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Northern Illinois Proton Treatment and Research Center appoints Cherilyn Murer as Chair of its board of directors

The Northern Illinois Proton Treatment and Research Center (NIPTRC) announced today that Cherilyn Murer has been named Chair of its board of directors. Murer, who previously served as vice-chair of NIPTRC is also a Northern Illinois University Trustee and concluded a two year term as Chair of the NIU Board of Trustees on June 30, 2009.

21 Aug 2009

Exhaled nitric oxide needs to be measured in asthma patients

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, the largest health care insurer in the Mid-Atlantic region of the USA, has adopted a policy stating that measurement of exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) is considered medically necessary in the management of asthma patients.

21 Aug 2009

Illegal immigrant dialysis in Las Vegas costly to hospitals, system

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that dialysis care for illegal immigrants at a taxpayer-supported medical center costs $20 million a year and that the immigrants are being referred there from for-profit hospitals.

21 Aug 2009

Comedy commercials against Obama's Death Care to be held in 10 cities

Terry and other advocates will be filming comedy commercials against "Obama's Death Care," including costumes, props and images.

21 Aug 2009

New portable dialysis machine that provides continuous dialysis is under development

Researchers are developing a Wearable Artificial Kidney for dialysis patients, reports an upcoming paper in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN). "Our vision of a technological breakthrough has materialized in the form of a Wearable Artificial Kidney, which provides continuous dialysis 24 hours a day, seven days a week," comments Victor Gura, MD (David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA).

21 Aug 2009

Study reveals that taxing job-based health benefits to affect low-income families more

As the debate over health care reform continues to unfold in town hall meetings and on Capitol Hill, a new study by two Harvard researchers has found that taxing job-based health benefits would heavily penalize insured, working families.

21 Aug 2009

Palliative care experts focus on comfort before death

Palliative care specialists study how to manage a patient's last months to give comfort. One expert says end-of-life consultations are just what Americans need to deal with death.

21 Aug 2009

Cognitive behavioural therapy effective when delivered in online by a therapist

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) seems to be effective when delivered online in real time by a therapist, with benefits maintained over 8 months. This method of delivery could broaden access to CBT in primary care. These are the conclusions of an article in this week's Global Mental Health special edition of The Lancet, written by Dr David Kessler, NIHR National School for Primary Care Research, University of Bristol and colleagues.

21 Aug 2009

Newspapers examine debate over affordable drugs in developing countries

The Los Angeles Times examines how "activists in Washington, and Thailand and other developing countries are accusing the Obama administration of endangering access to affordable drugs to fight AIDS and other epidemic diseases."

21 Aug 2009

Adena Health System implements Medseek's eHealth ecoSystem to improve health care workflow for physicians

MEDSEEK, the leading provider of healthcare enterprise portal connectivity solutions, announced today that Adena Health System is expanding the capabilities of its existing MEDSEEK-powered eHealth ecoSystem to include additional services that will allow it to remain competitive in a rapidly changing healthcare market. The additional eHealth functionality will meet the increasing demands of today’s consumers, further enhance patient satisfaction and solve complex patient referral problems for its community physicians, ultimately improving the delivery and reducing the cost of care.

21 Aug 2009

Coping with burn injuries

More than half a million Americans are treated for burn injuries every year, but many do not have the specific skills necessary to cope with the experience of living with a burn injury after they leave the hospital.

20 Aug 2009

Obama appeals to doubters: Health care plan a 'moral obligation'

Politico reports on the various paths the White House could take regarding strategy for passage of a health care reform bill. "No matter which way they go, the White House and congressional Democrats face long odds, and no guarantee of a bill at the end of the process.

20 Aug 2009

Obama stands by public plan in Conservative radio interview

"President Barack Obama is standing his position that a public option for health insurance coverage should be considered as part of legislation to overhaul the health care system," The Associated Press reports.

20 Aug 2009

Medicaid gap means young homeless go without

Homeless young people without Medicaid coverage often navigate a maze of emergency rooms and clinics to get care they need as advocates try to get them covered under health care reform, The Denver Post reports.

20 Aug 2009

Proposed Medicare cuts will harm seniors' care

A new American Health Care Association (AHCA) analysis of the pending House health reform bill, combined with the impact of a recently-enacted Medicare regulation cutting Medicare-funded nursing home care by $12 billion over ten years, finds seniors in fifteen states requiring nursing and rehabilitative care will face total funding cuts in excess of $1 billion over that same time period. Nationally, the study finds, seniors' Medicare cuts will total $44 billion over ten years, prompting AHCA President and CEO Bruce Yarwood to warn that U.S. seniors' care needs are endangered by the House bill, as are the jobs of more than 50,000 caregivers nationwide.

20 Aug 2009

WHO Director-General, other officials visit Uganda to assess malaria control efforts

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan arrived in Uganda on Wednesday for a three-day working visit to examine the country's progress on the prevention, control and treatment of malaria, the Monitor reports. Ray Chambers, the U.N. special envoy for malaria, and Tadataka Yamada, president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Global Health Program, are traveling with Chan.

20 Aug 2009

WHO says confirmed H1N1 deaths worldwide reach 1,800

According to the latest WHO report out Wednesday, the number of confirmed H1N1 (swine) flu deaths since its emergence in April has reached 1,799 - a jump from 1,462 deaths since the agency's last update, Agence France-Presse/the Australian reports.

20 Aug 2009

NY Inspector General cracks down on Medicaid abuse

New York State Medicaid Inspector General wants increased penalties for doctors, pharmacists, nursing homes and others that bill the state for services to people who have died.

20 Aug 2009

NYT Magazine interviews Clinton on global women's issues

The New York Times Magazine, as part of a special issue that focuses on women worldwide, published an interview with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton who "staked her claim as an advocate for global women's issues in 1995, when, as first lady, she gave an impassioned speech at a United Nations conference in Beijing." The interview was conducted ahead of her 11-day, seven country tour of Africa.

20 Aug 2009

Consumer groups urge transparency in health care reform for pharmacy benefit managers

Three top consumer groups are urging Congress to include in health care reform legislation transparency requirements for pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) participating in any new federally sponsored health plans in a public health care exchange. The Consumer Federation of America (CFA), U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), and the National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices (NLARx) have sent a joint letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) supporting the provision, authored by Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and included in the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 (H.R. 3200).

20 Aug 2009