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Public health at risk as Vitamin D evidence mounts

A group of prevention-focused healthcare organizations has expressed deep concern over recently-proposed restrictions to OHIP coverage of Vitamin D testing in the province. The proposed new legislation will delist OHIP insured Vitamin D testing for most Ontarians. Exceptions will be made for those with osteoporosis, malabsorption syndromes, and individuals taking medications that interfere with vitamin D absorption or metabolism.

21 Sep 2010

GOP divided over health law repeal as White House readies midterm push

In the run up to November's midterm elections, President Obama will tout the new health law, hoping the consumer-friendly provisions taking effect this week will help erode ill will toward the overhaul, The Wall Street Journal reports. "Starting Thursday, insurers officially must adhere to about a half-dozen key changes under the law, including eliminating co-payments for preventive services and allowing children to stay on their parents' insurance policy until their 26th birthday.

21 Sep 2010

HHS urged not to cover contraception or sterilization in health plans

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) should not require coverage of contraception or sterilization in group and individual health plans as part of "preventive" services for women, said representatives of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) as HHS continued its deliberations on a final list of required preventive services under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).

21 Sep 2010

Dieters who consumed more milk or milk products lost more weight :Study

A new weight loss study conducted by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers reveals that dieters who consumed milk or milk products lost more weight on average than those who consumed little to no milk products.

21 Sep 2010

Financial Times examines U.S. foreign aid reform

The Obama "administration's bold drive to improve the U.S.'s notoriously bureaucratic and dysfunctional foreign aid programme is setting out with highly uncertain chances of success," the Financial Times writes. "Officials acknowledge inadequacies in the traditional U.S. approach. The U.S. programme involves overlapping bureaucracies ... [and] frequently 'ties' U.S. aid to the purchase of American food and other goods and consultancy services," according to the article.

21 Sep 2010

'Village' movement allows seniors who need care to stay in their homes longer

The Fiscal Times reports that, as the population ages, more communities are trying to find ways to allow older Americans to remain in their homes, even when they need health care. "The small but fast-growing 'village' movement — where seniors help seniors to coordinate and deliver services within their communities — is a grass-roots response to the well-documented preference of older people to remain in their homes as they age.

21 Sep 2010

GTRI becomes Veriwave Gold Certified Partner for leveraging WaveDeploy solution

Global Technology Resources, Inc., a Colorado-based I.T. integration consulting group, has announced a formal agreement with one of its strategic partners, VeriWave Inc., making GTRI one of only a handful of Gold Certified Partners in the country. By being a Gold Certified Partner, this gives GTRI the ability to advance its healthcare professional services offerings to the next level.

21 Sep 2010

Siemens publishes GS1 Global Trade Item Numbers in GHX Health ConneXion data pool

In an effort to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the healthcare supply chain, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics (Siemens) has published product data including GS1 Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) for its entire U.S. product line into the GHX Health ConneXion(SM) data pool.

21 Sep 2010

U.N. launches largest humanitarian appeal to aid Pakistan flood relief

The U.N. on Friday launched an appeal for $2 billion in flood relief for Pakistan, Bloomberg reports. The request is the "largest appeal for humanitarian relief ever made by the world body," the news service writes (Varner, 9/17).

21 Sep 2010

HHS efforts to enroll more kids clash with struggling state budgets

The Department of Health and Human Services' efforts to enroll more eligible children in Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program "are being hurt by the financial reality of state budgets," American Medical News reports.

21 Sep 2010

Opinions: MDGs

"The overarching and noble goal [of this week's Millennium Development Goal (MDG) summit in New York] is reducing global poverty. But the most compelling and achievable objectives - huge reductions in maternal and child mortality worldwide - will be severely undermined if the Obama administration either directly or covertly integrates abortion into the final outcome document," Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) writes in a Washington Post opinion piece.

21 Sep 2010

Nurses union breaks from the Australian Labor party

The Queensland Nurses Union’s (QNU) association with the Labor party will not be renewed when it expires next year. Acting Premier Paul Lucas however feels it is not politically damaging. “I'm obviously disappointed that they're not renewing their affiliation but we deal with all sorts of unions whether they're affiliated or not,” he said. The decision however could cost the ALP $50,000 a year. QNU on the other hand feels that this break would give them more political flexibility.

20 Sep 2010

NQF endorses 8 outcome measures for pulmonary, cardiovascular conditions and care provided in ICU

To improve healthcare quality and give patients and providers more information about the results of care, the National Quality Forum (NQF) has endorsed eight outcome measures for pulmonary and cardiovascular conditions and care provided in the intensive care unit (ICU). This is the first in a set of patient outcome measures NQF is reviewing.

20 Sep 2010

Medicare receives increased scrutiny regarding fraud, payment issues

USA Today: "Proposed regulations being unveiled today seek to crack down on Medicare and Medicaid fraud by subjecting operators of certain medical firms to fingerprinting and stopping payments when credible fraud allegations are made, documents show. The rules would give federal health officials key powers to identify fraud early and reduce the estimated $55 billion in improper payments made each year in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, said Peter Budetti, director of the new anti-fraud office at the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services" (Young, 9/20).

20 Sep 2010

GOP plan to change or repeal health law could bring new complications

Kaiser Health News staff writer Mary Agness Carey reports: Republicans, buoyed by recent polls suggesting that their party could win the House and pick up seats in the Senate in November, are vowing to repeal or make major revisions in the health overhaul law that Democrats squeezed through Congress last spring.

20 Sep 2010

Head-circumference charts for infants and toddlers may be inaccurate

The most common charts used by pediatricians to measure head growth in infants and toddlers may be inaccurate, potentially leading to delayed diagnoses, unnecessary tests, and parental worry, according to new research from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

20 Sep 2010

Examining the first wave of health overhaul changes coming this week

Houston Chronicle: Wider access and protections for health care consumers kick in on Thursday as a set of health law provisions take effect. "Most of this month's changes apply directly to the 12 million Texans covered by private health insurance plans, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Insurers may no longer charge co-payments, deductibles or co-insurance for preventive services.

20 Sep 2010

Medical errors continue to pose major risk to patients

Albany Times Union reports on continuing medical errors. "Health care reform consumed the nation for the last 12 months but, despite all the talk, the country took only baby steps toward reducing medical errors that injure and kill millions of hospital patients.

20 Sep 2010

Hospital chief tries to lead wellness push by example

USA Today reports on Margaret Sabin, CEO of Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs, who is leading, by example, the employer wellness movement to make employees healthier. "Something of a renegade in her line of work, she believes hospitals — all in the medical community, in fact — are applying too little attention and resources to prevention. 'We can project exactly what will happen to an individual living an unhealthy lifestyle,' she says.

20 Sep 2010

Today's OpEds: Detailing what is and is not working with health reform

Many reformers undoubtedly believe that passage of the health overhaul law laid the issue to rest. But policy's wheels continue to turn, and the process is anything but over. … From where we sit, with the withering campaign that must be in the works, the odds of the new law remaining intact, with teeth, are questionable. For reforms to succeed, then, steady vigilant hands, focused on the nation's larger interest, will be critical (Brian Klepper and David Kibbe, 9/20).

20 Sep 2010