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USP teams up with FDA, CHPA to update quality standards for common medications

As part of its ongoing mission to protect public health, the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention is working with the Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Healthcare Products Association to update quality standards for widely used medicines and ingredients.

22 Mar 2011

Researchers launch free online Atlas of TB vaccination policies around the world

Tuberculosis continues to pose a major global health threat. Someone in the world is newly infected with TB bacteria every second. Every year, more than 9 million people develop active TB and it claims about 2 million lives.

22 Mar 2011

Supporters urge Obama to push for Berwick's Senate hearings, nomination

A virtual Who's Who of the patient-safety and health care quality movements has signed a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to request that Senate hearings be held on his nomination of Dr. Donald Berwick as administrator of the CMS, who currently is serving a temporary recess appointment that expires in December.

22 Mar 2011

WHO concerned about radiation levels in food near damaged Japanese nuclear plant

A WHO spokesperson "said on Monday that the detection of radiation in food after an earthquake damaged a Japanese nuclear plant was a more serious problem than had first expected," Reuters reports.

22 Mar 2011

Oral desensitization with omalizumab may treat milk allergy in children

Some 3 million children in the United States have some form of food allergy, ranging in severity from mild to life-threatening. Milk allergy is the most common, affecting 2.5 percent of children under age 3.

22 Mar 2011

Experts warn of global water shortages ahead of World Water Day

Speaking out ahead of World Water Day on Tuesday, water experts have warned of growing water shortages worldwide, Inter Press Service reports.

22 Mar 2011

NYC expands YMCA's Diabetes Prevention Program to help adults avoid disease consequences

The YMCA of Greater New York today announced the New York City expansion of the YMCA's Diabetes Prevention Program, a 16-session group behavior change class that helps people at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes prevent the disease through healthy eating, increased activity and other positive lifestyle changes.

22 Mar 2011

Earthquake response could be improved through telemedicine

A new study published by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College and the University of California, Davis, foresees improvements in patient outcomes after a major earthquake through more effective use of information technology. A control tower-style telemedicine hub to manage electronic traffic between first responders and remote medical experts could boost the likelihood that critically injured victims will get timely care and survive, according to the team's computer simulation model.

21 Mar 2011

Differences between therapeutic radiation therapy and exposure to excessive nuclear plant fallout radiation

"The Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology (http://www.caro-acro.ca) is the voice for specialists in Canada who treat patients' cancer with radiation. In that capacity," explains Dr. Matthew Parliament, president of CARO-ACRO, "we work with proven, controlled, targeted application of various forms of radiation therapy to treat and cure cancer."

21 Mar 2011

Roundup: Kan., Calif. budget cuts; Texas NICU costs; Katrina trial; Medco CalPERS contract 'dumped'

This list of programs cut in the California state budget includes a 10 percent reduction in what the state pays for Medi-Cal patients at all long-term care facilities $172.3 million and a 10 percent reduction in what the state pays to physicians who see people on Medi-Cal.

21 Mar 2011

Viewpoints: Celebrating health law anniversary (or not); Tricare's 'modest' fee increase; Funding Planned Parenthood

Since President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law a year ago this month, we've heard endless partisan bickering about repeal efforts, legal challenges and fairness. But we've heard little about how the law is already helping secure the future of all Americans (Donna E. Shalala, 3/19).

21 Mar 2011

Scots drinking too much: Report

According to a survey by Britains’s NHS, people of Scotland are drinking too much. Deaths related to alcohol are at an all time high in the country. The survey finds that Scots are consuming an additional 1.2 litres of pure alcohol per year. Alcohol-related deaths and hospital admissions are four times higher since the 1980’s. A recent report has also showed that alcohol related deaths were six-fold higher among the poor people.

21 Mar 2011

Lorillard responds to Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee conclusions

Lorillard, Inc., the third largest manufacturer of cigarettes in the United States, announced its response to the conclusions reached at today's meeting of the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee.

19 Mar 2011

APHA issues statement recommending improved safety for workers in adult film industry

In a newly posted position paper on its website, the American Public Health Association, the oldest and most diverse organization of public health professionals in the world representing over 50,000 health professionals and others who work to promote health, prevent disease and ensure conditions in which all can be safe and healthy, has issued a comprehensive policy statement, "Prevention and Control of Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV among Performers in the Adult Film Industry," that includes a series of recommendations intended to foster improved safety and workplace conditions for workers in the adult film industry.

19 Mar 2011

Experts issue joint statement to help Americans understand radiation-related health risks

The growing concern surrounding the release of radiation from an earthquake and tsunami-stricken nuclear complex in Japan has raised fears of radiation exposure to populations in North America from the potential plume of radioactivity crossing the Pacific Ocean.

19 Mar 2011

Removal of menthol cigarettes from marketplace would benefit public health in US: FDA

Finding that the availability of menthol cigarettes increases the number of children and African Americans who smoke, the Food and Drug Administration's Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee today concluded, "Removal of menthol cigarettes from the marketplace would benefit public health in the United States."

19 Mar 2011

Roundup: Texas attacks health law as Calif., Ind. hospitals cope with law's effects

At today's meeting of the House Select Committee on State Sovereignty, Republican lawmakers laid out a dozen bills — and a handful of different strategies — to prevent implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in Texas, and allow the state to operate Medicaid its own way.

19 Mar 2011

CDC to award $2M grant to continue CARPE program in preventing healthcare-associated infections

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is awarding researchers at the Cook County Health & Hospitals System and Rush University Medical Center a $2 million grant to continue a successful program aimed at preventing healthcare-associated infections, antibiotic resistance, and other adverse events associated with healthcare.

19 Mar 2011

BUSM professors highlight increased risks of naturally occurring infections

Paul Duprex, PhD, and Elke M-hlberger, PhD, both associate professors of microbiology at Boston University School of Medicine, recently co-authored a commentary about viruses for Microbiology Today, the monthly publication of the Society of General Microbiology, which is the largest microbiological society in Europe.

19 Mar 2011

Commentary on the global challenges of emerging viral infections

Paul Duprex, PhD, and Elke Mühlberger, PhD, both associate professors of microbiology at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), recently co-authored a commentary about viruses for Microbiology Today, the monthly publication of the Society of General Microbiology, which is the largest microbiological society in Europe. The article focuses on the history of viruses and vaccines and gives their perspective on what is necessary to evolve to the next era of virology research.

18 Mar 2011

Public Health News and Research

USP teams up with FDA, CHPA to update quality standards for common medications

Researchers launch free online Atlas of TB vaccination policies around the world

Supporters urge Obama to push for Berwick's Senate hearings, nomination

WHO concerned about radiation levels in food near damaged Japanese nuclear plant

Oral desensitization with omalizumab may treat milk allergy in children

Experts warn of global water shortages ahead of World Water Day

NYC expands YMCA's Diabetes Prevention Program to help adults avoid disease consequences

Earthquake response could be improved through telemedicine

Differences between therapeutic radiation therapy and exposure to excessive nuclear plant fallout radiation

Roundup: Kan., Calif. budget cuts; Texas NICU costs; Katrina trial; Medco CalPERS contract 'dumped'

Viewpoints: Celebrating health law anniversary (or not); Tricare's 'modest' fee increase; Funding Planned Parenthood

Scots drinking too much: Report

Lorillard responds to Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee conclusions

APHA issues statement recommending improved safety for workers in adult film industry

Experts issue joint statement to help Americans understand radiation-related health risks

Removal of menthol cigarettes from marketplace would benefit public health in US: FDA

Roundup: Texas attacks health law as Calif., Ind. hospitals cope with law's effects

CDC to award $2M grant to continue CARPE program in preventing healthcare-associated infections

BUSM professors highlight increased risks of naturally occurring infections

Commentary on the global challenges of emerging viral infections

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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