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First Edition: June 15, 2010

Susan Jaffe, writing for Kaiser Health News in collaboration with The Washington Post, reports: "For consumers looking for bargains on refrigerators or restaurants, ratings can be helpful. But a score card doesn't work as well for selecting a Medicare private health plan" (Kaiser Health News).

15 Jun 2010

ActiveCare announces availability of new line of services for aging individuals

ActiveCare Inc. today announced the availability of a new line of services that provide aging individuals and their caregivers many conveniences similar to those offered by in-home care or assisted living, only at the touch of a button and at a fraction of the cost.

15 Jun 2010

Retiring health care professionals may strain an overburdened system

The Washington Post: "Since the passage of the health-care law in March, much has been said about the coming swarm of millions of retiring baby boomers and the strain they will put on the nation's health-care system. That's only half the problem. Overlooked in the conversation is a particular group of boomers: doctors and nurses who are itching to call it quits.

15 Jun 2010

Fluorescent cancerous tumors for early detection

Researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique F-d-rale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have established a procedure where cancerous tumors in the bladder become fluorescent and are more easily discoverable under blue light. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the technique- already in practice in Europe - for the American market. Under the name Cysview-, the product is commercialized by Photocure and GE Healthcare as the most efficient detection technique for early stage bladder cancer.

14 Jun 2010

AMA's support for health law sparks infighting

A fissure has developed in the American Medical Association, the powerful physicians' lobby that backed the health reform bill earlier this year, about support for the sweeping measure, according to news reports.

14 Jun 2010

Programs try cash incentives to get forgetful patients to take meds

The New York Times reports on a new approach to getting patients to take their medications consistently: financial incentives. "One-third to one-half of all patients do not take medication as prescribed, and up to one-quarter never fill prescriptions at all, experts say. Such lapses fuel more than $100 billion dollars in health costs annually because those patients often get sicker. Now, a controversial, and seemingly counterintuitive, effort to tackle the problem is gaining ground: paying people money to take medicine or to comply with prescribed treatment."

14 Jun 2010

Agile Therapeutics completes $45 million Series B Preferred Stock financing round

Agile Therapeutics, Inc., a late-stage pharmaceutical company specializing in women's healthcare products, today announced that it completed a $45 million Series B Preferred Stock financing. The financing round was co-led by Investor Growth Capital and Care Capital, with strong participation from ProQuest Investments. Kaiser Permanente Ventures and Novitas Capital also joined the financing round. Investor Growth Capital, Care Capital, and Kaiser Permanente Ventures are new investors to Agile.

14 Jun 2010

Parents are little aware of concussion risks and support school policies to minimize them: Poll

With growing media attention to concussions among athletes young and old, and recent actions of the National Football League to reduce dangers from multiple concussions among its players, the spotlight is now on what schools are doing to protect their student-athletes. Do parents feel that their kids are safe, and do parents agree with school policies?

14 Jun 2010

Nurse with enhanced clinical skills detects same breast abnormalities as surgeon

UK researchers have developed an Initiative that could help hospitals prevent delays to the two-week cancer target, following the reduction in junior doctors' working hours due to the European Working Time Directive. A specially trained nurse practitioner and consultant breast surgeon who examined 126 women referred to a symptomatic breast disease clinic picked up the same breast abnormalities in 92% of cases.

14 Jun 2010

Short period of sick leave before lumbar disk herniation surgery yields better results

Back pain and leg pain may be caused by lumbar disk herniation. It may be necessary to treat the condition by surgery, if it persists. Patients who have a short period of sick leave before the surgery are more satisfied with the result of the procedure than those who are off work sick longer. This is the conclusion of a thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

14 Jun 2010

ACIP's new immunization guidelines for upcoming year

Summer is all about barbeques and lazy days at the pool. It's also a good time to start thinking about preparing for flu season, and the vaccinations you or your child may need for the upcoming year, says Carrie Maffeo, a professor of pharmacy at Butler University, who specializes in immunizations.

14 Jun 2010

New hip exposes conflicts of interests for doctors

A baseball umpire's broken hip has shed light on doctors' conflicts of interest in recommending certain devices over others and the growth, despite efforts to rein it in, of such practices, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.

14 Jun 2010

DRIVE4COPD initiative aims to raise awareness of COPD

In just four months since its launch, DRIVE4COPD has already encouraged more than 100,000 people to be screened to see if they may be at risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The country's newest health initiative that aims to raise awareness of COPD in the hopes that people will talk to their doctor and get diagnosed instead of suffering in silence. Currently, half of the estimated 24 million Americans who may have COPD remain undiagnosed and untreated, and most are not diagnosed until they have lost half their lung function.

11 Jun 2010

First Edition: June 11, 2010

The government is set to begin handing out $25 million in grants Friday aimed at reducing medical malpractice lawsuits, part of a compromise offered by President Barack Obama last year in response to calls for an overhaul of the malpractice system (The Wall Street Journal).

11 Jun 2010

HL survivors do not receive recommended cancer screening tests: Study

A population-based study of 2,071 Hodgkin lymphoma survivors over 15 years has discovered that while many survivors had multiple X-rays and CT scans years after treatment was finished, they often did not receive recommended cancer screening tests.

11 Jun 2010

2010 GAPS sheds light on the painful reality of what life is like for gout patients

The 2010 Gout Attitudes Patient Survey, a new study of Americans with gout, released by Men's Health Network, sheds light on the painful reality of what life is like for the approximately five million Americans who live with this condition. Of those surveyed, 69 percent described the pain of a gout attack as "miserable," yet a quarter of gout patients feel that those without gout perceive them as overreacting to attacks, and 67 percent feel as though others do not take the condition seriously.

11 Jun 2010

HITN launches Mi Salud Primero initiative that responds to health disparities of Latinos living in the U.S.

HITN announces the launch of "Mi Salud Primero" at the 53rd National Puerto Rican Day Parade on Sunday, June 13th, 2010. "Mi Salud Primero" is a comprehensive, multi-year initiative that supports First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign. "Mi Salud Primero" and its 5 Step Challenge, responds to the health disparities of Latinos living in the U.S. and will become a key resource for the community it serves, promoting physical health via nutrition, exercise and preventative care, as well as provide much needed information on healthcare.

11 Jun 2010

N.Y. dermatologist to pay $2.75M to resolve Medicaid, Medicare fraud allegations

A settlement between the United States and Lawrence D. Jaeger, D.O., of Community Medical and Dermatology Center and Advanced Dermatology of New York, has resolved a whistleblower lawsuit that alleged Jaeger submitted false claims to Medicare and the New York Medicaid program.

11 Jun 2010

Caregiver's guide on avoiding life-threatening swallowing problems

That's the message of Drs. Roya Sayadi and Joel Herskowitz. They are a wife-husband team from Natick, Massachusetts, who are spreading the word that swallowing problems are everywhere - and they can be deadly!

10 Jun 2010

DermaGenoma releases CelluliteDX Genetic Test for women

As summer swimsuit season heats up, women around the world will inspect their looks in the mirror. A majority of them will see cellulite - at some point - but a new genetic test may be able to help them avoid cellulite before anyone notices.

10 Jun 2010