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LCMEI renews accreditation with ACCME

Wolters Kluwer Health, a global leader providing information, business intelligence and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry, announced today that its Lippincott Continuing Medical Education Institute (LCMEI), which provides continuing medical education (CME) to physicians and pharmacists, has renewed its accreditation with the Accreditation Council of Continuing Medical Education.

19 Jan 2012

Extending payroll tax cut tops Congressional to-do list

A quick deal on this legislative challenge could result in a short-term Medicare "doc fix" and raises red flags for hospitals, which fear reimbursements could be cut.

19 Jan 2012

New research into treatment, prognosis and early detection of GI cancers

New research into the treatment, prognosis and early detection of gastrointestinal cancers was released today in advance of the ninth annual Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium being held January 19-21, 2012, at The Moscone West Building in San Francisco, Calif.

19 Jan 2012

Experts debate pros, cons of Sierra Leone's ban on traditional birth attendants

The Guardian's "Poverty Matters" blog asks whether Sierra Leone was right to ban traditional birth attendants (TBAs) from assisting deliveries 18 months ago, writing, "Although [TBAs] are often poorly trained and sometimes use unsafe delivery procedures, for most women in rural Sierra Leone they are a lifeline."

19 Jan 2012

Integrative medicine now available for pediatric patients at JMBCIM

Integrative medicine, the field of medicine which combines the use of conventional and complementary techniques in reaching health and wellness goals, is now available for pediatric patients through the Integrative Pediatrics program at the Jefferson-Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine.

19 Jan 2012

YES kids more likely to report nonviolent conflict avoidance and resolution

A program built around the concept that kids can and want to reduce violence and improve their neighborhoods led to lower crime rates, better upkeep on homes and more students who said they learned to resolve conflicts without violence.

19 Jan 2012

State officials seek 'clarity' on high-risk pool 2013 allocations

When some states exhausted their funding for the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, created by the health law, the federal response was to give them more -- raising questions about whether other states may receive less. Alaska, which spends as much as $200,000 on each member, is an example of a high-spending state.

19 Jan 2012

Workers in newly renovated office buildings may receive higher doses of PFCs

In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists are reporting that the indoor air in offices is an important source of worker exposure to potentially toxic substances released by carpeting, furniture, paint and other items. Their report, which documents a link between levels of these so-called polyfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in office air and in the blood of workers, appears in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology.

19 Jan 2012

Are health law advocates getting nervous about the high court's upcoming review?

The Hill reports that some supporters have recently shifted their tone about the health law challenges being "frivolous," acknowledging the Supreme Court wouldn't allow so much time for arguments if the justices viewed the issues as "a waste of time." Also, Politico explores the fate of the law's Medicaid expansion in the context of the court challenge, and CQ HealthBeat reports on the addition of plaintiffs and more amicus briefs.

19 Jan 2012

Interprofessional seminar on teamwork in medicine

Advances in medical technology, changes in health care delivery and an aging, ailing population have all made the practice of medicine increasingly dependent on clinical collaboration. Yet most health care students rarely gain understanding or even exposure to the many other types of specialists, professionals, administrators, or statisticians they will deal with in the real world.

19 Jan 2012

Drug benefit managers unveil ads to explain what they do

The trade group for pharmaceutical benefit managers announced an advertising campaign about PBMs, while Congress and federal regulators weigh a $29 billion merger between Express Scripts and Medco.

19 Jan 2012

CDC reports obesity rates in U.S. level off

The prevalence of obesity in the U.S. largely leveled off over the last decade, even as some individual groups, such as boys from ages 6 to 19, saw increases, according to government data. Obesity rates in adults rose slightly to 35.7 percent from 30.5 percent between 1999 and 2010, compared with rates that nearly doubled in the two previous decades, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported today. The rate among boys climbed 29 percent, surpassing girls for the first time, according to the Atlanta-based health agency.

19 Jan 2012

Study outlines how QI initiatives can increase overall survival rates for mothers, children

A large regional hospital in Ghana saw a reduction in maternal and infant deaths after continuous quality improvement (QI) initiatives were put into place through a collaborative partnership.

19 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: The 'need' to repeal CLASS; Squaring Romney's poverty and tax promises

As a physician, I treated hundreds of patients who needed long-term care, including ones with Alzheimer's. More than 13.5 million seniors could have this disease by 2040. Middle-class families remain dangerously unprepared for these costs. Some people will likely spend more than $100,000 on care. The fictional CLASS daily benefit of $50 per day won't cover this. I urge my House and Senate colleagues to support this CLASS repeal.

19 Jan 2012

Blog covers USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah's comments at country ownership roundtable

This post in the Ministerial Leadership Initiative's (MLI) "Leading Global Health" blog is "the first of a series of perspective pieces on country ownership from the 'Advancing Country Ownership for Greater Results' roundtable organized last week by" MLI.

19 Jan 2012

Examining policy positions for the GOP presidential field

Here's where the 2012 Republican presidential candidates stand on a selection of issues. They are former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum Abortion and health care are among the issues examined.

19 Jan 2012

Assessing the cost of polio eradication efforts

"After more than a century as a global scourge and hundreds of thousands lives lost, polio may now be on the verge of being the second human disease wiped off the face of the Earth," Charles Kenny, senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, writes in his column for ForeignPolicy.com, "The Optimist."

19 Jan 2012

Researchers review landscape of smoking cessation over the past 20 years

Smoking is a major public health issue and quitting is the single most important thing smokers can do to improve their health. In the 2012 edition of the prestigious Annual Review of Public Health, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have reviewed the landscape of smoking cessation over the past 20 years.

19 Jan 2012

Risks of modifying flu strains to become highly transmissible in humans outweigh benefits

In this Journal Sentinel Online opinion piece, Thomas Inglesby, chief executive officer and director of the Center for Biosecurity of UPMC in Baltimore; Anita Cicero, chief operating officer and deputy director of the center; and D.A. Henderson, a distinguished scholar at the center, comment on a recent announcement by scientists that they have genetically modified a strain of H5N1 bird flu that is "capable of spreading through the air between ferrets that were physically separated from each other," indicating "it would be readily transmissible by air between humans."

19 Jan 2012

Einstein's new blog provides a rare window into lives of doctors

What is it like to be a practicing physician in today's world of breakthrough technologies, expanding therapeutic options, insurance challenges, health policy debates and increasingly savvy e-patients? Faculty members at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University will provide a rare window into the lives of doctors navigating this evolving landscape with "The Doctor's Tablet," a new blog launched today on Einstein's website.

19 Jan 2012