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Lawmakers examine how Medicare, Medicaid can help stop prescription painkiller abuse

Lawmakers held a hearing Thursday on what steps the federal government can take to help prevent the abuse of prescription painkillers.

23 Mar 2012

U.N. SG calls for 'global solidarity' in fight against TB

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday during a visit to the Institute of Respiratory Medicine in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, "urged countries to step up their efforts to prevent tuberculosis (TB)" and "called for 'intensified global solidarity to ensure that the children and people of all the countries get medical support, so that they can breathe with health,'" the U.N. News Centre reports.

23 Mar 2012

Hutchison calls on Perry to work with feds on women's health funding

The fight in Texas over its Women's Health Program and the dual defundings of Planned Parenthood by the state and the entire program by the federal government gained a new wrinkle as Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, called on Gov. Rick Perry to work out the state's differences with the feds.

23 Mar 2012

Water scarcity may cause global instability, U.S. intelligence agencies say in report

U.S. intelligence agencies released a report on Thursday warning that "[d]rought, floods and a lack of fresh water may cause significant global instability and conflict in the coming decades, as developing countries scramble to meet demand from exploding populations while dealing with the effects of climate change," the Associated Press reports.

23 Mar 2012

Sixty-thousand Canadian teens go hungry to raise money and hunger awareness

As Canadians flock to movie theatres across the country for the much-anticipated Hunger Games motion picture release this weekend, more than 60,000 teens are preparing to go hungry to raise money and hunger awareness as part of World Vision's 30 Hour Famine, the largest teen hunger awareness campaign in the world.

23 Mar 2012

Bringing together NTD and WASH sectors of public health

In this post in the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases' "End the Neglect" blog, Stephanie Ogden -- a water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and neglected tropical disease (NTD) consultant with Emory's Center for Global Safe Water, Children Without Worms, and the International Trachoma Initiative -- writes about a partnership among these organizations.

23 Mar 2012

On its birthday, health law feted as giving consumers 'control,' denigrated for provoking 'showdown'

On the second anniversary of the enactment of the law, commentators offer Supreme Court advice on historic arguments next week, examine public opinion on the overhaul and note the political consequences.

23 Mar 2012

House approves bill to kill Medicare cost panel

In what is viewed as a largely symbolic move, the GOP-led House passed a bill that would undo the health law's Medicare cost control board. Though the measure initially drew some Democratic support, those votes all but disappeared after the repeal of the Independent Payment Advisory Board was linked to medical malpractice legislation.

23 Mar 2012

Africa must develop its own pharmaceutical pipeline through creation of policy frameworks

"To break free of its dependence on donor money and supplies from India, Africa must develop its own pharmaceutical pipeline by creating policy frameworks that encourage a fledgling drug industry," journalist Priya Shetty argues in this SciDev.Net opinion piece.

23 Mar 2012

Blog posts comment on World TB Day

Several blog posts recently commented on the upcoming World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, commemorated on March 24. "Despite a clear legislative mandate, the U.S. Global Health Initiative (GHI) has consistently failed to live up to the goals of" the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB), and Malaria Reauthorization Act, passed by Congress in 2008, John Fawcett, legislative director for RESULTS, writes in the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog.

23 Mar 2012

New information service on Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs

Proxy Capital today announced the launch of a new, free information service, MaxEHR.com. The MaxEHR.com website provides doctors and other medical professionals with the information they need to maximize their incentives and productivity from adopting and using electronic health records (EHR).

23 Mar 2012

The health law officially turns two -- now what?

Supporters are marking the health law's second birthday today even as questions swirl about whether it will get to celebrate a third. Meanwhile, media outlets examine where implementation stands and what is yet to come.

23 Mar 2012

World Water Day resources available from USAID, 'DataBlog'

USAID's water team on Thursday, World Water Day, published a new edition of their Global Waters Magazine to recognize the day, according to USAID's IMPACTblog.

23 Mar 2012

'The Hunger Games' film could raise awareness about hunger

In this post in State Department's "DipNote" blog, Paul Weisenfeld, assistant to the administrator of the USAID Bureau of Food Security, writes of the new film "The Hunger Games," "I was struck by how much the premise relates to the very heart of what we are trying to address at USAID and through Feed the Future."

23 Mar 2012

Clinton announces U.S. water partnership to address global water challenges

Speaking at State Department headquarters in recognition of World Water Day on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "announced a new partnership of organizations to apply the nation's abundant experience in water issues to solving global water challenges," according to IIP Digital.

23 Mar 2012

Md. launches health reform website for consumers; Calif. public option lives on

Maryland is launching a health care reform website to educate residents on how they can use benefits in the health law. In California, health reform already affects most residents while the state gets set to offer a version of its own "public option" to buy health insurance.

23 Mar 2012

High Court health law action already making political waves

As supporters and opponents of the law formulate strategies to take advantage of the buzz surrounding next week's oral arguments, a new report looks at how much has been spent in public opinion ads on the law.

23 Mar 2012

Lancet editorial calls for TB control, elimination efforts to be on G20 agenda

In anticipation of World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, commemorated on March 24, this Lancet editorial examines TB control and elimination efforts in 2012 and beyond. "Tuberculosis killed 1.45 million people in 2010 and about 500,000 people have drug-resistant disease," the editorial states, adding, "Despite a woeful funding gap in 2012 of $1.7 billion, tuberculosis incidence is falling (from 9.4 million in 2009 to 8.8 million in 2010)."

23 Mar 2012

Research roundup: Unequal 'culture of quality' in hospitals; Peer-support for stressed doctors

Comparison Of Hospital Performance In Trauma Vs Emergency And Elective General Surgery –This study compared outcomes of trauma patients and patients having either elective or emergency surgery in the same hospital. Researchers thought that "hospital performance reflected institutional culture, and, thus, would be similar across all services."

23 Mar 2012

Slight drop in infant, child, maternal mortality indicators for Africa, report says

According to a report drafted by the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Union (A.U.) Commission that reviews the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for Africa, the continent recorded a slight drop in infant, child, and maternal mortality in 2011, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports.

23 Mar 2012