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State highlights: Calif. readies new checks on foster kid psych meds; Kan. employment support for those with mental illness

In a significant step toward curbing the overuse of psychiatric drugs in California's foster care system, doctors will soon be required to get extra authorization to prescribe antipsychotics, a new safeguard to protect some of the state's most overmedicated children. Beginning Oct. 1, a state pharmacist must verify the "medical necessity" of each antipsychotic prescription before the medications can be given to children who are 17 and younger and covered by Medi-Cal, the state's health program for the poor that also includes foster children (De Sa, 9/18).

22 Sep 2014

New UNICEF report points out that 2.8 million babies die each year during first 28 days of life

Child survival rates have increased dramatically since 1990, during which time the absolute number of under-five deaths has been slashed in half from 12.7 million to 6.3 million, according to a report released today by UNICEF.

17 Sep 2014

State Highlights: Calif. prop 45 ad truth check; Medi-Cal autism coverage

Proposition 45 would give California's elected insurance commissioner the authority to reject excessive health insurance rate hikes, a power the commissioner already wields for auto and homeowners insurance rates. The campaign against it -- for which the insurance industry has so far put up $37.3 million -- is now airing a 60-second radio ad narrated by a nurse named Candy Campbell.

16 Sep 2014

State highlights: States want home care worker wage changes delayed; Ga. delays nursing home rate hike

State officials that argued against providing overtime and minimum wage protections to the nation's 2 million home care workers are asking the Department of Labor to push back a Jan. 1 start date for the policy to take effect. State Medicaid officials concerned that their costs will rise are asking for a delay and tweaks to the policy, even though the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalized the rule a year ago.

15 Sep 2014

Health value of Apple's Watch questioned

Health care professionals say there is little evidence the new watch surpasses gadgets already on the market, although more health features may be in store, Reuters reports. Meanwhile, The Associated Press examines tensions between Silicon Valley tech giants and government regulators.

15 Sep 2014

Peer pressure influences adherence to hand hygiene

Nationally, hand hygiene adherence by healthcare workers remains staggeringly low despite its critical importance in infection control.

11 Sep 2014

Senate panel hears testimony from VA inspector general

During a hearing of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, Inspector General Richard J. Griffin said administrators at 13 VA health facilities lied during the investigation of waiting list issues and other improprieties.

11 Sep 2014

Continuing to work during depressive illness may offer employees certain health benefits

The collaborative study between the University Of Melbourne and the Menzies Research Institute at the University of Tasmania is the first to estimate the long-term costs and health outcomes of depression-related absence as compared to individuals who continue to work among employees with depression in Australia.

11 Sep 2014

State highlights: Texas lawmaker proposes '3 strikes' for nursing homes

New Yorker Deadra Malloy was diagnosed with HIV in 1988, but she remained healthy for so long she wasn't completely convinced she was positive.

9 Sep 2014

Little noticed financial gauge getting attention

A quarterly report from the Commerce Department now is watched closely as an indicator of health care spending, The Wall Street Journal reports.

9 Sep 2014

Longer looks: Alzheimer's and a marriage; racism in medicine; abortion restrictions in Texas

The US, which has a mostly private health-care system, manages to spend more on its public health-care system than countries where the health-care system is almost entirely public. America's government spends more, as a percentage of the economy, on public health care than Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan or Australia. And then it spends even more than that on private health care.

5 Sep 2014

Study explores role of self-esteem and social adjustment in children and adolescents

In the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics a Group of Greek investigators is reporting on a study exploring the role of self-esteem and social adjustment in children and adolescents.

4 Sep 2014

Obamacare questions: What about Taxes? Will employer insurance last?

When Congress passed the Affordable Care Act, it required health insurers, hospitals, device makers and pharmaceutical companies to share in the cost because they would get a windfall of new, paying customers.

3 Sep 2014

Blend of three monoclonal antibodies can protect monkeys against Ebola virus, says UTMB researcher

A leading U.S. Ebola researcher from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has gone on record stating that a blend of three monoclonal antibodies can completely protect monkeys against a lethal dose of Ebola virus up to 5 days after infection, at a time when the disease is severe.

30 Aug 2014

Research highlights importance of well-being and good working environment

Contract workers in Norway often face the worst and most unpredictable working conditions. But good management and support from colleagues makes these workers more robust.

28 Aug 2014

Futile medical care crowds out other patients

Every day in intensive care units across the country, patients get aggressive, expensive treatment their caregivers know is not going to save their lives or make them better. California researchers now report this so-called "futile" care has a hidden price: It's crowding out other patients who could otherwise survive, recover and get back to living their lives.

28 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 27, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about Kevin Counihan, the person who take on the challenge of running healthcare.gov.

27 Aug 2014

State highlights: Only 1/3 chose Medicaid plan in Fla.; Calif. Prop 46 money

A selection of health policy stories from Florida, Oregon, California, New York, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota and New Jersey.

25 Aug 2014

Lawsuit challenges employer wellness program

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission brought a lawsuit on behalf of a former employee of Orion Energy Systems, based in Manitowoc, Wis., saying she was punished and then fired for refusing to participate in a company wellness program. Another story looks at how companies are buying or subsidizing fitness-tracking devices to encourage employees to be more fit.

22 Aug 2014

Nurses who are motivated primarily by desire to help others are more likely to burn out on job

Nurses who are motivated primarily by the desire to help others, rather than by enjoyment of the work itself or the lifestyle it makes possible, are more likely to burn out on the job, University of Akron researchers say.

20 Aug 2014

Worker News and Research

State highlights: Calif. readies new checks on foster kid psych meds; Kan. employment support for those with mental illness

New UNICEF report points out that 2.8 million babies die each year during first 28 days of life

State Highlights: Calif. prop 45 ad truth check; Medi-Cal autism coverage

State highlights: States want home care worker wage changes delayed; Ga. delays nursing home rate hike

Health value of Apple's Watch questioned

Peer pressure influences adherence to hand hygiene

Senate panel hears testimony from VA inspector general

Continuing to work during depressive illness may offer employees certain health benefits

State highlights: Texas lawmaker proposes '3 strikes' for nursing homes

Little noticed financial gauge getting attention

Longer looks: Alzheimer's and a marriage; racism in medicine; abortion restrictions in Texas

Study explores role of self-esteem and social adjustment in children and adolescents

Obamacare questions: What about Taxes? Will employer insurance last?

Blend of three monoclonal antibodies can protect monkeys against Ebola virus, says UTMB researcher

Research highlights importance of well-being and good working environment

Futile medical care crowds out other patients

First Edition: August 27, 2014

State highlights: Only 1/3 chose Medicaid plan in Fla.; Calif. Prop 46 money

Lawsuit challenges employer wellness program

Nurses who are motivated primarily by desire to help others are more likely to burn out on job

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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