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Crackdown at social security disability program upsets doctors

Earlier this year, senior managers at the Social Security Administration in Baltimore, frustrated by a growing backlog of applications for federal disability benefits, called meetings with 140 of the agency's doctors.

23 Nov 2011

Commonwealth Fund president to step down at end of 2012

Karen Davis will retire as president of the Commonwealth Fund, a health care research foundation, at the end of 2012. The foundation, based in New York, has hired an executive search firm to find Davis' successor. In a news release announcing her retirement, Davis said she would spend her final year helping with the leadership transition and "pursuing opportunities for contributing toward the work that is so important to ensuring that every American receives the best possible care and the opportunity to lead healthy, productive lives."

23 Nov 2011

WHO director-general Chan nominated for second term

The WHO "said on Monday it has received just one application for the U.N. health agency's top post," which was submitted by China and nominated Margaret Chan, the current WHO director-general and former Hong Kong health chief, Agence France-Presse reports.

23 Nov 2011

Prioritizing the family planning needs of young women

The world reached a population milestone in October, but "in the many discussions that have sprung up around the seven billion benchmark -- all of them important and illuminating -- I don't hear enough about our world's most vulnerable: our youth," Jill Sheffield, founder and president of Women Deliver, writes in this Huffington Post opinion piece.

23 Nov 2011

Pediatricians warn about hazards of button batteries

With the increasing production of electronic products in the consumer market, more button batteries are found in the home setting. From remote controls and watches to musical greeting cards and toys, these small, shiny objects are the perfect size for a curious child to swallow or even push into their nasal cavity or ear canal. It is important for parents to be aware of the dangers that button batteries pose to young children and the damage that these batteries can cause.

23 Nov 2011

Flagging medical errors; Expediting malpractice settlements in N.Y.

Flagging medical errors through a system that emphasizes a lack of punishment and maintains anonymity yields more reports than a traditional method of reporting errors, a team of doctors has found. After introducing the new system at a pediatric clinic in North Carolina, the number of reported mistakes jumped from five to 86 per year on average.

23 Nov 2011

Health spending still in jeopardy despite end of super committee

Although Medicare and Medicaid were largely protected when the panel broke up, budget cutters will continue to eye them, and other health programs will likely have funding reduced.

23 Nov 2011

U.N. says AIDS deaths decline for third successive year

The number of people dying of AIDS around the world declined last year for the third year in a row, at the same time that the fraction of people getting treatment for the infection reached almost 50 percent. Both facts are evidence that progress against the 30-year-old epidemic is gaining momentum, according to the United Nations' annual report on the global AIDS epidemic, released Monday.

23 Nov 2011

Biofeedback optimal performance training can improve quality of life for athletes

Biofeedback optimal performance training can benefit not only the sports performance, but also the overall life functioning of an athlete. Individual athletes, teams, and coaches can gain from a multidisciplinary approach of cognitive and behavioral psychology, biofeedback, and neurofeedback. The U.S. Air Force Academy Peak Performance Center offers student-athletes this additional focus on their sports performance and quality of life.

23 Nov 2011

Recession cuts into health spending; High-deductible plans spread

The economic slump has put the brakes on health spending, which may bolster a conservative truism: When consumers become more sensitive to the cost of health care, they cut back. Or maybe it supports a progressive one: Forcing consumers to have more "skin in the game" means they will cut back on needed care, not just elective or unnecessary care. And neither side can tell for sure yet whether people have changed spending patterns for good or just postponed seeing doctors or getting tests or treatment.

23 Nov 2011

Men less willing to participate in cancer screening than women

Although men have higher cancer mortality rates than women, they are less willing to be screened for cancer, according to a study conducted by researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., and colleagues at Sanoa Consulting LLC, Muscle Shoals, Ala., and the New York University College of Dentistry.

23 Nov 2011

'Fistula hotline' in Sierra Leone helps identify women for treatment

IRIN profiles the establishment of a "'fistula hotline,' a free phone number for women who suffer from this debilitating condition that is seldom spoken about," at the Aberdeen Women's Centre, a clinic in Freetown, Sierra Leone. "The fistula hotline, which is run by the center, is the result of a public-private partnership between the Gloag Foundation, USAID, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and telecommunications company Airtel," IRIN notes.

23 Nov 2011

Obama administration calls on Pa. insurer to lower rate hike

The Obama administration on Monday called on a Pennsylvania insurer to lower its proposed 12 percent rate increase for a small business health insurance plan. It's the first time the administration has used such new powers given it in the health reform law.

23 Nov 2011

Panel discussion highlights USAID achievements on 50Th anniversary

This post in the Malaria Policy Center blog summarizes a panel discussion, titled "Partnerships for Global Health Success: Spotlight on USAID," that took place Monday in Washington, D.C., and was sponsored by Research!America.

23 Nov 2011

Super committee failure: Let the blame game begin

President Obama summed up our debt crisis best when he told Republican members of the House in January 2010 that "The major driver of our long-term liabilities ... is Medicare and Medicaid and our health care spending." A few months later, however, Mr. Obama and his party's leaders in Congress added trillions of dollars in new health-care spending to the government's balance sheet.

23 Nov 2011

No link between availability of primary care physician and retail clinic use

Use of retail medical clinics located in pharmacies and other retail settings increased 10-fold between 2007 and 2009, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

23 Nov 2011

Insurers fear consequences of individual mandate being struck down

The Hill writes that letting the 2010 health law stand without the individual mandate is the worst possible outcome for insurers. Meanwhile, CQ looks into the Medicaid expansion issue and demands for Kagan and Thomas to recuse themselves.

23 Nov 2011

Medicare to cover infusion costs for prostate cancer vaccine, company says

In Medicare news, the drug maker Dendreon says federal officials have said they will pay doctors to administer the drug. Also, policymakers are studying Medigap to see if curbs on those policies could help cut Medicare costs.

23 Nov 2011

Families with chronically ill member less likely to benefit from employer-sponsored insurance

Benefits paid out under employer-sponsored health care plans are less generous to families covering a member with a chronic illness than to families without a chronically ill member, according to a trio of university researchers. The difference is due primarily to higher out-of-pocket expenses for prescription drugs.

23 Nov 2011

Super committee ends work without a deal; Automatic cuts take effect in 2013

A special congressional committee created to try to curb the national debt abandoned its work and conceded failure Monday. ... Although Republicans offered to raise taxes by $300 billion over the next decade, they insisted on conditions that all but guaranteed that the wealthy would not be hit hard. And Democrats refused to agree to deep cuts in spending on health care for the poor and the elderly unless the rich were forced to make greater sacrifices.

23 Nov 2011