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Study raises concerns about Bisphenol A in canned foods

A recent study published in JAMA raises concerns about Bisphenol A (BPA) in canned foods.

24 Nov 2011

Community-based program battles gender-based violence

Hillary Anderson, a communications intern for Management Sciences for Health (MSH), writes in this post on MSH's "Global Health Impact" blog about the organization's Community-based Family Planning and HIV & AIDS Services (CFPHS) project, which "worked to address gender-based violence (GBV) in Malawi through behavior change communication (BCC) activities."

24 Nov 2011

No variation in mortality by timing of operation

The timing of surgical procedures—afternoon versus morning or Friday versus Monday—doesn't affect the risk of death after surgery, concludes a study in the December issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society.

24 Nov 2011

Why foreign aid should matter to GOP presidential candidates

"I suggest that GOP presidential candidates apply similar personal finance principles to evaluate why foreign aid is worth the investment," Samuel Worthington, president of InterAction, writes in a CNN opinion piece.

24 Nov 2011

Novel genetic sequencing methods identify various bacteria on public restrooms

Everyone wonders what bugs might be lurking in public bathrooms. Now researchers are using novel genetic sequencing methods to answer this question, revealing a plethora of bacteria all around, from the doors and the floors to the faucet handles and toilet seats, with potential public health implications, as reported Nov. 23 in the online journal PLoS ONE.

24 Nov 2011

Obama should announce scale-up of AIDS treatment programs

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's recent speech calling for an "AIDS-free generation" through the use of multiple prevention strategies, including more widespread antiretroviral therapy, "was a dramatic reversal of U.S. policy, which has historically viewed treatment more as a costly expense rather than our most powerful prevention investment," physician Loretta Ciraldo and Katrina Ciraldo, a student at Boston University School of Medicine, write in this Miami Herald opinion piece.

24 Nov 2011

First systematic and in-depth analysis of cardiac arrest in hospital

Only a few decades ago, sudden cardiac arrest was a death sentence. Today, a victim of sudden cardiac arrest is saved roughly once every six hours in Sweden, reveals a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, reviewing all cases of sudden cardiac arrest over a 30-year period.

24 Nov 2011

Insurance commissioners back brokers on health law standard

After more than a year of debate, state regulators ... approved a resolution calling for changes to the healthcare reform law's medical loss ratio provision. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) passed the measure 26-20, over strenuous objections from commissioners who said the process and the resolution itself would undermine the NAIC's reputation.

24 Nov 2011

OECD report finds U.S. pays more by far for health care

The U.S. healthcare system is more effective at delivering high costs than quality care, according to a new study that found first-rate treatment for cancer but insufficient primary care for other ailments. The study, released on Wednesday by the 34-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, said Americans pay more than $7,900 per person for healthcare each year -- far more than any other OECD country -- but still die earlier than their peers in the industrialized world.

24 Nov 2011

Guardian International Development Journalism Competition results posted

The Guardian this week posted the results of its 2011 International Development Journalism Competition. "Sixteen finalists -- eight amateur, eight professional -- were sent to the developing world to write a feature on a theme suggested by the non-governmental organization that hosted their trip," the newspaper notes.

24 Nov 2011

Body-conscious Shakespeare: Sensory disturbances in troubled characters

Shakespeare was a master at portraying profound emotional upset in the physical symptoms of his characters, and many modern day doctors would do well to study the Bard to better understand the mind-body connection, concludes an analysis of his works, published in Medical Humanities.

24 Nov 2011

UnitedHealth buying Medicare advantage plan with chronically ill specialty

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH), the largest U.S. health insurer by sales, said it will buy XLHealth Corp., a provider of managed care for chronically ill Medicare members, to strengthen a growth area likely to gain increasing support from the U.S. government as it trims costs. The purchase price was about $2 billion, according to a person familiar with the deal who asked not to be identified because the price wasn't disclosed. … The purchase of XLHealth, with 111,000 members, is the seventh since Jan. 1 involving companies that manage Medicare coverage.

24 Nov 2011

RCHT deploys Watch4net APG to consolidate visibility of IT data storage systems

Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust (RCHT) has selected Watch4net APG to consolidate visibility of their disparate IT data storage systems in order to gain insight into performance and capacity information to proactively manage storage resources.

24 Nov 2011

Examining the effects of trade rules on public health, access to medicines

In this post in the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog, Tido von Schoen-Angerer, executive director of the Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) Access to Essential Medicines Campaign, examines the interface between trade rules and public health, discussing the implications of the Doha Declaration on public health since its inception 10 years ago, and addresses the question of how "countries balance the need to protect public health against patent rights that lead to high medicine prices and limited access for people in need."

24 Nov 2011

Physicians can do better if they learn from their failures

When seeking a physician, you should look for one with experience. Right? Maybe not. Research on physicians' decision-making processes has revealed that those who pay attention to failures as well as successes become more adept at selecting the correct treatment.

24 Nov 2011

Four-year project aims to boost kala-azar elimination efforts in India, Bangladesh

In this post in the Global Health Technologies Coalition's "Breakthroughs" blog, Elena Pantjushenko, a communications associate for GHTC member OneWorld Health (OWH), profiles a "comprehensive four-year project to boost kala-azar (leishmaniasis) elimination strategies in India and Bangladesh, where the concentration of disease burden is among the world's highest."

24 Nov 2011

Anesthesia drug shortages can have devastating impact on patient care

The United States is facing ongoing shortages of several critical anesthesia medications—shortages with potentially serious effects on patient care and safety, according to a special article in the December issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society.

24 Nov 2011

Health industry raising alarms about cuts to Medicare after super committee failure

Automatic Medicare cuts triggered by the congressional super committee's failure would hit hospitals harder than any other health industry, according to an analysis from Avalere Health. The report puts hard numbers to across-the-board cuts that stakeholders have mostly viewed in broad, general terms. But Avalere chief executive Dan Mendelson cautioned that the figures also assume the automatic cuts will actually happen -; an assumption he's not ready to make.

24 Nov 2011

New Techna Institute at UHN signs first agreement with INO

The new Techna Institute at University Health Network (UHN) has signed its first agreement with INO of Quebec City and Hamilton.

24 Nov 2011

UNICEF report says more than 30M children in East Asia, Pacific lack essential services

"More than 30 million children in seven countries in East Asia and the Pacific are deprived of at least one essential service such as basic health care, safe drinking water or access to education, according to a United Nations study," AlertNet reports.

24 Nov 2011