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GI Dynamics to participate in 2010 Medical Innovation Summit

GI Dynamics, a leader in non-surgical, endoscopic treatments for type 2 diabetes and obesity, today announced that Stuart A. Randle, chief executive officer, will participate in a panel discussion as part of the 2010 Medical Innovation Summit being held at the Cleveland Clinic November 1-3, 2010 in Cleveland, Ohio.

2 Nov 2010

New REACT medical trial for early diagnosis of lung cancer

Physicians at El Camino Hospital are starting a medical trial called REACT that they hope may give doctors a new and cost-effective tool for early diagnosis of lung cancer, the deadliest of the common cancers.

2 Nov 2010

Ceremonial groundbreaking for new Children's Hospital of Michigan Specialty Center

Federal, state, and regional legislators and community leaders today join Vanguard Health System's Vice Chairman Keith Pitts, DMC President and CEO Mike Duggan, and Children's Hospital of Michigan President Herman Gray, MD at a ceremonial groundbreaking of the Children's Hospital of Michigan Specialty Center on the campus of the DMC (3950 Beaubien).

2 Nov 2010

Health law challenges: Birth control, grandfathering, state's exchanges

The Associated Press: Among the complications posed by the health law is the fight over "social mores" that will could be triggered by the possibility that free contraception will be made available to women as a result of its provisions. A panel of experts set up by the Institute of Medicine will meet in November to determine what types of contraception should be considered "preventive care" under provisions barring insurers from charging copays for such services.

2 Nov 2010

AAAOM, NCCAOM respond to report on cause of deaths due to improper acupuncture treatments

The American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM) and the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) are collaborating to respond to a recent report by British professor Edzard Ernst, published in The Guardian, claiming improperly trained acupuncture treatments have been the cause of deaths over the past 45 years.

2 Nov 2010

House win would give GOP the ways, means to roll back health law

A GOP takeover of the House would give Republicans the ability to attack the new law in new ways. If Rep. Joe Barton becomes chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee next year, the Texas Republican vows to make life miserable for Democratic defenders of the health care overhaul law.

2 Nov 2010

LCA releases 2010 National Report Card on Lung Cancer

Today, Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) released its Annual National Report Card on Lung Cancer, an overall assessment of the nation's response to the continuing high mortality of lung cancer, the leading cancer killer.

2 Nov 2010

Minn. will accept federal assistance, Tenn. tackles burgeoning drug abuse problem

Politico: "Minnesota will accept federal assistance under the Democrats' health reform law after all, despite Gov. Tim Pawlenty's executive order barring voluntary participation in federal health care programs. The state's Management and Budget Office was one of 700 new organizations that signed up for the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program, a $5 billion program that helps pay for the insurance costs of retirees between the ages of 55 and 64.

2 Nov 2010

Medicare cuts become hot topic in mid-term election campaigns

Advertisements are focusing on Medicare cuts and using them as a rallying point to influence the election. The message, delivered by a series of nervous-looking older Americans, is uniform: Democratic Congressional candidates voted for billions of dollars in cuts to Medicare and let their constituents down.

2 Nov 2010

More companies push employee wellness programs

General Mills has a corporate culture that consistently encourages workers to stay active and healthy. It's part of the consumer-products company's long-established wellness program, which General Mills says has helped it keep increases in health-care costs in the single digits, way below the national average

2 Nov 2010

AMA head predicts "catastrophe" if physician Medicare pay isn't fixed

Kaiser Health News staff writers Andrew Villegas and Mary Agnes Carey, working in collaboration with The Washington Post, talked with the AMA president about action surrounding Medicare payment issues: "While most people are focused on the midterm elections Tuesday, the American Medical Association is gearing up for the lame-duck congressional session scheduled to start Nov. 15.

2 Nov 2010

Kenya first of four countries to launch UNICEF, partners initiative aimed at PMTCT of HIV

On Friday, UNICEF and the Kenyan government announced a partnership aimed at preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV by providing HIV-positive mothers with packs of medicines they can easily administer to themselves or their babies at home, IRIN/PlusNews reports.

2 Nov 2010

Zynx Health's clinical support solution receives US patent

Zynx Health, the market leader in providing evidence-based and experience-based clinical decision support solutions, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued United States Patent 7,822,626 covering their extensive suite of tools that facilitate and enhance the capability within a healthcare institution to establish and maintain an evidence-based best practice approach to providing patient care.

2 Nov 2010

WHO Director-General in Pakistan to monitor flood relief, polio vaccinations

The WHO will continue to support efforts to boost polio eradication efforts in Pakistan, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said recently during talks with Pakistani health officials, the Associated Press of Pakistan reports.

2 Nov 2010

Insurers want out of low-income segment of Medicare Part D market

UPI: "Health insurance companies have raised their premiums to price themselves out of the low-income segment of the Part D market," according to a study from the Mongan Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital. According to the study, "Part D reimbursements to insurers covering low-income patients are substantially lower than the actual costs incurred," which create an "'incentive for plans to avoid or shed low-income patients,'" the study's lead author said.

2 Nov 2010

House takeover would give GOP ways to attack health law

Reporting for Kaiser Health News, Marilyn Werber Serafini reports on the possible changes in the congressional power structure: "If Rep. Joe Barton becomes chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee next year, the Texas Republican vows to make life miserable for Democratic defenders of the health care overhaul law" (Serafini, 10/31).

2 Nov 2010

White House Health Advisor Emanuel visits U.S. government-funded health programs during 3-nation African trip

The global fight against malaria could cut prevalence rates of malaria to one in 20 fevers by 2017, Special Advisor on Health Policy to the Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget Ezekiel Emanuel said in an interview in Dakar, Senegal, Bloomberg reports.

2 Nov 2010

ISHIB releases new recommendations to manage hypertension in African Americans

Through the publication of its Consensus Statement on the Management of High Blood Pressure in Blacks in this week's issue of Hypertension, ISHIB today released new recommendations recognizing that high blood pressure among African Americans is a severe health problem. The consensus statement suggests that treatment should start sooner and be more aggressive among African Americans.

2 Nov 2010

Media outlets look ahead to Obama's trip to India

Several media outlets looked ahead to President Barack Obama's scheduled visit to India later this week, as part of his Asia-Pacific tour.

2 Nov 2010

MedCath completes sale of Heart Hospital of Austin to St. David's Healthcare Partnership

MedCath Corporation and its physician partners announced today the completion of the sale of substantially all the assets of Heart Hospital of Austin to St. David's Healthcare Partnership, L.P. The transaction, which was announced in February and was subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory requirements, was completed today.

2 Nov 2010