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Baylor Sammons Breast Center receives accreditation from NAPBC

Baylor Sammons Breast Center at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas has been recognized by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) for its "firm commitment to offer its patients every significant advantage in their battle against breast disease."

29 Jan 2010

Pelosi says House could pass Senate bill under two-track approach

"Laying out a possible path to approving healthcare legislation, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said Wednesday that the House should pass the Senate's version and then use a process known as 'budget reconciliation' to make the changes some lawmakers are demanding," The Los Angeles Times reports.

29 Jan 2010

WellPoint's profits are up; CEO says premiums would rise under health overhaul

WellPoint's profits are up in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, CEO Angela Braly says premiums would rise under the Democrats' plans to require insurers to cover all Americans.

29 Jan 2010

AHRQ and American College Of Cardiology team up to study risks and benefits of ICDs

A $3.5 million research project that will study the long-term benefits and risks of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) in patients at risk of death from ventricular fibrillation will be supported by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the American College of Cardiology, the two groups announced today.

29 Jan 2010

AccuDial Pharmaceutical introduces eight new OTC medications in Canada

AccuDial® Pharmaceutical, Inc. delivered a power-packed launch with their new family of eight over-the-counter (OTC) medications in Canada. Colorful floor displays enjoyed prominent placement in every Quebec Walmart pharmacy, and were filled with AccuDial's pain and fever, allergy, and cough and cold pediatric medications.

29 Jan 2010

Submissions invited for 2010 SOGC/CFWH Journalism Awards for Excellence in Women's Health Reporting

The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC), in collaboration with the Canadian Foundation for Women's Health (CFWH), is calling for submissions for the 2010 SOGC/CFWH Journalism Awards for Excellence in Women's Health Reporting.

29 Jan 2010

Genzyme implements new annual and long-term incentive plans for senior executives

Genzyme Corporation announced today that it has adopted new annual and long-term incentive plans for senior executives that will be utilized beginning in 2010.

29 Jan 2010

Groups - including Catholic Bishops - press Democrats to finish health reform

CQ Politics: "Proponents of a comprehensive health care overhaul are pressing congressional Democrats to finish the measure ... Leaders of several interest groups said at a news conference Wednesday that the House should clear the Senate-passed health care bill for President Obama's signature" (1/27).

29 Jan 2010

Pelosi discusses plan to move ahead with reform

The Boston Globe: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "told reporters this morning that the House is working on two tracks to pursue health reform. She said she hopes to announce soon a series of smaller health care bills, such as removing the antitrust exemption for insurance companies, that could pass relatively quickly." Pelosi described the current thinking as being that both chambers "would pass a series of agreed-upon changes to the Senate bill under reconciliation, and then the House would pass the Senate bill itself."

29 Jan 2010

One in five nursing homes receive poor quality ratings, analysis finds

USA Today: "One in five of the nation's 15,700 nursing homes have consistently received poor ratings for overall quality, a USA Today analysis of new government data finds. More than a quarter-million patients live in homes given another set of low scores within the past year, according to data released today by Medicare, which first released the star ratings of the nation's nursing homes in late 2008.

29 Jan 2010

State budget news from Kansas, Massachusetts and Idaho

Kansas Health Institute reports that the recession is crippling Kansas' safety-net system. "The Kansas unemployment insurance system is virtually broke at a time when Department of Labor officials say they need about $15 million a week to pay benefits to out-of-work Kansans.

29 Jan 2010

Obama appeals for health reform despite recent setbacks

The New York Times reports that "after spending 2009 emphasizing that a health care overhaul was his top domestic priority, Mr. Obama gave it much less prominence in his [State of the Union] address. He did not mention it until more than half an hour in — a sign of how imperiled the bill has become."

29 Jan 2010

Increased cost sharing may hurt seniors' health care

Cost sharing and increased co-pays, even if it's just a few dollars, can lead seniors to put off visits to the doctor and result in increased hospital admissions and longer hospital stays, according to a new study.

28 Jan 2010

Mcdonnell says Democratic agenda, including health care effort, is too expensive

In his response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said the nation cannot afford the Democratic agenda, including health care, The Associated Press/Wall Street Journal reports.

28 Jan 2010

Rotavirus vaccine could save millions of children in developing countries, studies find

Efforts to vaccinate "infants against rotavirus could save the lives of millions of children in developing nations who would otherwise die from the diarrhea-causing disease, two new studies show," HealthDay/BusinsessWeek reports.

28 Jan 2010

FDA cautions drug makers about potential abuse

The Los Angeles Times reports that the Food and Drug Administration "this week released a draft of voluntary guidelines to assist drug makers in figuring out which compounds should be placed under the Controlled Substances Act. The law regulates the handling, record-keeping and dispensing of drugs deemed to be dangerous or addictive if misused -- in some cases imposing criminal penalties for misuse.

28 Jan 2010

Lawmakers prod White House to release health reform deal documents

A group of Republicans and Rep. Henry Waxman, the California Democrat who chairs the Energy and Commerce committee, are prodding the White House to release documents detailing agreements cut with industry groups in exchange for their support for health reform, The Christian Science Monitor reports. "Those agreements - never released in any detail - set markers for Congress's work on healthcare, which many lawmakers felt bound to respect." Michael Burgess, R-Texas, one of the committee members seeking the documents, speculates, "Was this a payoff to the insurance industry?"

28 Jan 2010

Federal panel awards almost $500 million to La. to replace New Orleans Charity Hospital

Ending one of the longest-running disputes left by Hurricane Katrina, a federal arbitration panel ruled Wednesday that Louisiana would receive $474.8 million — nearly all it had requested — to pay for the replacement of Charity Hospital in New Orleans, which has been closed since the storm.

28 Jan 2010

Haitian President asks for better aid coordination, tents, jobs

Haitian President Rene Preval said the country is in need of sturdy tents and jobs to prevent an ongoing crisis, the Miami Herald reports. At a press conference, Preval said, "Help the people with tents. Create employment so people can buy food in the country. That is what's most important."

28 Jan 2010

Healthscreen Solutions announces fiscal year end 2009 financial results

Healthscreen Solutions Inc., Canada's premier provider of physician practice enhancement services and electronic medical record (EMR) software, today announced its record fiscal year end 2009 financial results.

28 Jan 2010