Healthcare News

RSS

SNSF-supported study on child development

On average, children take the first steps on their own at the age of 12 months. Many parents perceive this event as a decisive turning point. However, the timing is really of no consequence. Children who start walking early turn out later to be neither more intelligent nor more well-coordinated.

28 Mar 2013

Blog examines funding for MDR-TB versus drug-susceptible TB

In the Center for Global Development's "Global Health Policy" blog, Amanda Glassman, director of global health policy at CGD, and Kate McQueston, program coordinator at the center, examine spending on tuberculosis, including drugs to fight susceptible and multidrug-resistant strains of the bacteria.

28 Mar 2013

University of Maryland scientist selected as fellow of newly created AACR Academy

Angela H. Brodie, Ph.D., a University of Maryland scientist whose research paved the way for a new class of drugs widely used to treat breast cancer patients around the world, has been selected by the American Association for Cancer Research as a fellow of the newly created AACR Academy.

28 Mar 2013

Bill Gates tours Ghana's health system, discusses polio eradication

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, "is currently in Ghana to assess the country's health systems," Ventures Africa reports. Gates "touched down in Accra March 25, 2013, and says he is in Ghana to get firsthand information on why the country's immunization system is working so well," the news service notes (3/26).

28 Mar 2013

Children are vulnerable to eye injury while playing baseball, expert says

Baseball, America's favorite past time. From watching a child's first T-ball game to aspirations of playing in the Little League World Series, there is just something special about kids and baseball.

28 Mar 2013

Mental-health system feeling the pinch of sequestration

Despite recent alarms to give mental health a more serious approach and to mobilize more funding to address a broken mental-health system across the country and in Minnesota, sequestration is here.

28 Mar 2013

Cases of new coronavirus rises to 17, number of deaths is 11

"The deadly and mysterious coronavirus that first appeared in Saudi Arabia last year has claimed two more victims, bringing the official death toll to 11," and the case count to 17, the Los Angeles Times' "Booster Shots" blog reports.

28 Mar 2013

Sugar overloads on Easter can pose serious risks to children's health, Vanderbilt experts say

As Easter approaches, many parents may not want their children indulging in candy-filled eggs and Easter baskets full of sugary treats. Too much sugar can pose serious risks to children's dental and behavioral health, risks that can be minimized by some careful thought and planning, Vanderbilt experts say.

28 Mar 2013

Blog examines implementation of health insurance program in Rwanda

In Humanosphere, journalist Tom Paulson examines Rwanda's recent success in implementing a health "insurance program that has covered most of the population with an emphasis on basic, preventative care."

28 Mar 2013

Sebelius: Some insurance costs could increase when health law is implemented

The HHS secretary's remarks came as insurers are becoming increasingly jittery about how sweeping health law changes will impact the marketplace and on the same day that the Society of Actuaries released a study that predicted increased medical claims costs.

28 Mar 2013

Higher levels of routine daily physical activity key to better night's sleep for many women

Getting a good night's sleep isn't always easy for women at menopause. Exercise may help, but women can have a tough time carving out leisure time for it.

28 Mar 2013

Life Long Weigh unveils new comprehensive wellness strategies

Life Long Weigh, a Houston-based medical office that works to help people achieve their goals through individualized plans, has recently unveiled new comprehensive wellness strategies to better serve their clientele.

28 Mar 2013

Congress passes, President signs continuing resolution for FY 2013

Funding for HIV through PEPFAR "took a hit while the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria got a boost last week when the House and Senate passed a Continuing Resolution bill to avoid a government shutdown and continue funding the government through Oct. 1, the end of fiscal year 2013," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports (Aziz, 3/26).

28 Mar 2013

Report highlights consumer product-related injuries in children

Bunk beds and baby change tables are among the hidden dangers around the home causing serious injury and death to Queensland children.

28 Mar 2013

IRIN examines Lancet series on TB

IRIN examines The Lancet series on tuberculosis, saying that authors writing in the collection of articles note that investments in TB since 1993, when the WHO declared the disease a global emergency, "have led to the most promising pool of new tuberculosis drug and vaccine candidates in more than 40 years, with several new drugs and drug regimens poised to enter late-stage clinical trials throughout the next few years."

28 Mar 2013

Urban Institute: Medicaid expansion will benefit veterans

Overall, the health law could help as many as 40 percent of uninsured veterans gain access to health coverage. News outlets also report on Medicaid expansion news from Tennessee, Missouri and Louisiana.

28 Mar 2013

Va. Gov. offers amendment to bar abortion coverage from the federal exchanges that will serve the state

Gov. Bob McDonnell added the provision Monday to recently passed legislation. Meanwhile, in other news, the Maryland Senate could vote as early as today on a bill that implements the state's new insurance marketplace and Louisiana insurers and nonprofits form group to help consumers understand new insurance options.

28 Mar 2013

Roundup: Court to hear Calif. inmate mental health case; La. health secretary a no-show at hearing

News outlets report on health care developments in California, Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, New York, Oregon and Texas.

28 Mar 2013

Smokers trying to quit will have better experience with varenicline, study finds

Smokers have a higher probability of quitting smoking and a better overall cessation experience when taking varenicline compared to bupropion and to placebo - unmedicated assisted smoking cessation -according to a study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

28 Mar 2013

Federal agency issues 'fraud alert' about physician-owned distributorships

The Health and Human Services Inpector General said these commercial ventures, which are widespread in the fields of orthepedic and spine surgery, are "inherently suspect."

28 Mar 2013