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Gift cards from fast food joints cause outrage among health experts

As Australia battles with the obesity epidemic, fast food outlet KFC has raised eyebrows from health quarters by offering Christmas gift cards worth up to $500. A survey of fast-food outlets in Hobart’s CBD yesterday revealed gift vouchers were available at McDonald’s, KFC and Subway.

12 Dec 2010

New MyHospitals website stumbles against criticism

The government’s brand new MyHospitals website faced criticism on its first day, with allegations that old data is being displayed that is far from the current truth. The site is comparing emergency department and elective surgery care in 769 public and 153 private hospitals across the country.

12 Dec 2010

House clears the Medicare 'doc fix' for the President's signature; Senate falls short of passing 9/11 bill

In the midst of the lame duck session, House lawmakers approve a one-year Medicare pay fix for physicians — clearing the measure for the president's signature.

10 Dec 2010

Ramius to acquire Cypress Bioscience

Ramius V&O Acquisition LLC, a subsidiary of Ramius LLC (collectively, "Ramius"), today announced that it has sent a letter to the Board of Directors of Cypress Bioscience, Inc. outlining its willingness to acquire all of Cypress' outstanding Common Stock in a negotiated transaction for $5.50 per share. The offer is conditioned upon Cypress commencing exclusive negotiations with Ramius no later than Friday, December 10, 2010 and entering into a definitive merger agreement by no later than Sunday, December 12, 2010.

10 Dec 2010

New challenges to FDA's 'no risk' classification of mercury fillings

FDA Device Division, still concerned about mercury toxicity in American dentistry, is convening yet another professional panel review regarding safety issues. A nationwide convergence of scientists, dental and medical professionals, lead by the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT) are provoking new challenges to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) July'09 "no risk" classification of mercury fillings .

10 Dec 2010

Arizona's transplant funding cuts continue to trigger controversy; Florida, Kansas focus on state role in reforms; Wisc. plan would elminate tax on health savings accounts

[Arizona Gov. Jane] Brewer's transplant cutbacks have become a rallying cause for Democrats, who call her decision "Brewercare." It's hypocritical for Republicans to support the program's end while opposing President Barack Obama's health-care legislation on the ground it would create death panels run by bureaucrats, said Anna Tovar, a Democratic state representative from Tolleson (Palmeri, 12/10).

10 Dec 2010

In effort to curb preventable ICU infections, new reporting requirement kicks in Jan. 1

A new rule will require hospitals to report infections the follow a patient's treatment in intensive-care units. Meanwhile, a new study finds mortality risks related to dialysis are higher at for-profit chains.

10 Dec 2010

Medication for depression ended before recommended time

Swedish women's use of antidepressants is twice as high as that of Swedish men. However, among both female and male new users, one fifth fills only one prescription. "This can be an indication of choices being made to end treatment before the recommended time," says researcher Karolina Andersson Sundell at the Nordic School of Public Health.

10 Dec 2010

Research roundup: For-profit hospitals' readmission rate, containing self-referrals, children's dental health, revisiting McAllen

For-Profit Hospital Status And Rehospitalizations At Different Hospitals: An Analysis of Medicare Data - "Rehospitalization within the first 30 days of discharge affects 1 in 5 hospitalized Medicare fee-for-service patients and costs approximately $17.4 billion in payments annually ... the top 4 factors most related to the risk for rehospitalization at a different facility were initial admission to a for-profit index hospital … lower-volume index hospital (hospitals with <1000 annual discharges) … hospital with a major medical school affiliation … and being disabled."

10 Dec 2010

HHS slaps 'mini-med' plans with new restrictions

The Department of Health and Human Services offers new guidance on "mini-med" health plans, requiring that insurers selling these limited coverage offerings must inform consumers "in plain language" how such plans fall short of the health law's minimum coverage standards.

10 Dec 2010

OPTN arranges first paired donation of living donor kidneys

Kathy Niedzwiecki of Pelham, NH, and Ken Crowder of St. Louis are experiencing renewed life and health thanks to the generosity of two living kidney donors.

10 Dec 2010

The New York Times: Aetna's former chief executive ponders the new health law

Insurers continue to "ponder" their future under the new order of the health law and, in California, rate increases trigger a blame game.

10 Dec 2010

GOP lawmaker calls government funding bill a 'trojan horse' for health reform

Politics continue to swirl around health overhaul and deficit reduction issues. A new Bloomberg poll, for instance, indicates that the public wants the deficit addressed, but still wants Congress to stay away from Medicare, Medicaid and other entitlement programs. Meanwhile, a GOP senator targets the catch-all spending bill to fund the government as a "trojan horse" to fund the health overhaul. Off the hill, groups are paying particular attention to the words used in discussing health policy issues.

10 Dec 2010

Access announces $6.0 million registered direct offering

ACCESS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., a biopharmaceutical company leveraging its proprietary drug-delivery platforms to develop treatments in areas of oncology, cancer supportive care and diabetes, has entered into definitive agreements with existing and new accredited investors to sell, in a registered direct offering, an aggregate of approximately 2.3 million shares of its common stock at a price of $2.55 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of $6.0 million.

10 Dec 2010

Deals, expansions and ACOs mark hospital sector activity

Hospitals and health systems are the subject of proposed deals and acquisitions. Meanwhile, the concept of accountable care organizations continues to trigger interest and curiosity within the health care sector.

10 Dec 2010

OpEds: Palin on the Ryan Roadmap, Seniors and primary care docs, Arizona transplant controversy

[The president's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform's report] implicitly endorses the use of 'death panel'-like rationing by way of the new Independent Payments Advisory Board—making bureaucrats, not medical professionals, the ultimate arbiters of what types of treatment will (and especially will not) be reimbursed under Medicare.

10 Dec 2010

Sound masking therapy is of uncertain benefit when used alone to treat tinnitus

Tinnitus — what many think of as "ringing in the ears" — is the perception of sound without any real acoustic stimulation. Sound masking therapy, a common component of tinnitus treatment, is of uncertain benefit when used on its own, a new evidence review finds.

10 Dec 2010

Elsevier enables text-to-speech option for all ePub book titles

Elsevier, the world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and solutions, announced today that it has enabled the text-to-speech option on all of its ePub book titles. The text-to-speech function enables an e-book to read aloud. This will facilitate access by readers who would otherwise face a range of access challenges through blindness, dyslexia, or motor difficulties.

10 Dec 2010

Stroke falls from third to fourth leading cause of death

A new report, "Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2008," released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), says that for the first time in 50 years, stroke has fallen from the third to the fourth leading cause of death.

10 Dec 2010

Positive preliminary results from tivozanib-paclitaxel combination Phase 1b trial in metastatic breast cancer

AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing cancer therapeutics, today announced preliminary results from an ongoing Phase 1b clinical trial evaluating the company's lead product candidate, tivozanib, a highly potent and selective inhibitor of VEGF receptors 1, 2, and 3, in combination with paclitaxel (Taxol®), a standard chemotherapy regimen, in patients with metastatic breast cancer.

10 Dec 2010