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Opinion pieces address world population of 7 billion

Though demographers do not know exactly when the world's population will hit seven billion, the U.N. symbolically marked the day on Monday with celebrations and warnings about safety, health and sustainability.

2 Nov 2011

Hospitals must improve tracking of serious errors, report finds

Medicare inspectors must do a better job of tracking reports of serious mistakes in care at the nation's hospitals, as well as of informing rating agencies of the errors, according to a report released Tuesday by the agency's inspector general.

2 Nov 2011

Diagnostic test communication failure accounts for higher proportion of malpractice awards

Because clinical evaluation often depends on diagnostic tests, diagnostic physicians have a responsibility to notify referring clinicians when test results reveal urgent or unexpected findings.

2 Nov 2011

Hospital architecture, design and sensory stimulation make rehabilitation more effective

How does the hospital environment affect our rehabilitation? New research from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, into how the space around us affects the brain reveals that well-planned architecture, design and sensory stimulation increase patients' ability to recover both physically and mentally. Digital textiles and multisensory spaces can make rehabilitation more effective and reduce the amount of time spent in care.

2 Nov 2011

Study identifies a group of middle school students at high risk for alcohol use

Research led by University of Southern California (USC) professor Mary Ann Pentz, Ph.D., shows that black middle school students whose close friends drink alcohol are more likely to drink alcohol in high school than their white classmates.

2 Nov 2011

Congress should grant PEPFAR future security because program is 'desperately needed'

In this CNN opinion piece, Julian Zelizer, an author and professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, reports on how, "as the super-committee deliberates over how to reduce the deficit and other congressional committees struggle to cut spending, the fate of important programs," such as PEPFAR, "hangs in the balance."

2 Nov 2011

Alliances form among super committee members

Reuters reports that three Republicans and three Democrats are joining together in an effort to develop the framework of a deal themselves. Meanwhile, an outside organization -; the AFL-CIO -; is launching a campaign to defeat any Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security cuts the panel may ultimately propose. And, according to Politico, Social Security is in play as the panel's deliberations continue.

2 Nov 2011

Zanzibar's Islamic leaders use Qur'an to shift attitudes about sex, contraception, HIV/AIDS

The Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog" examines how religious leaders on the island of Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, are using the Qur'an to shift attitudes about the issues of sex, contraception, and HIV/AIDS in an effort to reduce HIV infection, improve maternal health and curb rapid population growth. "Their aim is to shift deep-rooted views in their devout Islamic society that contraception is a sin," according to the blog.

2 Nov 2011

State roundup: Ga., Minn. move slowly on exchanges

The entire Massachusetts congressional delegation is asking CMS to preserve the level of safety net funding and provider payments as the state tries to renew its Medicaid waiver. "We are concerned that changes proposed by CMS could significantly threaten payments to Massachusetts health care providers providing care for the most vulnerable populations," Sens. John Kerry and Scott Brown and the 10 House members in the state's delegation wrote.

2 Nov 2011

Study finds multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in 48% of infected patient rooms

Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDR-AB) was found in the environment of 48 percent of the rooms of patients colonized or infected with the pathogen, according to a new study published in the November issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of APIC - the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

2 Nov 2011

Home health payments will fall 2.3% in 2012

The pay cut for home health agencies was announced in a regulation that was issued Monday. Although this reduction is less than initially proposed and will be phased in over two years, industry voices described it as "severe."

2 Nov 2011

Obama takes action to address drug shortages

President Barack Obama issued an executive order Monday directing the Food and Drug Administration to, among other steps, speed up reviews of manufacturers' applications to begin or alter production of a drug in potentially short supply.

2 Nov 2011

Early retirees' health insurance fund running out

A federal report predicts this $5 billion account created as part of the health law will be drained by 2012. In related news, one senator criticizes the program's handling. Also drawing criticism are exchange regulations, which advocates say could undermine the law's goal of expanding health insurance. Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Human Services finalized standards -; part of the administration's efforts to reduce health disparities -; to track factors that affect people's health.

2 Nov 2011

Debating 'RomneyCare's' parenthood

The video is a lively -; though civil -; Republican-Democrat debate about whether it's fair to consider Massachusetts health reform as the "parent" of the federal health overhaul. As CommonWealth magazine executive editor Michael Jonas introduces it: Talking over the issue are Tim Murphy, who was Romney's secretary of health and human services and John McDonough, who was in the thick of the 2006 reform as director of Health Care for All.

2 Nov 2011

NYC settles Medicaid suit; Wis. officials face deadline for new plan for health care for poor

New York City will pay the federal government $70 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the city of overbilling Medicaid by improperly approving home care for frail and elderly clients, both parties said on Monday.

2 Nov 2011

Science Speaks reports results of Zambia-South Africa TB and AIDS Reduction program study

This post in the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports the results of a Zambia-South Africa TB and AIDS Reduction (ZAMSTAR) program study, released Monday, which "demonstrate that household counseling -- defined as the unpacking of concerns about TB and HIV within households and facilitating prompt diagnosis and treatment -- significantly reduced tuberculosis (TB) prevalence."

2 Nov 2011

E.U., UNICEF launch $430M fund in Zimbabwe to provide medical care to children, pregnant women

"A $430 million fund which will give Zimbabwean children and pregnant women free medical care at public hospitals was launched Monday with the help of the E.U. and UNICEF," Agence France-Presse reports.

2 Nov 2011

Majority of body CT attending radiologists disagree on management of incidental findings

According to a recent study published in the November issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology, many radiologists disagree on the management of incidental findings found on body computed tomography (CT) scans.

2 Nov 2011

China's 'one-child policy' delayed world's reaching population of 7 billion; China to maintain policy

"The world's population is expected to hit seven billion around October 31," CNN's Jaime FlorCruz reports in his column, "Jaime's China." This is a number that would have been reached five years earlier were it not for China's family planning policy, according to Zhai Zhenwu, a professor at Renmin University School of Sociology and Population. FlorCruz writes that experts at the National Population and Family Planning Commission of China say "the policy has prevented more than 400 million births in the country."

2 Nov 2011

Penn surgeons perform first bilateral hand transplantation

For the first time in the Delaware Valley Region, a patient has undergone a complex and intricate bilateral hand transplant that could significantly enhance the quality-of-life for persons with multiple limb loss.

2 Nov 2011

Healthcare News

Opinion pieces address world population of 7 billion

Hospitals must improve tracking of serious errors, report finds

Diagnostic test communication failure accounts for higher proportion of malpractice awards

Hospital architecture, design and sensory stimulation make rehabilitation more effective

Study identifies a group of middle school students at high risk for alcohol use

Congress should grant PEPFAR future security because program is 'desperately needed'

Alliances form among super committee members

Zanzibar's Islamic leaders use Qur'an to shift attitudes about sex, contraception, HIV/AIDS

State roundup: Ga., Minn. move slowly on exchanges

Study finds multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in 48% of infected patient rooms

Home health payments will fall 2.3% in 2012

Obama takes action to address drug shortages

Early retirees' health insurance fund running out

Debating 'RomneyCare's' parenthood

NYC settles Medicaid suit; Wis. officials face deadline for new plan for health care for poor

Science Speaks reports results of Zambia-South Africa TB and AIDS Reduction program study

E.U., UNICEF launch $430M fund in Zimbabwe to provide medical care to children, pregnant women

Majority of body CT attending radiologists disagree on management of incidental findings

China's 'one-child policy' delayed world's reaching population of 7 billion; China to maintain policy

Penn surgeons perform first bilateral hand transplantation

Sensing a Healthier Future

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