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Medforma unveils new Internet-based wellness platform

Nearly 80 percent of health care costs are spent on treating preventable diseases. And most of this burden falls on employers and employees. To help employers reduce these expenses while improving the health of their workforces, St. Paul-based Medforma Inc., today unveiled the next-generation of its Internet-based wellness platform called Health Portrait™.

16 Aug 2010

First Edition: August 16, 2010

Today's headlines reflect coverage of state health reform implementation issues as well as other emerging policy issues in the nation's health system.

16 Aug 2010

Residents use gardening as recreation tool to improve quality of life

Residents at Courtland Gardens Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Randallstown, MD, are using one of their favorite hobbies to improve the environment. The residents are taking part in programs where they plant flowers using compost from their own cafeteria and others.

16 Aug 2010

MSC Care Management announces launch of new web site

MSC Care Management, a national leader in the delivery of medical products and services to the workers' compensation industry, announced that it is launching its new web site, www.yourmsc.com, to provide more tools and resources for customers and providers. The enhanced site offers a comprehensive range of resources including company and industry information in addition to a new design.

16 Aug 2010

August is National Immunization and Cataract Awareness Month

Childhood immunizations keep our children safe from a number of serious diseases. This is a good time of year to make sure your child is up-to-date on all of his/her immunizations. Continue reading to find out which vaccines the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend for children 6 and under.

16 Aug 2010

Retirees give thumbs up to health insurance exchanges

The reviews are in, and retirees give the thumbs up to health insurance exchanges. In an independent survey of 443 retirees who use a health insurance exchange to compare and choose private individual Medicare and supplement plans, 85% of their reviews were positive.

16 Aug 2010

Kaiser Permanente uses integrated care delivery model to aid mothers understand benefits of breastfeeding

August is National Breastfeeding Awareness Month, and Kaiser Permanente believes that one of the most important choices a mother can make to promote the health of her family is to choose to breastfeed exclusively. Kaiser Permanente, with more than 90,000 births in 2009, uses its integrated care delivery model to help mothers understand the benefits of breastfeeding to both mother and child and support the mother's infant feeding decision.

16 Aug 2010

8th Annual Medical Innovation Summit to highlight breakthrough technologies for treating obesity, diabetes

Cleveland Clinic has finalized the agenda for the 8th Annual Medical Innovation Summit, which will be held Nov. 1-3 on the Clinic's campus. The Summit draws 1,000 attendees each year, and includes panel discussions with some of the industry's top CEOs and thought leaders.This year's summit will highlight breakthrough technologies for diagnosing and treating obesity and diabetes. Top executives, investors, entrepreneurs, clinicians and technologists will gather to share ideas on how to combat this devastating epidemic.

16 Aug 2010

Johns Hopkins Professor develops ‘CAPABLE’ study to identify solutions on health challenges

In Baltimore City, dozens of older adults are now aging safely in their homes, thanks to the work of Assistant Professor Sarah L. Szanton, PhD, CRNP, at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing.

16 Aug 2010

Pathology experts meet to at SESPM to update new advances in breast surgery

Over 1.500 breast pathology experts will meet between the 20th and 22nd of October in the 16th World Congress of the Senologic International Society (SIS). This meeting and the 29th Congress of the Spanish Society of Senology and Breast Diseases (SESPM) will take place in the Valencia, coinciding with the International Breast Cancer Day.

16 Aug 2010

International community must approach cancer as a global health priority

Once thought to be a problem primarily in the developed world, cancer is now a leading cause of death and disability in poorer countries. Almost two-thirds of the 7.6 million cancer deaths in the world occur in low- and middle-income countries.

16 Aug 2010

Canada's low deceased organ donation rate not due to lack of public support

While more than 4,000 Canadians are on wait lists for organ transplants - and every day-and-a-half, one patient dies waiting - Canada's low deceased organ donation rate cannot be attributed to a lack of public support.

16 Aug 2010

Phenomenon to block thoughts of cigarette unwittingly triggers a subsequent increase: Study

Blocking thoughts of cigarettes helps reduce smokers' intake at first, but means they smoke more than usual when they stop suppressing, according to new research.The study was carried out by researchers at St George's, University of London and the University of Hertfordshire.Co-author Dr James Erskine, a psychologist at St George's, says the study shows that many smokers attempting to give up - as well as people trying to quit other vices - may be thwarted by the very technique they use to stop.

16 Aug 2010

Exercise can ease arthritis pain

People with arthritis who exercise have less pain, more energy, improved sleep, and better day-to-day function, according to the American College of Rheumatology.

16 Aug 2010

Washington Hospital's Stroke Program receives Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award

In just a few short years since its inception, Washington Hospital's Stroke Program has earned top honors - The Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award - which is part of the American Heart Association (AHA) and American Stroke Association (ASA)'s Get With The Guidelines(GWTG) program, a national evidence-based initiative to improve stroke patients' outcomes.

16 Aug 2010

Obama reschedules meeting with state insurance regulators

Just a day after announcing that President Barack Obama would meet with state insurance regulators in Seattle next week, the White House said Friday that the meeting would have to come later.

16 Aug 2010

SAS and EHFCN collaborate to promote awareness on healthcare fraud

SAS, the leader in business analytics software and services, will collaborate with the European Healthcare Fraud and Corruption Network (EHFCN) to spread information about detecting and preventing health care fraud. The collaboration will expose Belgium-based EHFCN to a broader European audience and identify SAS and the SAS® Fraud Framework for Health Care as a "privileged technical resource" for health care providers and insurers.

16 Aug 2010

Opinions: PEPFAR funding; Aid in Africa; Obama, human rights

Following a recent letter by Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) to President Barack Obama that "expressed concern about the future of" PEPFAR "as details of the Obama administration's Global Health Initiative emerge," a Courier-Journal editorial looks at how the "U.S. made a commitment to be a major player in the worldwide fight against AIDS" and details how "arguably the most successful program implemented by President Bush" has made huge strides in broadening HIV treatment access and preventing mother-to-child-transmission in the developing world.

16 Aug 2010

Delegates explore agricultural cooperation, expanded ties at two-day China-Africa Agricultural Forum

Chinese and African officials concluded the China-Africa Agricultural Forum in Beijing on Thursday, which explored possibilities for agricultural cooperation and addressed food security issues, Xinhua reports.

16 Aug 2010

Medicare fraudsters shift targets a la "whack-a-mole"

The Economist: In an effort to staunch the flow of up to $60 billion a year to Medicare fraudsters, federal officials are launching a series of new safeguards that target program areas favored by the con artists. "The Department of Health and Human Services is setting up data systems to monitor payments. A telephone-monitoring programme, with voice-recognition, will verify that health-care workers really are making home visits.

16 Aug 2010