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Poor adolescents with strong community get protection from risky health behaviors

Children who grow up in poverty have health problems as adults. But a new study finds that poor adolescents who live in communities with more social cohesiveness and control get some measure of protection; they're less likely to smoke and be obese as adolescents.

3 Feb 2011

Health law ruling draws different state reactions

State officials are sorting a legal decision issued Monday by a federal court judge in Florida overturning the health law. Their challenge is to determine how and whether to proceed with their implementation responsibilities. Some, like Florida's governor, appear to favor taking steps to stall its progress.

3 Feb 2011

Blue Shield of California agrees to postpone rate increase

With this announcement, Blue Shield joins other large California insurers — Anthem Blue Cross, Aetna and PacifiCare — in agreeing to the delay.

3 Feb 2011

Analyzing the health law's 'prognosis'

As experts continue to parse the specifics of a federal Judge's Monday ruling striking down the health overhaul, experts speculate about what the Supreme Court could decide. Meanwhile, insurers, health industry stakeholders and even state officials mull their next steps.

2 Feb 2011

Legal decision triggers political twists

News outlets report on some of the political issues surrounding the individual mandate and Monday's legal decision striking down the health law.

2 Feb 2011

New study: Clinical trials exclude older patients due to age-related conditions

Older individuals, who constitute a rapidly growing population in the United States, account for a disproportionate share of health care utilization and cost. Yet more than half of clinical trials exclude people based on their age or age-related conditions, according to a new study by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars- at the University of Michigan.

2 Feb 2011

Federal judge's ruling could lead to new, patient-focused reforms to American health care system

Coalition to Protect Patients' Rights (CPPR) spokesman, Dr. Donald J. Palmisano, today said that a federal judge's ruling on the unconstitutionality of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate could lead to new, patient-focused reforms to the American health care system.

2 Feb 2011

Effective methods to change physician behavior and improve compliance to guidelines

When it comes to changing the way physicians practice, guidelines and educational initiatives alone are not effective. An editorial by James A. Arrighi, M.D., a cardiologist with Rhode Island Hospital, explains the effective methods to change physician behavior and improve compliance to guidelines. The editorial is published online in advance of print of the February 8 edition of the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.

2 Feb 2011

2010 Dietary Guidelines urge Americans to keep calorie intake from saturated fat to less than 10%

This week the U.S. government released the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans with few changes since the 2005 version. The guidelines continue to urge Americans to keep their calorie intake from saturated fat to less than 10 percent and lower the amount of trans fat in their diet to as low as possible.

2 Feb 2011

New state scorecard finds geographic disparities in health insurance coverage for children

Two years after the reauthorization and expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program, a new Commonwealth Fund state-by-state scorecard evaluating how the health care system is working for children finds that federal and state action on behalf of children has helped preserve, and even expand, health coverage for this group, despite the severe recession.

2 Feb 2011

Elsevier acquires Cancer Information Group's oncology journals portfolio

Elsevier, the leading global publisher of scientific, technical, and medical information products and services, announced today that it acquired the oncology portfolio of journals previously published by CIG Media Group LP., (operated as Cancer Information Group).

2 Feb 2011

Survey finds 75% of workers use their employers for medical and health information

The number of U.S. employees who turn to their employer and health plan for medical and health information has increased sharply over the past few years, according to a nationwide survey of employees conducted by the National Business Group on Health, a non-profit association of more than 300 large employers.

2 Feb 2011

DCRI, Kaplan EduNeering partner to train clinical research work force

The Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI), the largest academic clinical research organization in the world, is partnering with Kaplan EduNeering, a leading provider of compliance and knowledge-management solutions, in a novel educational program to address one of the most vexing problems encountered when conducting clinical trials abroad - the absence of a ready and fully trained professional infrastructure to get the work done.

2 Feb 2011

Size of influenza-laden particles linked to risk of infection

A parent's wise advice to never go to a hospital unless you want to get sick may be gaining support from scientific studies on a specific airborne virus.

2 Feb 2011

Bill Gates' annual letter calls for focus on eradicating polio, governments to sustain foreign aid

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, "urged developed nations to help him wipe out polio 'once and for all' at an event to release his third annual letter [.pdf] Monday," Agence France-Presse reports.

2 Feb 2011

MedAssets' products receive 'Peer Reviewed by HFMA' designation

The Healthcare Financial Management Association recently reviewed CDM Master, CDM Manager, CDM Enterprise, Charge Capture Audit, Comparative Rate Modeling, Strategic Pricing, KnowledgeSource, ABN Manager and Contract Manager using the Peer Review Process. After undergoing the rigorous review, these MedAssets' products have met the standards to receive the "Peer Reviewed by HFMA" designation.

2 Feb 2011

New national initiative to increase heart attack awareness among women

A woman suffers a heart attack every minute in the United States. But according to a 2009 American Heart Association survey, only half of women said they would call 9-1-1 if they thought they were having a heart attack -- and many women did not even recognize several key symptoms. This combination has led to dangerous consequences.

2 Feb 2011

Steps to protect security and privacy of protected health information

Gaps in the security and privacy of healthcare data still exist, even though the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act's (HIPAA) rules for security and privacy safeguards were extended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act.

2 Feb 2011

New 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans addresses unhealthy public

With a majority of the country's adults either overweight or obese, the new 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans are the first to address an unhealthy public, making their recommendations especially urgent for consumers and health professionals alike, according to the American Dietetic Association.

2 Feb 2011

Four new fact sheets address impact of combat injury on intimacy

The impact of combat injury on intimacy is an important and often neglected aspect of healthcare communication. Four new fact sheets addressing the impact of the injuries of war, both physical and psychological, on intimacy have just been released for healthcare providers and affected military families.

2 Feb 2011