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Interactive health assessment system from RedBrick Health

RedBrick Health, the Health EarningsSM company, today announced the launch of its own next-generation, highly interactive health assessment. Integral to RedBrick’s Health Earnings System, the company’s new health assessment is compact, conversational and graphical, all significant departures from conventional health assessments.

18 Dec 2009

Unigene Laboratories selects UGP281 lead peptide from obesity program for development

Unigene Laboratories, Inc. (http://www.unigene.com) announced today that it has selected a lead peptide compound, designated UGP281, from its obesity program for development.

18 Dec 2009

Deployment of vRad PACS for radiologic case processing completed

Virtual Radiologic Corporation, a leading global provider of teleradiology services and technology solutions, has completed the deployment of vRad® PACS, its proprietary picture communications and archiving system for radiologic case processing.

18 Dec 2009

Full Accreditation in Health Utilization Management awarded to DNA Direct

DNA Direct, a leading provider of guidance and decision support for genomic medicine, announced today that it has been awarded Full Accreditation in Health Utilization Management by URAC, a Washington D.C.-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry.

17 Dec 2009

Union issues report regarding so-called 'cadillac tax'

The Hill: "Growing increasingly anxious at the direction in which healthcare reform is heading, the labor movement is sending yet another signal of friction with the White House. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) released a new report Thursday that counters analysis by one of President Barack Obama's senior aides that the Senate version of the healthcare reform bill would not be tantamount to a tax hike on those making $250,000 or less."

17 Dec 2009

Sen. Nelson rejects abortion compromise

Reuters: "Democratic hopes for passing a broad healthcare overhaul in the U.S. Senate by Christmas took a hit on Thursday when a party holdout, Ben Nelson, rejected a compromise on abortion aimed at winning his vote. ... Democrats have no margin of error -- they control exactly 60 votes and face so far unified Republican opposition.

17 Dec 2009

Also in Global Health news: Hospital births in Guinea-Bissau; drought in E. Africa; drug-resistant malaria; U.S. response to H1N1

IRIN examines the increase in the number of women giving birth in hospital settings rather than delivery by a traditional birth attendant - a behavior that health officials hope will lead to a drop in the country's maternal mortality rate. "According to UNFPA, 38 percent of women gave birth in a hospital in 2009, up from 29 percent in 2003," the news service writes.

17 Dec 2009

USDA joins global alliance to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase food security

The U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA) said on Wednesday it has joined the Global Research Alliance, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase access to food worldwide, Reuters reports.

17 Dec 2009

KHN column: Losing the real health care debate

In his latest column for Kaiser Health News, Douglas Holtz-Eakin analyzes the ongoing health reform debate. "The fractious, divided nature of the Democrats' majority in Congress continues to extend the health care debate - and excite the press, who are enthralled by every "11th hour" compromise.

17 Dec 2009

HHS money targets chronic disease management for seniors

McKnight's Long Term Care News "The Department of Health and Human Services is disbursing $27 million in stimulus package funds to bolster care and prevention of chronic conditions among the elderly through the HHS Administration on Aging (AoA), it said Wednesday.

17 Dec 2009

PEPFAR decisions to be grounded in scientific evidence, Goosby says

U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Eric Goosby "said future programmes to prevent HIV infection would be those supported by the best scientific evidence," reports the Financial Times. Goosby told the Financial Times in an interview: "I will always wrap myself in the science as the justification of decision-making. I will not factor in an ideological rationale."

17 Dec 2009

Report estimates how many would gain coverage under senate health bill

Families USA analyzed Congressional Budget Office data to estimate how many people would gain health insurance coverage if the Senate bill passes. Some local news outlets report on how their state would be affected.

17 Dec 2009

African AIDS vaccine conference addresses future trials in Africa, lower participation rates among women

During the Forum of the African AIDS Vaccine Program (AAVP) in Kampala, Uganda, on Wednesday, Alan Bernstein, the director of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, discussed ongoing efforts to launch an experimental HIV vaccine trial - similar to the recent trial in Thailand - in Africa, the Daily Monitor reports.

17 Dec 2009

Obama says government will go bankrupt without health reforms to rein in costs

President Obama said in a Wednesday ABC News interview that if Congress fails to pass health care reform that reins in costs it will "bankrupt" the federal government.

17 Dec 2009

USAID administrator nominee to meet with Sen. Coburn

"In what's seen as one of the few remaining steps before he could come up for a Senate confirmation vote, USAID chief nominee Rajiv Shah is due to meet with Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)" on Thursday, Politico's Laura Rozen reports on her blog.

17 Dec 2009

Landrieu and Klobuchar announce support for health bill

The (Monroe, La.) News-Star: "Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu said Wednesday she will vote for the Senate's health care reform bill, calling the latest version a 'dramatic improvement' over previous proposals. Her support is critical to passing the massive bill, a priority for Democrats and President Barack Obama. Landrieu, a moderate, was among a small group of senators who met in recent weeks to work out a compromise on major aspects of the legislation" (Berry, 12/17).

17 Dec 2009

Medicaid woes lead to a creative solution in Utah, cuts in Kansas

The Salt Lake Tribune: "After years of fighting the hated 'sick tax,' Utah hospitals are working with legislative leaders to craft a new levy aimed at helping pay for treating Utah's poor." Hospitals and the state legislature have found a way to raise around $50 million in new federal Medicaid funding by taxing hospitals about $23 million more.

17 Dec 2009

Obama signs $447B omnibus spending bill

"President Barack Obama signed a $447 billion omnibus spending bill into law Wednesday, assuring that federal agencies will be able to operate through the remainder of fiscal 2010," Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal reports. The bill provides appropriations for the State Department and several other agencies (Pulizzi, 12/16).

17 Dec 2009

A selection of today's opinions and editorials

My 25 years as a practicing physician have shown me what happens when government attempts to practice medicine: Doctors respond to government coercion instead of patient cues, and patients die prematurely (Sen. Tom Coburn, 12/16).

17 Dec 2009

Senate health reform vote by Christmas in doubt as sides draw lines

Politico: "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's plan to pass the Senate health care reform bill by Christmas looked increasingly in doubt Wednesday, as Republicans launched an offensive to stall the legislation and Democrats had yet to strike a 60-vote compromise.

17 Dec 2009