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Taxes, Medicare cuts and insurance provisions in reform bills spark worry

The Washington Post reports on seniors "remaining wary:" "Proposals to squeeze more than $500 billion out of the growth of Medicare over the next decade have fueled fears that his effort to expand coverage to millions of younger, uninsured Americans will damage elder care. … From the raw numbers, it appears seniors are the net losers under bills approved by three House committees last week.

10 Aug 2009

MRSA may follow hospital patients home

Infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) appears relatively common among patients discharged from the hospital into home health care, according to a report in the August 10/24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. In addition, about one-fifth of infected patients may transmit the organism to other people in their households.

10 Aug 2009

Fainting may point to more serious, underlying cardiovascular condition

For those who suffer from fainting spells, the mysterious episodes can be quite scary. Far too often, fainting is chalked up to stress or other mental health issues. However, medical experts at Rush University Medical Center say that reoccurring fainting spells, also known as syncope, could be an important symptom that can point to a more serious, underlying cardiovascular condition.

10 Aug 2009

Emphasis on quality reduces deaths in hospitals, report finds

A new report finds that a focus on quality reduces the number of deaths in U.S. hospitals, specifically saving 47,000 lives a year and preventing 92,000 complications.

10 Aug 2009

Debate continues around end-of-life care

Controversy and misinformation about end-of-life care take center stage in the debate on health care reform.

10 Aug 2009

Government versus insurance: Who's the bad guy?

Depending on which ads one watches, the enemy of American health care is either the federal government or insurance companies, The Wall Street Journal reports.

10 Aug 2009

Clinton signs new $10 million agreement on HIV/AIDS with Angola, says U.S. 'stands ready' to work with South Africa on HIV/AIDS

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton signed a new agreement with Angola aimed at controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS, the Associated Press reports. "The Obama administration will more than double funding for Angola to combat the disease, from $7 million to $17 million," the news service writes (Lee, 8/10).

10 Aug 2009

Global Fund awards Zimbabwe $37.9 million to fight diseases

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Friday awarded Zimbabwe $37.9 million to help fight the three diseases, "and in an unusual move handed the money directly to the new unity government," the Associated Press reports.

10 Aug 2009

Experts gather in Bali to adress HIV/AIDS in Asia, the Pacific

The ninth International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) kicked off Monday in Bali, Indonesia, bringing together health experts representing 65 nations to discuss ways to achieve universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment, Agence France-Presse reports (8/9).

10 Aug 2009

Hythiam, Inc. announces Q2 financials

Hythiam, Inc. (NASDAQ:HYTM) today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2009, which include the consolidated results from Comprehensive Care Corporation (CompCare) through January 20, 2009, the disposition date. As a result of the January 20, 2009 sale, the Company’s results treat CompCare as a Discontinued Operation.

10 Aug 2009

Research explains why women report more sleep disruption than men

Even with growing progress toward gender equality in the workplace, women continue to carry the most responsibility for family care, a load that according to a new study could indicate why women report more sleep disruption than men.

10 Aug 2009

At health care town halls, lawmakers try to cope with very opinionated citizens

Town hall meeting fracases continue, as members of Congress 'feel the heat' of very strong opinions on health reform.

10 Aug 2009

New poll exploring reform opinions shows Americans divided in complex ways

Public opinion on Congress' attempt at reforming America's health care system is split in nonpartisan, complex ways on many of the issues, USA Today reports.

10 Aug 2009

Americans divided on government involvement in health insurance

Researchers from Indiana University's Center for Health Policy and Professionalism Research (CHPPR) have found that support for government-sponsored health insurance for individuals under age 65 remains virtually the same regardless of how the plan is described or how involved the government would be.

10 Aug 2009

Separating fact from fiction in health care debate

The battle over health care is sparking claims on both sides, but many of the assertions being made twist the facts and others are outright false, says the editor of a Web site that tracks the claims.

10 Aug 2009

Need to rethink pros and cons of limb-sparing surgery and amputation

Limb-sparing surgery, which has been taking the place of amputation for bone and soft tissue sarcomas of the lower limb in recent years, may not provide much or even any additional benefit to patients according to a new review. The analysis, published in the September 15, 2009 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, indicates that patients and physicians should rethink the pros and cons of limb-sparing surgery and amputation.

10 Aug 2009

Advocate Health Care leads Thomson Reuters' list of top 10 U.S. hospitals

Thomson Reuters today released an unprecedented study identifying the top 10 U.S. health systems based on their hospitals' clinical performance.

10 Aug 2009

New state-by-state reports show how health insurance reform will benefit all Americans

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today released Stable and Secure Health Care for America, a series of new state-by-state reports outlining how health insurance reform will improve health care for all Americans.

10 Aug 2009

Electronic health records cut cardiac deaths by 73 percent

An innovative program that cut cardiac deaths by 73 percent by linking coronary artery disease patients and teams of pharmacists, nurses, primary care doctors, and cardiologists with an electronic health record also kept the patients healthy two years after they left the program by keeping them in touch with their care givers electronically, according to a randomized study by Kaiser Permanente published in The American Journal of Managed Care this month.

9 Aug 2009

Obama: Opposition health claims 'simply not true'

Wasington Post: "President Obama decried Saturday what he called the 'outlandish' claims by critics of his plans for health-care reform as he continued to ratchet up his personal rhetoric in support of the changes he hopes to make. In his weekly Internet and radio address, the president pushed back against claims 'that reform will promote euthanasia, cut Medicaid, or bring about a government takeover of health care. That's simply not true.'" (Shear 8/8).

9 Aug 2009