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Health care leaders to address the value of collaboration and challenges inherent to interoperability

A panel of executives representing public-sector health, health care providers, health care information technology, and health plans will address the value of collaboration and the challenges inherent to interoperability, especially as both topics pertain to health information networks.

7 Nov 2009

Hoyer says House health vote could be delayed

"House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said 'delay tactics' could prevent the vote from occurring at the 6 p.m. Saturday scheduled time," and "suggested the debate could go into Sunday or next week," The Hill reports.

7 Nov 2009

SNM commends the U.S. House of Representatives for its passage of medical isotope legislation

SNM applauds the U.S. House of Representatives for its passage of H.R. 3276-the American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2009.

7 Nov 2009

Pediatrician recommends red reflex vision test for all newborns

With the number of premature births and medically fragile infants now increasing in the U.S., a basic eye exam, including a red reflex test, should be given to all children shortly after birth, reports Angela Buffenn, M.D., M.P.H., Director of the Orbit and Eye Movement Institute at The Vision Center of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

7 Nov 2009

NHLBI stops enrollment in study comparing resuscitation strategies

Enrollment has ended early in a large, multicenter clinical trial comparing two distinct resuscitation strategies delivered by emergency medical service (EMS) providers to increase blood flow during cardiac arrest. The study's independent monitoring board and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the lead sponsor of the study, stopped enrollment based on preliminary data suggesting that neither strategy significantly improved survival.

7 Nov 2009

Allied Healthcare Products sales declines 21% in the first quarter of fiscal year 2010

Recession in domestic and international markets continued to depress sales for Allied Healthcare Products in the first quarter of fiscal year 2010 ending September 30, 2009.

7 Nov 2009

San Francisco map of HIV viral loads shows where care lags

Researchers in San Francisco have identified how much virus people infected with HIV are carrying and mapped their results, which show that that AIDS treatment lags in certain neighborhoods. The work also showed that the sickest patients were often African-American, homeless and transgender.

7 Nov 2009

Insurance companies make the best of a very bad year

"Rising unemployment, swine flu and the threat of health care reform all ganged up on managed care companies in the third quarter and could hurt their performance heading into 2010," the Associated Press reports.

7 Nov 2009

Gastroschisis may be associated with infections during pregnancy

Results of an investigation conducted by University of Nevada, Reno researchers, public health officials and area physicians published this week in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, indicate that Washoe County experienced a cluster of a particular birth defect, gastroschisis, during the period April 2007 - April 2008.

7 Nov 2009

American Academy of Nursing inducts seven editors of LWW as Academy Fellows

The American Academy of Nursing today inducted seven editors and editorial board members of Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) nursing publications as Academy Fellows. LWW is part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.

7 Nov 2009

Researchers find compound that reverses type 1 myotonic dystrophy

A compound already used to treat pneumonia could become a new therapy for an inherited muscular wasting disease, according to researchers at the University of Oregon and the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in New York.

7 Nov 2009

Reuters examines China's involvement in fighting Malaria in Africa

Chinese scientists have been working on enhancing "the rare sweet wormwood shrub, from which artemisinin - the best drug to fight malaria - is derived" in an effort to fight malaria "not on its own soil, where the deadly disease has been sharply pruned back, but in Africa, where it still kills one child every 30 seconds," Reuters reports.

7 Nov 2009

Poll examines the American public's response to H1N1 vaccine shortage

A new national poll from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers found that a majority of adults who tried to get the H1N1 vaccine for themselves or their children have been unable to do so. The poll, which examines the American public's response to the H1N1 vaccine shortage, is the fifth in a series of surveys of public views concerning the H1N1 flu outbreak undertaken by the Harvard Opinion Research Program at HSPH.

7 Nov 2009

Halozyme Therapeutics announces results of its insulin variability study

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. today announced insulin variability study results that demonstrated reduced intrasubject absorption variability for the combination of lispro, a meal time analog insulin, plus PH20 (hyaluronidase) compared to subcutaneous injection of lispro alone.

7 Nov 2009

Rituximab drug potentially effective for treating Graves' eye disease, shows study

A small group of patients with severe Graves' eye disease experienced rapid improvement of their symptoms - and improved vision - following treatment with the drug rituximab. Inflammation around their eyes and damage to the optic nerve were significantly reduced. The same patients had not previously responded to steroids, a common treatment for Graves' eye disease.

7 Nov 2009

Roper Industries to acquire Verathon

Roper Industries, Inc. (NYSE: ROP) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Verathon, Inc., a leading provider of proprietary medical devices. The Verathon Board of Directors has approved the transaction and the closing is subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions, including shareholder approval. The parties expect the closing to be completed in early December.

7 Nov 2009

Health policy research roundup

Health Affairs: Enrollment Is Driving Medicaid Costs—But Two Targets Can Yield Savings - "Although Medicaid spending has grown faster than the rate of increase in national health spending, much of this is explained by increased enrollment," write the authors of this paper, who present data showing that "[p]er enrollee, Medicaid spending actually compares favorably to increases in medical care prices and gross domestic product."

7 Nov 2009

NIH awards UAB School of Public Health $11.5M to research new methods of identifying youth with HIV

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health has been awarded a total of $11.5 million from the National Institutes of Health to explore new ways to identify adolescents and young adults infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and link them to medical care.

7 Nov 2009

Nytimes looks at doctors' crucial role in reshaping U.S. health system

Doctors and hospital payment systems remain at the center of the health care reform debate as news outlets examine the benefits of replacing the current fee-for-service approach.

7 Nov 2009

PPD acquires Excel PharmaStudies

PPD, Inc. today announced it has completed its acquisition of Excel PharmaStudies, Inc., the market leader and one of the largest contract research organizations in China. The acquisition strengthens PPD’s full range of drug development services in the country and positions it to capitalize on the tremendous growth of the outsourcing market in Asia Pacific.

7 Nov 2009