmakers to opt out of federal health care reform could prove disastrous for the state

An attempt by Idaho lawmakers to opt out of federal health care reform could prove disastrous for the state -- resulting in the loss of over a billion federal dollars for Idaho and thousands of jobs in the state.

5 Feb 2010

San Antonio Methodist Hospital upgrades to Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion system

AMERICAN SHARED HOSPITAL SERVICES, a leading provider of turnkey technology solutions for advanced radiosurgical and radiation therapy services, announced today that it has entered into a contract to supply a Leksell Gamma Knife® PerfexionTM system to Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. This new Perfexion system, the eighth placed by AMS to date, will replace an existing Gamma Knife supplied by AMS and is expected to begin treating patients later this year.

5 Feb 2010

Early stage trial finds malaria vaccine effectively protected young children, study says

An experimental vaccine was found to effectively protect young children from malaria in Mali, Reuters reports. According to the news service, "The vaccine, which uses an immune system booster called an adjuvant from British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline, targets the malaria parasite as it is actively infecting red blood cells and causing fever and illness" (Steenhuysen, 2/3).

5 Feb 2010

ARUP Laboratories adds three downstream cost calculators to its Suite of Utilization Management Services

ARUP Laboratories announced the release of three groundbreaking tools, downstream cost calculators, to its Suite of Utilization Management Services.

5 Feb 2010

LDDI releases biomonitoring report on environmental neurotoxins in health affected community

The Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative (LDDI) today released the first-ever biomonitoring report identifying toxic chemical pollution in people from the learning and developmental disability community.

5 Feb 2010

Landrieu speaks on the Senate floor to defend so-called 'Louisiana purchase'

USA Today's On Politics: Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., took to the Senate floor Thursday "to defend the so-called 'Louisiana purchase.'" Describing the deal as a "'bipartisan effort,'" she said she made no apologies for leading the push to cut a deal "to get Louisiana $300 million in extra Medicaid funds inserted into the health care bill" (Kiely, 2/4).

5 Feb 2010

Health Care News and Research

Supreme Court strikes down critically needed medical liability reforms: Illinois Hospital Association disappointed

Safety checklist reduces bloodstream infections in ICUs

Study finds some vegetative patients show awareness, raising ethical questions

NIH panel convened to increase the use and quality of colorectal cancer screening in the U.S.

Deadline for RNAO annual awards is one week away

Substance use disorder treatment for workers without health insurance promotes safe and productive workplaces

Nearly 50% of essential services provided for cancer treatment not reimbursed by Medicare

Virginia Tech professor wins grant to formulate mathematical framework for flu prevention

U.S. lawmakers introduce resolution condemning Uganda's anti-gay bill

New report finds low adult vaccination rates in U.S.

TGen completes strategic alliance and affiliation agreement with VARI

U.N. taps Bill Clinton to lead Haiti rebuilding; 200,000 people died in quake, Haitian PM says

Opinions: G8 and maternal, child mortality; rebuilding Haiti

Anthem Blue Cross introduces DailyMed Pharmacy program for Medi-Cal members

Attempt by Idaho lawmakers to opt out of federal health care reform could prove disastrous for the state

San Antonio Methodist Hospital upgrades to Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion system

Early stage trial finds malaria vaccine effectively protected young children, study says

ARUP Laboratories adds three downstream cost calculators to its Suite of Utilization Management Services

LDDI releases biomonitoring report on environmental neurotoxins in health affected community

Landrieu speaks on the Senate floor to defend so-called 'Louisiana purchase'

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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