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World Bank announces five-year plan to reduce maternal deaths, fertility rates in 58 low-income countries

During the release of its five-year plan to help drive down high maternal death and fertility rates in low-income countries, the World Bank on Tuesday said "that family planning and other reproductive health services have fallen off the radar of many governments, donors and aid agencies," Reuters reports.

13 May 2010

Two-thirds of child deaths in 2008 due to infectious diseases, report finds

Pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria and other infectious diseases accounted for two-thirds of the 8.8 million deaths in 2008 among children under age 5 around the world, according to a Lancet study published on Wednesday, HealthDay News/Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports. The highest numbers of childhood deaths were in Africa (4.2 million) and Southeast Asia (2.39 million), according to the news service (5/11).

13 May 2010

Proposed cuts in Medicare payments impact access to healthcare: Poll

An independent poll recently conducted on behalf of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) shows that an alarming number of physicians will stop seeing Medicare beneficiaries if current payment policies are not reformed.

13 May 2010

Missouri to hold August vote on insurance mandate

KWMU/St. Louis Public Radio: "Missouri will be the first state to let citizens vote on whether to defy the federal health care law signed by President Obama. The Missouri House today passed legislation authorizing a referendum stating that citizens and employers cannot be forced to participate in any public or private health care system. It's designed to challenge the new health care law that requires most Americans to have health insurance or face fines" (Griffin, 5/11).

13 May 2010

FDA warns of side effects from swallowing Benadryl Extra Strength Itch Stopping Gel

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers about potentially serious side effects from mistakenly swallowing Benadryl Extra Strength Itch Stopping Gel, an over-the-counter (OTC) product that should only be used on the skin.

13 May 2010

Justice Department responds to health law's first legal challenge

The Obama administration late Tuesday filed a response to one of the first lawsuits against the new health overhaul, "saying it was constitutional and any challenge was premature," Reuters reports.

13 May 2010

PositiveID files provisional patent covering glucose level RF sensing technology

PositiveID Corporation announced today that it has filed a provisional patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office covering the interface between a radio frequency ("RF") powered resonant electromechanical drive and the fluids in the interstitial space of a patient for continuous detection of glucose levels in a patient. The interface employs a resonant electromechanical drive for mass sensing and RF communication of glucose levels.

13 May 2010

U.S. expands HIV/AIDS programs in Caribbean

Representatives from the U.S. and Caribbean Community (CARICOM) on Tuesday signed an agreement to expand PEPFAR programs to 12 other Caribbean nations during a gathering in Georgetown, Guyana, Agence France-Presse reports (5/11).

13 May 2010

Family medical costs surge to new high

Families' health care costs continued to rise last year, Modern Healthcare reports. "Total healthcare costs for a typical family of four increased $1,303 or 7.8% over the past year, according to the Milliman Medical Index, the highest total dollar increase in the history of the actuarial firm's annual study.

13 May 2010

CBO raises cost estimate for health law, sparking political reaction

The Associated Press: "President Barack Obama's new health care law could potentially add at least $115 billion more to government health care spending over the next 10 years, congressional budget referees said Tuesday," to beyond $1 trillion. "The Congressional Budget Office said the added spending includes $10 billion to $20 billion in administrative costs to federal agencies carrying out the law, as well as $34 billion for community health centers and $39 billion for Indian health care" (Alonso-Zaldivar, 5/11).

13 May 2010

With campaign season taking off, White House offers Democrats help on selling health law

White House officials prepared a plan Tuesday to help Democrats sell the health reform law during the midterm election season that will focus on early deliverables to win over a skeptical public.

13 May 2010

Small businesses look for wellness grants in health reform law

Provisions in the new health reform law offer aid and cash to small businesses that encourage employees to be fitter and healthier, but the plans aren't without their own controversy, CNN Money reports.

13 May 2010

Prescription drug instructions often lost in translation

Chicago Tribune: "Pharmacies that print prescription labels translated into Spanish often issue inaccurate or confusing instructions that could be potentially hazardous to a patient's health, according to a report in the May issue of Pediatrics journal."

13 May 2010

Michelle Obama releases plan to 'reverse childhood obesity'

USA Today: "First lady Michelle Obama unveiled a plan today to 'reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity' and called for help from governments, schools and businesses as well as the families themselves. ... Obama and her aides released a task force report titled Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation. The goal, she said, is to 'ensure that our children can have the healthy lives and the bright futures that they deserve'" (Jackson, 5/11)

13 May 2010

Today's OpEds: Mass. health reform and small business; Mccain's ideas not in Obama plan; Wellpoint's impact on law

The Commonwealth's 2006 health care reform was supposed to help address rising health insurance costs for small businesses. It hasn't — and small businesses are paying the price (Jim Stergios and Amy Lischko, 5/12).

13 May 2010

FDA urges doctors to police drug ads

A new Federal Drug Administration program will urge doctors to blow the whistle on misleading drug advertisements.

13 May 2010

Challenges to health reform face long campaign in many states

Thirty-three states are trying to block the mandate on individual American citizens to purchase health insurance, "as a growing roster of mostly Republican officials have mounted legal and legislative challenges" to this requirement. "This Friday, seven more states will formally join a lawsuit originally filed by Florida and 12 other states in late March.

13 May 2010

Disabled vets strain overburdened VA system

NPR: "The Department of Veterans Affairs is struggling to cope with tens of thousands of veterans filing for disability benefits. Because there are applicants from two current wars — plus a new wave from the first Gulf War and Vietnam — thousands are now stuck in the clogged pipeline." Although there are differing estimates of how many, "everyone agrees that way too many vets are waiting way too long to get benefits.

13 May 2010

Nurses give evidence of the horrifying day in Dr. Jayant Patel’s surgery

The trial of Dr. Jayant Patel continues. In recent evidence at the court one of the operating theatre nurses revealed under oath to the Brisbane Supreme Court how staff had tried to deter former Bundaberg-based surgeon Jayant Patel from transferring an unstable patient from the theatre to ICU, where he died. There was earlier evidence that the man was bleeding uncontrollably and also allegations that Patel urged junior doctors not to tell anyone what happened.

12 May 2010

HIV caseload increasing among primary care providers

Primary care providers (PCPs) are increasingly caring for and treating people living with HIV, according to the HealthHIV State of HIV Primary Care survey released today.

12 May 2010