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22% of survey respondents have reduced number of physician visits to save money, survey finds

Twenty-two percent of respondents to a survey have reduced the number of times they visit their physician because of the current economic climate in the U.S., according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

13 Aug 2008

Associations, trade groups offer members group-like health insurance

An increasing number of small-business owners that do not provide health insurance to their employees and individuals without employer-based health coverage are looking to professional organizations and trade groups that offer "group-like" coverage to their members, the Wall Street Journal reports.

13 Aug 2008

New York Gov. Paterson proposes $1.04 billion in budget cuts, including $506 million to Medicaid

New York Gov. David Paterson (D) on Monday proposed cutting this year's state budget by 1%, or $1.04 billion, including $506 million in Medicaid cuts, to avoid a looming budget deficit, the New York Times reports (Peters, New York Times, 8/12).

13 Aug 2008

California, health insurers reach agreement to reinstate coverage for some former members

About 3,400 California residents whose health insurance was canceled by Kaiser Permanente, Health Net and PacifiCare soon will be notified that they might be eligible for new coverage and compensation for medical bills incurred while they were uninsured, the Los Angeles Times reports.

13 Aug 2008

Redesigned West Virginia Medicaid plan restricting benefits for more than 90% of child beneficiaries, report states

West Virginia's redesigned Medicaid program is restricting benefits for more than 90% of child beneficiaries because of insufficient efforts by the state to enroll children in an expanded plan, according to a report released Thursday, the Charleston Gazette reports.

13 Aug 2008

U.S. faces serious shortage of primary care physicians

Community health centers have a shortage of more than 3,200 primary care providers and nurses, with larger shortages in rural and low-income areas, according to a report released Monday by the National Association of Community Health Centers, CQ HealthBeat reports.

13 Aug 2008

Democrats opposing Supreme Court decision in favor of pre-emption pandering to tort lawyers, editorial says

The U.S. Supreme Court's "sensible" 8-1 ruling in the case of Reigel v. Medtronic, stating that medical devices approved by FDA are exempt from product liability lawsuits in state courts, "makes sense for many reasons" but has "nonetheless sent up yowls" from Democratic members of Congress who have proposed the Medical Device Safety Act (S 3398, HR 6381) to overturn the ruling, a Wall Street Journal editorial states.

13 Aug 2008

Seattle Post-Intelligencer examines efforts to improve medication management for HIV-positive people

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Monday examined efforts by some organizations and pharmacies in the city and surrounding area to improve medication management for HIV-positive people.

13 Aug 2008

Yemen Times examines HIV/AIDS surveillance, discrimination related to disease in country

Although Yemen -- which has recorded 2,431 HIV/AIDS cases -- is considered one of the countries with the lowest number of people living with the disease worldwide, some organizations, including the country's National AIDS Control Program, say that the numbers likely do not accurately reflect the true number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the country, the Yemen Times reports.

13 Aug 2008

New efforts to reduce spread of HIV among MSM

The AP/Google.com on Friday examined new approaches to curbing the spread of HIV among men who have sex with men. A program in North Carolina that showed "promising signs" enlisted local MSM opinion leaders to urge their peers to practice safer sex in an effort to curb the spread of HIV, the AP/Google.com reports.

13 Aug 2008

Poverty, population movement contributing to spread of HIV in Sudan

Poverty and the movement of people displaced by war have contributed to an increase in the number of HIV/AIDS cases in Sudan, United Nations and Sudanese health officials said on Sunday, adding that a lack of data is hindering efforts to get an accurate picture of the disease in the country, the AP/International Herald Tribune reports.

13 Aug 2008

About 1% of HIV-positive people worldwide have been tested for tuberculosis

Only 1% of people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide have been screened for tuberculosis, according to a report recently released by the coalition Advocacy To Control TB Internationally, or ACTION, Reuters reports.

13 Aug 2008

FDA approves Gilead's antiretroviral Viread for hepatitis B

Gilead Sciences on Monday announced that it has received FDA approval to market its antiretroviral drug Viread as a hepatitis B treatment, the AP/International Herald Tribune reports (AP/International Herald Tribune, 8/12).

13 Aug 2008

Study to look at health care system trust among Hispanics with HIV

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in September will begin a two-year study to determine whether a lack of trust of the U.S. medical system is a factor behind a higher mortality rate among Hispanics with HIV/AIDS, the Winston-Salem Journal reports.

13 Aug 2008

HHS Secretary Leavitt to visit HIV/AIDS projects in Cote d'Ivoire

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt on Wednesday is scheduled to arrive in Cote d'Ivoire, where he will visit projects aimed at fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, AFP/Google.com reports.

13 Aug 2008

CDC report on HIV/AIDS in U.S. should serve as 'wake-up call' for policymakers, health workers

A recent CDC report on HIV/AIDS in the U.S. -- which found that about 56,000 new HIV infections occur in the U.S. each year -- "should serve as a wake-up call from the AIDS amnesia surrounding the domestic epidemic in recent years," Susan Blumenthal, senior policy and medical adviser at the Foundation for AIDS Research, and Melissa Shive, a former research assistant at amfAR and medical student at the University of California-San Francisco, write in a Washington Times opinion piece.

13 Aug 2008

Isis Pharmaceuticals trials C-reactive protein drug

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today it has initiated a Phase 1 study of ISIS 353512, an antisense drug that inhibits the production of C-reactive protein (CRP). CRP levels are frequently elevated in patients with a variety of diseases including cardiovascular disease, Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis and end-stage renal disease.

13 Aug 2008

Diakron licenses anticoagulant drug candidate from Merck

Diakron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the signing of an exclusive license agreement for a novel investigational oral anticoagulant drug candidate discovered and developed through Phase I clinical trials by Merck & Co. Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, Diakron has the exclusive rights to develop, and, if approved, market and distribute the compound worldwide.

13 Aug 2008

SpectraScience awarded U.S. patent for correcting image misalignment

SpectraScience, Inc. has announced that it has been awarded a patent for correcting image misalignment between at least two images in a sequence of images due at least in part to tissue sample movement. The patent, U.S. Patent No. 7,406,215, is titled "Methods and systems for correcting image misalignment."

13 Aug 2008

St. Jude Medical receives approval of first extended-life primary cell neurostimulator for treatment of chronic pain

St. Jude Medical, Inc. has announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European CE Mark approvals of EonC, the first extended-life primary cell (non-rechargeable) neurostimulator for the treatment of chronic pain.

13 Aug 2008

Medical News

22% of survey respondents have reduced number of physician visits to save money, survey finds

Associations, trade groups offer members group-like health insurance

New York Gov. Paterson proposes $1.04 billion in budget cuts, including $506 million to Medicaid

California, health insurers reach agreement to reinstate coverage for some former members

Redesigned West Virginia Medicaid plan restricting benefits for more than 90% of child beneficiaries, report states

U.S. faces serious shortage of primary care physicians

Democrats opposing Supreme Court decision in favor of pre-emption pandering to tort lawyers, editorial says

Seattle Post-Intelligencer examines efforts to improve medication management for HIV-positive people

Yemen Times examines HIV/AIDS surveillance, discrimination related to disease in country

New efforts to reduce spread of HIV among MSM

Poverty, population movement contributing to spread of HIV in Sudan

About 1% of HIV-positive people worldwide have been tested for tuberculosis

FDA approves Gilead's antiretroviral Viread for hepatitis B

Study to look at health care system trust among Hispanics with HIV

HHS Secretary Leavitt to visit HIV/AIDS projects in Cote d'Ivoire

CDC report on HIV/AIDS in U.S. should serve as 'wake-up call' for policymakers, health workers

Isis Pharmaceuticals trials C-reactive protein drug

Diakron licenses anticoagulant drug candidate from Merck

SpectraScience awarded U.S. patent for correcting image misalignment

St. Jude Medical receives approval of first extended-life primary cell neurostimulator for treatment of chronic pain

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