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Experts release policy recommendations to promote better medication adherence and health outcomes

A diverse group of health care and consumer organizations released five policy recommendations this week that are designed to promote better medication adherence and improved health outcomes for patients.

28 Oct 2009

HHS funds projects to combat health care-associated infections

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced the award of $17 million to fund projects to fight costly and dangerous health care-associated infections, or HAIs.

28 Oct 2009

HMSMobile Swine Flu Center application to provide information on H1N1 virus introduced

The HMSMobile Swine Flu Center, a new iPhone application developed by the Harvard Health Publications Division of Harvard Medical School, is now available for purchase in the iTunes store.

28 Oct 2009

Lieberman, other lawmakers express opposition to Reid's public plan

Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., says he'll filibuster Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's health care reform bill. Politico reports: "Lieberman, who caucuses with Democrats and is positioning himself as a fiscal hawk on the issue, said he opposes any health care bill that includes a government-run insurance program — even if it includes a provision allowing states to opt out of the program, as Reid has said the Senate bill will."

28 Oct 2009

House Republicans take aim at AARP

The Wall Street Journal: "Republicans in Congress are taking aim at AARP's financial ties to the health-insurance industry just as the advocacy group is taking a more prominent role supporting an overhaul of the nation's health-care system."

28 Oct 2009

The stakes are high for the top Medicare job

Reuters reports that health care overhaul currently being considered in Congress "elevates the job of running the government's $700-billion Medicare agency to new heights and all but guarantees a political battle over filling the post."

28 Oct 2009

Also in Global Health news: U.S. grant to Uganda; reproductive health in Philippines; counterfeit drugs

The U.S. Embassy in Uganda announced a grant of $246 million in new aid for improving the Uganda's agricultural and health systems, Reuters reports. "More than $170 million will be spent on health and education to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic, fight tuberculosis, eradicate malaria, improve maternal and child health and increase access to family planning and reproductive health services," the news service writes (Biryabarema, 10/27).

27 Oct 2009

Medicare payment issues worry doctors

The issue of Medicare payment cuts to doctors still looms, causing some physicians to shun Medicare patients and others to push for greater reform. Many worry that doctors may boycott the program if the planned 21 percent cut in payment rates goes through in 2010 while others complain about low Medicare reimbursement rates for certain procedures and geographic areas.

27 Oct 2009

Global health promotion conference begins in Kenya, maternal mortality addressed

At the 7th Global Conference on Health Promotion, which kicked off in Kenya on Monday, participants discussed reducing maternal mortality and the related Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the Daily Nation reports. According to the newspaper, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki "said that globally, the number of maternal deaths had … risen to 536,000 per year, translating to one death per minute."

27 Oct 2009

More than 150 health ministers meet in Ethiopia to discuss maternal mortality

At a U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, "[h]ealth ministers from around the world have agreed that swift action must be taken to reduce the number of women dying during pregnancy and childbirth," the BBC reports. While there appeared to be some agreement "that family planning was the most cost-effective way of [tackling] the problem ... no unanimous declaration was adopted at the Addis Ababa talks," according to the news service (10/26).

27 Oct 2009

UnitedHealth Group invests $5M in Mendocino Coast District Hospital’s bonds

Mendocino Coast District Hospital received $5 million in capital from UnitedHealth Group to help the organization deliver quality health care services to Fort Bragg-area residents and rural communities in Mendocino County.

27 Oct 2009

URI scientists discover a new and effective approach for treating cancerous tumor

Two University of Rhode Island associate professors, biophysicists Yana Reshetnyak and Oleg Andreev, have discovered a technology that can detect cancerous tumors and deliver treatment to them without the harming the healthy cells surrounding them, thereby significantly reducing side effects.

27 Oct 2009

Not enough med students choosing primary care, experts say

"It's one small piece of health care reform, but it's a big deal for medical schools and doctor's offices: forgiving the student loans of doctors who choose primary care," the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

27 Oct 2009

New York Times examines journal editorial on neglected tropical diseases in Islamic nations

The New York Times examines the conclusions drawn in a recent PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases editorial that the Islamic world is suffering from a "devastating burden" of neglected tropical diseases.

27 Oct 2009

Americans overwhelmingly support meaningful medical liability reform: HCLA poll

Americans overwhelmingly support meaningful medical liability reform and agree that changes to our nation's broken medical liability system should be included in health care reform legislation passed by the Congress, according to a new poll released today by the Health Coalition on Liability and Access.

27 Oct 2009

Developing countries paying more for food, WFP executive director says

Despite drops in commodity market prices due to the global economic downturn, "[m]ost of the developing world is paying more for food," and the price of food staples in developing countries has risen, Josette Sheeran, executive director of the U.N. World Food Program (WFP), said Monday, the Associated Press reports.

27 Oct 2009

HIV infections, deaths declining in Caribbean, senior official says

Ahead of the regional Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP) meeting, a senior official announced that the number of new HIV infections in the region has fallen since last year, Agence France-Presse reports.

27 Oct 2009

Reid's end game? Senate bill will have public option with 'opt out'

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced yesterday that he will include a public insurance plan in the final Senate health overhaul legislation.

27 Oct 2009

House Democrats continue courting, counting votes for 'robust' public option

The New York Times reports that Speaker Nancy Pelosi is scheduled to discuss the public option and health costs with other Democratic leaders. "Ms. Pelosi has been working hard to build support for the most liberal version of a government-run insurance plan, the so-called robust public option, which would generally tie payments to doctors, hospitals and other health care providers to Medicare rates. But so far Ms. Pelosi has been coming up short."

27 Oct 2009

Gateses to appeal for ongoing U.S. funding of global health

Bill and Melinda Gates are expected to ask Washington officials on Tuesday to "continue funding global health initiatives despite the recession and to commit to nearly halve the number of child deaths worldwide by 2025," the Washington Post reports.

27 Oct 2009