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PCMA issues statement on a provision in the U.S. Senate's small business legislation

Pharmaceutical Care Management Association President and CEO Mark Merritt issued the following statement today on a provision in the U.S. Senate's small business legislation that would require the Department of Health and Human Services to work with outside companies to target fraud, waste, and abuse in states across the country.

29 Jul 2010

Reliance on assistive devices can affect everyday life in multiple ways: Study

Obese older adults are more likely to use walkers, canes and other mobility devices at a younger age, and may run the risk of using them incorrectly, according to new research from Purdue University.

29 Jul 2010

Oxford Life Insurance releases new Medicare Supplement product portfolio

Oxford Life Insurance Company today announced the release of its new Medicare Supplement product portfolio. The Phoenix-based life insurance company has plans to market Plans A, C or F, and N in more than 35 states.

29 Jul 2010

Texas raises organ donor registry; D.C. not ready for medical marijuana sales; L.A. health department facing major service cuts

"Though Texas has the nation's lowest percentage of registered organ and tissue donors, several recent initiatives have more than doubled the state's donor rolls this year. The number enrolled in the Glenda Dawson Donate Life Texas Registry has ballooned since Jan. 1, when state law required Department of Public Safety clerks to ask all driver's license and ID card applicants whether they would like to register as organ donors. Since then, nearly 70,000 donors a month have joined the pool" (George, 7/27).

29 Jul 2010

African leaders agree to expand maternal health campaign as AU Summit concludes

African leaders participating in the 15th African Union Summit, which concluded on Tuesday, agreed to expand a campaign aimed at curbing maternal mortality on the continent and adopted other "key actions" in an effort to reduce infant and maternal mortality, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports.

29 Jul 2010

WellCare Health Plans awarded URAC accreditation

WellCare Health Plans, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded a Full Health Plan Accreditation for its HealthEase of Florida and WellCare of Florida subsidiaries by URAC, a Washington, DC-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry. URAC's Health Plan Accreditation standards include key quality benchmarks for network management, provider credentialing, utilization management, quality management and improvement and consumer protection.

29 Jul 2010

MedTera, HealthPrize Technologies partner to help patients self-manage their diseases

MedTera, an integrated marketing solutions company dedicated to improving education, promotion and communications in the healthcare, life sciences and pharmaceutical industries, today announced its formal partnership with HealthPrize Technologies, a web-based software company that motivates people to fill and stay on prescription medications.

29 Jul 2010

Mayo leaps into social media marketing

The Mayo Clinic is opening a school of social media for health providers, the (Minneapolis-St. Paul) Star Tribune reports. The new "Center for Social Media… [will] train other health care organizations to use Twitter, YouTube and Facebook to connect patients and doctors.

29 Jul 2010

Expanded Kindred Hospital Sacramento opened in Folsom, California

Kindred Healthcare, Inc. today announced the opening of the newly constructed and expanded Kindred Hospital Sacramento in Folsom, California, and the expansion of its Peoplefirst HomeCare and Hospice business in Boston, Massachusetts, and Denver, Colorado.

29 Jul 2010

IBM, UPMC partner to provide redesigned SmartRoom solution with service-oriented architecture

IBM and UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) are teaming up to bring "smarter" hospital rooms to patients nationwide. Created by UPMC three years ago to bring the right patient information to the bedside when it's needed, the high-tech "smart room" now features new capabilities, namely a system for automatically organizing and prioritizing the work of nurses and other caregivers. Under a new agreement, IBM will be the exclusive sales channel for the SmartRoom solution and will help to implement the technology for customers.

29 Jul 2010

State Senate passes legislation to protect, return wandering elders with Alzheimer's disease

The Alzheimer's Association announced that passage of legislation today by the State Senate to establish a Silver Alert program will help hundreds of thousands in Massachusetts. The legislation, passed unanimously last week in the House, calls for program similar to Amber Alert with distinct differences. Silver Alert will be activated when an adult with Alzheimer's or other type of dementia wanders.

29 Jul 2010

Sanofi-aventis U.S joins Dispensary of Hope's Continued Access Program

The Dispensary of Hope is pleased to announce that sanofi-aventis U.S., the U.S. affiliate of sanofi-aventis, a leading global pharmaceutical company, has become the latest pharmaceutical company to participate in the Dispensary's Continued Access Program, which provides uninsured patients with access to medicines that they otherwise couldn't afford.

29 Jul 2010

Use of nanomaterials in construction poses potential environmental and health risks

Nanomaterials are poised for widespread use in the construction industry, where they can offer significant advantages for a variety of applications ranging from making more durable concrete to self-cleaning windows. But widespread use in building materials comes with potential environmental and health risks when those materials are thrown away. Those are the conclusions of a new study published by Rice University engineering researchers this month in ACS Nano.

29 Jul 2010

Senate Subcommittee approves HHS funding bill, other health care bills readied

CongressDaily: The Senate Labor-Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee approved a draft funding bill Tuesday for HHS, "moving a bill that would provide $170 billion in discretionary spending to related federal agencies, nearly $1 billion under the president's request." The bill gives $732 billion to the Department of Health and Human Services, $306 million more than the administration requested. "The House Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee gave the health agency a similar boost in funding."

29 Jul 2010

Genetic interaction with diet causes variations in metabolic traits

Ever notice some people seem to eat anything they want and never gain a pound, while others seem to gain weight just by looking at fattening foods. You may be seeing things correctly after all. According to research published in the July 2010 issue of Genetics, this may have a biological cause. Using fruit flies, researchers have found that genes interacting with diet, rather than diet alone, are the main cause of variation in metabolic traits, such as body weight. This helps explain why some diets work better for some people than others, and suggests that future diets should be tailored to an individual's genes rather than to physical appearance.

29 Jul 2010

Nanotechnology approaches to solve major problems on global scale: Report

Nanotechnology refers to a broad range of tools, techniques and applications that simply involve particles on the approximate size scale of a few to hundreds of nanometers in diameter. Particles of this size have some unique physicochemical and surface properties that lend themselves to novel uses. Indeed, advocates of nanotechnology suggest that this area of research could contribute to solutions for some of the major problems we face on the global scale such as ensuring a supply of safe drinking water for a growing population, as well as addressing issues in medicine, energy, and agriculture.

29 Jul 2010

Mapping NTDs is critical for controlling, treating diseases

Mapping neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) is vital for efforts to control and treat diseases, write the authors of an editorial published Tuesday in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, ANI/Sindh Today reports (7/28).

29 Jul 2010

Insurers post strong earnings, but may hold back on bragging rights

Two leading insurers reported second-quarter earnings with rising profits this week.

29 Jul 2010

Humana collaborates with HealthCompare to facilitate online health insurance

Humana, one of the nation's leading health and supplemental benefits companies, has entered into an arrangement with HealthCompare,a one-stop online guide to help individuals and families easily research, compare, buy and enroll in a health insurance plan at the right price. While this arrangement is new for Humana and HealthCompare, it builds on both organizations' efforts to help consumers make healthcare decisions with confidence and success.

29 Jul 2010

GOP continues call for health law repeal; Census releases uninsured data

The Washington Post: New census data reveal big differences among states in the rate of uninsured people under age 65. Massachusetts has the lowest rate, 7.8 percent, and Texas the highest, 26.8 percent. "The statistics are for 2007 and show health insurance coverage by state and for each of the country's roughly 3,140 counties. The numbers do not include the impact on millions of people who lost their jobs and health insurance after the recession began in December 2007."

29 Jul 2010