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Patient awareness, better clinician education needed to ensure individualised treatment of high blood pressure

On the eve of its annual conference, leading doctors from the European Society of Hypertension have called for patient awareness and better clinician education to ensure more individualised treatment of high blood pressure.

25 Apr 2012

South African model for concussion management

Jon Patricios, MMBCh, MMed Sci, will be presenting "Mandela's Mantra: A South African Model for Concussion Management" at the 21st American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA on Tuesday, April 24.

25 Apr 2012

Health system 'sticker shock' and other critiques

NPR reports on how one cancer specialist diagnoses the health system's ills, while The Associated Press reports on how the costs for a common operation to remove the appendix ranged from $1,500 to $180,000 in one state.

25 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 25, 2012

Today's headlines include reports that Medicare is proposing a change in how it decides hospital reimbursements and the latest on the GOP Capitol Hill budget strategy.

25 Apr 2012

Fights over abortion legislation in N.H., Wisconsin

The New Hampshire Senate is expected to weigh a half dozen abortion bills later this week, including one that would cut off taxpayer funding to clinics and others that perform elective abortions, according to media reports. In Wisconsin, meanwhile, some women's groups and doctors oppose a law that prompted Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin to suspend nonsurgical abortions.

25 Apr 2012

Sheffield researchers investigate ways to improve treatment for elderly patients with breast cancer

Sheffield researchers are investigating ways to improve the treatment and survival rate of elderly patients diagnosed with breast cancer.

25 Apr 2012

State Medicaid programs scrutinized for fraud

With the federal government trying to cut costs and crack down on fraud, a congressional panel this week will set its sights on the Medicaid program, which last year paid out nearly $22 billion in error or fraudulent claims. The April 25 hearing by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is just the latest in a series that Congress has held recently targeting federal program that have high "error rates" in payments, such as Medicaid.

25 Apr 2012

Costs, quality pose challenges in caring for aging patients

NPR reports on on the difficulties involved in planning for the costs associated with caring for aging parents. Meanwhile, Kaiser Health News reports on a new poll that finds doctors fall short in caring for seniors.

25 Apr 2012

Providers can and should work toward 'sustainable anesthesia'

Anesthesia providers can and should begin taking steps toward practicing "sustainable anesthesia," according to the May special issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society.

25 Apr 2012

Report examines efforts to move to universal health coverage

The Council on Foreign Relations recently released a new report titled, "The New Global Health Agenda: Universal Health Coverage," in which "authors Oren Ahoobim, Daniel Altman, Laurie Garrett, Vicky Hausman, and Yanzhong Huang discuss a rise in support for universal health coverage and the financial benefits that may be reaped by implementing such schemes, and provide examples of models used to date by countries in establishing universal health coverage," according to the report summary.

25 Apr 2012

What if? ... the health law and Supreme Court decision scenarios

Depending on how the high court rules, its decision has potential to trigger a variety of changes -- both in government health programs such as Medicare as well as in the private sector.

25 Apr 2012

Survey: After Supreme Court arguments, public still divided on health law

The Kaiser Family Foundation's tracking poll found that the oral arguments held last month before the high court raised awareness about the health law, but didn't sway public opinion.

25 Apr 2012

Berlin earns ‘Certificate of Sustainability’

The first Maryland municipality to earn a "Certificate of Sustainability" under a new statewide environmental program is the Town of Berlin on the Eastern Shore.

25 Apr 2012

Medicare's trust fund to remain solvent until 2024, report calls for fixes

News outlets report on the predictions offered by the Medicare trustees, and examine the assumptions behind them as well as the political landscape.

25 Apr 2012

5 reasons global health programs should 'be spared the chopping block'

"President Obama and his GOP challenger Mitt Romney have both prioritized deficit reduction, which, of course, is a worthy goal," former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), chair of the non-profit Hope Through Healing Hands, writes in an opinion piece in The Week.

25 Apr 2012

Book aims to improve overall cardiovascular health of its readers

Dr. Antonio M. Gotto Jr., dean emeritus and co-chairman of the board of overseers at Weill Cornell Medical College, is the co-author of a new book called The Living Heart in the 21st Century. The book, a new edition in The Living Heart best-selling series, is the essential resource guide for patients about cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment.

25 Apr 2012

Capitol Hill is focus of disability protests, claims about effects of health care law

Except for the candidate, and the phone number that flashes on screen at the end, the ads follow a strikingly similar script. Senator Fill-in-the-Blank supports business-smothering regulations and will raise your taxes. He also added trillions to the deficit by voting for "Obamacare" and will cut your Medicare.

25 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: 'Callous' House Republicans; Supreme Court's 'core constitutional role'

For months, House Republicans have been trying to wriggle out of the agreement they made in August that will force deep cuts in military spending. Now we know how they propose to do it: They will take tens of billions out of programs for the poorest Americans, particularly food stamps, along with health care for the middle class.

25 Apr 2012

Study confirms overuse of blood transfusions during surgery

Citing the lack of clear guidelines for ordering blood transfusions during surgery, Johns Hopkins researchers say a new study confirms there is still wide variation in the use of transfusions and frequent use of transfused blood in patients who don't need it.

25 Apr 2012

Blog posts comment on launch of USAID's 'Every Child Deserves a Fifth Birthday' campaign

The following is a summary of several blog posts commenting on the launch of USAID's "Every Child Deserves a Fifth Birthday" social media campaign by USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah at an event at the Kaiser Family Foundation on Monday.

25 Apr 2012