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New York Times examines efforts to stop spread of dengue in Asia

"While emerging diseases like influenza A(H1N1), also known as swine flu, continue to dominate the headlines, experts say dengue is not only thriving in many endemic areas, it is also spreading to countries previously unaffected by the disease," New York Times writes.

3 Sep 2009

New study finds severe injuries vary by sport, gender and type of exposure

High school football and wrestling athletes experienced the highest rate of severe injuries, according to the first study to examine severe injuries - injuries that caused high school athletes to miss more than 21 days of sport participation among a nationally representative sample of high school athletes. Severe injuries accounted for 15 percent of all high school sport-related injuries.

3 Sep 2009

Obama set to reveal specific health reform details in strategy shift

After an August recess that saw Democrats take a beating on their message and calls from lawmakers to provide more leadership, President Obama is likely to change course on his approach to health reform legislation.

3 Sep 2009

Computer models for automatic classification of injury reports

Researchers are developing computer models to comb through thousands of injury reports in large administrative medical datasets or insurance claims data to automatically classify them based on specific words or phrases.

3 Sep 2009

Obama urges Americans to take precautions to protect themselves from H1N1

After a day of meetings with senior White House officials to discuss the U.S. preparations for H1N1 (swine) flu Tuesday, President Obama urged Americans to take the proper precautions to protect themselves from infection, the Associated Press/Boston Herald reports (9/1).

3 Sep 2009

Tort reform and changes to doctor payment could cut health costs

Limiting medical malpractice lawsuits and changing the doctor payment system are being debated as possible ways to make health care more cost-effective.

3 Sep 2009

How to make the most of expiring health coverage

"Job loss or the fear of it has pushed more people to use their employer-sponsored health insurance before they lose it. Major health insurers have seen their medical costs rise in recent quarters, in part because people covered by employer-sponsored plans have rushed to use services before their benefits are cut off."

3 Sep 2009

Global economic downturn increases malnutrition, death rates among African children, U.N. assessment indicates

The global economic downturn is "raising malnutrition and death rates among Africa's children" and restricting their access to health care, according to a U.N. assessment released ahead of a G20 leaders meeting later this month that will focus on ways to minimize the effect of the downturn on the world's poorest people, VOA News reports.

3 Sep 2009

Colorado braces for mental health cuts, Florida nursing homes brace for Medicare cuts, and other developments

Kaiser Health News: "Three years after Massachusetts implemented a state program to provide near universal health care, officials said that a key to their success was that stakeholders from the state's health care sector and the business community had a commitment to implementing the program." Despite successes, one state official said cost containment remains a challenge (Marcy, 9/1).

3 Sep 2009

Individual mandate would spread risk but could prove difficult to enforce

"If health care reform occurs, it is likely to include an individual mandate — a requirement that every American have health insurance," The Kansas City Star reports. "In theory, health coverage would work something like the requirement that drivers buy auto insurance. But everyone knows someone who has been hit by an uninsured, and sometimes even an unlicensed, driver."

3 Sep 2009

Also in global health news: Vietnam PEPFAR funding; remote village health care; HIV in India; UNICEF budget; mapping drug shortages

PEPFAR will continue to fund HIV/AIDS programs in Vietnam, Hoang Thanh Hai, a spokesperson, said on Tuesday at a memorial for 100 people who died as a result of complications from the disease, Bernama reports. "Since 2004, PEPFAR has provided $320 million to help Vietnam provide comprehensive services on taking precautionary measures against the disease and care and treatment of HIV" patients, the news service writes (9/2).

3 Sep 2009

Antibiotic used to treat trachoma reduces child mortality in Ethiopia, study finds

The antibiotic used to treat trachoma, "the world's leading preventable cause of blindness," may also protect children living in Ethiopia from death from of other diseases, according to a recent study, the Associated Press reports.

2 Sep 2009

New tool developed for dementia affected people

The elderly who suffer from dementia aren't able to say when something hurts or is sore. They may demonstrate their pain through behaviours like rocking or striking out, and we often dismiss these actions as symptoms of the dementia instead of pain, which is usually from a different problem. Arthritis, diabetic neuropathy, fractures, muscular contractures, bruises, abdominal pain and mouth ulcers are among the list of common ailments that go undetected.

2 Sep 2009

Adult smoking rate drops to 15.3 percent in Washington

Washington's adult smoking rate has hit a new low for the sixth consecutive year. Results from the state's most recent survey show the smoking rate has dropped to 15.3 percent -- down from 16.5 percent the previous year. Washington has the sixth lowest smoking rate in the nation and remains well below the national rate of 18.4 percent.

2 Sep 2009

Blue dog Democrats still expect health care reform deal

The leader of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrat coalition said Tuesday that she still thinks a health care reform deal can get done with a majority of Blue Dogs supporting it, The New York Times reports.

2 Sep 2009

Baucus-Grassley bipartisan partnership frays under health reform pressure

Kaiser Health News reports on the partnership between Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Ranking Member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and how health reform has affected that dynamic.

2 Sep 2009

Wellpoint chief calls for reform, defends insurers

The top executive of Wellpoint, a major health insurer, called for health reform at a meeting of the Economic Club in Indianapolis Tuesday, WTHR, the local NBC affiliate, reports. "The high and rising cost of health care in America is just not sustainable …" said CEO Angela Braly. Those costs pose "a real threat to the social and fiscal obligations of the government and to the health and prosperity of the American people."

2 Sep 2009

Despite health reform efforts, Milwaukee clinic for low-income patients may close

A clinic in a low-income Milwaukee neighborhood has filled a need for 23 years, but people running it worry that it may not be helped by any changes to the health care system. The New York Times reports on the Milwaukee Immediate Care Center, a small nonprofit clinic, "which keeps hours at night and on weekends, [and] is the only full-time operation in the neighborhood that provides urgent care, luring patients with a sign that reads, 'When You Need a Doctor Today.'"

2 Sep 2009

An already-changing insurance market may face more transformation

The Wall Street Journal: "Insurers are increasingly setting up brick-and-mortar retail stores that peddle individual and sometimes small-group health plans, with companies including Humana Inc., Aetna Inc. and Health Net Inc. so far trying the concept. Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in Pennsylvania and South Carolina say they've had good results from shops, while Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Florida Inc. plans to add five more locations after the success of its existing two."

2 Sep 2009

NCPA urges Congress to prevent Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement cuts

The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) is urging Congressional action in the next 30 days to preserve the access Medicaid patients have to approximately 23,000 community pharmacies.

2 Sep 2009