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Queensland health staff threaten to strike

According to a union some Queensland Health professionals are ready to strike over a government wage offer. The Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union (LHMWU) and Queensland Public Sector Union (QPSU) (that includes radiographers, scientists and pharmacists) started this campaign across Queensland on Monday. They are protesting even on radio and print ads for a 2.5 per cent rise a year, over three years.

13 Sep 2010

Complementary medicine to save millions: Report

According to a new report substituting pharmaceutical antidepressants with St John’s Wort could save the health system $50 million a year. This research was conducted by Access Economics for the National Institute of Complementary Medicine (NICM) at the University of Western Sydney. It showed that cost effectiveness of complementary and alternative therapies have the potential to cut costs without compromising patient outcomes.

13 Sep 2010

Myopia and Glaucoma genes identified

In global studies of more than 40,000 people from countries around the world, including Australia, researchers have found the genes responsible for two of the most common eye disorders - short-sightedness or myopia and glaucoma. The scientists believe this could open new diagnostic and management options.

13 Sep 2010

Minister for Indigenous Health reinstated

As Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced her ministry this weekend, surprises came forth. Australian Medical Association and Aboriginal medical groups initially were dismayed when she decided to axe the Indigenous Health portfolio. Federal Labor MP Warren Snowdon was moved into Veterans' Affairs initially from where he was reinstated to his earlier position as Indigenous Health Minister. He assured that this reinstatement is not in response to the reaction from Indigenous and rural health groups.

13 Sep 2010

Victorian health system falters

In the latest annual report from Your Hospitals, that rates the efficiency of hospitals, Victorian hospitals have fared badly. It shows that more than 250,000 emergency department patients were not treated on time in the past year - an increase on four years ago.

13 Sep 2010

Laser acupuncture a plausible treatment for depression

Acupuncture produces significant changes in parts of the brain that regulate emotional states and is a biologically plausible treatment for depression and other neuropsychiatric disorders, Australian researchers have shown for the first time.

13 Sep 2010

AstraZeneca, UCL collaborate to identify new therapeutic tools to modulate regenerative capacity of stem cells

AstraZeneca and UCL (University College London) today announced that they have entered into a collaboration to develop regenerative medicines for diabetic retinopathy (DR).

13 Sep 2010

LA community clinics facing budget squeeze; Milwaukee may target benefits of public employees; Seattle Times documents 236 deaths in adult homes

Los Angeles Times: "Stung by a budget stalemate that is costing Los Angeles County community clinics more than $330,000 a day in reimbursements, many clinic managers have been forced to take out loans and contemplate cuts to staff and services. Without the funds from Medi-Cal, the state insurance program for low-income patients, 41 clinics statewide have applied for loans from a fund created in response to the budget impasse.

13 Sep 2010

High dose peretinoin reduces recurrence of HCC after surgical resection or ablation in HCV positive patients

Kowa Company, Ltd. announced today that the results of a Phase II/III trial showed that high dose peretinoin (NIK-333) given daily for up to 96 weeks reduced the recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after surgical resection or ablation in hepatitis C virus (HCV) positive patients when compared to placebo.

13 Sep 2010

Health care expected to help fuel job growth yet new nurses having difficulties finding jobs

Orlando Sentinel: "Thousands more health-care workers, from doctors to nurses to physical therapists, will be needed in the coming decade in Florida and across the country to treat the increasing number of older Americans — particularly the enormous baby boom generation. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, health care is expected to generate 3.2 million new jobs through 2018, more than any other industry and mainly because of the increasing number of elderly.

13 Sep 2010

Discovery shows how cells decide what to recycle, unlocking debilitating disease's secret

Our bodies recycle proteins, the fundamental building blocks that enable cell growth and development. Proteins are made up of a chain of amino acids, and scientists have known since the 1980s that first one in the chain determines the lifetime of a protein. McGill researchers have finally discovered how the cell identifies this first amino acid - and caught it on camera.

13 Sep 2010

Hearing scheduled this week for closely watched health law challenge in Florida

Lawmakers and others are closely watching a lawsuit brought in Florida by a pair of conservative Washington, D.C., lawyers that challenges the health reform law as bearing a possibility of what the future will bring for the overhaul. The Wall Street Journal reports that the suit, "filed in Florida by David Rivkin and Lee Casey, is one of a handful of challenges lodged against the law in recent months.

13 Sep 2010

HealthWyse, Cardiocom partner to integrate patient information into clinical software

HealthWyse, a leading provider of home health and hospice software and services, announced today that it has partnered with Cardiocom, a leader in home telehealth solutions, to seamlessly integrate patient information into HealthWyse's clinical software.

13 Sep 2010

Lawmakers, Axelrod push and pull on what health reform means to campaigns

Politico: Senior White House adviser David Axelrod said Sunday that he thinks voters will eventually warm to health care reform. He made his comments on NBC's "Meet the Press."

13 Sep 2010

HHS awards $16.8 million to 27 Public Health Training Centers

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced the award of $16.8 million to support 27 Public Health Training Centers (PHTC) at schools of public health and other public or non-profit institutions across the country. The PHTC Program helps improve the public health system by enhancing skills of the current and future public health workforce.

13 Sep 2010

Medtronic launches CareLink Network for Heart Failure

Medtronic, Inc. today introduced the CareLink® Network for Heart Failure, an extension of the world's largest remote implantable cardiac device monitoring system, that will be available this fall for heart failure clinicians.

13 Sep 2010

As overhaul unfolds, interest in at least one change spreads across aisle

At least one aspect of the GOP's health overhaul repeal push has become bipartisan: Objections to a provision requiring businesses that file 1099 tax forms to provide line-item detail of any purchases of $600 or more in a given year, The New York Times reports. Democrats, including Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, are saying they, too, would like to change the provision.

13 Sep 2010

HealthPlus of Michigan partners with Edifecs to achieve HIPAA 5010 compliance

Edifecs, Inc., a leading provider of healthcare software solutions specializing in Healthcare Channel Modernization for HIPAA 5010 and ICD-10, announced today that HealthPlus of Michigan has selected Edifecs solutions to accelerate their efforts to meet the upcoming HIPAA 5010 compliance mandate. HealthPlus, a nonprofit health benefits company serving more than 200,000 people throughout the state of Michigan, will use Edifecs SpecBuilder and XEngine products for mapping and translation of inbound and outbound HIPAA 5010 transactions.

13 Sep 2010

AultCare reports positive results from Cardiocom program

AultCare has been using patient telemonitoring for six years and has, in partnership with Cardiocom, released a white paper entitled, "AultCare Sees Positive Results from Cardiocom Program."

13 Sep 2010

Target expands medical clinic business

"Target Corp. was one of the first retailers to experiment with putting a medical clinic in its stores. But while chains such as CVS and Walgreen's expanded rapidly into so-called retail medicine, Target is still tiptoeing into the field," The Star Tribune reports.

13 Sep 2010