Health and Human Services News and Research

RSS

Cigna encourages new mothers to get screened for prenatal and postpartum depression

A mother's emotional health is as important as her physical health during pregnancy and after delivery. That's why, during May, Maternal Depression Awareness Month, Cigna (NYSE: CI) is encouraging soon-to-be and new mothers to get screened and understand the symptoms of prenatal and postpartum depression.

8 May 2012

KSW releases Krames On-Demand Version 6.0

Krames StayWell (KSW) has announced the newest release of its award-winning patient education program Krames On-Demand Version 6.0.

8 May 2012

Chesapeake Regional Medical Center rolls out automated disinfection robot

Chesapeake Regional Medical Center rolled out the newest member of its environmental team last week, a five-foot, automated disinfection robot named Tru-D (Total Room Ultraviolet Disinfection). Implementation of the mobile, high-tech disinfection device is part of a $2 million CDC grant awarded to Duke University for the prevention of healthcare-associated infections (HAI's).

7 May 2012

Obama features health care law, contraception efforts in campaign kick-off speech

News outlets report that the president attacked his likely GOP rival, Mitt Romney, while highlighting his own health care record.

7 May 2012

Group says it has Kansas clinic abortion records; Iowa preps for abortion battle in budget

An anti-abortion group says it has patient records of dozens of women and girls who sought treatment at a Kansas abortion clinic last month. In the meantime, Iowa lawmakers prepare to tackle the state's health spending, including whether victims of rape or incest may get abortions through its Medicaid program.

5 May 2012

High profile judge hints that Supreme Court decision to strike health law 'would be a mistake'

The Wall Street Journal reports that Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson said the high court should "think twice" about overturning the law. In other health law news, the White House's under-the-radar effort to build support for the overhaul appears to be working.

5 May 2012

Awake mental replay essential for making informed choices

Awake mental replay of past experiences is essential for making informed choices, suggests a study in rats. Without it, the animals- memory-based decision-making faltered, say scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health. The researchers blocked learning from, and acting on, past experience by selectively suppressing replay - encoded as split-second bursts of neuronal activity in the memory hubs of rats performing a maze task.

4 May 2012

FDA amends requirements for most licensed biological products

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued its final rule on sterility testing, amending the requirements for most licensed biological products.

4 May 2012

First Edition: May 3, 2012

Today's headlines include a report exploring how the Medicare payment system could suffer unintended consequences if the Supreme Court overturns the health law.

3 May 2012

Hospitals struggling to meet electronic records goals

According to the American Hospital Association, more than 80 percent of hospitals have yet to achieve the first stage of electronic health record "meaningful use" and, therefore, can't qualify for federal incentive payments.

3 May 2012

Federal appeals judge reverses Monday ruling, allows Texas to exclude Planned Parenthood from Women's Health Program

A second federal judge in Texas issued an injunction allowing Texas to exclude Planned Parenthood from Texas' Women's Health Program -- for now -- a day after another judge in Texas had ruled the state couldn't bar the group from the health program. The judge who ruled Tuesday has ordered Planned Parenthood to respond by Tuesday afternoon.

3 May 2012

Preterm babies are born at a higher rate in the U.S.

Preterm babies are born at a higher rate in the United States than in 130 other countries of the world, including many poorer nations, according to the just-released report Born Too Soon: The Global Action Report on Preterm Birth.

3 May 2012

FDA permits Percutaneous Surgical Set for minimally invasive laparoscopic abdominal surgery

On April 30, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration today allowed marketing of the first surgical instrument set that can be assembled and disassembled inside the body during surgery.

2 May 2012

At-home caregiving comes with personal, financial costs

News outlets examine the costs of care-giving and a new initiative to help Medicaid enrollees stay at home rather than live in nursing homes.

2 May 2012

NIH study indicates safety of anti-HIV drug tenofovir during pregnancy

Infants born to women who used the anti-HIV drug tenofovir as part of an anti-HIV drug regimen during pregnancy do not weigh less at birth and are not of shorter length than infants born to women who used anti-HIV drug regimens that do not include tenofovir during pregnancy, according to findings from a National Institutes of Health network study.

2 May 2012

High-dose glucocorticoids double risk of bacterial infections in children with JIA

Children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis have higher rates of bacterial infection requiring hospitalization, and use of high-dose steroids significantly increases that risk, according to research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

2 May 2012

High-dose steroids increase infection risk in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) have higher rates of hospitalized bacterial infection than children without JIA according to an observational study appearing in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).

2 May 2012

Pfizer receives FDA approval for Elelyso to treat Type 1 Gaucher disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Elelyso (taliglucerase alfa) for long-term enzyme replacement therapy to treat a form of Gaucher disease, a rare genetic disorder.

2 May 2012

Roundup: Mass. premium increases muted; Iowa cuts payment to charity after fraud probe; Ga. asks EMS providers to save scarce drugs

State regulators on Monday approved third-quarter health insurance rates that will raise premiums an average of just 1.2 percent in the market serving small businesses and individuals, continuing a trend of more modest increases seen over the past three quarters. And several carriers, including Tufts Health Plan of Watertown and Fallon Community Health Plan, based in Worcester, will reduce their rates -- a rarity in Massachusetts health care -- according to data from the state Division of Insurance.

2 May 2012

FDA approves Levaquin for plague

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Levaquin (levofloxacin) to treat patients with plague, a rare and potentially deadly bacterial infection. The agency also approved the drug to reduce the risk of getting plague after exposure to Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes the disease.

30 Apr 2012

Health and Human Services News and Research

Cigna encourages new mothers to get screened for prenatal and postpartum depression

KSW releases Krames On-Demand Version 6.0

Chesapeake Regional Medical Center rolls out automated disinfection robot

Obama features health care law, contraception efforts in campaign kick-off speech

Group says it has Kansas clinic abortion records; Iowa preps for abortion battle in budget

High profile judge hints that Supreme Court decision to strike health law 'would be a mistake'

Awake mental replay essential for making informed choices

FDA amends requirements for most licensed biological products

First Edition: May 3, 2012

Hospitals struggling to meet electronic records goals

Federal appeals judge reverses Monday ruling, allows Texas to exclude Planned Parenthood from Women's Health Program

Preterm babies are born at a higher rate in the U.S.

FDA permits Percutaneous Surgical Set for minimally invasive laparoscopic abdominal surgery

At-home caregiving comes with personal, financial costs

NIH study indicates safety of anti-HIV drug tenofovir during pregnancy

High-dose glucocorticoids double risk of bacterial infections in children with JIA

High-dose steroids increase infection risk in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Pfizer receives FDA approval for Elelyso to treat Type 1 Gaucher disease

Roundup: Mass. premium increases muted; Iowa cuts payment to charity after fraud probe; Ga. asks EMS providers to save scarce drugs

FDA approves Levaquin for plague

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