Health and Human Services News and Research

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Study indicates key credentials of practitioners need to be verified regularly

An observational study conducted by Medversant Technologies, LLC, (www.medversant.com), the nation’s exclusive provider of AutoVerifi™ technology (U.S. Patent 7,529,682) that continuously monitors Web-based credentials verification solutions for hospitals, health plans, state Medicaid programs, and other healthcare settings, determined that of 29,845 healthcare practitioners with professed current medical licensure, 1.9 percent were practicing without a license and 18.7 percent were flagged with one or more “adverse findings” – including malpractice, expired license, and credentials falsification.

8 Oct 2009

Health experts recommend schools to use new web-based tools in view of upcoming flu season

The CDC and Department of Health and Human Services have recommended that schools use school to home communication tools to aide parents and students in the event of school closures or student absences due to the upcoming H1N1 (Swine) flu season.

8 Oct 2009

New entitlement is not a viable health care reform, says Concord Coalition

As House and Senate leaders negotiate the final details of their respective health care reforms bills, The Concord Coalition warned today that one provision under consideration, the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act, is structurally unsound and fiscally irresponsible.

8 Oct 2009

Forum created to help transform health care for individuals and families throughout the world

The 2009 National Summit on Personalized Health Care: "Fostering Transformative Innovation," marked the formation of the Forum on Personalized Health Care, a collaborative community committed to the development and utilization of transformative innovations in science, technology and health care delivery for the benefit of individuals and families throughout the world.

8 Oct 2009

Sebelius defends policy on insurers' politically oriented letters

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius defends a government memo telling insurers to stop sending letters to seniors about the effects of health reform legislation on Medicare Advantage programs.

8 Oct 2009

HHS awards a five-year $2 million grant to BayCare Behavioral Health

BayCare Behavioral Health and the Homeless Emergency Project have received a five-year grant of $400,000 for each year for a total of $2 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT).

8 Oct 2009

Doctors, hospitals lag on EMR but use props - new and old - to close gap

Electronic medical records could improve how care is delivered and financed, but too few doctors and hospitals use it now, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told attendees at the Cerner Health Conference in Kansas City Tuesday, the Kansas City Star reports.

8 Oct 2009

HMS bags a three-year utilization review contract from University of Massachusetts Medical School

HMS today announced that the University of Massachusetts Medical School on behalf of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EHS) Office of Medicaid has awarded a contract to Permedion, Inc., HMS's wholly owned subsidiary, to provide utilization management of inpatient and outpatient services rendered to members of MassHealth. MassHealth is the Massachusetts Medicaid program.

7 Oct 2009

HHS and PEPFAR approve the 100th HIV/AIDS antiretroviral drug

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today marked today marked the recent approval of the 100th antiretroviral drug in association with the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), aimed at the prevention, treatment, and care of people infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS worldwide.

7 Oct 2009

Autism rates among U.S. children is one in 91, says new report

A new report out yesterday places autism rates among U.S. children at one in 91, with autism now affecting one in 58 boys. These new numbers, from Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, are prompting outrage from parents and autism advocates over inaction from government health agencies in addressing the crisis affecting hundreds of thousands of American families.

7 Oct 2009

Mexican Health Minister to discuss preparations and responses to H1N1 influenza

Jose Angel Cordova Villalobos, Secretary of Health, United States of Mexico, discussed preparations and responses to the H1N1 influenza during a visit to Washington D.C.

7 Oct 2009

Research to explore diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases

The National Institutes of Health announced today a second phase of the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network (RDCRN) including funds for 19 research consortia.

7 Oct 2009

USAID grants over $10.5 million for fight against malaria

The U.S. government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), announced over $10.5 million in grants to seven organizations working in six countries in Africa to extend malaria prevention and control activities in communities most affected by the disease, particularly children under age 5 and pregnant women.

7 Oct 2009

NIDCR announces research and technology grants to support new Facebase Consortium

The integration process just got a lot easier. The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institutes of Health, announced today it has issued the first 11 research and technology grants of its new FaceBase Consortium.

7 Oct 2009

House Democrats question their reform role while Republicans plan meeting with Secretary Sebelius

In the House, members are questioning if their version of the bill even matters, Politico reports. "With the media following every turn of the Senate negotiations, some House Democrats have started to ask themselves whether all of the work crafting a House bill will even make a difference in the end, or whether they'll simply get steamrolled by a White House so eager for a compromise that the president will just use the Senate bill as the template" (O'Connor, 10/6).

7 Oct 2009

Also in Global Health News: U.S. aid to Somalia; Nigerian health workers strike; male circumcision in Swaziland; PEPFAR in Uganda

The U.S. State and Treasury departments together with USAID have reached an agreement that will allow several aid agencies in Somalia to receive humanitarian grants upon meeting several conditions, "unlock[ing] millions of dollars in relief resources that had been on hold due to US anti-terrorism rules," IRIN reports.

7 Oct 2009

PDS Biotechnology's Versamune-based immunotherapy drug demonstrates safety in preclinical studies

PDS Biotechnology Corporation today announced that the company has completed GLP toxicology studies of its lead HPV-cancer product. The studies, which included pharmacokinetic (PK) and adsorption, bio-distribution and excretion (ADE) studies in addition to the evaluation of toxicity, all demonstrated a very safe profile of the drug and PDS Biotech's platform Versamune((TM)) technology.

6 Oct 2009

Former HHS Secretary to be the featured speaker of the health care reform Webinar event

TogetherMD announced today Donna Shalala, President of the University of Miami and former Health and Human Services Secretary from 1993 - 2001, is the featured speaker for a candid discussion on health care reform in the United States. Ms. Shalala is well connected in Washington and with other critical stakeholders around the country. She will provide viewers with a unique view on health care reform in the United States.

6 Oct 2009

Sequella receives ARRA funds to manufacture SQ109 for treating tuberculosis

Sequella, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on commercializing novel antibiotics to treat life-threatening infectious diseases, today announced that it received a $694,000 grant supplement as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.

6 Oct 2009

USDA and FDA unite to develop new food safety rules

USDA's fresh produce chief will join FDA to help develop new food safety rules, as part of a cooperative initiative between FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

6 Oct 2009

Health and Human Services News and Research

Study indicates key credentials of practitioners need to be verified regularly

Health experts recommend schools to use new web-based tools in view of upcoming flu season

New entitlement is not a viable health care reform, says Concord Coalition

Forum created to help transform health care for individuals and families throughout the world

Sebelius defends policy on insurers' politically oriented letters

HHS awards a five-year $2 million grant to BayCare Behavioral Health

Doctors, hospitals lag on EMR but use props - new and old - to close gap

HMS bags a three-year utilization review contract from University of Massachusetts Medical School

HHS and PEPFAR approve the 100th HIV/AIDS antiretroviral drug

Autism rates among U.S. children is one in 91, says new report

Mexican Health Minister to discuss preparations and responses to H1N1 influenza

Research to explore diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases

USAID grants over $10.5 million for fight against malaria

NIDCR announces research and technology grants to support new Facebase Consortium

House Democrats question their reform role while Republicans plan meeting with Secretary Sebelius

Also in Global Health News: U.S. aid to Somalia; Nigerian health workers strike; male circumcision in Swaziland; PEPFAR in Uganda

PDS Biotechnology's Versamune-based immunotherapy drug demonstrates safety in preclinical studies

Former HHS Secretary to be the featured speaker of the health care reform Webinar event

Sequella receives ARRA funds to manufacture SQ109 for treating tuberculosis

USDA and FDA unite to develop new food safety rules

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