Health and Human Services News and Research

RSS

U.S. FDA warns of post-surgery codeine deaths in children

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a Drug Safety Communication concerning three children who died and one child who experienced a non-fatal but life-threatening case of respiratory depression after taking the pain reliever codeine following surgery to remove tonsils (tonsillectomy) and/or adenoids (adenoidectomy).

16 Aug 2012

Medicare debate reverberates in House and Senate races

The New York Times reports that with Mitt Romney's selection of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan to be his running mate, the fight to control Congress may face a new twist.

16 Aug 2012

Poor families fear they are forgotten in Medicaid expansion debate

The Associated Press looks at the dilemma for many poor people who had expected to get health coverage under the 2010 federal law.

16 Aug 2012

Combination of Zelboraf and immunotherapy increases tumor responses and survival in MM

Combining the recently approved BRAF inhibitor, Zelboraf with an engineered T cell immunotherapy to treat metastatic melanoma significantly increased tumor responses and survival in an animal model, researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have shown.

16 Aug 2012

New report finds difference in 2009 rural and urban substance abuse treatment admissions

A new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found that rural and urban substance abuse treatment admissions in 2009 differed by nearly every aspect examined.

16 Aug 2012

Obama administration urges states to move forward on health exchanges

Administration officials will "try to encourage reluctant states" to move forward with health exchanges, even as time appears to be running out, Reuters reports. Also in the news, consumer representatives from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners offered state and federal officials suggestions about how they should write regulations to implement the health law's key consumer protections.

15 Aug 2012

Six manufacturers receive FDA approval to produce 2012-2013 flu vaccines

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that it has approved the 2012-2013 influenza (flu) vaccine formulation for all six manufacturers licensed to produce and distribute the vaccines in the United States.

14 Aug 2012

Radiation therapy following lumpectomy may benefit older, early-stage breast cancer patients

For the majority of older, early-stage breast cancer patients, radiation therapy following breast conserving surgery may help prevent the need for a later mastectomy, according to research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

13 Aug 2012

House Republicans seek details on health law implementation spending, Medicare Advantage bonus payments

Members of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee are following the spending trail of Obama administration health programs.

12 Aug 2012

Genentech receives FDA approval for Lucentis to treat diabetic macular edema

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, today announced that Lucentis (ranibizumab injection) was approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME), an eye condition in people with diabetes that causes blurred vision, severe vision loss and sometimes blindness

12 Aug 2012

Highlights: New reports of problems at Parkland Hospital in Dallas; Mammogram rates did not rise under expanded Mass. coverage

Federal safety monitors produced a harsher critique of Parkland Memorial Hospital's reform efforts than recently portrayed by the hospital, finding ongoing dangers to patients from a botched surgery, medication errors and emergency care failures. Those problems, cited in a June compliance report obtained by The Dallas Morning News, were not disclosed in a Parkland summary released to The News two weeks ago.

12 Aug 2012

Lucentis receives FDA approval for treatment of diabetic macular edema

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Lucentis (ranibizumab injection) for the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME), a sight-threatening eye disease that occurs in people with diabetes.

10 Aug 2012

FDA approved drug to treat Ph- acute lymphoblastic leukemia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Marqibo (vincristine sulfate liposome injection) to treat adults with a rare type of leukemia called Philadelphia chromosome negative (Ph-) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). ALL is a rapidly progressing form of blood and bone marrow cancer that is more commonly diagnosed in children than adults.

10 Aug 2012

Longer looks: Waking up to the need for sleep

Among the more than 11,000 dearly departed inhabitants of Southeast Portland's Multnomah Park Cemetery, friends Eric Cordingley and David Anderson have their favorites: a reputed French madam, a young Norwegian institutionalized for being gay, and Louis Napoleon Lepley -- or, as they call him, "Louis the cannibal." Intriguing as their individual stories may be, together they help tell a bigger, darker tale

10 Aug 2012

HHS says billing rule will cut red tape for doctors, save up to $9B

Officials say the interim rule, published Tuesday, will streamline electronic billing for doctors and save time and money.

9 Aug 2012

New HIV test helps researchers determine incidence, whether prevention strategies work

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed a new HIV test, called the Limiting Antigen Avidity Enzyme Immunoassay, that can tell whether a person contracted the virus within the last 141 days, "hugely important information for researchers, who need to know whether fewer people are becoming newly infected with HIV to determine whether a prevention program is working," the Wall Street Journal's "Health Blog" reports.

9 Aug 2012

FDA approves label changes for Stryker Wingspan Stent System

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved changes to the labeling for the Stryker Wingspan Stent System, including the indications for use. These changes, which the FDA outlined in a safety communication also issued today, specify a more limited group of patients who may benefit from the system.

From Stryker 9 Aug 2012

Roundup: Seeking medical malpractice alternatives part of Mass. cost control law; Low-Income Health Program signs up 400k in Calif.

It may not seem like big news, but if you've followed the long-running, stubborn and mostly dug-in debate over reforming medical malpractice in the U.S., you know that when doctors and lawyers issue a joint news release, something is really going on. ... Formally, it's called "Disclosure, Apology and Offer" and it's a key provision of the new state health cost law. Massachusetts doctors and lawyers have agreed to work side by side on this less hostile (and potentially cost-saving) approach to dealing with medical errors and malpractice.

9 Aug 2012

HHS selects Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to take part in GNE Demonstration

The Department of Health and Human Services has selected the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) as one of five hospitals that will take part in a nationwide initiative designed to train more nurses at a higher level.

8 Aug 2012

GAO finds states need more HHS guidance on new Medicaid rules

The study of six states finds they want more help as they look to expand their programs under new rules in the health law.

7 Aug 2012

Health and Human Services News and Research

U.S. FDA warns of post-surgery codeine deaths in children

Medicare debate reverberates in House and Senate races

Poor families fear they are forgotten in Medicaid expansion debate

Combination of Zelboraf and immunotherapy increases tumor responses and survival in MM

New report finds difference in 2009 rural and urban substance abuse treatment admissions

Obama administration urges states to move forward on health exchanges

Six manufacturers receive FDA approval to produce 2012-2013 flu vaccines

Radiation therapy following lumpectomy may benefit older, early-stage breast cancer patients

House Republicans seek details on health law implementation spending, Medicare Advantage bonus payments

Genentech receives FDA approval for Lucentis to treat diabetic macular edema

Highlights: New reports of problems at Parkland Hospital in Dallas; Mammogram rates did not rise under expanded Mass. coverage

Lucentis receives FDA approval for treatment of diabetic macular edema

FDA approved drug to treat Ph- acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Longer looks: Waking up to the need for sleep

HHS says billing rule will cut red tape for doctors, save up to $9B

New HIV test helps researchers determine incidence, whether prevention strategies work

FDA approves label changes for Stryker Wingspan Stent System

Roundup: Seeking medical malpractice alternatives part of Mass. cost control law; Low-Income Health Program signs up 400k in Calif.

HHS selects Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to take part in GNE Demonstration

GAO finds states need more HHS guidance on new Medicaid rules

Event guide: 6th Operationalize Expanded Access Programs Summit East eBook

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

Latest News