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U.N. begins food airlifts to Somali capital

For the first time since the food crisis in the Horn of Africa began, a U.N. plane carrying 10 tons of food aid for children landed in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on Wednesday, "as aid groups warned of a growing influx of hungry families from the famine-hit south of the country," Reuters reports.

29 Jul 2011

First Edition: July 29, 2011

Today's headlines include speculation about how the debt-ceiling debate may have altered the discussion regarding changes to Medicare.

29 Jul 2011

ELPA, WHA announce educational program for hepatitis B patients

The European Liver Patients Association (ELPA) and the World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA), announced today on the 4th annual World Hepatitis Day that 'PATH B - "Patients and Professionals Acting Together for Hepatitis B" - My journey with chronic hepatitis B', a comprehensive educational resource designed to improve the lives of people living with chronic hepatitis B, is to be launched in August 2011.

29 Jul 2011

AARDA develops a plan to calculate one's own Autoimmune Quotient

Hollywood bombshell Kim Kardashian recently shared her diagnosis of the autoimmune disease psoriasis on her E! reality TV series, "Keeping Up With The Kardashians."

29 Jul 2011

Niger facing high child malnutrition rates

While the world focuses on the famine in East Africa, warnings about high child malnutrition rates in Niger appear "to have gone unnoticed by the international media," AlertNet reports.

29 Jul 2011

Pew director issues statement on Prescription Drug User Fee Act hearing

Allan Coukell, director of medical programs for the Pew Health Group, issued the following statement today on a U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee hearing, "FDA User Fees: Advancing Public Health."

29 Jul 2011

WHO marks first-ever World Hepatitis Day

The WHO on Thursday marked the first-ever World Hepatitis Day, recognizing a disease that affects nearly one of every three people in the world, the U.N. News Centre reports.

29 Jul 2011

Hospice services improve quality of care and support for dementia patients

Hospice services substantially improved the provision of care and support for nursing home patients dying of dementia and their families, according to an analysis of survey responses from hundreds of bereaved family members.

29 Jul 2011

French maternal and child health clinics threatened by poor economy

NPR's KQED on Wednesday examined how France's 60-year-old network of preventive health clinics for children and parents, which provides care free-of-charge, is being threatened by the nation's flailing economy.

29 Jul 2011

MSNBC's Chris Matthews interviews NIAID head Anthony Fauci

The Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog features video of an interview of Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, that was conducted by MSNBC "Hardball" host Chris Matthews at a Capitol Hill briefing on Tuesday, which was hosted by the Foundation for AIDS Research.

29 Jul 2011

Cholera in Congo has killed 279, infected more than 4,000 people

A UNICEF official says a cholera outbreak in Congo has killed 279 people and infected more than 4,000 others in the last four months," the Associated Press/Washington Post reports.

29 Jul 2011

Veterans' health care costs are a big part of federal budget

Though the withdrawal of American military forces from Iraq and Afghanistan will save the nation billions of dollars a year, another cost of war is projected to continue rising for decades to come: caring for the veterans.

29 Jul 2011

Case studies examine principles of health care delivery in resource-poor settings

Today, the Global Health Delivery Project and Harvard Business Publishing released 21 teaching case studies examining the principles of health care delivery in resource-poor settings.

29 Jul 2011

Federal judge upholds Obama rule on stem cell research

A U.S. judge Wednesday upheld the government rules that allow federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research that might lead to cures for deadly diseases affecting millions of Americans.

29 Jul 2011

Debt-ceiling pressure increases as deadline approaches

News outlets report that states are getting more nervous and are taking steps to prepare for the loss in federal dollars. Meanwhile, in the background, political maneuvering surrounding Medicare and Medicaid continues.

29 Jul 2011

Kansas Health IT officials get first big test; Utah faces digital incompatibility

The state hospital association has asked the Kansas Information Exchange to probe pricing structures of electronic health record vendors, the Kansas Health Institute News reports.

29 Jul 2011

States struggle with exchange planning; more guidance from feds coming soon

States that didn't create an insurance exchange this year say they're now facing a time crunch that requires them to push the entire process forward at once. Governors in 10 states have signed laws authorizing an exchange — the new insurance marketplaces created by health care reform.

29 Jul 2011

Nation's health care tab continues to grow

The nation's health care tab is on track to hit $4.6 trillion in 2020, accounting for about $1 of every $5 in the economy, government number crunchers estimate in a report out Thursday. How much is that? Including government and private money, health care spending in 2020 will average $13,710 for every man, woman and child, says Medicare's Office of the Actuary.

29 Jul 2011

Time Temp Trac system can aid in successful conservation of stored blood

Human blood is a precious resource. Because stored blood has a very limited shelf life, keeping every available unit of it suitable for medical use is a crucial function at hospitals and other health care facilities - especially during supply shortages such as those currently being experienced in the Triad, other parts of North Carolina and numerous sections of the country.

29 Jul 2011

Health law challenge inches toward Supreme Court

The Supreme Court was asked on Wednesday to hear a challenge to the health care overhaul law, raising the possibility that the justices could rule on the matter by next summer, just months before the presidential election.

29 Jul 2011