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Political cartoon: "To The Moon"

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "To The Moon" by Bob Englehart.

15 Oct 2010

First Edition: October 15, 2010

Today's top stories from major news organizations report on the effort by 20 states to challenge the federal health law, a new federal panel to inform consumers about health care options and the struggle to pay for cancer care.

15 Oct 2010

FDA warns companies over unsubstantiated claims of 'chelation' products

The Food and Drug Administration says there's no proof that nonprescription 'chelation' products—which claim to treat everything from autism to Alzheimer's disease—can rid the body of toxic metals.

15 Oct 2010

Visa supports global law enforcement action against online sale of counterfeit, illegal medicines

Visa Inc. and Visa Europe today announced support for "Operation Pangea III," a global law enforcement action coordinated by INTERPOL targeting the online sale of counterfeit and illegal medicines resulting in arrests across the globe and the seizure of thousands of potentially harmful medicines.

15 Oct 2010

Study highlights need to address overuse, underuse of colorectal cancer screening tests

Only one-fifth of primary care physicians in the US follow practice guidelines for colorectal cancer screening for all the tests they recommend, according to Dr. Robin Yabroff from the National Cancer Institute and her colleagues. About 40 percent followed guidelines for some of the tests they recommended and the remaining 40 percent did not follow guidelines for any of the screening tests they recommended.

15 Oct 2010

MedSolutions, Corporate Research Group announce initial results from diagnostic accuracy program

MedSolutions and Corporate Research Group today announced initial results from a groundbreaking diagnostic accuracy program, which showed shortened hospital stays, reduced emergency room visits and lower overall medical costs among participants.

15 Oct 2010

WHO Western Pacific meeting addresses immunization, TB control, women's health

The WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific meeting continued with leaders discussing regional immunization goals, public health emergencies, TB control, and the health effects of urbanization, multiple news outlets report.

15 Oct 2010

New program will cut payment for durable medical equipment in Medicare test program

In California, beginning Jan. 1, "a new Medicare program will slash by 30 percent the prices it will pay for certain wheelchairs, oxygen concentrators and other medical devices in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, lowering costs for both local Medicare recipients and the American taxpayer," Redland Daily Facts reports.

15 Oct 2010

RMEI, PIM sponsor continuing education monograph on hereditary angioedema

Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is a rare but serious condition that can be both challenging to diagnose and to treat. To overcome these obstacles, healthcare professionals who encounter patients with HAE must be aware of the most up-to-date information regarding diagnosis and treatment of this potentially life-threatening condition.

15 Oct 2010

HHS limits, but can't eliminate, child-only policy double-standards

The New York Times: "The Obama administration, aiming to encourage health insurance companies to offer child-only policies, said Wednesday that they could charge higher premiums for coverage of children with serious medical problems, if state law allowed it. ... Earlier this year, major insurers, faced with an unprofitable business, stopped issuing new child-only policies.

15 Oct 2010

Experts use multi-disciplinary approach to provide innovative care for children

Liver tumors affect more than 300 children in the United States each year and management of these children requires coordinated comprehensive care from experts in many disciplines. To answer this problem, Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine announced today the formation of a new Liver Tumor Center that brings together renowned specialists in all aspects of liver cancer who will utilize a multi-disciplinary approach to provide the most comprehensive and innovative care for children afflicted with these diseases.

15 Oct 2010

SAMHSA awards grants to expand substance abuse treatment in offender reentry programs

Nearly 650,000 people are released from state and federal prison yearly and arrive on the doorsteps of communities nationwide. A far greater number reenter communities from local jails.

15 Oct 2010

Federal judge in Florida allows part of suit against health reform law to proceed

"A federal judge says some parts of a lawsuit by 20 states challenging the Obama administration's health care overhaul as unconstitutional can go to trial," The Associated Press reports. "District Judge Roger Vinson ruled Thursday in Pensacola, Fla., that some parts of the lawsuit need to be heard. The administration had asked him to dismiss the entire lawsuit, which was spearheaded by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum," a Republican (Nelson, 10/14).

15 Oct 2010

Issuing first report on NTDS, WHO aims for 'complete control' by 2015

The WHO said on Thursday that it was aiming for 'complete control' by 2015 of tropical diseases that affect one billion impoverished people and kill an estimated 534,000 people each year, Agence France-Presse reports.

15 Oct 2010

Democrats mostly silent on health law in their Ads as election approaches

Democrats are mostly remaining silent on the new health law as they release advertisements in bids to retain their seats in Congress, NPR reports.

15 Oct 2010

Officials address several drug issues including medical risks, proper disposal of unused medicine

Federal and state officials are addressing several drug issues including the risks associated with bone-strengthening drugs, complaints about a blood-thinning drug and a new law to help people safely dispose of unused medicine.

15 Oct 2010

More minorities attending American medical schools

News outlets report on issues affecting the doctor workforce, including increased diversity at medical schools and questions about whether rural doctors will qualify for the Medicare payment bonus for primary care physicians.

15 Oct 2010

'Largest Medicare fraud scheme' busted

The Los Angeles Times: More than two dozen Los Angeles-area residents were arrested Wednesday "for their alleged roles in a nationwide scheme to bilk Medicare out of more than $160 million. The investigation, dubbed Diagnosis Dollars, resulted in the arrests of 52 people across the U.S. in what authorities described as 'the largest Medicare fraud scheme ever perpetrated by a single criminal enterprise.'"

15 Oct 2010

State News: Wash. adults could lose Medicaid coverage for prescriptions, Michigan restores services

Detroit Free Press: "Michigan has reopened through Nov. 30 a program that provides free or nearly free medical care to adults 21 and older. The benefits could help as many as 58,000 poor people — some who couldn't previously get help because the Adult Medical Program, as it is called, had been frozen since May 31, 2009, because of state budget cuts.

15 Oct 2010

IRIN examines forthcoming U.N. child malnutrition program; IPS reports on FAO Latin American report

IRIN looks at a planned U.N. initiative to combat early childhood malnutrition and the questions surrounding it.

15 Oct 2010

Healthcare News

Political cartoon: "To The Moon"

First Edition: October 15, 2010

FDA warns companies over unsubstantiated claims of 'chelation' products

Visa supports global law enforcement action against online sale of counterfeit, illegal medicines

Study highlights need to address overuse, underuse of colorectal cancer screening tests

MedSolutions, Corporate Research Group announce initial results from diagnostic accuracy program

WHO Western Pacific meeting addresses immunization, TB control, women's health

New program will cut payment for durable medical equipment in Medicare test program

RMEI, PIM sponsor continuing education monograph on hereditary angioedema

HHS limits, but can't eliminate, child-only policy double-standards

Experts use multi-disciplinary approach to provide innovative care for children

SAMHSA awards grants to expand substance abuse treatment in offender reentry programs

Federal judge in Florida allows part of suit against health reform law to proceed

Issuing first report on NTDS, WHO aims for 'complete control' by 2015

Democrats mostly silent on health law in their Ads as election approaches

Officials address several drug issues including medical risks, proper disposal of unused medicine

More minorities attending American medical schools

'Largest Medicare fraud scheme' busted

State News: Wash. adults could lose Medicaid coverage for prescriptions, Michigan restores services

IRIN examines forthcoming U.N. child malnutrition program; IPS reports on FAO Latin American report

Exploring the nanoscale: How AFM is transforming cosmetic science

Innovating Texture and Culture in Plant-Based Foods

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

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