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Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals performs 500th Whipple procedure

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital continues to be the leader in the region in fighting the deadliest of cancers—pancreatic cancer. In August, Charles J. Yeo, MD, FACS, the Samuel D. Gross Professor and Chair of Surgery, and a co-director of the Jefferson Pancreas, Biliary and Related Cancer Center, performed his 500th Whipple procedure at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, a life-saving surgery for those suffering with the disease.

6 Sep 2012

Ways and Means panel to review IRS mission in health law

A prominent House committee will continue its case against the healthcare law just one day after the conclusion of August recess. On Sept. 11, the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight will look at how the law's implementation could strain the Internal Revenue Service.

6 Sep 2012

Book on basic stereology for biologists and neuroscientists

Stereological techniques allow biologists to create quantitative, three-dimensional descriptions of biological structures from two-dimensional images of tissue viewed under the microscope. For example, they can accurately estimate the size of a particular subcellular compartment, the total length of a mass of blood vessels, or the number of neurons or synapses in a particular region of the brain.

6 Sep 2012

Democrats focus on women's health issues, abortion rights

Pointing to both the health law and GOP policy positions, Democrats were steady in making their case to women voters.

6 Sep 2012

Party platforms reveal two very different visions for the nation

The Democratic platform, which was released Tuesday, includes many health care policy references, but it is light on specifics about what health initiatives would come during a second Obama term.

6 Sep 2012

Latest round of health IT regs will be topic of Capitol Hill hearing

The House hearing is planned in order to give lawmakers a chance to review a proposed rulemaking regarding incentives for so-called "meaningful use" of health information technology.

6 Sep 2012

Heavy rainfall worsening cholera outbreaks in Sierra Leone, Guinea

"Heavy rainfall is accelerating the spread of cholera in Sierra Leone and Guinea, where existing health risks such as poor hygiene practices, unsafe water sources and improper waste management are believed to have triggered the disease which has killed 327 people and infected more than 17,400 in both countries since February," IRIN reports.

6 Sep 2012

'Obamacare' plays starring role in first night of convention (video)

This collection of Kaiser Health News video excerpts show clips in which several speakers cited the 2010 health law as a signature achievement of the Obama administration Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.

6 Sep 2012

Cholera vaccine offers herd immunity, study from Zanzibar shows

"Cholera vaccine gives indirect protection to unvaccinated people in communities where a substantial fraction of the population gets the vaccine," according to a study from the island of Zanzibar in East Africa, published in the Lancet on Tuesday, NPR's "Shots" blog reports.

6 Sep 2012

Blog examines results of independent AMFm evaluation draft report

"In mid-July, ... the near-final draft of the independent evaluation of the Affordable Medicines Facility -- Malaria (AMFm) was released," Victoria Fan, a research fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD), and Heather Lanthorn, a doctoral candidate at Harvard School of Public Health, write in this post in the center's "Global Health Policy" blog.

6 Sep 2012

UC Davis plans to open West Coast Metabolomics Center

With a $9.3 million startup grant from the National Institutes of Health, the University of California, Davis, has announced plans to open the West Coast Metabolomics Center, a high-tech consortium of research and service laboratories that will help scientists better understand and develop more effective treatments for complex diseases like diabetes, cancer and atherosclerosis.

6 Sep 2012

Will Medicare's quality incentives be big enough to make a difference?

Incentives are among the quality issues coming to the fore as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services prepares to hand out bonuses and penalties based on how hospitals perform.

6 Sep 2012

Study reveals higher maternal death rates following abortion in Denmark

A new study of the medical records for nearly half a million women in Denmark reveals significantly higher maternal death rates following abortion compared to delivery. This finding has confirmed similar population studies conducted in Finland and the United States, but contradicts the widely held belief that abortion is safer than childbirth.

6 Sep 2012

WHO releases dengue strategy report, sets goal of cutting related deaths in half by 2020

"Saying dengue virus infections and deaths have mushroomed in recent years, the World Health Organization (WHO) recently released a strategy report that sets a goal of cutting deaths in half and reducing cases by 25 percent over the next eight years," CIDRAP reports.

6 Sep 2012

Nearly one-third of under-five children malnourished in southern Afghanistan, survey shows

Approximately one-third of children under the age of five in southern Afghanistan, about one million, have acute malnutrition, "with a level of deprivation similar to that found in famine zones, a government survey has found, despite the hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid that has been poured into the region," the Guardian reports.

6 Sep 2012

Medicare’s bundled payment program faces challenges, says economist

For years policymakers have attempted to replace Medicare's fee-for- service payment system with approaches that pay one price for an aggregation of services. The intent has been to reward providers for offering needed care in the most appropriate and cost-effective manner. But many of these programs have known pitfalls, says Stuart Altman, an economist and the Sol C. Chaikin Professor of National Health Policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University.

6 Sep 2012

Abortion rights supporters and foes pack Texas hearing on funding Planned Parenthood clinics

The women's health services provider, meanwhile, asks a federal appeals court to reconsider a ruling that would allow Texas to exclude clinics affiliated with abortion providers from getting funds from the Medicaid Women's Health Program.

6 Sep 2012

Community-based approach to improving sanitation, hygiene practices in Vietnam, Cambodia

In this post in the ONE Blog, John Anner, president of the East Meets West Foundation, discusses how the foundation is helping to improve sanitation and hygiene practices among poor populations.

6 Sep 2012

Aviv acquires post-acute and long-term care skilled nursing facility in Idaho

Aviv REIT, Inc. announced today that it has acquired a post-acute and long-term care skilled nursing facility ("SNF") located in Idaho for $6.0 million.

6 Sep 2012

PlusNews examines recently approved grants under Global Fund's Transitional Funding Mechanism

PlusNews examines the recently approved grants under the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria's Transitional Funding Mechanism (TFM), stating, "Last week, the Fund announced that 45 new grant applications, from countries such as Burundi, Malawi and Swaziland, have been approved under the TFM."

6 Sep 2012