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Study affirms necessity of heart rehabilitation programs for cardiac patients

University of Granada researchers affirm that it is "essential" that heart rehabilitation programs aimed at patients with any heart disease are established and provided to cardiac patients. The study included a sample of 200 patients suffering from heart disease.

4 May 2012

In global study, U.S. ranks very low in preventing premature births

A World Health Organization/United Nations/March of Dimes report ranks countries on their premature birth rates.

4 May 2012

Re-engagement of doctors is ‘critical' to success of new NHS partnership structures

Commenting on the publication of the Health Committee report on its inquiry into the integration of health and social care, Dr Brian Keighley, chairman of the BMA in Scotland said:

4 May 2012

Scotland’s waiting times to be investigated

According to Audit Scotland it will examine whether health boards are wrongly classifying patients as “unavailable” in order to remove them from waiting lists. This practice is already uncovered at NHS Lothian.

4 May 2012

NHS hospital shows improvement three months after private firm takes over

The private sector company Circle holds on to the first £2m of any annual surplus it achieves at Hinchingbrooke hospital in Cambridgeshire. They will also get a proportion of any income surplus above that level with the rest going towards paying off the hospital's £40m debt. This means that Circle would need to generate a £70m surplus from the hospital - which has a £100m turnover - over a decade to bring it out of the red. Over the past 10 years, the failing hospital - which was facing closure before the deal was made - has never recorded a surplus above £600,000.

4 May 2012

Nurses at Royal North Shore hospital urge for increased staffing

According to the nurses union, they are still waiting for a response from NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner nearly a week after they asked for her to resolve a dispute at Sydney's Royal North Shore (RNS) Hospital.

4 May 2012

Study finds unnecessary recommendations by physicians for additional PET/CT imaging

Radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians recommended additional imaging about 30% of the time in oncologic PET/CT reports, with about half of those recommendations being unnecessary, a new study shows.

4 May 2012

MSF official discusses WHO Working Group final report on R&D

The Results for Development Institute's Center for Global Health R&D Policy Assessment blog features an interview with Judit Rius Sanjuan, U.S. manager of the Access Campaign of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), who discusses the final report of the WHO Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination.

4 May 2012

U of A engineers develop wireless health-monitoring system

An interdisciplinary team of engineers at the University of Arkansas has developed a wireless health-monitoring system that gathers critical patient information, regardless of the patient's location, and communicates that information in real time to a physician, hospital or the patient herself.

4 May 2012

UNFPA Director urges India to address family planning needs

India "has to actively and aggressively address the issue of family planning" in order to improve human development indicators, including health, education and living standards, UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin said Wednesday, Reuters reports.

4 May 2012

Reuters profiles GAVI Alliance CEO Seth Berkley

Reuters profiles GAVI Alliance CEO Seth Berkley, recounting his childhood and early career, providing a brief history of GAVI since its inception in 2000, and discussing Berkley's goals and vision for the alliance.

4 May 2012

UnitedHealthcare offers ‘SignatureValue Alliance’ in California

UnitedHealthcare is offering "SignatureValue Alliance" in California, a new health benefits plan featuring high-performance care provider networks committed to delivering effective, evidence-based and cost-efficient care.

4 May 2012

State governments wrestle with Medicaid expenses, lawsuits

Officials reckon with health care costs in the context of budget dilemmas in Illinois, Kentucky, Connecticut, Alabama and Wisconsin.

4 May 2012

AAFA, Puffs Facial Tissues partner to help educate people with allergies

As National Allergy Awareness Month continues through the month of May, Puffs Facial Tissues is proud to announce their partnership with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). For years, people living with allergies have turned to Puffs to ease the discomfort of their seasonal allergy symptoms - such as annoying sniffles, watery eyes, frequent repeated sneezing - but this year they can expect even more from the tissue brand.

4 May 2012

Study confirms U.S. health spending far outpaces other industrialized nations

According to The Commonwealth Fund, the U.S. spends more than 12 other industrialized countries, but the care here is not necessarily better.

4 May 2012

State roundup: Pittsburgh insurer, hospital extend contract despite ongoing fight

A restaurant workers' group and a Los Angeles community clinic have launched a unique cooperative to provide health coverage to a group of people excluded from federal health care reform -- illegal immigrants. The pilot program, believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, offers preventive and primary care to low-wage, uninsured workers in the restaurant industry. Legal immigrants and other restaurant workers who don't meet the criteria or cannot afford coverage under the health care law are also eligible.

4 May 2012

Accretive Health says Minnesota Attorney General misled public, acted in bad faith

The Chicago-based company says last week's report by the Minnesota Attorney General did harm, and that the company will seek legal remedies.

4 May 2012

The Supreme Court rule could have 'unintended consequences' for Medicare payments

The Associated Press reports that a high court decision to strike down the health law could be disruptive to Medicare's payment systems.

4 May 2012

Blog posts respond to report on premature births

The March of Dimes Foundation, the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health, Save the Children, and the WHO on Wednesday released a new report, titled "Born Too Soon: The Global Action Report on Preterm Birth," showing that 15 million infants are born prematurely each year, 1.1 million of those infants die, but 75 percent of those deaths are preventable.

4 May 2012

HIV/AIDS funding does not undermine efforts to fight other diseases, study suggests

"While the battle against HIV/AIDS attracts more donor funding globally than all other diseases combined, it has not diverted attention from fighting unrelated afflictions -- such as malaria, measles and malnutrition -- and may be improving health services overall in targeted countries, according to a study on Rwanda published" Wednesday in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, an American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) press release reports.

4 May 2012