Healthcare News

RSS

High cancer treatment costs in the US – are they worth it? Study explores

Healthcare in the United States is costlier than care in other countries. A new analysis suggests that the cost may be worth it at least when it comes to cancer care. Americans may pay more for cancer treatment, but they also live longer after diagnosis — getting a benefit that offsets their higher health expenses the study says.

10 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 10, 2012

In today's headlines, a new study finds that the health law, which has long been touted as a means to control costs, could add more than $340 billion to the nation's budget difficulties in the next ten years.

10 Apr 2012

Energesco signs Energy and Water Conservation Assessment Agreement with MedStar Montgomery

Energesco Solutions LLC, an energy efficiency and renewable power company, has signed an Energy and Water Conservation Assessment Agreement with MedStar Montgomery Medical Center (MedStar Montgomery) to conduct a comprehensive energy and water conservation assessment at MedStar Montgomery's facility located in Olney, MD.

10 Apr 2012

DaVita introduces Kidney Smart website for patients with CKD

DaVita Inc., a leading provider of kidney care services that is committed to improving the quality of life for those diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD), today announced the launch of its Kidney Smart website, for anyone with questions about CKD.

10 Apr 2012

Health law key to Obama campaign's outreach to women voters

Late last week, the president and his deputies were linking parts of the health law and opportunities as part of their effort to draw support from women voters. At the same time, The Associated Press reports on the challenges GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney faces in his attempts to bridge the gender gap.

10 Apr 2012

PEHS School-based Health Center to celebrate 10th anniversary this week

The School-based Health Center at Proviso East High School will celebrate its 10th anniversary this week. Faculty and students at Loyola University Chicago Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing (MNSON) opened the health center a decade ago to educate teens about health and to provide primary health care, mental health and nutrition services to keep young people well, so they can succeed in school.

10 Apr 2012

Study questions whether FDA too tough on online pharmacies

The Food and Drug Administration has warned people about the many dangers of buying medications from foreign pharmacies over the Internet. While some sites might offer high-quality medicines, there are plenty that sell bogus and potentially dangerous products. But a recent economic analysis suggests that while there's good reason for the safety warnings, the FDA's stance on the matter might go too far.

10 Apr 2012

New initiative focusing on GBV and HIV/AIDS will help prevent both

"The advancement of women's health and their rights is one of the core principles of President Barack Obama's Global Health Initiative," a VOA editorial states, adding, "And so it is that the United States has rolled out a new initiative that will tackle one of the greatest threats to women's health, HIV/AIDS, by attacking another scourge: gender-based violence [GBV]."

10 Apr 2012

Wall Street Journal examines Jim Kim's nomination to head World Bank

The Wall Street Journal reports that "a long list of development experts, government officials and news organizations around the world have mounted a rebellion of sorts" in response to the nomination of Jim Yong Kim, a global health expert and Dartmouth College president, to head the World Bank, as "many of them say the two other candidates, Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and former Colombian finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo, are better qualified for the post."

10 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: Doctors' efforts to cut unnecessary procedures is a good first step

Several news outlets look at the initiative by nine physicians' groups to identify medical procedures which are frequently unneeded and could even be harmful.

10 Apr 2012

Canon, MEDIAN to demonstrate LMS clinical application portfolio at ITEM

MEDIAN Technologies, a leading medical imaging software solutions developer and a service provider for image interpretation and management in oncology clinical trials and clinical routine, announced today it will demonstrate its Lesion Management Solutions -LMS- clinical application portfolio together with Canon at ITEM, April 13-15, 2012 in Yokohama, Japan.

10 Apr 2012

WHO celebrates birthday, commemorates World Health Day with focus on healthy aging

The WHO on April 7 celebrated the founding of the organization in 1948 and World Health Day, "by focusing on aging, including a host of events, research and information under the theme, 'Good health adds life to years,'" CNN reports.

10 Apr 2012

USAID Administrator credits reduction in Ethiopia's child mortality rate to effective use of aid

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah "says development assistance to Ethiopia's health sector has helped save thousands of children's lives in the past year," VOA News reports, noting, "The progress came even as the Horn of Africa was hit by the worst drought in more than half a century."

10 Apr 2012

Report: 88 American youths died from work-related injuries in 2010

Dozens of American youth under the age of 20 die on the job each year while thousands more are injured, often due to poorly regulated work environments, according to a new report released by the Colorado School of Public Health.

10 Apr 2012

Gates Foundation co-chair Melinda Gates delivers TEDxChange speech on access to contraceptives

On Thursday at the TEDxChange conference in Berlin, Germany, Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, "delivered a powerful case for universal access to contraception for women around the world who need and want it," the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports.

10 Apr 2012

Low-dose spiral CT cost-effective in reducing lung cancer deaths

Lung cancer is the most lethal cancer in the United States. According to the National Cancer Institute, lung cancer causes more than 150,000 deaths annually and has a survival rate of 16 percent. More Americans die of lung cancer each year than of cervical, breast, colon and prostate cancers combined.

10 Apr 2012

Prepositioning of supplies, knowledge to handle disease outbreaks 'future of disaster management'

In this New York Times opinion piece, columnist Tina Rosenberg examines a global rise in cholera cases, writing, "The World Health Organization estimates that there are between three million and five million cases of cholera each year, and between 100,000 and 120,000 deaths. New and more virulent strains are emerging in Asia and Africa, and the WHO says that global warming creates even more hospitable conditions for the disease."

10 Apr 2012

TCT 2012 to be held in Miami from Oct. 22-26

Media registration is now open online for TCT 2012 (Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics), the annual Scientific Symposium of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation.

10 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: Scarcity of dental care; Surprise budget buster awaiting states on retiree health costs

We know that too many Americans can't afford primary care and end up in the emergency room with asthma or heart failure. But in the debate over health care coverage, less attention has been paid to the fact that too many Americans also end up in the emergency room with severe tooth abscesses that keep them from eating or infections that can travel from decayed teeth to the brain and, if untreated, kill.

10 Apr 2012

To improve global health, toilets must be redesigned to work without connection to sanitation grid

"The toilet is a magnificent thing. ... Unfortunately it is an impractical luxury for about two-thirds of the world's seven billion people because it relies on connections to water and sewerage systems that must be built and maintained at great expense," a Bloomberg editorial writes.

10 Apr 2012