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Health services for Syrian refugees overstretched, U.N. report warns

"The refugee crisis sparked by the conflict in Syria is increasingly straining health services in surrounding countries, while refugees are finding it harder to access the quality treatment they need, the United Nations refugee agency warns in report released [Friday]," the U.N. News Centre reports (4/26).

30 Apr 2013

Experts call for medical leaders to establish guidelines, embed honesty in academic cultures

Unethical behavior among physicians-in-training threatens to erode public trust and confidence in the medical profession, say two academic physicians in the current issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

30 Apr 2013

H7N9 bird flu virus continues to spread throughout China

"China on Saturday reported its first case of H7N9 bird flu in the southern province of Hunan, the latest sign the virus that has killed 23 people in the country is continuing to spread," Reuters reports (Ruwitch, 4/29).

30 Apr 2013

Healthcare providers prefer robotic helpers rather than human assistants

Roboticists are currently developing machines that have the potential to help patients with caregiving tasks, such as housework, feeding and walking. But before they reach the care recipients, assistive robots will first have to be accepted by healthcare providers such as nurses and nursing assistants.

30 Apr 2013

Continued work needed in vaccine development

Reflecting on World Immunization Week, April 21-28, Angeline Nanni, director of market access at Aeras, discusses the "remarkable results" of expanded immunization programs in a guest post on the Global Health Technologies Coalition's "Breakthroughs" blog.

30 Apr 2013

Concerns rise over food insecurity in Africa's Sahel region

"Despite early indications the Sahel would not suffer pangs of hunger this year, experts now worry that food insecurity could be worse than in 2012 -- the year of the West Africa food crisis," Thomson Reuters Foundation reports.

30 Apr 2013

Analysis examines national expenditures on emergency care

Alternately praised in the aftermath of horrible tragedies as a heroic service and lamented in policy debates as an expensive safety net for people without primary care, emergency medicine is often a hot topic.

30 Apr 2013

ACOEM honors American Express with prestigious health and safety award

American Express, the global financial services company headquartered in New York City, has been awarded the 2013 Corporate Health Achievement Award by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

30 Apr 2013

Academy asks public to wear orange in support of skin cancer awareness on Melanoma Monday

The American Academy of Dermatology aims to paint the nation orange this May by asking the public to wear orange in support of skin cancer awareness on Melanoma Monday, May 6.

30 Apr 2013

At library dedication, U.S. presidents praise Bush for work on HIV/AIDS, malaria while in office

Last week, "[t]he George W. Bush Presidential Library dedication brought together five living presidents who have been at odds about much of the 43rd president's foreign policy legacy, particularly the Iraq war ... [b]ut they all agreed on, and offered effusive praise for, Bush's work on Africa," ABC News' "The Note" blog reports.

30 Apr 2013

Penn Medicine's Brian L. Strom named 2013 Career Distinguished Investigator

Brian L. Strom, MD, MPH, the executive vice dean for Institutional Affairs in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, was recently presented with a National Award for Career Achievement and Contribution to Clinical and Translational Science at the Translational Science 2013 meeting in Washington, D.C.

30 Apr 2013

Chart presents timeline of HIV prevention options

The Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog examines a chart, titled "HIV Prevention Options Timeline," which "was part of AVAC Director Mitchell Warren's presentation at a Jhpiego-sponsored" event on Thursday, titled "The Present and the Future of HIV Prevention."

30 Apr 2013

UAB study suggests Mediterranean diet may be linked to preserving memory, thinking abilities

A University of Alabama at Birmingham study suggests that the Mediterranean diet, which urges consuming foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, chicken and salad dressing, and avoiding saturated fats, meat and dairy foods, may be linked to preserving memory and thinking abilities.

30 Apr 2013

Embracing Patient Centered Medical Home concept

The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine opened its 98th annual meeting with a keynote speech by Paul Grundy, MD, Global Director of Healthcare Transformation at IBM, urging adoption of a new system of patient care in the United States that moves away from focusing on the management of health care "episodes" and more toward long-term management of population health and integrated delivery of health services.

30 Apr 2013

Blog examines role of Islamist leadership in combating polio

Noting the Global Vaccine Summit held in Abu Dhabi last week, Ayesha Malik, a campaigner at the Muslim-led campaigning charity MADE in Europe, writes in a post in the charity's blog about the role of Islamic leadership in the global push to eradicate polio.

30 Apr 2013

New patch therapy: A breakthrough for peanut allergy sufferers

The Food Allergy Center at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego is one of eight hospitals in the United States participating in an international peanut allergy desensitization study.

30 Apr 2013

Al Jazeera programs examine vaccine funding, efforts to fight malaria, TB, HIV

Al Jazeera's "Inside Story" on Friday examined whether funding and political will can keep pace with efforts to vaccinate every child worldwide. The 25-minute video program, "with presenter Shiulie Ghosh, discusses with guests: Kate Elder from Doctors Without Borders; Adel Mahmoud, a global health specialist at Princeton University, and former president of Merck Vaccines," Al Jazeera writes.

30 Apr 2013

Viewpoints: Bowles, Simpson renew push for 'grand bargain;' The debate on FDA oversight of pharmacies; Kasich and feds work to find formula for Medicaid expansion

To be sure, some progress has been made the past two years. Policymakers have enacted about $2.7 trillion in deficit reduction, primarily through cuts in discretionary spending and higher taxes on wealthy individuals. Yet what we have achieved so far is insufficient.

30 Apr 2013

State highlights: Ore. for-profit hospitals' charity care lags

Top officials at the Mississippi State Department of Health say they're trying to prevent layoffs for 41 employees and 41 contract workers who were part of a program to help women with high-risk pregnancies. Dr. Mary Currier, the state health officer, said Friday that the social workers were told April 15 their jobs could be eliminated July 1 (4/28).

30 Apr 2013

Exchange implementation: News from the White House and the field

Politico reports that the Obama administration is facing challenges as it moves into a critical time implementing the health law. Meanwhile, a contract is awarded for a call center to handle questions about the health exchanges run by the federal government.

30 Apr 2013