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Gates asks wealthy countries to continue foreign aid efforts in developing nations

"Despite [the] economic crisis rippling around the world," Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, "is pushing countries to continue foreign aid efforts to poor and developing nations, saying that every dollar of aid 'makes a huge difference,'" ABC News reports.

1 Nov 2011

Potential transmission of HBV, HCV and HIV infections in nail salons and barbershops

The risk of hepatitis transmission through non-single use instruments -- such as nail files, nail brushes, finger bowls, foot basins, buffers, razors, clippers, and scissors -- during nail salon and barbershop visits cannot be excluded, according to the results of a new report unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 76th Annual Scientific meeting in Washington, DC.

1 Nov 2011

Even without depression, obesity raises health costs in Group Health study

Obesity and depression both dramatically increase health care costs, but they mainly act separately, according to a study published in the November 2011 Journal of General Internal Medicine by Group Health Research Institute scientists.

1 Nov 2011

Viewpoints: Judd Gregg on revamping entitlements and taxes; John Breaux on slashing Medicare fraud; Medicaid limits on hospital stays

Consider this. As of this year, every other household in America will have at least one person in it who is receiving an entitlement benefit, according to the Census Bureau. As of this year, fewer than half of the Americans who have earned income will pay income taxes on that income.

1 Nov 2011

PEPFAR and women's health in South Africa

This report, titled "Improving Women's Heath in South Africa: Opportunities for PEPFAR," by Janet Fleischman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says that with "major change ... unfolding in health and HIV services in South Africa," "[t]he United States can find feasible, flexible ways to support" the decentralization of "HIV services to the primary care level ... even though its health program through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is scaling down.

31 Oct 2011

Child mortality declining in refugee camp in Ethiopia

In the clinic of Hilaweyn, one of four camps at Ethiopia's Dollo Ado complex for Somali refugees seeking relief from famine and poor security conditions, "[a] massive infusion of humanitarian resources ... appears to be turning the tide" against child mortality, according to Doctors Without Borders, which operates the clinic, VOA News reports.

31 Oct 2011

Obama to issue order to address medicine shortages

President Obama will issue an executive order on Monday that the administration hopes will help resolve a growing number of critical shortages of vital medicines used to treat life-threatening illnesses.

31 Oct 2011

Insurers look for opportunities for expansion

Big players such as Aetna and Cigna are snapping up smaller companies in an effort to keep earnings figures up.

31 Oct 2011

Medicare costs rise as hospice use increases

The Orlando Sentinel reports that this increase tracks with other increases in costs from for-profit hospice organizations.

31 Oct 2011

Nursing home residence may allow for 'on-admission' prediction model of C. difficile infection severity

Antibiotics may not be the only risk factor associated with community-acquired Clostridium difficile infection, indicating that other undefined causes of the potentially life-threatening infection may exist and could also predict whether or not a patient will require hospitalization, according to the results of the study, "Predictors of Hospitalization in Community-Acquired Clostridium difficile Infection."

31 Oct 2011

Focused training increases physician's ability to find potentially precancerous polyps

Just two extra hours of focused training significantly increased the ability of physicians to find potentially precancerous polyps, known as adenomas, in the colon, according to researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida. These findings suggest that new methods to educate endoscopists, the physicians who examine the colon, could increase colorectal cancer detection rates and potentially reduce cancer deaths.

31 Oct 2011

Observer bias increases likelihood of GERD diagnosis

Patients who complain of upper gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms often face a diagnosis of either gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or functional dyspepsia. Because the two conditions often overlap, it can be difficult to distinguish between them and diagnose them properly. Yet ambulatory care facilities and hospitals have reported a dramatic increase in the number of GERD-related visits/discharges in recent years.

31 Oct 2011

Health insurers defend rate increases

In Maine and New Hampshire, insurance companies are challenging state regulation of rates.

31 Oct 2011

Political cartoon: 'Great Pumpkin'

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh perspective on health policy developments with "Great Pumpkin" by Lisa Benson.

31 Oct 2011

First Edition: October 31, 2011

In today's headlines, news reports about a key medical group's take on accountable care organizations and how a "merger wave" is hitting the health care sector.

31 Oct 2011

Centracare chooses Merge's iConnect for image interoperability, informatics strategy

Merge Healthcare, a leading provider of enterprise imaging and interoperability solutions, today announced that Centracare Health System's St. Cloud Hospital, the largest healthcare provider in the St. Cloud, MN region, has selected Merge's iConnect VNA (vendor neutral archive) and iConnect Share for their image interoperability and informatics strategy.

31 Oct 2011

WageWorks launches EZ Receipts to manage healthcare, dependent care spending accounts

WageWorks, Inc., a leading on-demand provider of tax-advantaged programs for consumer-directed health, commuter and other employee spending account benefits, is pleased to announce the launch of its new EZ Receipts mobile application for use by WageWorks' participants on their smartphones and other mobile devices.

31 Oct 2011

COPCP chooses eClinicalWorks comprehensive EHR solution

eClinicalWorks, a market leader in ambulatory clinical systems, today announced that Central Ohio Primary Care Physicians (COPCP), the second largest privately-owned primary care group in the United States, has chosen eClinicalWorks comprehensive electronic health records (EHR) solution for its 230 physicians across 44 practices.

31 Oct 2011

PPRT publishes study that evaluates pharmacist provision of clozapine

According to a study which evaluated alternative models for the delivery of clozapine services, published by the Pharmacy Practice Research Trust (PPRT), there is scope to review the team configurations needed to deliver community services in a cost-effective manner and to provide opportunities for improving the services provided to patients.

31 Oct 2011

Toshiba’s Infinix DP-i cardiovascular X-ray system to be used in eight live cases

Enabling clinicians to seamlessly transition between cardiac and peripheral intervention during a single procedure, Infinix DP-i cardiovascular X-ray system from Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. will be used in eight live cases at Peripheral Angioplasty and All That Jazz conference, Oct. 31 - Nov. 2, 2011, New Orleans.

31 Oct 2011

Healthcare News

Gates asks wealthy countries to continue foreign aid efforts in developing nations

Potential transmission of HBV, HCV and HIV infections in nail salons and barbershops

Even without depression, obesity raises health costs in Group Health study

Viewpoints: Judd Gregg on revamping entitlements and taxes; John Breaux on slashing Medicare fraud; Medicaid limits on hospital stays

PEPFAR and women's health in South Africa

Child mortality declining in refugee camp in Ethiopia

Obama to issue order to address medicine shortages

Insurers look for opportunities for expansion

Medicare costs rise as hospice use increases

Nursing home residence may allow for 'on-admission' prediction model of C. difficile infection severity

Focused training increases physician's ability to find potentially precancerous polyps

Observer bias increases likelihood of GERD diagnosis

Health insurers defend rate increases

Political cartoon: 'Great Pumpkin'

First Edition: October 31, 2011

Centracare chooses Merge's iConnect for image interoperability, informatics strategy

WageWorks launches EZ Receipts to manage healthcare, dependent care spending accounts

COPCP chooses eClinicalWorks comprehensive EHR solution

PPRT publishes study that evaluates pharmacist provision of clozapine

Toshiba’s Infinix DP-i cardiovascular X-ray system to be used in eight live cases

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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