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Jindal to GOP: Time to say "here's what we're for"

In interviews Tuesday, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said Republicans need to lay out their own plans for health reform, rather than just rejecting Democratic proposals..

1 Oct 2009

Survey: Mothers' opinions not sought in health care reform issues

Moms make the majority of health care decisions for American consumers, but many feel health care policy-makers are ignoring them, according to a new nationwide survey completed this week.

1 Oct 2009

Walgreens celebrates American Pharmacists Month

Walgreens, the nation’s largest drugstore chain, celebrates its pharmacists and their commitment to community as part of October’s American Pharmacists Month. Pharmacy and serving the needs of patients are at the heart of the company. From initiating the usage of child-resistant prescription containers in 1968 to providing seasonal flu shots as part of a nationwide flu prevention effort, Walgreens and its pharmacists are dedicated to the communities and patients they serve.

1 Oct 2009

New report: Without reform, state health costs could skyrocket

Even as state government officials worry that a health overhaul will compel them to spend more on Medicaid, a new report finds that states face rapid cost increases if the health care system is not reformed.

1 Oct 2009

Over 4M people living in low- and middle-income countries have access to ART, U.N. report says

More than 4 million people living with HIV in low- and middle-income countries had access to life-saving antiretroviral therapy (ART) by the end of 2008, according to a report released Wednesday by the WHO, UNICEF and UNAIDS, the Associated Press reports.

1 Oct 2009

House leaders work to bring health bill below $900 billion

Speaker Nancy Pelosi says House Democrats have a plan to get the cost of their health bill below $900 billion over 10 years, the amount requested by President Barack Obama.

1 Oct 2009

Allscripts chosen as West Penn Allegheny's clinical IT solutions provider

Allscripts announced today a strategic agreement with West Penn Allegheny Health System (WPAHS) naming Allscripts as West Penn Allegheny's preferred provider of clinical IT solutions across its network of hospitals and owned physician practices.

1 Oct 2009

Obama's turn to retake lead on health reform nears

President Obama's turn to step to the lead regarding the shape of health reform legislation is quickly approaching.

1 Oct 2009

President and Congress delve into age rating

The president and Congress are delving into issues of age rating, which most acutely affects people in their fifties and early sixties before they qualify for Medicare.

1 Oct 2009

National E-Health Network remains industry challenge

As doctors and hospitals begin to transition to electronic medical records, one industry obstacle remains: ensuring that patients' records can smoothly follow them from one provider to another, the Associated Press reports. Though new stimulus funding for electronic records requires records to be "interoperable," or shareable, "the debate over interoperability among health care providers, which has been going on for years, could take well beyond the 2014 timeframe to be solved, industry experts say."

1 Oct 2009

Reports: Climate change effects could increase hunger in developing countries by 2050

By 2050, climate change could lead to decreased outputs of corn, rice and wheat across the developing world resulting in price increases and hunger, according to an International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) study, Bloomberg reports (Ruitenberg, 9/30).

1 Oct 2009

Injectible H1N1 vaccine ships ahead of schedule in U.S.

The first H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine shots available in the U.S. were shipped ahead of schedule after the pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis finished production nearly two weeks early, the chief executive of the company said Tuesday, the New York Times reports.

1 Oct 2009

Participants seek depression treatment post initial screening, according to NDSD study

Screening for Mental Health, Inc., the leading nonprofit provider of online and in-person mental health screening programs, today released results from a follow-up study of participants in the 2008 National Depression Screening Day® (NDSD) online program.

1 Oct 2009

Finance panel continues march to the floor, considers a number of health bill amendments

At the end of a long day of amendments to the Finance Committee's health bill, Sen. Chuck Grassley won approval of a provision to raise rural doctor Medicare reimbursement rates. Meanwhile, other senators hope to make adjustments in the bill.

1 Oct 2009

Health care TV ads top $100 million

"Medical providers, businesses and other groups battling over a health care overhaul have spent more than $100 million this year on television advertising — an enormous sum that highlights the stakes involved," according to the Campaign Media Analysis Group, The Associated Press/The Boston Globe reports.

1 Oct 2009

Also in global health news: Tanzania's development initiatives; disease surveillance in West Africa; water, sanitation in Kenya, Malawi; doctor fights Lassa fever

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Tuesday commended Tanazanian President Jakaya Kikwete on the country's utilization of U.S. aid money and vowed her support for the country's future development projects, during a meeting in Washington, D.C., the Zimbabwean reports. "Pelosi hailed President Kikwete and his government for the commitment demonstrated by the campaigns against HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB and implementation of MCC programmes," the newspaper writes (Kulekana, 9/30).

1 Oct 2009

PSA test vital for assessing prostate cancer

When it comes to the prostate cancer, the disease known as the "silent killer" because it often exhibits no symptoms, to be forewarned is to be forearmed. It is the second leading cancer killer in men, just behind lung cancer. Every year, more than 218,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the United States, claiming about 28,000 lives.

1 Oct 2009

Federal employees can expect a big increase in their health care costs

Federal employees can expect big increases in their health-care costs in 2010, according to an announcement Tuesday. The Washington Post reports: "Employees enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program will pay an average 8.8 percent more in health-care costs, according to figures released by the Office of Personnel Management.

1 Oct 2009

BMJ examines new strategy for universal healthcare in Asia Pacific

A BMJ News article examines a new strategy, which was released at the 60th session of WHO's regional committee for the Western Pacific, calling for countries in the Asia Pacific region to "strive for universal access to health care."

1 Oct 2009

Less than half of men and women in Ontario with depression visit doctor for treatment

Less than half of men and women in Ontario who may be suffering from depression see a doctor to treat their potentially debilitating condition, according to a new women's health study by researchers at St. Michael's Hospital and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES).

1 Oct 2009