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'Gain-framed' PSAs more effective at curbing college students' binge drinking

Binge drinking among college students has long been viewed as dangerous and destructive. Government and non-profit health organizations spend millions of dollars annually on public service announcements (PSAs) aimed at dissuading college students from hazardous drinking habits.

2 Jun 2011

States and exchanges: A progress report

In today's Health on the Hill segment, Christine Vestal of Stateline joins KHN's Mary Agnes Carey and Jackie Judd to assess the progress - or lack thereof - states are making setting up insurance exchanges. They're required by the health law and they must be set up by 2014 to provide a online marketplace for people to buy insurance.

2 Jun 2011

HHS to reduce rates for high-risk insurance pools

The Obama administration on Tuesday took steps in the 18 states where the federal government runs high-risk insurance pools to make coverage more affordable to people with pre-existing conditions.

2 Jun 2011

People with individual health coverage have highest cancer costs

One of every seven cancer patients spends more than 20 percent of his income on health care and insurance, according to a new study from federal researchers.

2 Jun 2011

WHO warns of tobacco dangers on World No Tobacco Day

"Tobacco will kill nearly six million people this year, including 600,000 non-smokers, because governments are not doing enough to persuade people to quit or protect others from second-hand smoke, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday," which was observed as World No Tobacco Day, Reuters/Toronto Sun reports.

2 Jun 2011

Recently discharged emergency department patients more likely to be readmitted

Emergency department patients who have recently been hospitalized are more than twice as likely to be admitted as those who have not recently been in the hospital, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania which will be presented this week at the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine's annual meeting.

2 Jun 2011

Loyola to offer free lecture on anterior-approach hip replacement surgery

On Tuesday, June 14th, Dr. Michael Stover of Loyola University Health System will give a free lecture in Burr Ridge on the muscle-preserving anterior-approach hip replacement surgery.

2 Jun 2011

Disappointment abounds regarding ACO regs

In this pair of articles, Modern Healthcare reports on the American Hospital Association's criticism of the antitrust approach included in the accountable care organization regulations recently released by the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as on the negative reaction expressed by a Cleveland Clinic executive.

2 Jun 2011

Insecure people experience more conflict in sexual life

People who feel secure in in their relationship with their partner have a more satisfactory sex life and are more able to be sensitive in the affection they give. However, people who are insecure, who tend towards anxiety or avoidance and are compulsive or controlling in their affection experience more conflict in their sexual desire and are less happy in their relationships, according to a study by the University of the Basque Country.

2 Jun 2011

WHO/IARC say mobile phone use may increase risk of certain brain cancers

Mobile phone use "may increase the risk of certain types of brain cancer in humans," therefore "consumers should consider ways of reducing their exposure," a WHO/International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) working group concluded on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

2 Jun 2011

SHEA, ASGE update Flexible gastrointestinal endoscope guideline

The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) have updated their 2003 joint guideline for reprocessing gastrointestinal endoscopes to reaffirm reprocessing methods and take into account evolved technology and disinfection systems.

2 Jun 2011

IRIN examines how some aid data artificially inflates contributions

IRIN examines how some major international aid donors report their donations in a way that inflates their contributions.

2 Jun 2011

House votes down symbolic effort to raise debt ceiling

The House overwhelmingly refused to raise the nation's borrowing ability Tuesday — a largely symbolic vote designed to bolster Republican arguments that a successful measure must include deep spending cuts and sweeping policy revisions.

2 Jun 2011

Study affirms effectiveness of palliative care discussions before LVAD heart surgery

For patients with severe heart failure, an implanted mechanical pump known as a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) can be a life-sustaining treatment. Even though the technology involves risks, few patients and their families tend to talk explicitly about the "what ifs" before surgery takes place.

2 Jun 2011

Experts from 16 national osteoporosis societies to meet in Dubai for IOF event

Online registration and abstract submission is now open for the largest bone meeting of 2011 to be held in the Middle-East and Africa region.

2 Jun 2011

Eight major health systems join HVHC to demonstrate improved care at lower costs

In December, Mayo Clinic, Denver Health, Intermountain Healthcare, Dartmouth-Hitchcock, Cleveland Clinic, and The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice announced the formation of the High Value Healthcare Collaborative to improve health care, lower costs, and move best practices out to the national provider community. Today, they announced that eight major health systems will join the Collaborative.

2 Jun 2011

Exposure to phthalates can cause children's allergy and asthma

Recent controversy over the discovery of clouding agents containing the banned chemical DEHP in beverages has caused public concerns.

2 Jun 2011

IMS Model to guide providers and patients toward adherence

Physicians can help their patients follow prescribed treatments and achieve healthier results - particularly in chronic disease management - by using a three-pronged strategy developed by a team of researchers from the University of California, Riverside, Texas State University-San Marcos, and La Sierra University in Riverside, Calif.

2 Jun 2011

Study explains differences between male and female victims in community violence assaults

A new study from Rhode Island Hospital shows that a large proportion of victims of community violence treated in its emergency department are female. Injured adolescent females are more likely than males to be injured by a relative or intimate partner, and are more likely to be injured by a single assailant.

2 Jun 2011

Procedural questions could slow health law challenges

Some of the health care lawsuits once considered contenders to reach the Supreme Court have run into procedural questions that could delay a ruling on whether the law's requirement to buy insurance is constitutional.

2 Jun 2011