Healthcare News

RSS

As MDGs set to expire in 2015, U.N. panel to advise on approaches to development; African Progress Panel calls for 'big push' on continent

"The presidents of Indonesia and Liberia -- Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf -- and the prime minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, are to co-chair a U.N. panel to advise on approaches to development after the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) expire in 2015," SciDev.Net reports.

14 May 2012

Online information offers insights into hospitals' track records

Using data from government agencies and private watchdogs, several websites provide consumer information on hospitals.

14 May 2012

Congress wrestles with medical research funding, FDA approval processes

Medical research advocates warn Congress about the dire impact that automatic spending cuts scheduled to take effect in January would have on efforts to control disease and develop life-saving treatments. Also in the news, how the concept of "fast-track" Food and Drug Administration approvals is playing on Capitol Hill.

14 May 2012

Eggs for breakfast associated with greater satiety and reduced calorie consumption

New research presented at the 19th European Congress on Obesity in Lyon, France reports that eating eggs for breakfast is associated with greater satiety and reduced calorie consumption at lunch than eating wheat-based breakfast foods like ready-to-eat breakfast cereal. Participants in the study reported feeling fuller following the egg breakfast and tests of their hunger hormone levels supported their self-reported observations.

14 May 2012

National program in Botswana focuses on increasing male circumcision rate

Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe all have launched national campaigns urging men to undergo circumcision to help reduce their risk of contracting or transmitting HIV infection, but "all the countries are lagging far behind their targets," Agence France-Presse reports in an article focusing on efforts in Botswana.

14 May 2012

GOP's Medicare plan has some candidates playing defense

The budget plan advanced by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has become a hot topic in many congressional races. One example is the Illinois race between Rep. Joe Walsh, a Republican, and Democratic challenger and Iraqi war veteran Tammy Duckworth.

14 May 2012

USAID reports to congress on global health, child survival

"In the last 20 years, the world has saved more than 50 million children's lives and reduced maternal mortality by one-third," "accomplishments [that] have been the result of good science, good management, bipartisan political support, the engagement of USAID and many other U.S. Government agencies, and the participation of faith-based organizations, civil society, and the private sector," according to a summary of USAID's "Global Health and Child Survival: Progress Report to Congress 2010-2011."

14 May 2012

InterSystems introduces new version strategic informatics platform for interoperability and active analytics

InterSystems Corporation, a global leader in software for connected care, today launched the next generation of its InterSystems HealthShare strategic informatics platform for interoperability and active analytics. Designed originally for public health information exchanges (HIEs) at regional, state and national levels, HealthShare has been extended and rearchitected to also deliver the advanced technologies needed by integrated delivery networks (IDNs).

14 May 2012

Examining health sector funding agreement between Liberia, USAID

"[A] new and complementary agreement between Liberia and USAID, called the Fixed Amount Reimbursement Agreement (FARA)," is "quite revolutionary," Amanda Glassman, director of global health policy and a research fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD), and Jacob Hughes, write in CGD's "Global Health Policy" blog.

14 May 2012

Viewing a needle prick leads to enhanced pain perception

Health professionals commonly say, "Don't look and it won't hurt" before administering an injection, but is there any scientific basis for the advice? A group of German investigators has found that, in fact, your past experience with needle pricks, along with information you receive before an injection, shape your pain experience. Their research is published in the May issue of Pain.

14 May 2012

Doctors turn to blood pressure tests in kids, BMI tests in adults to fight obesity

Doctors and insurers are considering how best to combat obesity in America including screening kids early via blood pressure checks and using body mass index tests in adults to monitor weight and potential problems.

14 May 2012

New Jefferson Hepatitis C Center

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital recently opened its new Jefferson Hepatitis C Center, one of only a few comprehensive, multidisciplinary centers dedicated to the study of hepatitis C virus and hepatic disease in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware tri-state area.

14 May 2012

Important role played by nurse helplines

A survey by Cancer Research UK's helpline nurses has revealed that patients mainly need information to understand their situation and for peace of mind - not just to make treatment choices. The results are published today in Cancer Nursing Practice.

14 May 2012

Accretive gives detailed response to Sen. Franken inquiry

The Minnesota attorney general says the company has some overly-aggressive billing and collection practices.

14 May 2012

ESIM announces ‘Excellence in Integrative Medicine Research Awards’

The European Society for Integrative Medicine (ESIM), with support from Heel, announces a new international research prize in integrative medicine: the "Excellence in Integrative Medicine Research Award." Applicants are asked to submit papers by May 30, 2012.

14 May 2012

First Edition: May 14, 2012

In today's headlines, a report about how the Ryan budget plan -- specifically, its Medicare changes -- is playing in congressional races.

14 May 2012

College Park Family Care Center chooses eClinicalWorks comprehensive EHR solution

eClinicalWorks, a market leader in ambulatory clinical systems, today announces that College Park Family Care Center, the largest non-hospital owned multi-specialty group in the Kansas City-area, has chosen eClinicalWorks comprehensive electronic health records (EHR) solution for its 91 providers across 12 locations.

14 May 2012

Amcom Software certifies on Siemens Enterprise Communications OpenScape Voice platform

Demonstrating its commitment to the healthcare industry, Siemens Enterprise Communications today announced that Amcom Software has been certified on its OpenScape Voice platform, allowing healthcare enterprises to easily leverage Amcom console platforms with the OpenScape portfolio for next-generation clinical communications.

14 May 2012

HealthFitness praises IOM for in-depth report on obesity in the U.S.

In some 478 pages, the Institute of Medicine laid out a thorough case this week to re-cast the nation's growing obesity problem as both an individual and societal responsibility to solve. Despite both private and public efforts over the past decade to address the problem, obesity-related illnesses cost an estimated $190 billion a year in the first five years of the millennium.

14 May 2012

Five-point checklist to protect eyes from sun’s harmful rays

Like your skin, overexposure to the sun can wreak havoc on your eyes. Sun damage can cause severe conditions such as sunburn to the cornea, tissue growth on the surface of eyes that can block vision, skin cancer of the eyelids and may even contribute to the development of cataracts and other eye problems.

14 May 2012