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Louisiana's Charity Hospitals need $35 million to continue services at current levels

Louisiana's Charity Hospitals will have to begin cutting services this summer unless the state Legislature provides them with an additional $35 million, Louisiana State University officials told the state Senate Finance Committee on Monday, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

8 Jun 2008

House panel hearing focuses on health IT privacy, cost concerns

Lawmakers, patient-privacy and health care advocates, and information technology experts on Tuesday "debated ... how Congress can strike a balance between accelerating the adoption of a nationwide system of electronic medical records while protecting patient privacy," CongressDaily reports (Noyes, CongressDaily, 6/4).

8 Jun 2008

South Los Angeles residents face difficulties receiving medical care for variety of reasons

A shortage of primary care physicians and low Medi-Cal reimbursement rates have made South Los Angeles "one of the most difficult places in the nation to both receive and give medical care," the New York Times reports.

8 Jun 2008

Uganda MP calls for increased antiretroviral access at rural health clinics

Uganda's Ministry of Health and other stakeholders should provide rural health clinics with antiretroviral drugs to prevent HIV-positive people from having to travel long distances to obtain the treatment, Member of Parliament Betty Aol Ocan said recently, the New Vision/AllAfrica.com reports

8 Jun 2008

Indian Government to establish small antiretroviral clinics to provide treatment to more people from rural areas

The Indian government plans to establish "link centers," or small antiretroviral clinics, in rural areas to address the challenges associated with accessing the drugs in isolated areas, Reuters reports. According to Reuters, long distances between clinics are hindering the country's efforts to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS, particularly in rural areas.

8 Jun 2008

Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report feature highlights recent blog entries

While mainstream news coverage is still a primary source of information for the latest in policy debates and the health care marketplace, online blogs have become a significant part of the media landscape, often presenting new perspectives on policy issues and drawing attention to under-reported topics.

8 Jun 2008

UNISON condemns proposed cuts to care home inspections

UNISON has warned that changes to the inspection regime for care homes will put the lives of elderly residents at risk.

8 Jun 2008

New NHS guidelines on recreational drug use in nightclubs

New guidelines have been written which will assist nightclub staff in deciding whether to call ambulances for unwell clubbers. At present, there is a worry that inappropriate management has lead to clubbers only being referred to hospital after significant problems have occurred - leading to increased risk of injury and death.

5 Jun 2008

New perspective on coronary disease thanks to ultrasound

Compared to other techniques, Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) is much better at monitoring the increase or decrease of atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries. Can the method even be used to predict the odds of a heart attack or other cardiovascular event? Studies indicate this may be the case, states Professor Clemens von Birgelen in his inaugural address at the University of Twente.

5 Jun 2008

Tumour turns out to be an old towel!

Surgeons treating a Japanese patient for a suspected tumour had both good and bad news for him.

5 Jun 2008

Survey shows Americans regard reducing the cost of prescription drugs as highest health care priority

In a national survey released today by the Alliance of Minority Medical Associations (AMMA), Americans noted that their highest health care priority is reducing the cost of prescription drugs. Furthermore, survey respondents shared overwhelming support for creating an approval pathway for generic, or follow-on biotechnology therapies, with 86% of likely voters stating their desire for such a system.

4 Jun 2008

Prostate Cancer Foundation 'beefs up' cancer research

The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) has committed more than $19 million in new research funding for scientific investigations focused on discovering new treatments for recurrent prostate cancer. A total of eight programs representing 18 leading research institutions and 36 researchers were selected as part of the foundation's 2008 Challenge Awards. The funded programs will receive the first of three annual payments, ranging between $500,000 and $1.0 million per program, this week.

4 Jun 2008