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First Edition: June 16, 2011

In today's headlines, reports about the prospect for Medicaid cutbacks in an emerging bipartisan budget deal, as well as how a report from a Medicare advisory panel may bolster Medicare options currently on the table.

16 Jun 2011

Study finds life expectacy in large portions of U.S. are stagnating or declining

"Large swaths of the United States are showing decreasing or stagnating life expectancy even as the nation's overall longevity trend has continued upwards, according to a county-by-county study of life expectancy over two decades," researchers at the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington note in the journal Population Health Metrics, the Washington Post reports (Brown, 6/15).

16 Jun 2011

CBO portends 'heavy lifting' to avert Medicare doc pay reduction

The report offers cost estimates for a range of approaches that would head off a 29.4 percent reduction in Medicare physician payments scheduled to kick in Jan. 1, 2012. Meanwhile, in other news, a plan to curb the overuse of costly medical imaging demonstrates the difficulties posed by attempting even small changes in the health insurance program for seniors.

16 Jun 2011

Five institutions receive NIH grants to accelerate scientific discoveries into patient treatments

The National Institutes of Health announced that it will provide $200 million over five years to five health research centers to speed scientific discoveries into treatments for patients. The grants were awarded as part of the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) program, which is led by the NIH's National Center for Research Resources.

16 Jun 2011

Mary Ann Liebert peer-reviewed journal publishes new clinical guidelines on hyperthyroidism

New clinical guidelines developed by an expert panel that include 100 evidence-based recommendations for optimal care of patients with hyperthyroidism and other causes of thyrotoxicosis are presented in the current issue of Thyroid, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

16 Jun 2011

Physicians with low ratings in offline surveys less likely to be rated online

Patients posting their opinions about doctors on online ratings websites are much less likely to discuss physicians with low perceived quality and are more prone than offline populations to exaggerate their opinions, according to a paper being presented at a healthcare conference sponsored by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences.

16 Jun 2011

Swim centre personnel, lifeguards more effectively carry out cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Swim centre personnel and lifeguards have higher stamina and carry out cardiopulmonary resuscitation more effectively than personnel in the emergency healthcare services, even though they have undergone extreme exertion. Their life-saving efforts may be crucial while waiting for an ambulance. This is the conclusion of research carried out at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

16 Jun 2011

Healthcare organizations embrace need for information transparency to drive clinical transformation

Healthcare organizations are embracing the need for information transparency to drive clinical transformation, but they still require the tools and capabilities to make data available in real time and reduce the burden on scarce resources.

16 Jun 2011

Rising food prices, health concerns prompt shifting diets worldwide, Oxfam survey says

"Rising food prices, hovering near record highs after a spike in grain costs, are changing diets particularly in developing countries such as Kenya, according to a survey issued by charity Oxfam on Wednesday," Reuters reports. The survey was conducted in 17 countries.

16 Jun 2011

UCSF study seeks to discover true causes of sudden cardiac death

A new study by the University of California, San Francisco's Cardiac Electrophysiology Service seeks to discover for the first time the true causes of sudden cardiac death (SCD), why it is more prevalent in some demographic populations, and whether it is too often inaccurately cited as a cause of death.

16 Jun 2011

Screening can help overcome barriers to mental health care among African-American youth

Mental health screening has been demonstrated to successfully connect African-American middle school students from a predominantly low-income area with school-based mental health services, according to results of a new study led by the TeenScreen National Center for Mental Health Checkups at Columbia University. The study was published in a recent online early edition of the Community Mental Health Journal.

16 Jun 2011

Budget woes lead GOP governors to push feds to relax Medicaid rules

President Barack Obama has the power to relax rules, which would allow cash-strapped governors more flexibility in spending Medicaid dollars, including allowing them to tighten eligibility requirements. But allowing such changes would outrage many of the president's core supporters and be at odds with the health law's goal of expanding coverage.

16 Jun 2011

Queen's University installs new pollen trap to control hay fever in Northern Ireland

Local hay fever sufferers will breathe more easily following the news that Northern Ireland's only air pollen sampler has been installed at Queen's University Belfast in association with the Met Office.

16 Jun 2011

Children use self-induced vomiting as weight-loss strategy: Study

Children as young as ten are making themselves vomit in order to lose weight and the problem is more common in boys than girls, according to a study of nearly 16,000 school pupils published online early, ahead of print publication, by the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

16 Jun 2011

ASEAN region recognizes first Dengue Day to raise awareness

"The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the World Health Organization (WHO) at the launch of Dengue Day on Wednesday called on all sectors of society to unite in the battle against the disease, which has developed into a formidable threat to health in Asia, a press statement said," Xinhua reports.

16 Jun 2011

Eyeglasses provide example of good health delivery

In this Washington Post "Think Tanked" post, journalist Allen McDuffee examines a Foreign Policy article by New America Foundation and Center for Global Development scholar Charles Kenny, which "points to advancements in eyeglasses as an example of how health can be better delivered and have a severe impact on poorer countries".

16 Jun 2011

Patient safety initiatives should focus on outpatient setting to avoid paid malpractice claims

In an examination of trends of malpractice claims, there has been a greater decline in the rate of paid claims for inpatient settings than outpatient settings, and in 2009, the number of malpractice claims for events resulting in paid malpractice claims in outpatient and inpatient settings were similar, according to a study in the June 15 issue of JAMA.

16 Jun 2011

PLoS Medicine publishes series on migration and health

PLoS Medicine published the latest installment of its six-part series focusing on migration and health.

16 Jun 2011

National survey shows 45% of teens consider parents to be their sexuality role model

The results of a national online study show that 45% consider their parents to be their sexuality role model. Shattering stereotypes that parents and society hold about teen sexuality, the survey also revealed that only 32% looked to their friends and just 15% took inspiration from celebrities.

16 Jun 2011

Budget talks to focus on potential foreign aid cuts among other issues

White House budget talks entered a new phase on Tuesday "as the deficit reduction group led by Vice President Biden" started debate about sensitive issues that they have purposely sidestepped during their six earlier meetings.

16 Jun 2011

Healthcare News

First Edition: June 16, 2011

Study finds life expectacy in large portions of U.S. are stagnating or declining

CBO portends 'heavy lifting' to avert Medicare doc pay reduction

Five institutions receive NIH grants to accelerate scientific discoveries into patient treatments

Mary Ann Liebert peer-reviewed journal publishes new clinical guidelines on hyperthyroidism

Physicians with low ratings in offline surveys less likely to be rated online

Swim centre personnel, lifeguards more effectively carry out cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Healthcare organizations embrace need for information transparency to drive clinical transformation

Rising food prices, health concerns prompt shifting diets worldwide, Oxfam survey says

UCSF study seeks to discover true causes of sudden cardiac death

Screening can help overcome barriers to mental health care among African-American youth

Budget woes lead GOP governors to push feds to relax Medicaid rules

Queen's University installs new pollen trap to control hay fever in Northern Ireland

Children use self-induced vomiting as weight-loss strategy: Study

ASEAN region recognizes first Dengue Day to raise awareness

Eyeglasses provide example of good health delivery

Patient safety initiatives should focus on outpatient setting to avoid paid malpractice claims

PLoS Medicine publishes series on migration and health

National survey shows 45% of teens consider parents to be their sexuality role model

Budget talks to focus on potential foreign aid cuts among other issues

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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