Health and Human Services News and Research

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Oceana Therapeutics receives FDA approval for Solesta injectable gel to treat fecal incontinence

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a sterile, injectable gel to treat fecal incontinence in patients for whom other therapies such as diet change, fiber therapy or anti-motility medications failed.

30 May 2011

Optimer receives FDA approval for Dificid tablets to treat C. difficile-associated diarrhea

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Dificid tablets for the treatment of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea.

30 May 2011

First Medicare Meaningful Use incentive dollars issued to physicians using athenahealth EHR

athenahealth, Inc., the leading provider of cloud-based practice management, electronic health record (EHR), and patient communication services to medical groups, today announced that the first Medicare Meaningful Use incentive payment dollars have been issued to its physician clients using athenaClinicals®, the company's EHR offering.

27 May 2011

Senate Democrats pressure states to maintain funding for Planned Parenthood

Some Democratic senators are asking a top government health official to warn states that if they try to exclude family planning clinics like Planned Parenthood from Medicaid and Title X funding, they'll face penalties from the federal government (5/27).

27 May 2011

States struggle to rein in medical costs

About half of all states are cutting public health care, an area that is already stretched thin by previous cuts in 31 states and a spike in Medicaid enrollment induced by high unemployment. Services for mental health, abused children, the elderly and the underinsured are the primary targets (Hube, 5/27).

27 May 2011

New Web portal makes FDA's enforcement and compliance-related activities more accessible

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that it is disclosing more information about inspections and court actions, and now has a Web portal on its enforcement activities as part of Phase II of the agency's Transparency Initiative. These actions are being taken to make FDA's enforcement and compliance-related activities more accessible, downloadable, and searchable online.

27 May 2011

Roundup: Calif., Iowa hope to streamline mental health care delivery; Wis. battle with public employee unions continues

Over and over yesterday, in two separate Health and Human Services budget subcommittee hearings, officials insisted that eliminating the California Department of Mental Health was not a diminishment of services, but rather a reorganization.

27 May 2011

Report: Only 2% of nation's substance abuse treatment facilities offer counseling services in Asian languages

A new report shows that only 2-percent (291) of the nation's 13,513 substance abuse treatment facilities provide counseling services in various Asian languages. The report also showed that the proportion of facilities offering these services varied by geographic region.

27 May 2011

NHLBI stops AIM-HIGH combination clinical trial in high blood cholesterol

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health has stopped a clinical trial studying a blood lipid treatment 18 months earlier than planned. The trial found that adding high dose, extended-release niacin to statin treatment in people with heart and vascular disease, did not reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, including heart attacks and stroke.

27 May 2011

Disputes over ACO rule, IPAB, MLR, health law continue

Some hot topics -- the IPAB, the medical-loss ratio rule and the health law's impact on employer-sponsored health care -- also claim headlines today. Meanwhile, MinnPost analyzes executive orders - including a controversial one on health care - by former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, now a GOP presidential candidate.

26 May 2011

Texas considers performance-based payments; Calif. docs oppose mammography bill

As crafted, SB 8 gives the Health and Human Services Commission permission to test various performance-based payment programs to increase efficiency and find ways to link payments to improved patient outcomes. Despite a few clarifying amendments, lawmakers' efforts to tack on controversial measures like abortion and end-of-life reporting, Medical Board reform and scope-of-practice expansions were knocked down.

26 May 2011

NIH-funded analysis finds 19% of young adults with high blood pressure

Roughly 19 percent of young adults may have high blood pressure, according to an analysis of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which is supported by the National Institutes of Health.

26 May 2011

FDA warns online retailers for illegal tobacco product marketing

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced it issued 11 warning letters last week to online retailers for illegally marketing tobacco products with misleading or unsubstantiated claims or descriptors indicating that they can be used to reduce harm or the risk of tobacco-related disease.

26 May 2011

MAXIMUS offers eHealth Literacy Services for state and community programs

MAXIMUS, Inc., a leading provider of government services worldwide, announced today that it is now offering eHealth Literacy Services to help state and community programs meet the communication and engagement challenges facing consumers and providers using the new health information technology infrastructure.

25 May 2011

As implementation continues, poll finds public view of law improving

Since its passage in March 2010, President Obama's health care reform package has been controversial. The latest Associated Press poll, however, finds that the percent of Americans who approve of the way Mr. Obama is handling health care has hit a new high.

25 May 2011

State Roundup: Texas overhauls hospital payments

Advocates today asked a single justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to declare the state's exclusion of thousands of legal immigrants from subsidized health coverage unconstitutional.

25 May 2011

Small pox virus destruction pushed back to 2014

The last existing vials of smallpox virus in the U.S. and Russia and due for destruction, have won at least another three years in existence. This is suggesting other countries concur with the U.S. about their value, one leading health official said. The experts and delegates at the annual meeting of the World Health Organization agreed on Tuesday to wait until 2014 to decide on a firm deadline for the final destruction of the lethal virus.

24 May 2011

ECRI Institute PSO highlights patient safety issue involving cardiac monitoring errors in special E-lert

In a recently released Patient Safety E-lert, the ECRI Institute Patient Safety Organization (PSO) highlights a patient safety issue involving cardiac monitoring of incorrect patients. The issue was brought to ECRI Institute PSO's attention in its analysis of reports submitted by participating healthcare providers.

24 May 2011

Officials and re-election campaigns face health law challenges

News outlets explore how the health overhaul has factored into the tenure of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and into specific re-election campaigns.

24 May 2011

NIAID team completes analysis of most proteins produced by elephantiasis parasite worm

A team led by Thomas B. Nutman, M.D., of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, has completed a large-scale analysis of most of the proteins produced by Brugia malayi, one kind of parasitic worm that causes lymphatic filariasis, or elephantiasis.

24 May 2011

Health and Human Services News and Research

Oceana Therapeutics receives FDA approval for Solesta injectable gel to treat fecal incontinence

Optimer receives FDA approval for Dificid tablets to treat C. difficile-associated diarrhea

First Medicare Meaningful Use incentive dollars issued to physicians using athenahealth EHR

Senate Democrats pressure states to maintain funding for Planned Parenthood

States struggle to rein in medical costs

New Web portal makes FDA's enforcement and compliance-related activities more accessible

Roundup: Calif., Iowa hope to streamline mental health care delivery; Wis. battle with public employee unions continues

Report: Only 2% of nation's substance abuse treatment facilities offer counseling services in Asian languages

NHLBI stops AIM-HIGH combination clinical trial in high blood cholesterol

Disputes over ACO rule, IPAB, MLR, health law continue

Texas considers performance-based payments; Calif. docs oppose mammography bill

NIH-funded analysis finds 19% of young adults with high blood pressure

FDA warns online retailers for illegal tobacco product marketing

MAXIMUS offers eHealth Literacy Services for state and community programs

As implementation continues, poll finds public view of law improving

State Roundup: Texas overhauls hospital payments

Small pox virus destruction pushed back to 2014

ECRI Institute PSO highlights patient safety issue involving cardiac monitoring errors in special E-lert

Officials and re-election campaigns face health law challenges

NIAID team completes analysis of most proteins produced by elephantiasis parasite worm

Event guide: 6th Operationalize Expanded Access Programs Summit East eBook

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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