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CMA to improve reporting, accountability in entire health care system

As the 143rd Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Medical Association wrapped up in Niagara Falls, Ontario, yesterday physician delegates from across the country put forward important new ideas and directions to transform our health care system and give it a patient-centred approach.

30 Aug 2010

HHS awards University of Texas $2.7M for new Health Information Technology program

The University of Texas at Austin's new Health Information Technology program has received $2.7 million as a part of the Professional University Resources and Education for Health Information Technology (PURE HIT) consortium project supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology.

27 Aug 2010

Cameroon rolls out emergency cholera plan as region's outbreak continues

Cameroon will need approximately $4.8 million for its emergency response to the cholera outbreak, which has killed nearly 300 people in the northern part of the country, Agence France-Presse reports.

27 Aug 2010

Authorities arrest more than 80 people, seize 10 tons of counterfeit meds in E. Africa

Authorities have arrested more than 80 people and seized 10 tons of counterfeit medicines across six East African countries, the international police agency Interpol announced Thursday, United Press International reports (8/26).

27 Aug 2010

Cigarettes as mood enhancers increase risk of depression

While some teenagers may puff on cigarettes to 'self-medicate' against the blues, scientists at the University of Toronto and the University of Montreal have found that smoking may actually increase depressive symptoms in some adolescents. Published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, the findings are part of the long-term Nicotine Dependence in Teens (NDIT) study based at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre.

27 Aug 2010

Issues in primary care: Medical homes and ethical concierge practices

News outlets report on trends in the primary care workforce, including medical homes and concierge medicine.

27 Aug 2010

Health care spending falls; Drug and health care companies slow to advertise online

Bloomberg Businessweek: "Investors traditionally have viewed shares of health-care companies as havens from economic concerns. Now, many parts of the sector have drawn concern from investors amid worries the U.S. economy will slow in the second half of the year. … So far this year, U.S. patient visits to doctors' offices fell 7.5 percent to 10 percent in the second quarter from a year ago, according to estimates by Elie Radinsky, a health-care analyst and managing director at Chapdelaine Credit Partners.

27 Aug 2010

Victhom second-quarter revenues decrease 94.4% to $27,901

Victhom Human Bionics Inc. today reported its second quarter 2010 financial results.

27 Aug 2010

Clinton condemns mass rape of women, children in Congo; U.N. investigation continues

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday condemned the mass rape of women and children in the Democratic Republic of Congo and vowed U.S. help, Reuters reports (Allen, 8/26).

27 Aug 2010

Insurers embrace GOP with campaign cash; Palin drives abortion wedge

After being labeled as "villains" and enemies of reform by Democrats, health insurers are shifting their cash to the coffers of Republican candidates, giving GOP campaigns eight times as much money, Bloomberg reports. "WellPoint, along with Coventry Health Care Inc. and Humana Inc., gave Republican candidates $315,000 from May through July, according to U.S. Federal Election Commission records.

27 Aug 2010

Biomagnetics Diagnostics to acquire Hubei Tianyuan Chemical

Biomagnetics Diagnostics Corp., a developer of revolutionary diagnostic systems and technology for HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis and malaria detection, and other innovative technologies, today announced the signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Hubei Tianyuan Chemical Co., Ltd. of Yangxin Nacheng Chemical Industry Zone, located in Hubei Province, China.

27 Aug 2010

Pakistan floods displace 1M more, U.N. says

"Flooding has displaced an additional 1 million people in Pakistan's Sindh province in the past two days, according to new U.N. estimates released Friday," CNN reports.

27 Aug 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

"[N]ew diagnostic techniques [for tuberculosis] need to be studied in children," according to a Lancet Infectious Diseases Reflection. "Tuberculosis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in children worldwide, but estimates of disease burden are inaccurate because most cases are not confirmed," the author writes. He discusses a study published in the same issue that examines various methods for diagnosing TB in children.

27 Aug 2010

Today's Opinions: Medicare illusions, small biz perks, abortion regs and more

Americans told lawmakers in Washington that they wanted reforms that would lower costs; Democrats in Congress increased them. They said they wanted Medicare protected; Democrat leaders used it as a piggy bank, cutting hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicare to help pay for this massive new government expansion of health care (Sen. Mitch McConnell, 8/26).

27 Aug 2010

Simple medical exams recommended for school-age children

Many children and teens are enjoying the remaining days of their summer vacation, but are they truly prepared for what lies ahead? With a few simple medical exams, Virginia's school-age children will be armed with the tools they need to enjoy a healthy school year. The exams we are referring to are given in a doctor's and/or dentist's office, and should take place before or shortly after the start of the new school year, and include a routine doctor's exam to confirm that all immunizations are up-to-date, a dental exam and a vision exam.

27 Aug 2010

Merck's initiation of IMO-2055 Phase 1b clinical trial in SCCHN triggers €3.0M milestone payment to Idera

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced that it has achieved a milestone under its worldwide licensing and collaboration agreement with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. The milestone was achieved upon Merck KGaA's initiation of a Phase 1b clinical trial of IMO-2055 (EMD 1201081), an agonist of Toll-like Receptor 9 (TLR9), in combination with cisplatin, fluorouracil and cetuximab (Erbitux®) in first-line treatment of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN).

27 Aug 2010

Exmovere to release vital sign monitoring infant sleepwear

Exmovere Holdings, Inc., a biomedical engineering company, today announced plans to release vital sign monitoring infant sleepwear. Exmovere is in the advanced stages of taking to market a washable, conductive fabric-based biosensor pajama called "Exmobaby." Exmobaby is the first-ever baby garment developed for remote monitoring of heart rate, emotional state and behavior.

27 Aug 2010

Montana Gov. seeks cheaper drugs for residents; Legal immigrants may lose health insurace in Mass.

The Associated Press: "Gov. Brian Schweitzer, cooking up a new plan to get cheaper prescription drugs for state residents, said he wants to let every Montanan get discounted medicine through Medicaid." It's his most recent idea about how "to either import cheaper name-brand prescriptions or to otherwise bypass what he sees as exorbitant prices charged by 'drug cartels.'"

27 Aug 2010

Fosun Pharma increases investment in Chindex

Chindex International, Inc., a leading independent American provider of Western healthcare products and services in the People's Republic of China, and Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co., Ltd., a leading manufacturer and distributor of western and Chinese medicine and devices in China, today announced that they have consummated a previously-announced stock sale.

27 Aug 2010