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Health leaders formally launch new strategy for polio eradication

Health leaders from around the world gathered on Friday to formally launch a new strategy for eradicating polio, Newsweek's "The Human Condition" blog reports in a post examining the challenges and successes health advocates face in attempting to wipe the virus out completely (Carmichael, 6/18).

22 Jun 2010

Exposure to BPA in early life may affect testis function into adulthood

Exposure to environmental levels of the industrial chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, in the womb and early life may cause long-lasting harm to testicular function, according to a new study conducted in animals. The results are being presented Monday at The Endocrine Society's 92nd Annual Meeting in San Diego.

22 Jun 2010

Tentative deal raises cigarette taxes in NY; Many Iowa hospitals close inpatient psychiatric units

Harvard Medical School, which has suffered financially due in part to a sharp decline in Harvard University's legendary endowment, has successfully negotiated a deal in which Boston's major teaching hospitals will contribute $36 million to the school over three years. The hospital money is a small portion of the medical school's $580 million annual budget, but it may represent a larger turning point in the unusual relationship between the country's top medical school and its prestigious hospital partners.

22 Jun 2010

Louisiana becomes first state with a Democrat legislature to oppose requirement to purchase health insurance

Last Friday, June 18, 2010, Louisiana became the first state with a Democrat-controlled legislature to oppose a requirement to purchase health insurance—the centerpiece of President Barack Obama's health reform agenda. Louisiana House Bill 1474, which passed the Louisiana Senate with strong bipartisan support, will soon head to Gov. Bobby Jindal's desk. The measure is modeled after the American Legislative Exchange Council's Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act now introduced or announced in 42 states.

22 Jun 2010

Number of uninsured grew by 3 million in 2009; Health safety net continues to fray

Help from the new health law may not come soon enough for many Americans, according to a report.

22 Jun 2010

DeCare Dental introduces International Emergency Dental Program

DeCare Dental, a global dental benefit management company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Missouri's parent company, is pleased to introduce the International Emergency Dental Program – a service that gives dental members and their covered dependents access to emergency dental care from credentialed dentists around the world.

22 Jun 2010

Cernostics, Geisinger announce personalized healthcare collaboration

Cernostics Inc., a biotechnology firm specializing in advanced cancer diagnostics, and Geisinger Health System, a $2.1 billion integrated health services organization, today announced a partnership in personalized healthcare. They will focus on developing diagnostic technologies to detect subtle differences in the cellular and molecular makeup of patient tissue samples. These technologies promise to more effectively predict disease progression and identify patients who are most likely to be receptive to specific cancer treatments.

22 Jun 2010

Hospitals shift business plans for waning economy, changing government policies

A sluggish economy, changing government regulation and court cases have prompted new business strategies at hospitals, according to news reports.

22 Jun 2010

People who purchase insurance on their own faced premium hike rates around 20 percent, survey finds

People who purchase health insurance on their own were faced with premium increases averaging 20 percent when they last sought to renew their coverage, according to a survey released Monday by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

22 Jun 2010

Diabetes disease management program helps Medicare patients reduce cost of medical care: Study

Medicare patients with diabetes and cardiovascular disease can significantly reduce both the cost of their medical care and rates of hospitalization by participating in a telephone-based diabetes disease management program, a new study finds. The authors will present their results Monday at The Endocrine Society's 92nd Annual Meeting in San Diego.

22 Jun 2010

Walgreens will stay in Caremark's prescription network

Los Angeles Times: Walgreens and Caremark announced Friday "they had settled a dispute that threatened to prevent thousands of people from filling their prescriptions at Walgreens stores." Caremark runs CVS stores and pharmacies. "At issue: the way Caremark, one of the nation's biggest prescription-plan operators, prices discounts for prescriptions filled at Walgreens pharmacies, which often compete fiercely with nearby CVS stores nationwide.

22 Jun 2010

Health reform implementation: Risk pool nears enrollment date; Seniors anxious about Medicare changes; Benefits reportable

As high-risk insurance pools are preparing to enroll the chronically ill July 1, officials should heed the Florida experience. "Plagued by exorbitant medical costs and skimpy revenue, the Florida Comprehensive Health Association, by order of the Legislature, stopped accepting new enrollees in 1991, eight years after it was created." The pool once covered about 7,000 Florida residents; now only a few hundred remain as premiums are double the standard rate.

22 Jun 2010

Congressional hearing examines administration's crack down on health care fraud

The feds have promised to turn up the heat on providers, real and phony, who steal from and game the system. ... Lawmakers and President Barack Obama are demanding that the CMS and their partners in law enforcement do more to stem the wasted healthcare dollars gushing out of the Treasury like oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

22 Jun 2010

Reform law gives major boost to community health centers, medical homes

The Washington Post: "The health-care legislation signed into law in March provides a major boost to community health centers: $11 billion over five years. The first of these federally supported primary-care clinics opened in 1965." The law also provides funding designed to increase the supply of primary-care providers. And, "[o]n Wednesday, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced that the federal government will spend $250 million in programs to increase the number of doctors, nurses and other care providers.

21 Jun 2010

Angeion launches new TRUcal resting metabolic rate system

Angeion Corporation announced that it has launched its new TRUcal™ resting metabolic rate system. Part of its New Leaf® product line, TRUcal includes an analyzer that gently measures one's breath for oxygen and carbon dioxide which gives consumers their true individualized daily calories their body requires. The TRUcal™ system also includes a compact netbook with Bluetooth® technology, adding the benefit of wireless connectivity.

21 Jun 2010

Hospitals and researchers test programs to stop readmissions

The Boston Globe reports on hospital readmissions: "In Massachusetts, more than 10 percent of patients are back in the hospital for the same or unrelated complaints within a month, according to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, a Cambridge-based nonprofit think tank. Over two years, more than a quarter of all patients end up paying a repeat visit to the hospital, a new 12-state study by the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found.

21 Jun 2010

Malpractice reformers get grants, but fear of lawsuits remains ER scourge

A New York judge's unusual technique — listening to the families of injured people, knowing something about medicine — for dealing with difficult medical malpractice cases will be among 20 explored with $3 million grants as part of the health overhaul, The Associated Press reports. The judge, Douglas McKeon, said, "I don't discuss settlement offers with families right away. … I just say, 'Tell me a little bit about your loved one.'"

21 Jun 2010

CareGroup Healthcare System to implement InterSystems Ensemble rapid integration, development platform

InterSystems Corporation, the global leader in software for connected healthcare, today announced that CareGroup Healthcare System, a Boston-based integrated delivery network (IDN) comprised of four hospitals, has selected the InterSystems Ensemble® rapid integration and development platform to replace its legacy eGate platform for strategic integration throughout the organization.

21 Jun 2010

Doctors, Pelosi pan Senate-passed 'doc fix' plan

USA Today: Doctors are limiting the number of new Medicare patients they are seeing, concerned about reimbursements pay from the federal program. "Recent surveys by national and state medical societies have found more doctors limiting Medicare patients, partly because Congress has failed to stop an automatic 21% cut in payments that doctors already regard as too low.

21 Jun 2010

Also in Global Health News: WHO scraps drug development group; Access to medication in Philippines; Yellow fever vaccine shortage; HIV-positive employee protection

Lancet World Report examines how "[d]isappointment over a long-awaited report on improving drug research and development for neglected diseases" led the WHO to form a new Consultative Expert Working Group (CEWG) to strategize around drug research and development. The formation of the new group comes after the report from the previous working group (EWG) was questioned due to "what some perceived to be a missed opportunity, unclear methods, a lack of transparency and signs of industry interference" and after "suspicions of impropriety" surfaced.

21 Jun 2010

Healthcare News

Health leaders formally launch new strategy for polio eradication

Exposure to BPA in early life may affect testis function into adulthood

Tentative deal raises cigarette taxes in NY; Many Iowa hospitals close inpatient psychiatric units

Louisiana becomes first state with a Democrat legislature to oppose requirement to purchase health insurance

Number of uninsured grew by 3 million in 2009; Health safety net continues to fray

DeCare Dental introduces International Emergency Dental Program

Cernostics, Geisinger announce personalized healthcare collaboration

Hospitals shift business plans for waning economy, changing government policies

People who purchase insurance on their own faced premium hike rates around 20 percent, survey finds

Diabetes disease management program helps Medicare patients reduce cost of medical care: Study

Walgreens will stay in Caremark's prescription network

Health reform implementation: Risk pool nears enrollment date; Seniors anxious about Medicare changes; Benefits reportable

Congressional hearing examines administration's crack down on health care fraud

Reform law gives major boost to community health centers, medical homes

Angeion launches new TRUcal resting metabolic rate system

Hospitals and researchers test programs to stop readmissions

Malpractice reformers get grants, but fear of lawsuits remains ER scourge

CareGroup Healthcare System to implement InterSystems Ensemble rapid integration, development platform

Doctors, Pelosi pan Senate-passed 'doc fix' plan

Also in Global Health News: WHO scraps drug development group; Access to medication in Philippines; Yellow fever vaccine shortage; HIV-positive employee protection

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

How cohesin mechanics and nanotracker tech are redefining DNA research

Todd Bauman and Chris Povich

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