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CMS proposes increase in Medicare reimbursements for long-term care hospitals

CMS on Thursday proposed a 0.71% increase in standard Medicare reimbursement rates for long-term care hospitals for 2008, CQ HealthBeat reports.

29 Jan 2007

Healthcare Research and Development Institute reaches settlement with two State Attorneys General over alleged anticompetitive practices

The Florida-based Healthcare Research and Development Institute, a consulting group owned by about three dozen hospital executives, has agreed to no longer accept fees from companies that sell medications, medical devices and financial services to not-for-profit hospitals nationwide, according to a settlement reached on Wednesday with the Connecticut and Florida attorneys general, the New York Times reports.

29 Jan 2007

New drug to treat kidney failure during septic shock

Research from Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute and the Austin Hospital has resulted in a drug to treat kidney failure during septic shock, which will be trialled at the Austin Hospital from mid-2007.

29 Jan 2007

HIV/AIDS advocates call on Zimbabwe to address broad health care issues

Although some HIV/AIDS advocates in Zimbabwe are welcoming a recent pledge from the Zimbabwean government to provide increased access to antiretroviral drugs by the end of this year, they also are stressing the need to address a broader crisis in the country's health care system, VOA News reports.

29 Jan 2007

FoxOs shown to be potential new targets for cancer drugs

In an elegant, multiple-gene knockout experiment, a team of Boston scientists has discovered that a trio of molecules, called FoxOs, are fundamentally critical in preventing some cancers, maintaining blood vessel stability, and in keeping blood-forming stem cells healthy.

29 Jan 2007

Antibiotic doses could be reduced by up to 50 times using new approach

Steven Hagens, previously at the University of Vienna, told Chemistry & Industry, the magazine of the SCI, that certain bacteriophages, a type of virus that infects bacteria, can boost the effectiveness of antibiotics gentamicin, gramacidin or tetracycline.

29 Jan 2007

Guyanese Health Ministry to provide $450,000 for HIV/AIDS programs

The Guyanese Ministry of Health on Tuesday announced it will provide $450,000 to 16 nongovernmental organizations to conduct HIV/AIDS programs nationwide, the Stabroek News reports.

28 Jan 2007

Bush promotes health care proposals

Initiatives that encourage U.S. residents to purchase health insurance through the private insurance market are the best way to expand coverage and reduce health care costs, President Bush said Thursday while visiting a Missouri hospital to promote the health care proposals he outlined earlier this week in his State of the Union address, the Washington Post reports

28 Jan 2007

One-fifth of women in India experience menopause by age 41

About one in five women residing in India are likely to experience menopause by the age of 41, according to a study conducted by Bangalore, India-based Institute for Social and Economic Change, London's Times reports.

28 Jan 2007

Uterine artery embolization is as effective as hysterectomy and myomectomy

Uterine artery embolization, a less-invasive treatment for uterine fibroids, is as effective as hysterectomy and myomectomy, according to a study published in the Jan. 25 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, the Washington Post 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

Living near a freeway effects lung development in children

Local exposure to traffic on a freeway (motorway) has serious adverse effects on children's lung development, which could result in unhealthy lung function in later life, according to an Online/Article published by The Lancet.

28 Jan 2007

New prognostic instrument improves prediction of stroke risk after TIA

The existing prognostic scores for early-risk stroke prediction after transient ischaemic attack (TIA have been validated and refined to develop a unified score that is more predictive than previous methods, according to an Article published in this week's issue of The Lancet.

28 Jan 2007

Alteplase for appropriate stroke patients is safe and effective

The thrombolytic drug alteplase, despite recent concerns, is safe and effective in routine clinical use when used within 3 hours of stroke onset, according to an observational study published in this week's issue of The Lancet.

28 Jan 2007

Patients with acute stroke who receive stroke-unit care less likely to die

Patients with acute stroke who receive stroke-unit care are less likely to die or become disabled than patients treated in a conventional hospital ward, according to an observational follow-up study published in this week's issue of The Lancet.

28 Jan 2007

Doctors highlight political damage to Britain's NHS

The message from politicians that Britain cannot afford healthcare - even though it is one of the richest economies in the world - is damaging the NHS.

28 Jan 2007

Disorderly protein brings order to cell division

The secret to the ability of a molecule critical for cell division to throw off the protein yoke that restrains its activity is the yoke itself a disorderly molecule that seems to have a mind of its own, say investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Innsbruck Medical University and Max Planck Institute.

28 Jan 2007