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North American Menopause Society releases guidelines saying HRT beneficial for younger women

The North American Menopause Society on Thursday released a revised position statement that said the benefits of short-term hormone replacement therapy for treatment of menopausal women likely outweigh the risks for younger women, the Wall Street Journal reports.

28 Jan 2007

Advocates should focus on long-term strategy to fight HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS advocates should focus on developing a long-term strategy for the fight against the pandemic, Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Executive Director Richard Feachem said on Wednesday during a satellite meeting at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Reuters Health reports.

28 Jan 2007

Thailand plans to break antiretroviral patents

Thai Public Health Minister Mongkol Songkhla plans to break patents on an antiretroviral drug and a drug for heart disease by issuing compulsory licenses to produce lower-cost versions, Ministry of Public Health spokesperson Suphan Srithamma announced on Thursday, AFP/Yahoo! News reports.

28 Jan 2007

New program in Vietnam to provide youth with HIV/AIDS education

The Danish International Development Agency in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund and the Voice of Vietnam radio on Wednesday launched a radio program that aims to educate young people in the country about HIV/AIDS, the Vietnam News Brief Service reports.

28 Jan 2007

New York hospitals and clinics would lose $350 million per year under Medicaid rule recently proposed

Under the proposed rule, state Medicaid reimbursements to health care providers operated by local governments could not exceed actual costs.

28 Jan 2007

Washington State Health Committee recommends coverage of undocumented immigrants' children

The Washington state House Health Care and Wellness Committee on Wednesday recommended approval of a bill (HB 1071) that would expand a state health insurance program to include undocumented immigrant children, the Spokane Spokesman-Review reports.

28 Jan 2007

GAVI Alliance brings immunisation rates to record highs in poor countries

New data from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that the GAVI Alliance, a groundbreaking global initiative to increase access to children's vaccines, has brought immunisation rates to record highs in poor countries.

28 Jan 2007

Antiretroviral resistance testing in HIV infected patients improves health and saves costs

In a newly published study Swiss researchers document that antiretroviral resistance testing in HIV infected patients with treatment failure not only leads to better health but also saves costs to society.

25 Jan 2007

Tuberculosis intervention program in Senegal improves patient outcomes

Patients with tuberculosis in the West African country of Senegal who participated in an intervention program that included improved communication with health personnel and community involvement had higher cure and treatment completion rates, according to a study in the January 24/31 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

23 Jan 2007

FDA urged to review policy that bans MSM from donating blood

The American Red Cross and other organizations that collect donated blood are urging FDA to review a policy in effect since the early 1980s that prohibits men who have sex with men -- regardless of sexual activity, safer-sex practices or HIV status -- from donating blood, the San Jose Mercury News reports.

23 Jan 2007

Massachusetts health insurance law could cost more than anticipated

Monthly premiums under the proposed minimum requirements for the new Massachusetts health insurance law would cost an estimated $380 on average for an individual, according to a state panel, the Boston Globe reports.

23 Jan 2007

New York hospitals recommended for closure seek ways to continue operating

Several small private hospitals are seeking ways to reinvent themselves or be removed from a list of closures created by the New York Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century, while other hospitals have filed lawsuits challenging the commission's recommendations, AP/Long Island Newsday reports.

23 Jan 2007

Community should promote preventive care among immigrants

Community groups, not medical providers, "are in the best position to spread health information and push for prevention among immigrants," according to experts, the AP/Washington Times reports.

23 Jan 2007

More med schools, hospitals ban gifts from pharmaceutical companies

An increased number of U.S. medical schools and hospitals have begun to ban meals and other gifts from pharmaceutical companies to physicians, residents and medical students "in response to concerns about whether the pharmaceutical industry's expensive marketing efforts influence which drugs doctors prescribe and whether those costs get passed on to patients.

23 Jan 2007

Medicare, social security obligations could harm future U.S. economy

Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke on Thursday at a Senate Budget Committee hearing said that if "early and meaningful action is not taken" by Congress to address the rising costs of retirement and medical services for baby boomers, "the U.S. economy could be seriously weakened, with future generations bearing much of the cost," the AP/Bergen Record reports.

23 Jan 2007

Overcrowding has not decreased in the last year at seven out of eight U.S. hospitals

According to the survey, 60% of respondents said that overcrowding forces their hospitals to divert ambulances to other facilities.

23 Jan 2007

House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee will make Medicare prescription drug benefit oversight priority in 2007

The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health will examine oversight of the Medicare prescription drug benefit among other priorities for the 110th Congress, House Ways and Means Committee Chair Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and ranking member Jim McCrery (R-La.) wrote in a letter sent last Wednesday to leaders of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the House Administration Committee, CQ HealthBeat reports.

23 Jan 2007

Concerns about State proposals to cover the uninsured

Many U.S. companies have raised concerns that a number of recently announced state health insurance proposals "will drive up their expenses without solving the problem" of the uninsured, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports.

23 Jan 2007

Seniors turn to credit cards to pay medical bills

An increased number of seniors have "turned to credit cards and home equity to pay medical bills" at a time when "more employers are cutting back on retiree medical and pension benefits," USA Today reports.

23 Jan 2007

Health inequalities in Britain

Tackling health inequalities in Britain needs closer co-ordination between all major policy areas including health, education, housing, employment and taxation, according to the authors of a new Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) publication.

23 Jan 2007