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New campaign urges Americans to oppose Senate restrictions on flexible spending accounts

Save Flexible Spending Plans, a national grassroots organization dedicated to protecting flexible spending accounts (FSAs), today launched a new campaign, "Ten Before Ten," that encourages Americans to voice their support for protecting the cost-saving benefit by sending 10,000 emails to their senators before the start of 2010.

11 Dec 2009

Speaker Pelosi lauds lift of ban on federal funding for syringe exchange initiatives

Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today applauding the inclusion of language in the fiscal year 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act lifting the ban on federal funding for syringe exchange initiatives to prevent the spread of HIV. The omnibus bill passed the House this afternoon by a vote of 221 to 202.

11 Dec 2009

Hospitals use V-Notch labels to prevent the risk of ID errors

Incorrect labeling on blood collection tubes can lead to inaccurate bar code scanning and misidentification, which can drastically affect test results. Just one misaligned label can cause a patient to be misdiagnosed or otherwise mismanaged.

11 Dec 2009

Study finds better than predicted outcomes for patients who undergo pancreatic necrosectomy

New research published in the December issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons finds that the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) is a powerful tool for assessing outcomes of uncommon, high-risk surgical procedures, including pancreatic necrosectomy.

11 Dec 2009

ThromboGenics initiates Phase II trial of microplasmin for wet AMD

ThromboGenics NV, a biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative medicines for eye disease, vascular disease and cancer, announces today that it has started a Phase II trial of microplasmin for the treatment of exudative (wet) Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD).

11 Dec 2009

Ten years later: Look to nurses as champions of patient safety

In a column for Kaiser Health News, Mary Naylor and Mark Pauly write: "Ten years ago this month, the Institute of Medicine shattered a widely held perception that American health care was safe.

11 Dec 2009

Teamsters supports Sanders amendment to eliminate tax

The Teamsters on Thursday announced their support for Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) amendment to eliminate the proposed excise tax on insurance plans from the Senate health care reform proposal.

11 Dec 2009

RetireSafe urges vote against Senator Dorgan's drug importation amendment

Today, the senior advocacy group RetireSafe notified the Senate in letter that they will key vote Senator Dorgan's Importation Amendment SA 2793.

11 Dec 2009

Study may lead to improved, targeted therapies for cancer patients

A team of Princeton University scientists has produced a systematic listing of the ways a particular cancerous cell has "gone wrong," giving researchers a powerful tool that eventually could make possible new, more targeted therapies for patients.

11 Dec 2009

Pertinent questions about H1N1 Influenza answered by NERAC

Municipalities in Massachusetts should assume that the H1N1 Influenza is now present in their communities, schools, and work places, and should take appropriate precautions to prevent the spread of this virus as well as the seasonal flu.

11 Dec 2009

NIH awards $14.6M for Eukaryotic Pathogen Genome Database Resource expansion

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Georgia have been awarded a five-year, $14.6 million contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the US National Institutes of Health, to expand and extend work on the Eukaryotic Pathogen Genome Database Resource, http://EuPathDB.org.

11 Dec 2009

Nutritionists offer tips for families to make and keep healthier New Year's resolutions

What's the most important New Year's resolution for parents this year? Keeping their kids healthy! With increased attention to juvenile obesity and related health problems, finding ways to improve lifestyle behaviors is emerging as a top priority for many parents nationwide.

11 Dec 2009

Pharmacies to provide H1N1, seasonal flu and pneumonia vaccinations under TRICARE program

The Department of Defense today issued an interim final rule designating pharmacies as providers for H1N1, seasonal flu and pneumonia vaccinations under its TRICARE program.

11 Dec 2009

NMI's LOHAS to be integrated with MRI's Survey of the American Consumer database

Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) and Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI) announced today that they have integrated NMI's LOHAS consumer segmentation model with MRI's Survey of the American Consumer database.

11 Dec 2009

McGraw-Hill Education's free instructional resources on H1N1 available online

When H1N1 or other illnesses prevent school attendance, students, parents and teachers can now access a variety of McGraw-Hill Education's free instructional resources on the web.

11 Dec 2009

LLS becomes corporate partner and joins VDF as sponsor

The Vascular Disease Foundation (VDF) announced today that Life Line Screening, Inc. (LLS) has become a corporate partner and joined the foundation as a sponsor.

11 Dec 2009

Drug information interface could address visual and motor impairments

A drug information interface system developed by two University of Alberta researchers has been shown to help in dealing with visual and motor impairments, which can make sorting, holding and indentifying pills a challenge as we age.

11 Dec 2009

COA: Current health reform legislation does not address major inadequacies in Medicare reimbursement

The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) today issued a statement warning that oncologists throughout the U.S. may face closing their practices if critical Medicare reimbursement fixes for treating cancer patients are not made as a part of health care reform.

11 Dec 2009

Scientists explore new potential therapies for Parkinson's disease

Following up on their previous work showing the rescue of dopamine neurons by chemicals that interact with the retinoid X receptor (RXR), researchers have now investigated the potential of these chemicals, known as RXR ligands, for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

11 Dec 2009

Phosphatases can prevent inflammation and formation of blood clots

Polyphosphate from blood platelets plays a key role in inflammation and the formation of blood clots, scientists from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have shown. The study, which is presented in the prestigious scientific journal Cell, describes how this mechanism can be used in treatment.

11 Dec 2009