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NSU offers free dental services to victims of domestic violence

Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is offering free dental services to victims of domestic violence, who otherwise may not have access to such services.

3 Dec 2010

New pilot program to connect rural health care providers with VA

The Utah Health Information Network (UHIN) today announced a new pilot program to connect rural health care providers in the Moab, Utah region with the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) to improve access and coordination of patient care for veterans and service members living in rural areas.

3 Dec 2010

Moderate consumption of 'energy drinks' can improve people's response time

Moderate consumption of so-called energy drinks can improve people's response time on a lab test measuring behavioral control, but those benefits disappear as people drink more of the beverage, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association.

3 Dec 2010

Hospital-wide patient-safety programs can improve 'culture of safety'

A prescribed set of hospital-wide patient-safety programs can lead to rapid improvements in the "culture of safety" even in a large, complex, academic medical center, according to a new study by safety experts at Johns Hopkins.

3 Dec 2010

New book on managing worry, anxiety and fear

Americans' danger detectors are cranked up way too high these days, but we don't have to be held hostage by our anxiety, according to a new book on coping with stress by a Northwestern Medicine psychologist.

3 Dec 2010

Healthy lifestyle choices, emergency room interventions can help prevent first-time strokes

Healthy lifestyle choices and emergency room interventions can help prevent first-time strokes, according to revised American Heart Association/American Stroke Association guidelines.

3 Dec 2010

Individually tailored dietary treatment for acutely hospitalized elderly reduces mortality

Intense, individually tailored dietary treatment for acutely hospitalized elderly has a significant impact on mortality, according to a new study by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

3 Dec 2010

UC Irvine receives Silver Medal from HHS for supporting organ, tissue donation

UC Irvine Medical Center recently received a Silver Medal of Honor from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services for its role in supporting organ and tissue donation.

3 Dec 2010

Nemours commends House and Senate for passage of child nutrition legislation

Nemours, a premier, integrated child health system, congratulates the United States House of Representatives for passing the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, legislation that reauthorizes critical child nutrition programs. We applaud Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Hoyer, and Chairman Miller for their leadership in working with the Senate to pass legislation that will protect and promote the health of children. House passage of the bill has cleared the way for the President to sign it into law.

3 Dec 2010

People enrolled in CDHP plan reaches 22 million in 2010: EBRI report

The ranks of people enrolled in either a consumer-driven health plan (CDHP) or a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) reached 22 million in 2010, according to a report released today by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). Participation in these account-based health care plans is low, but continues to grow, EBRI finds in its sixth annual Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey.

3 Dec 2010

Obama praised for enhanced health care reform for Alzheimer's community

According to the Society of Actuaries, the leading cause of U.S. long-term care claims is Alzheimer's, the brain disease that renders over 5 million Americans unable to handle all the acts of daily living unaided. Who cares? Evidently President Obama does, having written a pro-active column in the Fall, 2010, issue of care ADvantage, published by the Alzheimer's Foundation of America.

3 Dec 2010

Humana Military receives two contracts to provide patient appointing services

Humana Inc. announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, Humana Military Healthcare Services, was awarded two contracts to provide patient appointing services for military hospitals and clinics located in the greater Puget Sound, Washington, and Tidewater, Virginia areas.

3 Dec 2010

AFFI commends Congress for approval of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act

American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) President and CEO Kraig R. Naasz today commended the U.S. House of Representatives for approving the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which now heads to President Obama for his signature and enactment after having passed the Senate in August.

3 Dec 2010

Cardiac surgeons are trying innovative approaches to traditional open heart surgery

According to Millennium Research Group (MRG), the global authority on medical technology market intelligence, cardiac surgeons are trying new innovative approaches to traditional open heart surgery as they try to make coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedures less invasive where possible.

3 Dec 2010

New national awards program to recognize healthcare institutions to eliminate HAI infection

A new national awards program will recognize teams of critical care professionals and healthcare institutions able to successfully reduce or eliminate healthcare-associated infections (HAI), a leading cause of death in the United States.

3 Dec 2010

Number of medical school graduates increasing; average age of physicians stabilizing

Canada experienced the biggest annual percentage gain in the national supply of physicians since the late 1980s, according to a new report released today by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). In 2009, there were approximately 68,100 active physicians working in Canada, an increase of nearly 2,700 physicians over the previous year. This represents an increase of 4.1%—more than triple the rate of growth of the Canadian population as a whole (1.2%) and the largest annual increase of the past two decades.

3 Dec 2010

Democrats confident food safety bill will be resolved despite procedural error; Child nutrition bill set for house vote

The Hill's Healthwatch Blog: "Senate Democrats say an error in the food-safety bill passed Tuesday can be resolved in time to send the legislation to President Obama by the end of the year. Two senior leadership aides confirmed that the bill the Senate approved, 73-25, inadvertently contained tax provisions that, under the Constitution, must originate in the House of Representatives. That means the bill must be passed a second time by the Senate, giving critics such as Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) another chance to block it" (Rushing and Lillis, 12/1).

3 Dec 2010

AHA: Incidence of hospitalization for heart valve diseases rises in New York

The incidence of hospitalization and treatment for heart valve diseases in New York State has constantly and progressively risen since the early 1980s, according to research presented at the recent meeting of the American Heart Association (AHA) by SUNY Downstate Medical Center. The study results were published in a supplement to the AHA journal, Circulation.

3 Dec 2010

More Coloradans lose Medicare Advantage plans, Missouri lawmakers push for doctor's order to buy common cold and allergy meds

The Denver Post: "Nearly 14,000 Coloradans are losing their form of Medicare Advantage plans next year and will need to choose new options, creating a hardship for 1,700 rural Medicare members who won't find similar plans left on the table. Medicare Advantage carriers such as Humana, Anthem, Secure Horizons and MVP dropped some Medicare Advantage plans in Colorado. … The dropped carriers affect 13,936 beneficiaries in Colorado, including 3,832 in the Denver metro area" (Booth, 12/2).

3 Dec 2010

Justice Department offers expedited antitrust review for ACOs

Bloomberg: "Sharis Pozen, chief of staff of the [Justice] Department's antitrust division, told a House judiciary subcommittee" that "[t]he department intends to offer whatever guidance and clarity may be needed to ensure that providers pursue beneficial integrated ACOs without running afoul of the antitrust laws."

3 Dec 2010