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Accenture Innovation Center for Health launched to tackle challenges facing the global health industry

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) today launched the Accenture Innovation Center for Health in response to the growing global demand for insights into and strategies to confront the top health issues and challenges affecting citizens worldwide. The center serves as the focal point for Accenture’s thought capital and proven assets for tackling the most pressing challenges facing the global health industry.

28 Oct 2009

FDA approves the 100th antiretroviral drug in association with PEPFAR

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today marked the recent approval of the 100th antiretroviral drug in association with the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), aimed at the prevention, treatment, and care of people infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS worldwide.

28 Oct 2009

Micronics inks license agreement with Biosearch Technologies

Micronics, Inc., a leading developer of point-of-care molecular diagnostic products, announced today that it has entered into a license agreement with Biosearch Technologies, Inc. (Biosearch) for the right to make, have made, use and sell Micronics’ products that incorporate Biosearch’s proprietary fluorophores and quencher dyes for nucleic acid assays. Under the terms of the worldwide license, Biosearch has granted Micronics a royalty-free use of certain of its chemistries for inclusion in Micronics’ infectious disease tests for sale in underdeveloped countries.

28 Oct 2009

First Edition: October 28, 2009

The news of the day again seems to focus on Senate Democrat's public option as well as the politics, strong-arming and vote-counting that it has caused.

28 Oct 2009

Patient self-referral to physiotherapy proven to be safe, and results in better health outcomes

Today in Washington, DC, physiotherapists from around the world heard that direct patient access and self-referral to physiotherapy improves public health. Patient self-referral and direct access is proven to be safe, and results in better health outcomes, more timely care, higher patient satisfaction, and lower costs.

28 Oct 2009

PPD to evaluate FDA's post-market spontaneous adverse event surveillance system

PPD, Inc. today announced it has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to evaluate the agency’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) post-market spontaneous adverse event surveillance system. The company will conduct a thorough evaluation of the value of the spontaneous adverse event reports to support safety-related regulatory actions and report its findings to the FDA and the public.

28 Oct 2009

IPIT uses Affymetrix’s DMET Plus biomarker panel to expand the PGENI

Affymetrix, Inc. announced today that the Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy (IPIT) at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill is using the company’s DMET™ Plus biomarker panel to expand the Pharmacogenetics for Every Nation Initiative (PGENI).

28 Oct 2009

Dementia patients face higher risk of flu mortality; refine guidelines needed for testing and vaccination policies

An epidemiological study on pneumonia and influenza (P&I) in adults age 65 and over reports that patients with dementia are diagnosed with flu less frequently, have shorter hospital stays, and have a fifty percent higher rate of death than those without dementia.

28 Oct 2009

Microbix and Hunan Biopharmaceutical to build $200-million influenza vaccine facility

Microbix, a developer of a patented technology that doubles the output of influenza vaccine production, announced today it has signed a joint venture agreement with the Hunan Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (a Hunan Province state-owned enterprise) for initial financing to construct Asia's largest influenza vaccine production facility and the third largest vaccine plant in the world.

28 Oct 2009

Experts release policy recommendations to promote better medication adherence and health outcomes

A diverse group of health care and consumer organizations released five policy recommendations this week that are designed to promote better medication adherence and improved health outcomes for patients.

28 Oct 2009

Internet-based diet and exercise program shows promise in lowering healthcare costs

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) have shown that an employer-sponsored, internet-based diet and exercise program shows promise as a low-cost benefit to lower healthcare costs for those at higher risk for above-average costs and healthcare utilization such as cardiac, hyperlipidemia, hypertension or diabetes patients.

28 Oct 2009

HMSMobile Swine Flu Center application to provide information on H1N1 virus introduced

The HMSMobile Swine Flu Center, a new iPhone application developed by the Harvard Health Publications Division of Harvard Medical School, is now available for purchase in the iTunes store.

28 Oct 2009

The stakes are high for the top Medicare job

Reuters reports that health care overhaul currently being considered in Congress "elevates the job of running the government's $700-billion Medicare agency to new heights and all but guarantees a political battle over filling the post."

28 Oct 2009

Global health promotion conference begins in Kenya, maternal mortality addressed

At the 7th Global Conference on Health Promotion, which kicked off in Kenya on Monday, participants discussed reducing maternal mortality and the related Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the Daily Nation reports. According to the newspaper, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki "said that globally, the number of maternal deaths had … risen to 536,000 per year, translating to one death per minute."

27 Oct 2009

New York Times examines journal editorial on neglected tropical diseases in Islamic nations

The New York Times examines the conclusions drawn in a recent PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases editorial that the Islamic world is suffering from a "devastating burden" of neglected tropical diseases.

27 Oct 2009

Consumer health informatics applications help patients to better manage their health care

Electronic tools and technology applications for consumers can help improve health care processes, such as adherence to medication and clinical outcomes like smoking cessation, according to a report by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

27 Oct 2009

Senators draw lines around a handful of swing voters

Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both Maine Republicans, have been in the spotlight this year because of their ability to cross party lines with political impunity, Politico reports. Collins took the lead in negotiating a stimulus bill in February that drew three GOP votes, including Snowe's. Snowe is now at the center of the health reform debate.

27 Oct 2009

SDC-based hard surface disinfectant is effective against the 2009 H1N1

PURE Bioscience, creators of the patented silver dihydrogen citrate (SDC) antimicrobial, announced today that its SDC-based hard surface disinfectant is effective against the 2009 H1N1 and is included on the list published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of antimicrobial products effective against the 2009 H1N1 flu strain based on their effectiveness against other influenza A virus strains.

27 Oct 2009

Climate change and public health: only fives states have published public health response plans, says study

Trust for America's Health (TFAH) released a new report today that finds only five states have published a strategic climate change plan that includes a public health response. This includes planning for health challenges and emergencies expected to develop from natural disasters, pollution, and infectious diseases as temperatures and sea levels rise.

27 Oct 2009

Boston Medical Center deploys Fusionfx Immunization Management portal to manage H1N1 vaccination

Acknowledging the critical role of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines in ensuring the safety and efficacy of H1N1 vaccinations, Carefx Corporation, a leading provider of interoperable workflow solutions to advance the quality and safety of patient care, today announced that Boston Medical Center (BMC) has deployed the Fusionfx Immunization Management portal designed to enter and track H1N1 vaccination administration history and support broad, community-wide immunization administration tracking.

27 Oct 2009

Public Health News and Research

Accenture Innovation Center for Health launched to tackle challenges facing the global health industry

FDA approves the 100th antiretroviral drug in association with PEPFAR

Micronics inks license agreement with Biosearch Technologies

First Edition: October 28, 2009

Patient self-referral to physiotherapy proven to be safe, and results in better health outcomes

PPD to evaluate FDA's post-market spontaneous adverse event surveillance system

IPIT uses Affymetrix’s DMET Plus biomarker panel to expand the PGENI

Dementia patients face higher risk of flu mortality; refine guidelines needed for testing and vaccination policies

Microbix and Hunan Biopharmaceutical to build $200-million influenza vaccine facility

Experts release policy recommendations to promote better medication adherence and health outcomes

Internet-based diet and exercise program shows promise in lowering healthcare costs

HMSMobile Swine Flu Center application to provide information on H1N1 virus introduced

The stakes are high for the top Medicare job

Global health promotion conference begins in Kenya, maternal mortality addressed

New York Times examines journal editorial on neglected tropical diseases in Islamic nations

Consumer health informatics applications help patients to better manage their health care

Senators draw lines around a handful of swing voters

SDC-based hard surface disinfectant is effective against the 2009 H1N1

Climate change and public health: only fives states have published public health response plans, says study

Boston Medical Center deploys Fusionfx Immunization Management portal to manage H1N1 vaccination

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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