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States struggling with Medicaid costs look for innovation

Florida wants to be the first state in the nation to charge most of its Medicaid recipients a monthly premium as well as $100 for using the ER for routine care. But even supporters acknowledge that the new fees, passed recently by the state legislature as part of a sweeping Medicaid measure, face long odds getting federal approval.

17 May 2011

Scientists tackle teenage dietary problems through education programme

Medical scientists at the University of Leicester are urgently tackling a rising tide of teenage dietary problems through an education programme for over 800 secondary school students.

17 May 2011

Major Norwegian healthcare region signs agreement with Sectra for medical IT solutions

IT and medical technology company Sectra has been entrusted with delivering the northernmost PACS in the world. The major Norwegian healthcare region, Helse Nord, is set to use Sectra's solution and the eleven hospitals that are included in the region will share patient information and radiology images.

17 May 2011

ONE report examines G8 follow through on development assistance to Africa

The G8 nations have "delivered only 61 percent of the increased aid they promised to sub-Saharan Africa by 2010 in their 2005 summit" in Gleneagles, Scotland, an annual report by ONE shows, Reuters reports.

17 May 2011

AP reports on Global Fund's release of information on corruption, fund responds

After an Associated Press story on Friday reported that the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria "will make public more detailed information about money it has lost to corruption and mismanagement, but won't release other information critics have sought that might have made it possible to calculate how much of the money investigated is lost to corruption, or what percentage of the fund's overall disbursements are misspent".

17 May 2011

Patients with COPD can benefit from computer-based decision aid

A new program developed by researchers at Pennsylvania State College of Medicine and Pennsylvania State University may make it easier for patients with moderate/severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to make critical decisions regarding their care as their disease worsens.

17 May 2011

Critics say program offering money for contraception to HIV-positive Kenyan women is illegal

IRIN/Plus News reports that "the Kenyan government and rights groups have expressed outrage at a project in western Kenya that is paying HIV-positive women to undergo long-term contraception."

17 May 2011

Remote telemonitoring does not offer promise for critically-ill patients

Telemonitoring may offer promise for patients in remote locations without access to specially trained intensive care physicians. However, a recent study indicates telemonitoring does not offer improved clinical outcomes compared to patients who receive standard care.

17 May 2011

Five out of 13 plastic products intended for children are toxic

Many plastic products contain hazardous chemicals that can leach to the surroundings. In studies conducted at the University of Gothenburg, a third of the tested plastic products released toxic substances, including 5 out of 13 products intended for children.

17 May 2011

Researchers discover bed bugs with MRSA in lower-income area residents

As if the recent resurgence of bed bugs wasn't bad enough, Canadian researchers have found some of the little blood-sucking critters carrying methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, the potentially deadly superbug known as MRSA.

17 May 2011

WFP resumes food aid operations in South Sudan

The World Food Program (WFP) has resumed food aid operations in South Sudan after operations were suspended last month because of violence, Reuters reports.

17 May 2011

American Heart Association recognizes NIC as Platinum-Level Start! Fit-Friendly Company

NIC, a leading provider of online government services, is one of only two Kansas City metro companies to be recognized as a Platinum-Level Start! Fit-Friendly Company by the American Heart Association's Start! initiative for helping employees eat better and move more.

17 May 2011

Bioengineering students redesign pediatric mannequin

Rice University bioengineering students have modified a child-size training mannequin to give medical students hands-on pediatric experience so that real patients can be spared further stress and pain.

17 May 2011

Concern over vaccine safety prevents parents from vaccinating asthmatic children

Concern over vaccine safety is one of the primary factors preventing parents from having their asthmatic children vaccinated for influenza, or flu, according to Michigan researchers. Parents who do not vaccinate their children are also less likely to view flu as a"trigger" for their child's asthma, the researchers noted.

17 May 2011

LDC conference ends with 10-year action plan

The Fourth U.N. Conference on Least Developed Countries closed in Istanbul on Friday "with a number of recommendations seeking to halve, from 48 to 24, the number of LDCs during the next 10 years," the Guardian's "Global Development" blog reports.

17 May 2011

Business trends shape medical practices

Minnesota Public Radio reports that independent practices increasingly face an uphill battle while the Minneapolis Star Tribune notes that the "company doctor" is making a comeback in workplaces across the nation.

17 May 2011

World Health Assembly begins in Geneva

As the 64th World Health Assembly gets underway in Geneva, the body will consider "an array of subjects pertaining to reforms of the organisation and its financing, vaccines, fake medicines, and influenza pandemic preparedness, as well as communicable and non-communicable diseases," Intellectual Property Watch reports.

17 May 2011

Delay in seeking emergency medical care for asthma exacerbations can result in worse outcomes

Waiting to seek emergency medical care for asthma exacerbations can result in worse outcomes, including hospitalization, according to a study conducted by researchers from New York.

17 May 2011

Gingrich calls GOP Medicare voucher plan radical

Now that he is officially in the running to be the Republican nominee for president, Newt Gingrich made his opinions very clear while appearing on Sunday morning talk shows.

17 May 2011

MHAUS sponsors one-day conference on Malignant Hyperthermia

Medical professionals, patients and families can learn the basics on how recognize, diagnose, and treat Malignant Hyperthermia at a one-day Malignant Hyperthermia conference happening from 10 am to 4 pm June 25 at Lake Receptions located in Mt. Dora, Florida.

17 May 2011