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Two new studies could provide tools to prevent rehospitalizations after major surgeries

Studies have shown that patients returning to the hospital soon after they've been discharged may cost Medicare up to billions of dollars each year, but two new studies presented at the 2011 Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons could give surgical teams and their patients tools to prevent rehospitalizations.

28 Oct 2011

Atwater collection of AIDS education posters now available online

When Edward Atwater, M.D., boarded a subway car on Boston's Red Line in the early 90s, he found himself staring at a poster unlike any he had seen before. It showed two hands, a condom wrapper, and text reading, "Prevent AIDS. Use One." Intrigued by what he saw, Atwater began to track how different societies viewed and responded to the worldwide epidemic through posters and other public messages, eventually gathering together the largest collection of AIDS posters in the world.

28 Oct 2011

TEDMED 2012 conference to take place in Washington, DC

TEDMED, the world's leading multi-disciplinary conference on the future of health and medicine, today announced that the 2012 edition of the conference will take place in Washington, DC at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts from April 11-13, 2012.

28 Oct 2011

NYUCN receives NCSBN grant for research into patient safety in nursing homes

New York University College of Nursing (NYUCN) received a two-year, $299,990.00 grant from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing Grant (NCSBN) to research the "Impact of an Internationally Educated Nurse Workforce on Patient Safety Processes and Outcomes in Nursing Homes."

28 Oct 2011

Study: Many older Ontarians are not visiting dentists regularly

Forty-five per cent of Ontarians 65 years and older did not see a dentist in the last year, increasing their risk of chronic diseases and a reduced quality of life , a new study by researchers at St. Michael's Hospital, Women's College Hospital and the Institute for Clinical and Evaluative Sciences (ICES) shows.

28 Oct 2011

USAID's Bureau for Global Health awards Envision project to RTI

Since the 2006 launch of USAID's Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) Control Program, which is managed by RTI, "more than 447 million NTD treatments have been provided to more than 82 million people," the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases' "End the Neglect" blog reports.

28 Oct 2011

Three economic indicators linked with high risk of stroke

People living in poor countries or countries that spend proportionately less on health-care are about 30 per cent more likely to have a stroke, a new study shows.

28 Oct 2011

New England Journal of Medicine weighs in with views on PSA testing

In four articles in the respected medical journal, doctors assess the recent change in guidelines on screening for prostate cancer in men.

28 Oct 2011

Evidenced-based best practices can reduce healthcare associated infections

Healthcare associated infections, such as catheter related acute bloodstream infections (CLABSI) and ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP), significantly affect hospital morbidity and mortality but by developing evidenced-based, best practices, these occurrences can be minimized, according to research from surgeons at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

28 Oct 2011

DRC government, UNICEF campaign immunizes 14M children against polio

"Thousands of vaccination teams have traversed the vast Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on foot, by motorbike, boat and car, in a campaign to immunize at least 14 million children against polio, the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) said," IRIN reports.

28 Oct 2011

Special hospital team reduces cumulated risk of stroke in TIA patients

Patients who had a transient ischaemic attack (TIA), sometimes referred to as a "mini stroke", were much less likely to experience further vascular events in the first year if their care was co-ordinated by a special hospital team.

28 Oct 2011

Federal regulators to step up their rate review role

Federal regulators will step up their role in rate review for association health plans after determining nearly half the states lack a satisfactory mechanism for reviewing premiums on these special health insurance products, which trade groups sell to members.

28 Oct 2011

Floridians say state must be a leader in science and medical research

A majority of Floridians (87%) believe it is important for their state to be a leader in science and medical research, according to a new state poll commissioned by Research!America. The poll also shows that 80% think spending money on scientific research is important for Florida's economy in terms of job creation and incomes.

28 Oct 2011

Mass. health care costs could spell trouble for Romney

Mitt Romney's health care albatross isn't just the similarity between his Massachusetts health care overhaul and President Barack Obama's health reform law. It's also the fact that Massachusetts still has the highest health costs in the country -; even after the reforms Romney signed into law as governor.

28 Oct 2011

Medicare Part B 2012 premiums lower than projected

The Obama administration today announced that premiums for Medicare Part B coverage in 2012 will be $99.90 a month for most beneficiaries, a smaller-than-expected increase over the $96.40 paid this year by a majority of elderly and disabled beneficiaries. Part B pays for physician visits, hospital outpatient costs and certain other services. A 3.6 percent Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, the first in three years, will more than make up for the small increase, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

28 Oct 2011

ACR supports Diagnostic Imaging Services Protection Act

The American College of Radiology supports the Diagnostic Imaging Services Protection Act (H.R. 3269), which would prohibit any multiple procedure payment reduction to the "professional component" of CT, MRI and ultrasound exams received by the same patient, on the same day, in the same setting in 2012.

28 Oct 2011

High Court justices could decide Nov. 10 which health law cases to hear

A closed-door meeting is on the justices' schedule during which they will review petitions regarding challenges to the health law. Their decision about how -; and when -; to proceed could be made public as soon as Nov. 14.

28 Oct 2011

Novel technique saves Gulf War veteran's forearm

A plastic surgeon at UT Southwestern Medical Center recently used a novel technique to save the arm of a Gulf War veteran who was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital after a horrific accident.

28 Oct 2011

UCLA professor to receive ATA's Sidney H. Ingbar Distinguished Lectureship Award

The American Thyroid Association's (ATA) Sidney H. Ingbar Distinguished Lectureship Award recognizes outstanding academic achievements in thyroidology. An honorarium is conferred each year at the ATA Annual Meeting to an established investigator who has made major contributions to thyroid-related research over many years.

28 Oct 2011

Gates Foundation, China sign MOU to work together on global health, agriculture advances

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and China's Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding to form a partnership to support new research and development (R&D) and production of new products for global health and agriculture, Agence France-Presse reports.

28 Oct 2011