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Surveillance systems find no major disease outbreaks since Haiti quake; Media examine aid disbursements

Haitian and U.S. public health experts recently reported that two new surveillance systems set up in Haiti after the January earthquake showed that no major disease outbreaks had developed and that the new systems could be part of the foundation of the country's health system in the long term, Reuters reports. The findings were published Friday in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

10 Aug 2010

Older Americans suffer from full-blown depression: Report

Maureen Duffy's memories of her grandmother are cloudy. Not because of time, but by a condition that cast a shadow over the woman Duffy had visited as a child.

10 Aug 2010

Survey shows web users access social media sites in emergency situations

A new American Red Cross survey shows many web users would turn to social media to seek help for themselves or others during emergencies—and they expect first responders to be listening.The online survey asked 1,058 adults about their use of social media sites in emergency situations. It found that if they needed help and couldn't reach 9-1-1, one in five would try to contact responders through a digital means such as e-mail, websites or social media.

10 Aug 2010

Calif. considers reduction in funding for home care aides; Ill. union workers strike over health issues at uranium conversion plant

California, facing a $19.1 billion budget gap, is considering a reduction in funding that pays for home care aides for the disabled. It already cut funds last year. … Last month, the nation celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act … Now, though, gains made under the ADA are running into recession-battered state budgets.

10 Aug 2010

HHS: $250 million in grants available for New Access Points for delivery of primary health care services

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today the availability of up to $250 million in grants for New Access Points for the delivery of primary health care services for underserved and vulnerable populations under the Health Center Program. The funds, made available by the Affordable Care Act, will be awarded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

10 Aug 2010

UT Southwestern enters partnership with Sun Yat-sen University to promote scientific research

UT Southwestern Medical Center has entered into an academic and scientific partnership with Sun Yat-sen University and its First Affiliated Hospital in Guangzhou, China. The first international institutional affiliation for UT Southwestern and a first step in implementing the global health initiative that is one of the medical center's current strategic priorities, the partnership was developed to promote joint scientific research, educational, and training activities.

10 Aug 2010

Computerized warning system alerts harmful drug orders for older hospital patients

Adverse drug events, such as dizziness or confusion occur in an estimated 40 percent of all hospital patients and can be the result of inappropriate medications being ordered. Not surprisingly, elderly individuals are particularly vulnerable to these adverse events, which not only result in longer hospitalizations, but can also pose a threat of serious complications and even death.

10 Aug 2010

Oil rig workers access healthcare via telemedicine

Without hands-on access to doctors and hospitals, oil rig workers who become sick or injured increasingly rely on telemedicine "visits" with physicians and specialists on land, a trend explored in detail in an article published in Telemedicine and e-Health, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

10 Aug 2010

ADA updates position paper on children’s healthy behaviors

The American Dietetic Association has published an updated position paper on local support for nutrition integrity in schools that calls on schools and communities to work together to provide healthful and affordable meals for all children and to promote educational environments that help students learn and practice healthy behaviors for their entire lives.

10 Aug 2010

Lancet World Report examines how U.N. Women agency will work to address global health issues

A Lancet World Report article examines how many are looking to the new U.N. agency tasked with advancing women's equality and rights to help improve the health of women in developing countries.

10 Aug 2010

Nat'l Health Services Corps spending more to increase primary care docs in underserved areas

The Washington Post reports on the Obama administration's efforts "to bring thousands of young primary care doctors to underserved areas … and keep them there. The administration recently invested more than $1 billion from the stimulus and the health-care law into the National Health Services Corps to beef up doctor recruitment.

10 Aug 2010

AFA updates free educational teleconference service for dementia

To meet the growing needs of the dementia community, the Alzheimer's Foundation of America has updated its free, educational teleconference service to encourage both family members and professionals caring for individuals with Alzheimer's disease or a related illness to take advantage of its expert presentations and support network.

10 Aug 2010

Virginia Attorney General, Governor talk health reform mandate; Missouri vote still reverberating

NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday interviewed Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli about the state's challenge to the federal government's health law requiring people to purchase health insurance. Cuccinelli said a judge that refused to throw out his case "did not say it's unconstitutional. But he did say that this legislation goes farther than anything that has been held constitutional under the Commerce Clause and it goes farther than anything that has been held constitutional under the taxing power before.

10 Aug 2010

H1N1 pandemic could be declared over soon, WHO's Chan says

The WHO's decision to declare the H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic officially over could come within weeks, according to WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, the Canadian Press reports.

10 Aug 2010

Social media can complicate but also improve hospital care

The Los Angeles Times: "Hospital officials in California and elsewhere have faced an uneasy relationship with Facebook and other forms of social networking. Managers, struggling to prevent staffers from posting patient information on the sites, have developed no-tolerance policies and blocked employees from using Facebook and similar websites at work.

10 Aug 2010

Pay-for-performance makes its way into dialysis clinics

Chattanooga (Tenn.) Times Free Press: A new Medicare rule may ding dialysis centers by up to two percent of their reimbursement in 2012 if they don't meet quality standards the agency sets. The program "is the agency's first pay-per-performance system, and it won't be the last." The agency has, however, run various experiments that pay providers for better performance.

10 Aug 2010

Reports warn of new costs, gaps unfilled in health overhaul

Insurance rates may rise next year even more than anticipated because of the health overhaul for mid-sized companies. "While most major pieces of the new health law don't go into effect until 2014, some reforms affecting health insurance carriers take effect this year. These include provisions that require health plans to cover adult children until age 26, extend coverage to children with pre-existing conditions, end maximum lifetime spending limits and end the practice of retroactively canceling a member's coverage for any reason other than fraud."

10 Aug 2010

Ikaria announces voluntary recall of INOMAX DS drug-delivery system in US and Canada

Ikaria, Inc. announced today that its INOMAX® DS drug-delivery systems in the United States are being voluntarily recalled due to the potential failure of a pressure switch which may have an impact on the administration of INOMAX® (nitric oxide) for inhalation to patients. This potential failure was identified by Ikaria as part of its ongoing quality monitoring and review processes. This class I recall is being conducted with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). All INOMAX DS systems in Canada also are being voluntarily recalled.

10 Aug 2010

House members returning for vote on extra Medicaid help

House members are returning to Washington for a Tuesday vote on $16 billion in extra Medicaid funds for cash-strapped states, The Associated Press reports. "The unusual in-and-out session was called because the Senate waited until last Thursday, after the House had already recessed for its summer break" to pass the bill, which includes $10 billion in state aid for teachers' jobs, too. "Republicans forced back to the Capitol to vote against a bill see it differently.

10 Aug 2010

DOJ likely to intervene in St. Jude heart device kickback lawsuit

The U.S. Department of Justice may intervene in a lawsuit against heart-device maker St. Jude Medical Inc. after allegations the company used medical studies to "pay kickbacks and boost product usage," The Wall Street Journal reports. "The U.S. Attorney's office in Boston launched an industry-wide probe nearly five years ago into whether makers of pacemakers and defibrillators were making improper payments to doctors.

10 Aug 2010

Healthcare News

Surveillance systems find no major disease outbreaks since Haiti quake; Media examine aid disbursements

Older Americans suffer from full-blown depression: Report

Survey shows web users access social media sites in emergency situations

Calif. considers reduction in funding for home care aides; Ill. union workers strike over health issues at uranium conversion plant

HHS: $250 million in grants available for New Access Points for delivery of primary health care services

UT Southwestern enters partnership with Sun Yat-sen University to promote scientific research

Computerized warning system alerts harmful drug orders for older hospital patients

Oil rig workers access healthcare via telemedicine

ADA updates position paper on children’s healthy behaviors

Lancet World Report examines how U.N. Women agency will work to address global health issues

Nat'l Health Services Corps spending more to increase primary care docs in underserved areas

AFA updates free educational teleconference service for dementia

Virginia Attorney General, Governor talk health reform mandate; Missouri vote still reverberating

H1N1 pandemic could be declared over soon, WHO's Chan says

Social media can complicate but also improve hospital care

Pay-for-performance makes its way into dialysis clinics

Reports warn of new costs, gaps unfilled in health overhaul

Ikaria announces voluntary recall of INOMAX DS drug-delivery system in US and Canada

House members returning for vote on extra Medicaid help

DOJ likely to intervene in St. Jude heart device kickback lawsuit

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

How cohesin mechanics and nanotracker tech are redefining DNA research

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