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Queensland Government seeks help with private hospital at Kawana

The Queensland Government is looking for financial assistance and more practical help to operate a private hospital at Kawana, which is to be collocated with the Sunshine Coast University Hospital. The private hospital is expected to be functional by 2013, which is three years before the $1.6 billion Sunshine Coast University Hospital precinct is due to be finished.

27 Apr 2010

Salix Pharmaceuticals announces novel patient and health care provider support program for HE

Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. today announced plans for the Hepatic Encephalopathy Living Program (H.E.L.P.). H.E.L.P. is a first-of-its-kind patient and health care provider support program for the management of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) and will launch on May 24, 2010. The program will provide patients with HE educational materials, co-pay assistance, treatment adherence support and a 24-hour toll-free hotline.

27 Apr 2010

Penalties and fines for sending non-encrypted e-mails including patient information

A new law that took effect in February calls for substantial new penalties on doctors for something they are doing every day – sending e-mails that include patient information, without encrypting the e-mail.

27 Apr 2010

First Edition: April 27, 2010

Today's headlines focus on the details of health reform that continue to emerge -- including states' reactions to high risk pools and questions about the sweeping expansion of Medicaid.

27 Apr 2010

Universite de Montreal demographer offers prediction of boomer future

Baby boomers are retiring healthy, financially secure and with a desire to travel. According to Universit- de Montr-al demographer Jacques L-gar-, baby boomers will remain among the most self-reliant generations to reach their golden years.

27 Apr 2010

High levels of phosphate in sodas accelerate signs of aging

Here's another reason to kick the soda habit. New research published online in the FASEB Journal shows that high levels of phosphates may add more "pop" to sodas and processed foods than once thought. That's because researchers found that the high levels of phosphates accelerate signs of aging. High phosphate levels may also increase the prevalence and severity of age-related complications, such as chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular calcification, and can also induce severe muscle and skin atrophy.

27 Apr 2010

Centene's first-quarter Premium and Service Revenues up 12.5% to $1.022 billion

Centene Corporation today announced its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2010. The results of operations for our New Jersey health plan, University Health Plans, are classified as discontinued operations. The discussions below, with the exception of cash flow information, are in the context of continuing operations and all financial ratios exclude premium taxes.

27 Apr 2010

Department of Justice not to challenge Hospital Value Initiative proposal

The Department of Justice announced today that it will not challenge a proposal by the Hospital Value Initiative (HVI) to establish an information exchange program that will provide data on the relative costs and resource efficiency of more than 300 hospitals in California. The department said the proposed information exchange may reduce health care costs by improving competition among hundreds of hospitals in California and facilitating more informed purchasing decisions by group purchasers of health care services.

27 Apr 2010

Initiative to lower amount of salt in American diet

The American Heart Association and the National Salt Reduction Initiative, a national collaboration led by the City of New York, share a common goal -- to gradually lower the amount of sodium (salt) in the American diet.

27 Apr 2010

Cell phone program to promote more physical activity

About two thirds of the American population is overweight or obese, putting them at higher risk for health problems such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. The obesity epidemic in America is the result of poor eating habits, genetics, and a lack of exercise. It's therefore difficult for public health officials to get people to make a conscious effort to control their weight.

27 Apr 2010

KCI applauds FDA for launching medical device home use initiative

KCI applauds the FDA for launching this important initiative to ensure that complex medical devices are used safely in the home by caregivers and patients. We have made it our priority and unwavering responsibility to help caregivers and patients understand how to use our advanced treatments safely. This includes offering a robust education and training program, employing highly trained clinical support staff and providing easy-to-read, patient-specific labeling.

27 Apr 2010

People infected with gastrointestinal worms respond better to injected vaccines

According to the World Health Organization, two billion people around the globe suffer from chronic parasitic worm infections, which, in addition to causing illness and developmental delay, are also suspected to interfere with the effectiveness of ordinary vaccines, making their victims more vulnerable to life-threatening diseases. A recent discovery by researchers at the Trudeau Institute promises to bypass these obstacles and help deliver more effective vaccines to these people, boosting their protection against common childhood diseases.

27 Apr 2010

Survey highlights need for continued education to reverse skin cancer epidemic in the U.S.

Results released today from a landmark national survey of dermatologists and consumers unveiled that there is a major gap between what dermatologists recommend and what Americans actually do when it comes to sun-safe behavior. This gap further highlights the need for continued education to reverse the skin cancer epidemic in the United States.

27 Apr 2010

Four unhealthy behaviors associated with increased risk of death when combined

Four unhealthy behaviors—smoking, lack of physical activity, poor diet and alcohol consumption—appear to be associated with a substantially increased risk of death when combined, according to a report in the April 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

27 Apr 2010

Avivia Health announces new portal with digital health coaching and interactive tools for employee members

To help employee members take a more proactive role in managing their own health programs, Avivia Health From Kaiser Permanente today announced the introduction of Your Health Center, a new portal based on Web 2.0 technology that provides user members with powerful digital health coaching and interactive tools. Avivia Health is the only national provider of Wellness and Condition Management Solutions based on 60 years of evidence-based practices by its parent organization, Kaiser Permanente.

27 Apr 2010

Wall Street Journal examines changes to polio eradication strategy

The Wall Street Journal examines upcoming changes to the global strategy to eradicate polio with a focus on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's role in fighting the disease. "[O]rganizations behind the polio fight," which include the WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International and the CDC, "plan to announce a major revamp of their strategy to address shortcomings exposed by" the increasing number of polio outbreaks in "countries believed to have stopped the disease." The plan is expected to be announced next week.

27 Apr 2010

AMGA reports success in first two regional meetings on ACOs

The American Medical Group Association announced that the first two meetings in a series of regional meetings focused on accountable care organizations (ACOs) were unqualified successes, drawing healthcare leaders together to network in an intimate setting and to learn from leading medical groups and organized systems of care that are exemplars of the ACO model.

27 Apr 2010

Opinions: G8 summit; World Malaria Day; Family planning; Global Food Security Act

As G8 development leaders gather in Halifax, Nova Scotia, this week to discuss priorities for the upcoming summit, Josette Sheeran, executive director of the WFP, calls for world leaders to focus on the nutritional needs of mothers and children in developing countries in a Toronto Star opinion piece.

27 Apr 2010

GE Healthcare, Ascom collaborate to launch wireless hospital-wide messaging system

GE Healthcare and Ascom Wireless Solutions today released plans to launch a wireless hospital-wide messaging system, to improve workflow and communication for healthcare providers. The agreement aligns the GE Healthcare patient monitoring platform with Ascom's wireless communication solutions to enable hospitals to customize, filter and send secondary alarms to clinicians' Ascom Voice over IP (VoIP) phones, pagers and Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) handsets.

27 Apr 2010