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Microbiologist offers advice to guard against coming down with the flu

October marks the beginning of flu season, and once again, health care professionals are exhorting people to get a flu shot. Microbiologist John Tudor, Ph.D., professor of biology at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, agrees that it's time to roll up our sleeves and offer up our arms for the vaccination.

28 Sep 2011

Roundup: Conn.'s new insurance commissioner getting noticed; Miami-Dade County fires consulting firm over health care issue

Checking his watch, Thomas B. Leonardi worked quickly through his dense defense of this nation's state-by-state approach to insurance regulation. This small New England state generates more insurance business than all but a half-dozen nations. He sided with consumer advocates in March at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, helping to delay a federal regulation designed to protect fees for health insurance brokers. Advocates said the regulation would have driven up the costs of insurance to consumers.

28 Sep 2011

Healthcare becoming an overdrive model feel half of the primary physicians

In a new poll of primary care physicians, nearly half of them said their patients received too much medical care and more than a quarter said they were practicing more aggressively than they'd like to. This could mean ordering more tests, prescribing more drugs or diagnosing people with diseases, although they would never have experienced any symptoms. On the other hand, just six percent of doctors believed their patients were getting too little care.

27 Sep 2011

Methodist Hospital internist offers few simple suggestions to prevent cold and flu

The first few breezes of fall bring with them not only the promise of a welcome change in season, but also the threat of colds and flu. Dr. Joshua Septimus, an internist at The Methodist Hospital in Houston, offers a few simple suggestions to protect you and your family this cold and flu season. "The most useful tip I can pass along is to wash your hands," says Septimus. "It sounds so simple, but it is truly the most important thing you can do to protect yourself."

27 Sep 2011

With increasing population, now is not the time to cut international family planning funding

Robert Walker, executive vice president of the Population Institute, writes in this Huffington Post opinion piece that despite an increase in government and NGO support for maternal and child health programs, including family planning services, announced last week by the U.N. as part of its Every Woman, Every Child campaign, "the world's largest donor nation, the United States, is retreating on its commitments to international family planning, and other donor nations may follow suit."

27 Sep 2011

NYU Langone to lead NVVLS on long-term effects of PTSD

NYU Langone Medical Center announced that Charles R. Marmar, MD, the Lucius N. Littauer Professor of Psychiatry and chair of the Department of Psychiatry, was selected to lead the clinical evaluation component of a national survey — the National Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study (NVVLS) — on the long-term effects of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other related health conditions on Vietnam veterans.

27 Sep 2011

Autism Speaks ATN receives federal grant to continue to serve as AIR-P

The Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network (ATN), has received a $12 million federal grant to continue to serve as the Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health.

27 Sep 2011

Sierra Leone First Lady discusses work to improve maternal mortality

NPR's Tell Me More on Friday interviewed Sierra Leone First Lady Sia Nyama Koroma about her work aimed at improving maternal health in her country. Koroma was in New York attending the African First Ladies Fellowship Program "that brings together Western European and American first ladies with their African counterparts for an exchange of ideas and best practices," according to the program.

27 Sep 2011

Investing now in early child development will have long-term benefits

Gordon Alexander, director of the office of research at UNICEF's Innocenti Research Centre, writes in this post on the Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog" that a series published in Friday's Lancet on early child development (ECD) shows "that the payoff from concerted, integrated action around ECD would be enormous."

27 Sep 2011

Hospital for Special Surgery establishes HSS Spine & Sport in Jupiter, Florida

Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), a world leader in orthopedics, rheumatology and rehabilitation, announced the establishment of HSS Spine & Sport in Jupiter, Florida. This first HSS expansion beyond the New York region is a direct response to patient and physician demand.

27 Sep 2011

Insurers, patients wrestle with payment, care issues and strategies

News outlets report on a variety of issues reflecting the insurance hassles patients sometimes face and the efforts by insurance companies to find profits in better-coordinated care.

27 Sep 2011

Subtle and unspoken clues exchanged by patients, doctors exert an influence on medical care

Subtle and unspoken clues exchanged by patients and doctors exert an influence on medical care, according to a new study by the University of Michigan Health System. Researchers analyzed video recordings of routine checkups and conducted follow-up interviews with participants to help elucidate signals sent and received on both sides of the examination table.

27 Sep 2011

Congressional mood, 'super committee' news highlight difficulties

The New York Times reports that expectations for the deficit-reduction panel continue to drop, as the Democrats' and Republicans' respective positions on trimming entitlements and raising taxes appear to be hardening. And, in the background, The Wall Street Journal notes that another government shutdown looms as lawmakers fail to make progress in striking a deal to fund the federal branch through Nov. 18.

27 Sep 2011

Patients with chronic conditions likely to change their preferences for CPR

Patients with chronic conditions are likely to change their preferences for receiving emergency procedures in the event of cardiac arrest, according to new findings.

27 Sep 2011

U.S. commits additional funds to Clean Cookstoves initiative

On the one-year anniversary of the launch of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, the U.S. made an additional financial commitment of up to $55 million, "bringing the total United States commitment to up to $105 million in the first five years," according to a State Department press release.

27 Sep 2011

Immediate action needed to curb spread of TB, especially among children

In this post in the Huffington Posts "Impact" blog, Kolleen Bouchane, director of ACTION, an international partnership of advocates working to mobilize resources to treat and prevent the spread of tuberculosis (TB), examines the need for improved TB vaccines and diagnostics in order to curb the spread of multidrug-resistant TB, especially among children, and highlights ACTION's new report.

27 Sep 2011

Dem lawmakers, advocates push to save CLASS Act

The Hill reports that backers of this long-term care program, including congressional Democrats, say the administration can continue working on its developments using money from the health law.

27 Sep 2011

Obama administration decision could impact timing of Supreme Court ruling

The Justice Department must decide today whether to ask the full U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a 2-1 August decision declaring unconstitutional the health law's individual mandate. If it does seek the full court's review, which could take weeks or months, it will likely push back a Supreme Court ruling until 2013.

27 Sep 2011

New Banner MD Anderson center to deliver unprecedented cancer care in Arizona

Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, a unique collaboration between Banner Health and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, opens today, ushering in a new era of unprecedented cancer care in Arizona.

27 Sep 2011

ISRA sponsors 'Susan G. Komen Shoot for the Cure' event

In observance of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the ISRA is pleased to announce its sponsorship of the first annual "Susan G. Komen Shoot for the Cure" benefit shooting event.

27 Sep 2011