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Cedillo vs. Health and Human Services case highlights failure of Vaccine Injury Compensation Program

The Elizabeth Birt Center for Autism Law and Advocacy is deeply disappointed in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's decision to affirm Cedillo v. Secretary of Health and Human Services. EBCALA submitted a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of 23 civil society organizations in January 2010 urging the Court of Appeals to reverse. In affirming the decision, the Court of Appeals failed to do justice by Michelle Cedillo and thousands of other petitioners in the Omnibus Autism Proceeding (OAP).

30 Aug 2010

HHS awards University of Texas $2.7M for new Health Information Technology program

The University of Texas at Austin's new Health Information Technology program has received $2.7 million as a part of the Professional University Resources and Education for Health Information Technology (PURE HIT) consortium project supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology.

27 Aug 2010

Obama administration touts federal efforts to combat health care fraud

The Los Angeles Times: Obama administration officials at a meeting in Los Angeles Thursday touted their efforts to crack down on health care fraud, "saying quickly expanding criminal enterprises are costing taxpayers billions of dollars each year. ... Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said their agencies were jointly targeting fraud in the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs.

27 Aug 2010

Research Roundups: Underinsured children; Hospital progress on electronic records; Federal officlals' work on comparative effectiveness

Underinsurance Among Children In The United States - This study examines the scope of underinsurance, or health insurance that fails to sufficiently meet the needs, of children living in the U.S. Based on information obtained from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health, the authors of the study report, "19.3% — or 14.1 million — of all U.S. children (and 22.7% of children with continuous insurance coverage) were underinsured in 2007, exceeding the number of children without any insurance at all during the year (3.4 million) and the number who had insurance during only part of the year (7.6 million)."

27 Aug 2010

Few US hospitals meet federal guidelines for 'meaningful use' in adoption of EHRs

Transforming the U.S. health care system from paper-based to electronic-based may improve health care quality and reduce costs, but a new study by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) suggests that goal is far off. The adoption of basic or comprehensive electronic health records (EHR) by U.S. hospitals increased modestly from 8.7% in 2008 to 11.9% in 2009, but only 2% of hospitals met the federal "meaningful use" standard needed to qualify for government financial incentives.

27 Aug 2010

Medicare expands coverage for tobacco-related counseling

Previously, Medicare rules allowed the program to cover tobacco-related counseling only for beneficiaries who already suffered from a tobacco-related disease. "Under the new policy, Medicare will cover up to two tobacco-cessation counseling tries each year, including as many as four individual sessions per attempt. ...

27 Aug 2010

KHN column: The new momentum behind electronic medical records

In this Kaiser Health News column, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius writes that in almost every other sector besides health, electronic information exchange is the way we do business.

27 Aug 2010

National Kickoff Classic partners with Close the Gap campaign to raise heart disease risk factor awareness

Boston Scientific today announced that its Close the Gap campaign is partnering with the Kirk Herbstreit National Kickoff Classic to raise awareness of heart disease risk factors for women and minorities.

26 Aug 2010

Momenta Pharmaceuticals provides update on generic Lovenox litigation

Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company specializing in the characterization and engineering of complex drugs, today announced that on August 25, 2010, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia denied sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC's request for a preliminary injunction directing the FDA to suspend and withdraw its approval of the Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) filed by the Company's collaboration partner, Sandoz, for enoxaparin sodium injection USP, a generic version of Lovenox®. The decision is subject to appeal.

26 Aug 2010

First Edition: August 26, 2010

Highlights from today's headlines include the latest political developments surrounding health reform as well as news about California's health insurance premium rates.

26 Aug 2010

Lockheed Martin awarded contracts to accelerate advancement of Nationwide Health Information Network

Lockheed Martin will take steps to accelerate the advancement of digital health records and secure health information exchanges with two new agreements to support the Nationwide Health Information Network. The contracts, which were awarded by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), total $9 million over two years.

26 Aug 2010

Battle for public opinion of health overhaul continues in states

The (Portland) Oregonian: Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius visited Oregon Tuesday, where state officials -- unlike their counterparts in many capitals around the country -- broadly back the health overhaul plan. "Sebelius is reaching out to governors and state officials, whose cooperation is crucial in implementing the federal health reform law passed in March. The law makes states responsible for accomplishing much of the overhaul work."

26 Aug 2010

MAXIMUS launches Meaningful Use Solutions to help states develop, implement EHR incentive programs

MAXIMUS, Inc., a leading provider of government services worldwide, announced today that it has launched its Meaningful Use Solutions to help states develop and implement their Electronic Health Record incentive programs.

25 Aug 2010

VA launches new pilot in Indianapolis to improve delivery of Veterans health information

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced a new pilot in the Indianapolis region that will improve the delivery of Veterans health information. The Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis will partner with the Indiana Health Information Exchange (IHIE), the largest health information exchange organization in the United States, to securely exchange electronic health record (EHR) information using the Nationwide Health Information Network.

25 Aug 2010

Health law continues to be embroiled in politics, though toned down

In a bid to rally support for the health overhaul among doctors, a White House official underscored both sticks and carrots the federal government is offering the health industry, Reuters reports: "Administration officials said the new law will provide doctors with information technology and incentives to improve the care they deliver, but only if they cooperate.

25 Aug 2010

Judge blocks federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research

The Washington Post: "A federal judge on Monday blocked the Obama administration from funding human embryonic stem cell research, ruling that the support violates a federal law barring the use of taxpayer money for experiments that destroy human embryos.

25 Aug 2010

Advanced Life Sciences seeks government funding for development of Restanza antibiotic

Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel drugs in the therapeutic areas of infection, oncology and respiratory diseases, today announced plans to seek additional government funding for development of its novel, once-daily antibiotic, Restanza.

25 Aug 2010

Prenatal exposure to atrazine leads to prostate inflammation in male rats

A new study shows that male rats prenatally exposed to low doses of atrazine, a widely used herbicide, are more likely to develop prostate inflammation and to go through puberty later than non-exposed animals. The research adds to a growing body of literature on atrazine, an herbicide predominantly used to control weeds and grasses in crops such as corn and sugar cane. Atrazine and its byproducts are known to be relatively persistent in the environment, potentially finding their way into water supplies.

25 Aug 2010

NTI’s EHR technology earns additional certification in CCHIT's Preliminary ARRA IFR Stage 1 program

Networking Technology, Inc., the leader in electronic health solutions, today announced that their electronic health record modular technology, RxNT eHr V 7.0 earned additional certification in CCHIT's Preliminary ARRA IFR Stage 1 program.

25 Aug 2010

Virginia Attorney Gen. approves stricter oversight on abortion clinics; Indiana fails to follow up inspection reports on nursing homes

The Washington Post: "Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II has concluded that the state can impose stricter oversight over clinics that perform abortions, a move immediately decried by abortion-rights organizations and others as an attempt to circumvent the General Assembly, which has repeatedly rejected similar measures.

25 Aug 2010

Health and Human Services News and Research

Cedillo vs. Health and Human Services case highlights failure of Vaccine Injury Compensation Program

HHS awards University of Texas $2.7M for new Health Information Technology program

Obama administration touts federal efforts to combat health care fraud

Research Roundups: Underinsured children; Hospital progress on electronic records; Federal officlals' work on comparative effectiveness

Few US hospitals meet federal guidelines for 'meaningful use' in adoption of EHRs

Medicare expands coverage for tobacco-related counseling

KHN column: The new momentum behind electronic medical records

National Kickoff Classic partners with Close the Gap campaign to raise heart disease risk factor awareness

Momenta Pharmaceuticals provides update on generic Lovenox litigation

First Edition: August 26, 2010

Lockheed Martin awarded contracts to accelerate advancement of Nationwide Health Information Network

Battle for public opinion of health overhaul continues in states

MAXIMUS launches Meaningful Use Solutions to help states develop, implement EHR incentive programs

VA launches new pilot in Indianapolis to improve delivery of Veterans health information

Health law continues to be embroiled in politics, though toned down

Judge blocks federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research

Advanced Life Sciences seeks government funding for development of Restanza antibiotic

Prenatal exposure to atrazine leads to prostate inflammation in male rats

NTI’s EHR technology earns additional certification in CCHIT's Preliminary ARRA IFR Stage 1 program

Virginia Attorney Gen. approves stricter oversight on abortion clinics; Indiana fails to follow up inspection reports on nursing homes

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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