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USDA and FDA join forces to enhance safety and quality of fresh produce

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration are working together to achieve the goals of enhancing the safety and quality of fresh produce in ways that take into account the wide diversity of farming operations.

19 Feb 2010

KHN column: Why are fewer patients enrolling in hospice

In his latest Kaiser Health News column, Howard Gleckman writes: "Suddenly, many hospices are admitting fewer patients. Others are increasingly caring for people for just days or hours before they die.

19 Feb 2010

Medicare coverage for prescription drugs: HHS to apply ARRA increased FMAP to clawback payments

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced $4.3 billion in financial relief to states by reducing the amount they will have to pay the federal government to offset the cost of Medicare coverage for prescription drugs for state residents eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid.

19 Feb 2010

Shortfall of $21B in aid pledged by wealthy countries, report says

There is a $21 billion shortfall between aid promised in 2005 by some of the world's richest countries and actual payments, according to an Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report, released on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

19 Feb 2010

Sacred Heart Medical Center fined $8,000 for failing to adhere to state and national H1N1 influenza safety standards

On January 29, 2010, Sacred Heart Medical Center was cited and fined $8,000 for failing to adhere to state and national H1N1 influenza safety standards. The Department of Labor and Industries Division of Occupational Safety and Health issued the citation and fine for violation of Center for Disease Control and Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidelines on H1N1 and also for violation of the DOSH Directive on Enforcement Procedures for High or Very High Occupational Exposure Risk to the 2009 H1N1 Influenza.

19 Feb 2010

Research shows natural compound in marine sponges reduces cancer cell motility

Investigators at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham, formerly Burnham Institute for Medical Research) led by Kristiina Vuori, M.D., Ph.D., have discovered that the natural compound sceptrin, which is found in marine sponges, reduces cancer cell motility (movement) and has very low toxicity.

19 Feb 2010

Group B streptococcus may have significant public health implications: Study

A common bacteria found in many healthy adult females that can cause life-threatening infections when passed to newborns could be introduced to some women through frequent contact with cows, according to a research team led by a Michigan State University pediatrician.

19 Feb 2010

UBC researcher finds improved uptake of highly active antiretroviral therapy

A comprehensive population-based study, conducted by the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) and presented at the 17th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in San Francisco, shows that expanded highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) coverage was associated with a 50% decrease in new yearly HIV infections among injection drug users.

19 Feb 2010

ATM tumor-suppressor also recognizes damage caused by ROS and orders autophagy

ATM, a protein that reacts to DNA damage by ordering repairs or the suicide of the defective cell, plays a similar, previously unknown role in response to oxidative damage outside of the nucleus, researchers report this week in the online version of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

19 Feb 2010

AGNITY Healthcare launched to improve mobile healthcare solutions

AGNITY, Inc., a leading provider of applications, solutions and services to mobile and fixed line service providers and enterprises, announced today that the company has launched AGNITY Healthcare, a new division focused on applications and services that harness the power of mobility and the Internet to improve access to and enhance the quality of healthcare.

19 Feb 2010

Novartis' Tasigna capsules granted priority review by FDA for treatment of adult patients with Ph+ CML

Novartis announced today that Tasigna® (nilotinib) 200 mg capsules has been granted priority review by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of adult patients with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia (Ph+ CML) in chronic phase.

19 Feb 2010

Untreated gum disease has potentially dangerous implications

The American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) estimates that approximately three out of four Americans suffer from some form of gum disease -- from mild cases of gingivitis, to the more severe form known as periodontitis. However, despite this prevalence, approximately only three percent seek treatment for their gum disease. With increasingly more research indicating that gum disease may be linked to several other diseases, including diabetes, heart disease and certain forms of cancer, maintaining healthy teeth and gums has become more important that ever.

19 Feb 2010

Researchers develop technology to preserve vaccines in tropical temperatures

A team of British researchers have developed a simple, low-cost method to preserve vaccines in tropical climates, which they say could help to revolutionalize vaccination campaigns in developing countries, Reuters reports.

19 Feb 2010

Efficient healthcare system in sub-Saharan Africa can reduce maternal deaths

More than 500,000 women die each year worldwide due to complications arising from pregnancy and childbirth. Half of these women live in sub-Saharan Africa. A research team from the King Juan Carlos University (URJC) in Madrid says these women are not dying as a result of any illness, but rather from a lack of basic healthcare measures.

19 Feb 2010

UCSF team: NIH ethics guidelines for embryonic stem cell research need to be modified

A UCSF team, led by bioethicist Bernard Lo, MD, recommends that the National Institutes of Health ethics guidelines for embryonic stem cell research be modified to better protect the rights of individuals donating egg or sperm to patients undergoing in vitro fertilization.

19 Feb 2010

NBCH's annual report: How America's health plans are doing to improve care and control costs for diabetes

Today the National Business Coalition on Health issued its annual report on how America's health plans are doing to improve care and control costs for diabetes. The analysis is based on health plan survey data from NBCH's eValue8™ program, the nation's leading Request for Information (RFI) tool used by employers, coalitions and their purchaser members to set expectations and measure health plan performance.

19 Feb 2010

MEMC Foundation donates $25,000 to MFK to save lives of Haiti's malnourished children

The MEMC Foundation, a charitable foundation funded by MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc., has donated $25,000 to Meds & Food for Kids. MFK is a St. Louis-based charity dedicated to saving the lives of Haiti's malnourished children and other nutritionally vulnerable people.

19 Feb 2010

Kaiser Permanente honored as the fifth Most Innovative Health Care Company for pioneering EHR

Kaiser Permanente has been honored in Fast Company's annual Most Innovative Companies issue as the fifth Most Innovative Health Care Company in the World for its pioneering electronic health record that is the world's largest civilian electronic health record, and for its health care innovation center that develops the future of health care.

19 Feb 2010

Medical experts craft much-needed classification system for diabetic nephropathy

An international group of medical experts has crafted a much-needed classification system for diabetic nephropathy, the leading cause of total kidney failure, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology. The effort should improve communication among health professionals, help researchers design better clinical studies, and guide patient care.

19 Feb 2010

New endoscopic ablation technique safe and effective for treating Barrett's esophagus

Early tumor formation in Barrett's esophagus (BE) can be effectively and safely treated with radiofrequency ablation (RFA), in combination with prior endoscopic removal of visible lesions, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.

19 Feb 2010

Medical News

USDA and FDA join forces to enhance safety and quality of fresh produce

KHN column: Why are fewer patients enrolling in hospice

Medicare coverage for prescription drugs: HHS to apply ARRA increased FMAP to clawback payments

Shortfall of $21B in aid pledged by wealthy countries, report says

Sacred Heart Medical Center fined $8,000 for failing to adhere to state and national H1N1 influenza safety standards

Research shows natural compound in marine sponges reduces cancer cell motility

Group B streptococcus may have significant public health implications: Study

UBC researcher finds improved uptake of highly active antiretroviral therapy

ATM tumor-suppressor also recognizes damage caused by ROS and orders autophagy

AGNITY Healthcare launched to improve mobile healthcare solutions

Novartis' Tasigna capsules granted priority review by FDA for treatment of adult patients with Ph+ CML

Untreated gum disease has potentially dangerous implications

Researchers develop technology to preserve vaccines in tropical temperatures

Efficient healthcare system in sub-Saharan Africa can reduce maternal deaths

UCSF team: NIH ethics guidelines for embryonic stem cell research need to be modified

NBCH's annual report: How America's health plans are doing to improve care and control costs for diabetes

MEMC Foundation donates $25,000 to MFK to save lives of Haiti's malnourished children

Kaiser Permanente honored as the fifth Most Innovative Health Care Company for pioneering EHR

Medical experts craft much-needed classification system for diabetic nephropathy

New endoscopic ablation technique safe and effective for treating Barrett's esophagus

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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