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Global health Product Development Partners consortium select GVK BIO as preferred provider

GVK Biosciences, Asia's leading drug discovery research & development organization announced today that it has been selected as a preferred provider to a consortium of 14 global Product Development Partners (PDPs) for clinical services in Asia. GVK BIO is the only partner that is headquartered in India.

16 May 2011

Romney's defense of Massachusetts health plan triggers political questions

In what was billed as a major health care speech, Mitt Romney defended his state's plan but distanced himself from the federal health law, despite many similarities to the law Mitt Romney signed while governor. The circumstances have him walking a political tightrope.

16 May 2011

Study to examine population rates of ED use for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities

In the first North American study to examine population rates of Emergency Department (ED) use for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), researchers from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) found 55 per cent of adults with IDD and mental illness visited the ED at least once in a 2 year period and 15.6 per cent visited at least 5 times.

16 May 2011

With next election in mind, Medicare politics among the dynamics similar to 2010 congressional contests

Some news outlets report that "what goes around comes around" as many House Republicans are being reminded of the last election's raucous town hall meetings — this time, though, they are in the hot seat. Meanwhile, members of the GOP freshmen class have asked the White House to condemn liberal attacks on the Medicare proposal advanced by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.

16 May 2011

Loyola earns Joint Commission certification for heart pump therapy

Loyola University Hospital has been certified by the Joint Commission to begin implanting heart pumps known as left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) as permanent therapy for advanced heart failure.

16 May 2011

Alzheimer's Association commends U.S. House Representatives for new legislation

As the leading advocacy, research and support organization for Alzheimer's disease, the Alzheimer's Association commends Representatives Christopher Smith and Edward Markey for their leadership in introducing the Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act (H.R.1897) in the U.S. House of Representatives.

16 May 2011

As consumers postpone care, health insurers make record profits

The nation's major health insurers are barreling into a third year of record profits, enriched in recent months by a lingering recessionary mind-set among Americans who are postponing or forgoing medical care. The UnitedHealth Group, one of the largest commercial insurers, told analysts that so far this year, insured hospital stays actually decreased in some instances.

16 May 2011

IRIN reports on temporary, free medical care in Cote d'Ivoire

"Many public hospitals in Cote d'Ivoire are overflowing as people rush to benefit from a brief period of free medical services, announced by the government [in April] as part of the recovery from months of post-election chaos. But the health ministry has been quick to point out that this is a temporary measure and fees will be reinstated at the end of May," IRIN writes in a story examining reaction to health care in the country.

16 May 2011

State news: La. House passes abortion measure; Ga. faces sharp deficits in health plans; Calif. GOP offers budget plan

The House voted 96-0 for a bill that would require abortion providers to post additional information in public spaces; compel the state health agency to develop a new website on termination procedures; and alter the state's conscience protection clause that allows health-care professionals to opt out of certain tasks. Planned Parenthood, which provides reproductive counseling and services, including abortions at clinics located outside Louisiana, opposes House Bill 636 as intrusive and unnecessary.

16 May 2011

Hospital patients with pneumonia may face risk of sudden cardiac arrest

Hospital patients with pneumonia may be at risk of experiencing sudden cardiac arrest, often with few or no warning signs, according to research from the University of Chicago Medical Center under the auspices of the American Heart Association's Get with the Guidelines project.

16 May 2011

Viewpoints: Snappy headlines, prose on Romney and Medicare dominate Today's opinions and editorials

The first question he got from the audience after his speech Thursday was the right one: What's to prevent states from a "race to the bottom," where they cut their costs by slashing spending on health care? Romney had no good answer beyond a vague assertion that Americans are a "generous people" who would not deny health coverage to their fellow citizens.

16 May 2011

With release of trustees' report, Medicare's finances likely to get even more attention

Congress is putting off changes to Social Security, but the massive retirement and disability program still faces long-term financial problems from an aging population and an economy that has been slow to rebound.

13 May 2011

Scientists 'tinker' with HIV drug chemistry hoping to reduce costs

The Clinton Health Access Initiative, founded by former President Bill Clinton, with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.K. government, has hired former pharmaceutical company scientists "to tinker with the chemistry used to synthesize a key [HIV] drug, tenofovir" in an effort to reduce "the cost of manufacturing," the Wall Street Journal reports.

13 May 2011

AP reports on Global Fund commitment to transparency, fund responds

After an Associated Press story on Tuesday that reported the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria's board "is considering scaling back its groundbreaking philosophy of full transparency about how it spends billions of dollars in health care in poor countries"

13 May 2011

Supreme Court of Canada opens hearings on safe drug injection facility

The Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday began hearing the Canadian government's case against Insite, a Vancouver-based legal injection site where people can obtain clean needles and syringes to inject their own drugs under a nurse's supervision, the Canadian Press reports. Proponents of the program say it "prevents overdose deaths, reduces the spread of HIV and hepatitis, and curbs crime and open drug use".

13 May 2011

Cockroaches are a leading trigger of allergies and asthma attacks

May marks National Allergy and Asthma Awareness Month, and the National Pest Management Association warns families that cockroaches are a leading trigger of allergies and asthma attacks. The pests' saliva, droppings and decomposing bodies contain allergen proteins known to trigger allergies and increase the severity of asthma symptoms, especially in children.

13 May 2011

WHO launches Decade of Action for Road Safety

The WHO on Wednesday in Geneva officially launched the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 to raise awareness of and reduce the number of traffic-related deaths and injuries worldwide, the Washington Post reports (Brown, 5/11).

13 May 2011

Pro-gun interests, doctors clash over gun discussions

Three states are considering laws that would penalize doctors and other health care providers for asking patients or their parents whether they have a gun at home.

13 May 2011

Research roundup: Medicare costs in nursing homes; Docs reluctant to adopt EHRs; Health law to improve access to care

Medicare Expenditures Among Nursing Home Residents With Advanced Dementia -- Researchers followed 323 dementia patients in 22 nursing homes for up to 18 months and found that over an 18-month period, "total mean Medicare expenditures were $2303 per 90 days but were highly skewed; expenditures were less than $500 for 77.1% of the 90-day assessment periods and more than $12 000 for 5.5% of these periods.

13 May 2011

Obama, Senate Republicans meet in search of budget compromises

President Barack Obama opened the private session by asking all parties to look for common ground, but the entrenched positions in play will make that difficult to achieve. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., for instance, laid out specific conditions that must be met in order to gain GOP support. These included immediate budget caps on discretionary spending followed by eligibility changes to Medicare and Medicaid.

13 May 2011