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Also in Global Health News: WHO scraps drug development group; Access to medication in Philippines; Yellow fever vaccine shortage; HIV-positive employee protection

Lancet World Report examines how "[d]isappointment over a long-awaited report on improving drug research and development for neglected diseases" led the WHO to form a new Consultative Expert Working Group (CEWG) to strategize around drug research and development. The formation of the new group comes after the report from the previous working group (EWG) was questioned due to "what some perceived to be a missed opportunity, unclear methods, a lack of transparency and signs of industry interference" and after "suspicions of impropriety" surfaced.

21 Jun 2010

NLRB issues third strike against Sal Rosselli, other former SEIU-UHW officials

The National Labor Relations Board issued a third strike against Sal Rosselli, ousted president of the Service Employees International Union - United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), and other former union officials who formed the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) after they were removed from office.

19 Jun 2010

CNA blasts PERB for colluding with UC in suppression of RNs democratic rights

The California Nurses Association/National Nurses United today blasted the state agency that oversees public employee relations for its active collusion with University of California hospital officials in seeking to suppress the democratic rights of registered nurses, and charged the UC hospital system with employing unfair market competition with other corporate hospital chains in its attacks on UC RNs.

19 Jun 2010

Medicare payment cuts to doctors loom as Republicans reject slimmed-down 'extenders' package

Republicans were successful in blocking a "slimmed-down package of jobless benefits and state aid late Thursday" as Sens. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., and Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., voted with them, The Washington Post reports.

19 Jun 2010

Labor Board dismisses SEIU charges to block union elections

The federal National Labor Relations Board's Office of Advice has issued a directive to the NLRB's four California offices, recommending the final dismissal of charges that the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has used to block fair union elections for more than 16 months. As a result of this decision, long-delayed elections may now be scheduled within a matter of weeks for thousands of California healthcare workers.

18 Jun 2010

Forget play school for infants, sex school proposed in UK health guidelines

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), UK has come up with its latest health proposal for the improvement of public health. The latest guidance proposal from NICE says sex education should be taught to children from the age of five. This they say is important to help them make the right decisions about delaying sexual intimacy until they are mature enough.

18 Jun 2010

AACC receives $6.6M grant to fund development of open-source delivery platform for healthcare careers

The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that the American Association of Community Colleges will receive a $6.6 million grant to fund development of Healthcare Virtual Career Platform: Healthcare Career Central, an open-source delivery platform that will manage an individual's entry into any of more than 200 healthcare careers – from career exploration, to skills assessment, training and job placement.

17 Jun 2010

States push for additional Medicaid funding with budget cuts on the horizon

Inside Health Policy reports that Democrats and hospital groups are pushing hard for the Senate to increase Medicaid payments as part of the "tax extenders" bill. "Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) told a crowd of hospital stakeholders that the enhanced Medicaid funding, which failed to make its way into health reform, is by no means a lock, despite the pleas of even some Republican governors for its passage."

17 Jun 2010

U.S. Department of Labor announces over $14.7M in health care career grants

The U.S. Department of Labor today announced $14.7 million in health care career grants authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The four grantees are the American Association of Community Colleges, Goodwill Industries International, the International Association of Jewish Vocational Services and SER-Jobs for Progress National Inc.

17 Jun 2010

Wednesday's OpEds: Berwick nomination; Health reform costs and benefits; Medicaid and COBRA in jobs bill

As its real costs become clearer, Obama's program is looking even more expensive for employers, seniors, and taxpayers (Rick Santorum, 6/16).

17 Jun 2010

Money for early retirees and insurers' customer service

Consultants are pushing big companies to apply quickly for money from a $5 billion fund to help cover retiree health costs as part of the new health law, The Wall Street Journal reports.

17 Jun 2010

OnDemand AP solution helps hospitals reduce processing costs

For many healthcare providers, 90 percent of the costs associated with invoices are tied to manual processing. By automating all invoices through the OnDemand AP solution from GHX, hospitals can reduce processing costs by an average of $12 per invoice.

17 Jun 2010

Healthcare clinicians' disruptive behaviors negatively affect patient care: Data

Disruptive behavior was reported in 177 events submitted to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority from May 2007 to October 2009. In many of the events patient care was compromised, according to data released today by the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority and published in the June Supplementary Pennsylvania Patient Safety Advisory.

17 Jun 2010

New biomarker study explores early detection of ovarian cancer

Despite many research advances, ovarian cancer remains lethal in a majority of cases, due to late diagnosis of the disease. In a new study, Dr. Joshua LaBaer of the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, along with Arturo Ramirez and Paul Lampe, researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, used a novel method for identifying biomarkers-proteins in blood that can identify ovarian cancer before symptoms appear.

17 Jun 2010

U.S. State Department releases 2010 report on human trafficking

The U.S. State Department on Monday released its 2010 report on human trafficking, which "grades 175 nations on their efforts to fight this modern form of slavery," Bloomberg Businessweek reports (Kate/Gaouette, 6/15).

16 Jun 2010

Cytokine PharmaSciences completes misoprostol vaginal insert Phase II study

Cytokine PharmaSciences, Inc. today announced the completion of a Phase II study of the misoprostol vaginal insert (MVI), a proprietary, controlled-release and retrievable polymer chip containing prostaglandin E(1) (PGE1). Results of the dose-finding study in pregnant women at term gestation confirm the efficacy and safety of this investigational product and suggest that the MVI may reduce time to delivery after induction, support more natural labor, and reduce the rate of cesarean delivery.

16 Jun 2010

New regulation on 'grandfathered' health plans

The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury today issued a new regulation that makes good on President Obama's promise that Americans who like their health plan can keep it.

15 Jun 2010

Retiring health care professionals may strain an overburdened system

The Washington Post: "Since the passage of the health-care law in March, much has been said about the coming swarm of millions of retiring baby boomers and the strain they will put on the nation's health-care system. That's only half the problem. Overlooked in the conversation is a particular group of boomers: doctors and nurses who are itching to call it quits.

15 Jun 2010

Synergetics third-quarter 2010 sales increase 5.3% to $13.9 million

Synergetics USA, Inc., a medical device company that designs, manufactures, and markets innovative microsurgical instruments for ophthalmic and neurosurgical applications, today announced its results for the third quarter and nine months ended April 30, 2010.

15 Jun 2010

HHS issues interim rules for grandfathered health plans

The government suggested that under a highly complicated interim rule released today more than half of employer-sponsored health plans could lose their special status that shields them from some aspects of the new health overhaul. The administration outlined "a number of ways health plans could lose their grandfathered status. Plans that substantially eliminate benefits to diagnose or treat a particular condition would lose the status, for instance.

15 Jun 2010