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Nano-bio material kills cancer cells, leaves healthy cells in unharmed

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago's Brain Tumor Center have developed a way to target brain cancer cells using inorganic titanium dioxide nanoparticles bonded to soft biological material.

19 Aug 2009

Phrma brushes off Republican leader's attacks

"The prescription drug industry's lobbying arm is defending its deal with President Barack Obama in the wake of criticism from House Minority Leader John Boehner, who charged it with 'appeasing' the Obama administration," The Hill reports.

19 Aug 2009

Intracacies of doctors' fees difficult to unravel

"For the most part, doctor fees are a mystery. If people see a doctor who is part of their insurance network, they are responsible only for deductibles and co-payments, and the price the health insurer pays is often a secret," The New York Times reports. "And if people see a doctor outside their network, they usually have no idea what the charge will be - even though they are responsible for most of it - until the bill comes."

19 Aug 2009

Mullti-million dollar ad campaigns supporting health overhaul launched

Various advertising campaigns take to the airwaves. Among their messages are the moral imperative of reform and the importance of cooperation.

19 Aug 2009

FDA approves Hiberix Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine

In response to a U.S. shortage of a vaccine to protect infants from Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) has received accelerated approval from the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for Hiberix((R)) [Haemophilus b Conjugate Vaccine (Tetanus Toxoid Conjugate)] as a booster dose in children 15 months through four years of age. Hib is an often severe and potentially deadly bacterial infection that can cause meningitis.

19 Aug 2009

Kaiser workers launch informational pickets at hospitals and clinics across California

Hundreds of SEIU-UHW health care workers will rally in front of Kaiser Permanente's Oakland Regional Office at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, August 20 before delivering a 10-day notice of informational pickets at hospitals and clinics across California to protest Kaiser's layoff plan.

19 Aug 2009

3M introduces Littmann electronic stethoscope with Bluetooth

Taking the stethoscope into the 21st century, 3M today announced the introduction of the 3M™ Littmann® Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200, a next-generation auscultation device featuring Bluetooth technology that wirelessly transfers heart, lung and other body sounds to software for further analysis.

19 Aug 2009

Polls: Americans less confident about their future health care, skeptical about reform proposals

"A monthly survey of consumer sentiment on health care issues shows that Americans' confidence in insurance coverage, affordability and access dropped more than 5 points in July, after having risen slightly in June," The Associated Press/CBS News reports.

19 Aug 2009

News outlets continue to explain how end-of-life care counseling works

NPR talks with Dr. David Casarett, associate professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania who started the palliative care service at the VA hospital in Philadelphia, about "the rhetoric around the end-of-life issues addressed in some of the proposed health care legislation" (Block, 8/18).

19 Aug 2009

It may be August, but lawmakers aren't taking a break from health reform rhetoric

The New York Times: "An aide to the (Senate Finance) Committee said Monday that (the six senators trying to forge bipartisanship on a health care reform bill) would hold a teleconference call this week. Senators Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana and the committee chairman, and Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican, have talked many times during the recess, the aide said. But the call will mark the entire group's first discussion since the recess began" (Seelye, 8/18).

19 Aug 2009

Canadian Nurses Association applauds new CMA head

The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) welcomes the appointment of Anne Doig as president of the Canadian Medical Association and applauds her call for action on introducing change to Canada's health-care system.

19 Aug 2009

Nurses and clinical officers in Africa know when a person should receive antiretroviral therapy

Nurses and clinical officers (non-physician clinicians, NPCs) are capable of determining when a person should receive antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV/AIDS. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Human Resources for Health suggest that this should ease the strain on overstretched doctors in sub-Saharan Africa and thereby help increase access to antiretroviral therapy, particularly in rural areas.

19 Aug 2009

Mylan files lawsuit against Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Post-Gazette reporters

Mylan Inc. (Nasdaq: MYL) today announced that the company and its subsidiary Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. filed a civil lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Monongalia County, W.Va., against the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Post-Gazette reporters Len Boselovic and Patricia Sabatini, and others as yet unknown.

19 Aug 2009

New guidance for businesses to plan for and respond to upcoming flu season

Department of Commerce (DOC) Secretary Gary Locke, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced new guidance for businesses to plan for and respond to the upcoming flu season.

19 Aug 2009

Facing roadblocks, The White House hones message on health care reform

White House officials say President Obama will shift the health care reform debate in September to include more talk of a moral imperative to provide health insurance to all, The Wall Street Journal reports.

19 Aug 2009

Gibbs says The White House still "hopeful" on bipartisan support

"The Obama administration is still hopeful it can get bipartisan support for a health insurance overhaul, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Wednesday," Dow Jones Newswires reports. "In remarks to reporters at the White House, Gibbs disputed media reports the administration has cast aside such hopes and is preparing to push the controversial health-care bill through Congress on a party-line vote."

19 Aug 2009

House Democrats request insurers' financial records

"Dozens of the nation's largest insurance firms must decide whether to honor a request from House Democrats for detailed financial records, part of an investigation into executive compensation and other business practices in an industry that opposes President Barack Obama's health care proposals," The Associated Press reports.

19 Aug 2009

Hospitals rebounding from the economic recession

The development could spare patients the higher fees hospitals may otherwise have had to charge to keep their books balanced, the Dallas Morning News reports.

19 Aug 2009

Veterans deserve better than the Department of Veterans Affairs current advance care planning tool

Paul Malley, President of the national non-profit organization Aging with Dignity, said the nation's 24 million veterans deserve better than the Department of Veterans Affairs current advance care planning tool, "Your Life, Your Choices."

19 Aug 2009

70 percent of specialty doctors oppose health-care reform proposals

Chairman of the ASMD, Alfred O. Bonati, M.D., said that, "As a physician, the results of this poll are not surprising to me. Any doctor who has ever dealt with Medicare knows that government coverage severely limits our abilities to deliver care that best fits the needs of the patient and the patient's family. We know that government coverage does not allow for flexibility, creativity, or, sometimes, even compassion."

19 Aug 2009