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U.S. needs supply of medical professionals to meet goals of health-care reform

One consequence of the expanded access to health care facilitated by health care reform will be a shortfall in the necessary numbers of physicians and other advanced medical professionals.

7 Jul 2011

Antibiotic resistance is not a priority in the U.S.

Author and journalist Maryn McKenna in her "Superbug" blog on Wired.com examines U.S. spending on drug-resistant pathogens, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

7 Jul 2011

Patients' insurance status affects outcomes of cardiac valve operations in the U.S.

The type of primary insurance patients carry affects outcomes of cardiac valve operations in the United States according to a study in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

7 Jul 2011

With Minn. budget talks stalled, social services make funding plea

A state district court has ordered programs essential to life, health and public safety to continue during the shutdown. A judge is now holding hearings and will make recommendations about which programs fall into this category.

7 Jul 2011

Local school students' initiative for healthy computing

Move over, boy bands of America-there's a new group in town. Four middle-school students from Carmel Valley Middle School in San Diego, California, entered The Christopher Columbus Awards Competition, a science, technology, engineering, and math program that challenges middle-school students to identify a community problem and solve it using science and technology.

7 Jul 2011

Toxic waste exposure impacts residents' health in Campania Region

Scientific evidence is mounting in support of a significant increase in cancer mortality and malformations occurring in specific areas of the Campania Region of Southern Italy, where improper waste management and illegal waste trafficking have been repeatedly documented, according to "Wasting lives: the effects of toxic waste exposure on health.

7 Jul 2011

Study delineates link between social support and distress after stem cell transplants

Researchers at the John Theurer Cancer Center recently published a study delineating the connection of social support to distress after stem cell transplants.

7 Jul 2011

Sports improve cognitive, emotional and behavioral well-being in boys

We know that physical education teaches children about fitness and encourages them to live a healthy lifestyle. Now a Tel Aviv University researcher has statistical evidence that sports participation is also beneficial to a child's cognitive, emotional and behavioral well-being.

7 Jul 2011

Medicaid expands access to care, improves health for low-income adults

Researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), and Providence Health & Services have found that expanding low income adults' access to Medicaid substantially increases health care use, reduces financial strain on covered individuals, and improves their self-reported health and well-being.

7 Jul 2011

Global food production needs to double by 2050 to achieve food security, survey shows

Global food production will have to increase 70 to 100 percent by 2050 to feed the world's predicted nine billion people, and that increase is only possible if more sustainable farming methods are used, according to the U.N.'s annual World Economic and Social Survey released on Tuesday, VOA News reports.

7 Jul 2011

Study finds top grand challenges in global mental health

A Toronto-based researcher is at the helm of a massive, worldwide study that identifies the top global challenges in mental health. The paper resulting from the study appears in Nature today.

7 Jul 2011

Loyola to launch interdisciplinary Geriatric Fracture Program

Loyola University Hospital is launching an interdisciplinary Geriatric Fracture Program to reduce hospital stays and complications from broken hips and other age-related fractures.

7 Jul 2011

Study links physician leaders with hospital performance

Top-performing hospitals are typically ones headed by a medical doctor rather than a manager. That is the finding from a new study of what makes a good hospital.

7 Jul 2011

Connecticut first state to require paid sick time

The measure, which was signed into law Tuesday by the governor, will benefit -- say its backers -- between 200,000 and 300,000 workers. Its opponents argue the requirement will make the state less competitive. In related news, Denver voters could consider a similar measure on the November ballot.

7 Jul 2011

Men more likely to fake soccer injuries than women

With the Women's World Cup in full swing in Germany, soccer fans can now rest assured that women are less likely than men to fake on-field injuries, according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center published in the July issue of the journal Research in Sports Medicine.

7 Jul 2011

Medicare could owe billions to state Medicaid programs

Governors are pushing the Department of Health and Human Services to reimburse their states money that was spent on providing health care services to people with disabilities who were mistakenly denied Medicare benefits. The error is attributed to the Social Security Administration and cost state Medicaid programs an estimated $4 billion.

7 Jul 2011

Global research initiative to improve health care for people with MNS disorders

Mental health experts are calling for a greater world focus on improving access to care and treatment for mental, neurological, and substance use (MNS) disorders, as well as increasing discoveries in research that will enable this goal to be met.

7 Jul 2011

Unhealthy lifestyle linked to increased risk of sexual dysfunction in men

A new study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine reveals that several unhealthy lifestyle factors, such as weight problems, physical inactivity, high alcohol consumption, tobacco smoking, and hard drugs are associated with sexual dysfunctions in men. Additionally, an unhealthy lifestyle is more common in persons who are sexually inactive.

7 Jul 2011

State roundup: Health officials in Calif. draw high pay

Abortion-rights supporters worried Tuesday that regulations Kansas is trying to enact would give the state health department unfettered access to patient medical records and suggested it could endanger the privacy of women who have terminated pregnancies.

7 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: Preserving Medicaid; drug risks, headlines; health law flaw

The poor and disabled people who rely on Medicaid to pay their medical bills could be in grave jeopardy in this sour I've-got-mine political climate. Older Americans, a potent voting bloc, have made clear that they won't stand for serious changes in Medicare. Medicaid, however, provides health insurance for the most vulnerable, who have far less political clout.

7 Jul 2011