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Substituting short vehicle journeys for walks reduces death rates

A new study confirms that doing short journeys on foot rather than taking the car or motorbike would avoid the death of 108 men and 79 women a year in Catalonia alone. This would imply annual savings of more than 200 million euros.

28 Jun 2012

First Edition: June 28, 2012

Today's headlines set the scene for the much-anticipated Supreme Court health law decision, expected out later this morning.

28 Jun 2012

Hatch overcomes primary challenge

The veteran Utah senator campaigned heavily on his seniority and experience, maintaining that they put him in a powerful position to work on issues related to deficit spending and health care costs. Meanwhile, a Missouri candidate is being hammered over his stance on the insurance mandate.

28 Jun 2012

Efforts to fight illegal drugs contributing to spread of HIV, report says

The Global Commission on Drug Policy (GCDP) on Tuesday published a report titled "The War on Drugs and HIV/AIDS: How the Criminalization of Drug Use Fuels the Global Pandemic," which "condemns the drug war as a failure and recommends immediate, major reforms of the global drug prohibition regime to halt the spread of HIV infection and other drug war harms," according to the report summary.

28 Jun 2012

Racial and ethnic composition of community associated with obesity risk

The racial and ethnic composition of a community is associated with the obesity risk of individuals living within the community, according to a study led by researchers at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

28 Jun 2012

California plan to move 880,000 children into Medi-Cal met with skepticism

A budget plan to save money by moving thousands of children into the Medicaid program is scrutinized while legislators scramble to draft companion legislation to implement the budget.

28 Jun 2012

When it comes to health care clinics, Wal-Mart falling behind rivals

Five years after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. promised to open thousands of health-care clinics in its sprawling supercenters, it has fallen far behind its industry rivals in what has become a race to provide basic medical care in stores.

28 Jun 2012

High educational debt may limit job choices for new anesthesiologists

Many anesthesia residents are carrying high educational debt—$150,000 or higher—that may constrain their employment decisions after graduation, according to a survey study in the July issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

28 Jun 2012

Romney, Obama offer messaging previews for the coming health law decision

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney says if the court strikes down the law, it shows President Barack Obama wasted three years. If court upholds it, he promises to get rid of the law if elected. Obama tells a campaign crowd the law is critical to expanding coverage to those who can't get it.

28 Jun 2012

Study finds wide variation in interpretation of NRMP rules

Many hospitals offer residency programs for doctors in training, allowing them to complete the education needed to become practicing physicians. Hospitals find those residents using National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) rules, but a new study finds wide variation in the interpretation of those rules.

28 Jun 2012

Senate sends FDA user fee bill to Obama; House GOP putting pressure on AARP

In rare show of bipartisanship, the Senate overwhelmingly approved the FDA measure. On the other side of the Capitol, top Republicans delved into whether AARP represented its members' interests when the lobby group for seniors supported the health law.

28 Jun 2012

Radiologists' efficiency can be improved using lung nodule matching program

An automated lung nodule matching program can improve radiologists' efficiency almost two-fold, a first of its kind study shows.

28 Jun 2012

World must work together to take advantage of 'unique opportunity' to end polio

"Ten years after Europe was declared polio-free, the world stands tantalizingly close to eradicating the disease for good," but "the world's chances of achieving this once unthinkable goal of ending polio are being jeopardized by a funding gap of $945 million," Sir Liam Donaldson, chair of the Independent Monitoring Board of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, writes in this EurActiv.com opinion piece.

28 Jun 2012

Ghana to contribute $1M to fight NTDs

Ghana "will contribute about $1 million towards the prevention and control of endemic neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in order to protect the gains made by the country in Guinea worm eradication and the elimination of trachoma," the country's health minister announced on Monday at the opening of a Regional Stakeholders' Consultative Meeting on NTDs, PANA/AfriqueJet reports. Health Minister Albin Bagbin "also called on African countries to support interventions to address NTDs and improve coordination among all stakeholders in implementing NTD programs," the news agency writes.

28 Jun 2012

Miriam Hospital receives NIH renewal grant to support growth of Lifespan/Tufts/Brown CFAR

The Miriam Hospital has received an $8.5 million, five-year renewal grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support the continued growth of the Lifespan/Tufts/Brown Center for AIDS Research (CFAR).

28 Jun 2012

ONE releases 2012 DATA Report looking at E.U. commitments to development, Africa

ONE released its 2012 DATA Report this week, the ONE Blog reports, noting that the report this year focuses on the European Union's commitments to development and to Africa. The report "tracks the progress of the E.U. institutions and the 27 E.U. Member States towards their promised goals of collectively providing 0.7 percent of their Gross National Income towards development assistance by 2015," and a pledge to provide half of all aid increases to Africa, the blog notes.

28 Jun 2012

The ruling's possible market repurcussions

The uncertainty surrounding the fate of the health law has triggered a guessing game by some investors.

28 Jun 2012

Prevalence of significant CAD in patients with chest pain symptoms is lower than expected in Europe

Preliminary findings from the EVINCI study show that the prevalence of "significant" coronary artery disease in patients with chest pain symptoms is lower than expected in Europe. In as much as 75% of this population an accurate non-invasive screening could avoid unnecessary and costly invasive procedures.

28 Jun 2012

U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator reflects on lessons learned from PEPFAR's first decade

In this post in the Department of State's "DipNote" blog, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby reflects on his speech at the Brookings Institution on Tuesday in anticipation of the AIDS 2012 conference scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C. from July 22-27.

28 Jun 2012

U of S training program receives $1.65 million over six years from NSERC

A new University of Saskatchewan training program that will produce future leaders in food safety, infectious disease control and public policy has been awarded $1.65 million over six years through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council's Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) program.

28 Jun 2012