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CDC releases safety data on rotavirus vaccine RotaTeq

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released today new safety data on a recently licensed rotavirus vaccine given to infants that indicate the vaccine does not pose an elevated risk for intussusception, the most common cause of bowel obstruction in infants.

15 Mar 2007

Louisiana hospital system to focus on neighborhood clinics

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D) on Wednesday said that a new Louisiana State University-operated medical clinic in Baton Rouge will serve as a model for the future of health care delivery in the state, the Baton Rouge Advocate reports.

11 Mar 2007

Leavitt promotes 'four cornerstones' initiative in Wisconsin

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt on Wednesday in a speech to Milwaukee-area business and health system leaders promoted the Bush administration's Value-Driven Health Care Initiative, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

11 Mar 2007

University of Miami, Haitian Community health workers team up to address breast cancer

A collaboration between doctors at the University of Miami and members of the Haitian community in Southern Florida is attempting to address mammography screening and breast cancer among Haitian women living in the U.S., the Miami Herald reports.

11 Mar 2007

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle rejects federal abstinence education funds

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle (D) has directed the state Department of Health and Family Services to notify federal officials that Wisconsin is refusing $600,000 in Title V federal abstinence education funds for fiscal year 2007, health department spokesperson Stephanie Marquis said on Friday, the Madison Capital Times reports.

8 Mar 2007

Congressional hearings begin for Walter Reed Army Medical Center

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs on Monday held a hearing to address concerns about quality of care and living conditions at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, during which Army officials "acknowledg[ed] ... that they have failed in the care of wounded veterans," the Los Angeles Times reports.

8 Mar 2007

HCA posts cost of services for uninsured online

Tennessee-based hospital chain HCA on Friday began posting the prices of services for the uninsured at its hospitals in San Antonio and Austin, Texas, according to spokesperson Ed Fishbough, the Tennessean reports.

8 Mar 2007

President Bush appoints Dole, Shalala to lead panel examining veterans' care

President Bush during a speech before the American Legion on Tuesday named former Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.) and former HHS Secretary Donna Shalala as co-chairs of a commission that will examine the care that wounded veterans receive after they return from war, both at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and at other military hospitals across the nation, the Washington Post reports

8 Mar 2007

Democrats, Republicans disagree on funding for SCHIP reauthorization

As Congress begins considering reauthorization of SCHIP, Republican and Democratic lawmakers continue to disagree about funding levels and enrollment eligibility, the Washington Post reports.

5 Mar 2007

HHS Secretary proposes creating local health care collaborative to provide cost, quality reports of health care providers

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt on Wednesday at a breakfast with reporters announced a new proposal to establish local collaboratives to provide public reports on the cost and quality of health care providers as part of an effort to increase health care transparency, CQ HealthBeat reports.

4 Mar 2007

Legislation introduced to help improve heart disease, stroke prevention efforts among women

A group of female lawmakers -- including Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Reps. Barbara Cubin (R-Wyo.) and Lois Capps (D-Calif.) -- earlier this month introduced legislation (S 573, HR 1014) that aims to improve heart disease education among women, bolster gender-specific research and increase women's access to heart disease screening, CQ HealthBeat reports.

28 Feb 2007

Georgia House Committee approves bill to require doctors to offer pregnant women HIV tests

The Georgia House Health and Human Services Committee recently voted unanimously to approve a bill (HB 429) that would require doctors in the state to offer pregnant women an HIV test, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

27 Feb 2007

Georgia House Committee approves bill that would require doctors to offer pregnant women HIV tests

27 Feb 2007

Governors criticize provisions on SCHIP in fiscal year 2008 budget request from President Bush

A bipartisan group of governors at the National Governors Association winter meeting on Sunday asked Congress to provide $765 million in supplemental funds for SCHIP, the Bergen Record reports (Jackson, Bergen Record, 2/26).

27 Feb 2007

Federal agencies sued over medical Marijuana statements

The Oakland, Calif.-based advocacy group Americans for Safe Access on Wednesday filed suit in Oakland federal court against HHS and FDA over statements the organizations have made about medical marijuana, citing several studies that found the drug might benefit HIV-positive people, the Los Angeles Times reports.

25 Feb 2007

Health care IT adviser resigns over lack of progress on privacy

Paul Feldman, chair of the privacy and security workgroup of the American Health Information Community, on Wednesday announced his resignation because the workgroup "has not made substantial progress towards the development of comprehensive privacy and security policies that must be at the core of a nationwide health information network," CQ HealthBeat reports.

25 Feb 2007

Medical marijuana advocates take HHS to court

Using the latest research to support their claims, advocates for the medical use of marijuana are heading to court.

25 Feb 2007

Lawsuit filed against federal government over medical cannabis misinformation

The patients advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California demanding that the federal government cease issuing misinformation on medical cannabis and correct the information it has released.

21 Feb 2007

Bush Administration has no overall strategy to protect patient privacy in electronic health records

The Bush administration has no overall strategy to ensure patient privacy as it promotes expanded use of electronic health records among insurers, doctors, hospitals and other health care providers, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report, the New York Times reports.

21 Feb 2007

Health Corps response to hurricanes inadequate

The more than 2,100 officers in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps who were deployed to the Gulf Coast to respond to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in August and September 2005 lacked adequate training, and the federal response to the hurricanes did not include an adequate number of nurses, dentists and mental health professionals, according to a report recently compiled by the HHS Office of Inspector General, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.

21 Feb 2007