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State roundup: Calif. HMO report cards, Ore. family planning bills challenged, Texas managed care

Gov. Corbett's new budget proposal would cost the city $42 million in mostly mental health and addiction treatment funding, but city officials say the impact will be worsened by ensuing needs for emergency shelter, child welfare, and other services. … The city Health Department faces an additional $7 million in state cuts. That would reduce the number of beds in the city nursing home and cost hospice beds for AIDS victims, officials said.

23 Feb 2012

Birth control mandate, abortion draw lines in presidential debate

Democrats successfully shifted a debate over religious liberty to birth control last week, but opponents of the contraception mandate are trying to shift it right back. The political debate over the birth-control mandate in the health care law is largely a fight over how to frame the issue.

23 Feb 2012

Surgical instruments, CT pan-scans under scrutiny

Filthy, dangerous medical implements have been showing up in hospitals and outpatient surgery centers with alarming regularity. In 2009, the Department of Veterans Affairs admitted that 10,737 veterans in Florida, Tennessee and Georgia were given endoscopies or colonoscopies between 2002 and 2009 with endoscopes that may have been improperly cleaned.

23 Feb 2012

U.S. Surgeon General, SEMBC join to launch Fighting D in the D campaign

In her advocacy for effective disease prevention and health promotion programs, U.S. Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin, M.D., joined the Southeast Michigan Beacon Community (SEMBC) today to launch the "Fighting D in the D" campaign during a kickoff event, attended by over 225 guests, at the Westin Book Cadillac in downtown Detroit.

23 Feb 2012

GeoBlue launches first iPhone app for quality healthcare services

GeoBlue, a leader and innovator serving the medical needs of expatriates and world travelers, announced today that it has launched the first iPhone application for finding and paying for quality healthcare services all around the world. GeoBlue Mobile is now available in the iTunes App Store for downloading onto iPhones, iPads and iPod touches.

23 Feb 2012

ANFP renames and re-launches its charitable foundation

As a part of its recently announced strategic rebranding initiative, the Association of Nutrition & Foodservice Professionals (ANFP) has renamed and re-launched its charitable foundation.

23 Feb 2012

Laboratory Supply Company raises $16,000 to benefit Kosair Children's Hospital

Laboratory Supply Company (LABSCO), the largest privately held supplier of diagnostic instrumentation and clinical laboratory products to hospitals, physician office laboratories, reference labs and other non-acute care settings in the United States, raised more than $16,000 to benefit Kosair Children's Hospital through the Children's Hospital Foundation.

23 Feb 2012

More toxic aldehydes found in reheated sunflower and linseed oil

Researchers from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU, Spain) have been the first to discover the presence of certain aldehydes in food, which are believed to be related to some neurodegenerative diseases and some types of cancer. These toxic compounds can be found in some oils, such as sunflower oil, when heated at a suitable temperature for frying.

23 Feb 2012

High Court extends time allocated for health law arguments

The Supreme Court on Tuesday added an extra 30 minutes to the time provided for oral arguments, bumping up the total to six hours over three days.

23 Feb 2012

AHA Heart-Check mark for almonds

The American Heart Association (AHA) recently certified almonds based on their nutrient profile to display the signature Heart-Check mark . The Heart-Check mark is overseen by AHA to help make it easier for shoppers to identify and choose heart-healthy foods.

23 Feb 2012

Dolbey launches DocAssist Documentation Guides for hospitals

From the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) annual conference, Dolbey introduced DocAssist Documentation Guides to help hospitals train their physicians to document patient reports according to the upcoming ICD-10 PCS requirements.

23 Feb 2012

International Microbicides Conference to take place from April 15-18

The biennial International Microbicides Conference is the premier gathering for those working on new approaches to HIV prevention and this year's conference in Sydney, Australia will place a strong emphasis on the role of community in both research and implementation of scientific findings. The conference will take place from April 15-18 at the Sydney Exhibition and Conference Centre located on the Darling Harbour waterfront.

23 Feb 2012

Baron and Budd now offers free wristbands to help raise awareness of mesothelioma

The national mesothelioma law firm of Baron and Budd is now offering free wristbands to help raise awareness of mesothelioma cancer. The wristbands are available here and come in adult and children's sizes.

23 Feb 2012

NCQA awards MHC Distinction to Health Net of California

Health Net of California, Inc., a subsidiary of Health Net, Inc., announced today that its HMO, POS, PPO, Healthy Families Program and Medicaid lines of business have been awarded the Multicultural Health Care (MHC) Distinction by the National Committee for Quality Assurance.

22 Feb 2012

Department of Veterans Affairs introduces Health Benefits Handbook

Veterans enrolled in the health care system of the Department of Veterans Affairs have begun to receive personalized booklets that explain their health care benefits and contain other useful information.

22 Feb 2012

Political cartoon: 'High Occupancy?'

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "High Occupancy?" by Mike Peters.

22 Feb 2012

Counterfeit drugs on the Internet find their way into legitimate pharmacies

Criminal gangs are increasingly using the internet to market life-threatening counterfeit medicines and some have even turned up in legitimate outlets such as pharmacies, according to a review led by Dr Graham Jackson, editor of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice, and published in the March edition.

22 Feb 2012

International effort to define ECG interpretation standards in athletes

On Feb. 13-14, the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) partnered with the ESC Sports Cardiology Section, the PACES, other leading U.S. cardiologists, BJSM, and F-MARC in an effort to define ECG interpretation standards in athletes and develop a comprehensive online training module for physicians around the world to gain expertise in ECG interpretation and the proper evaluation of ECG abnormalities suggestive of a pathologic cardiovascular disorder.

22 Feb 2012

Southeast Minnesota Beacon Community to demonstrate HIE technology at HiMSS Conference

Medical records are an invaluable tool in treating patients. When a caregiver has ample information regarding a person's medical history, treatments are more effective and efficient. Unfortunately, few people have complete medical records -- due, in large part, to a lack of any universal repository tools for keeping those records.

22 Feb 2012

Americans used less health care during recent U.S. economic recession

The recent U.S. economic recession was the longest and most severe since World War II. During this period, personal spending on health care grew at the slowest rate in over 50 years, suggesting that Americans used less health care.

22 Feb 2012