Speech News and Research

RSS

Premier Dalton McGuinty plans changes to hospital funding systems

Premier Dalton McGuinty is planning changes to hospital funding systems, according to his Throne Speech today. The changes, if implemented, will have a profound impact on Ontarian's access to care.

9 Mar 2010

Obama rallies Pa. audience, challenges insurers in health reform speech

"Trying to rally the public and put more pressure on Congress to act quickly, President Obama on Monday took to the road to castigate insurance companies and urged voters to lobby for passage of the healthcare overhaul," the Los Angeles Times reports.

8 Mar 2010

Gentiva Health Services acquires Heart to Heart Hospice

Gentiva Health Services, Inc., a leading provider of home health and hospice services, announced today that it has acquired Mississippi-based Heart to Heart Hospice.

8 Mar 2010

Scientists devise software algorithm to detect medically useful information from whole-blood samples

Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have devised a software algorithm that could enable a common laboratory device to virtually separate a whole-blood sample into its different cell types and detect medically important gene-activity changes specific to any one of those cell types.

8 Mar 2010

HEAL acknowledges federal government's commitment to investing in Canada's health system

The Health Action Lobby acknowledges the federal government's continued commitment to investing in Canada's health system through the Canada Health Transfer, which will increase by 6% for each of the next four years.

7 Mar 2010

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair calls for more emphasis on diplomacy, 'soft power'

U.S. foreign policy should should rely more on diplomacy and "soft power," Admiral Mike Mullen, chair of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a speech at Kansas State University on Wednesday, Agence France-Presse reports. "U.S. foreign policy is still too dominated by the military - too dependent upon the generals and admirals who lead our major overseas commands and not enough on the State Department," Mullen said, the AFP reports.

6 Mar 2010

Proposed changes to Disbursement Quota may help The Salvation Army meet increased needs of Canadians

The proposed changes to the Disbursement Quota announced yesterday in the 2010 federal budget are widely supported by The Salvation Army. The removal of the quota will provide The Salvation Army, one of Canada's largest charities, with increased flexibility in meeting the needs of Canadians during a time when more and more people are turning to charities for help.

6 Mar 2010

HMS study suggests new targets for treating Angelman syndrome

Angelman Syndrome is a rare but serious genetic disorder that causes a constellation of developmental problems in affected children, including mental retardation, lack of speech, and in some cases, autism. Over a decade ago, researchers found that AS was caused by mutation in a single gene, but no one had been able to explain how this defect resulted in the debilitating neurological symptoms of the disease.

5 Mar 2010

Obama pushes reconciliation, action on health care overhaul

In his White House speech Wednesday afternoon, President Barack Obama outlined his updated health overhaul plan and endorsed a legislative maneuver meant to move the congressional efforts on health care reform forward.

4 Mar 2010

Political heat tests the President's calm composure

The Washington Post: For a president "who so famously rejects drama," recent times have marked "one of the wildest policitcal stretches in recent memory." President Obama has said during yesterday's White House speech that, at stake in this legislative struggle is the nation's ability not only to solve health care problems, but "our ability to solve any problem."

4 Mar 2010

First Edition: March 4, 2010

Today's headlines offer more detail about President Obama's health reform speech, his call for quick congressional action and reconciliation.

4 Mar 2010

Obama presses forward in health overhaul efforts

The Wall Street Journal: "President Barack Obama made a final push for comprehensive health-care legislation, calling on lawmakers to schedule a vote in the next few weeks." Obama urged Congress to "press ahead with a comprehensive bill," which will involve using reconciliation. "But he didn't use the term reconciliation, instead calling for a simple 'up or down vote.'" He appealed to public frustration with insurance companies and emphasized that he had included GOP ideas into his plan (Meckler, 3/3).

4 Mar 2010

Researchers launch new project to diagnose and treat dementia among Deaf people who use BSL

Researchers have launched a unique project to improve early diagnosis and management of dementia among Deaf people who use British Sign Language (BSL).

From The University of Manchester 3 Mar 2010

First Edition: March 3, 2010

This morning's news is all about President Obama's outreach yesterday to the GOP and his speech today detailing new elements of his health reform plan. Will this step resuscitate the Dem's overhaul efforts?

3 Mar 2010

Reid Johnson: British Columbians should brace for another round of cuts to health care services

In spite of a budget speech that boasts a commitment to health care, British Columbians should brace themselves for another round of cuts to health care services around the province, Reid Johnson, President of the Health Sciences Association of BC said in response to the provincial budget released today.

3 Mar 2010

Obama says he's willing to explore ideas raised by GOP during health summit

ABC News Political Punch: In a letter to Congressional leaders President Obama signaled Tuesday afternoon he is "open to several provisions raised by GOP lawmakers during last week's bipartisan health care reform summit, including medical malpractice reform, combating fraud," and the removal of a provisions that would have allowed the federal government to pay for Nebraska's Medicaid expansion and another that would have protected Florida seniors from cuts to the Medicare Advantage program (3/2).

3 Mar 2010

WHO Director-General calls for greater efforts to reduce tobacco use

In a speech on Friday marking the fifth anniversary of an international tobacco control treaty, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan called for government officials worldwide to increase efforts to protect their population from the harmful effects of tobacco, Reuters reports. "Tobacco kills more than 5 million people a year from cardiovascular disease, cancers, diabetes and other chronic illnesses, including about 600,000 from second-hand smoke, according to the United Nations agency," the news service writes.

1 Mar 2010

Validus Medical Systems introduces bi-directional mobile software solution for hospital systems

Validus Medical Systems, Inc., a privately held healthcare IT firm founded by veteran entrepreneur David Kashtan (Network Alchemy, TGV Software), formally launched its breakthrough bi-directional mobile software solution for hospital systems. The Validus inTouchTM software system was developed by Kashtan, a team of leading physicians, software engineers, cloud computing experts, and network security specialists to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare.

1 Mar 2010

Regular use of aspirin, acetaminophen and NSAIDs increases risk of hearing loss in men

In a study published in the March 2010 issue of The American Journal of Medicine, researchers determined that regular use of aspirin, acetaminophen and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) increases the risk of hearing loss in men, particularly in younger men, below age 60.

1 Mar 2010

MedQuist integrates DEP with new features of Epic Systems' Hyperspace Client

MedQuist Inc., a leading provider of technology-enabled clinical documentation services, is integrating with Epic Systems Corporation within its Hyperspace environment to offer a solution that integrates "partial dictations" with the template-based clinical documentation process, enabling physicians to complete the Electronic Health Record (EHR) without changing their documentation workflow.

27 Feb 2010