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Danya International bags contract to operate NPIN for CDC

Danya International, Inc., a communications, research, and technology firm, has been awarded a contract to continue its performance in operating the National Prevention Information Network (NPIN) for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). NPIN provides the latest information, resources, and technology focused on preventing HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, STDs, and tuberculosis.

1 Oct 2009

GAO: Medicaid wastes millions on phony prescriptions for painkillers

A new report by the Government Accountability Office "finds that state and federal officials failed to detect millions of dollars in Medicaid prescription drug abuse," USA Today reports. "An audit of the government program in five large states found about 65,000 instances of beneficiaries improperly obtaining potentially addictive drugs at a cost of about $65 million during 2006 and 2007 — including thousands of prescriptions written for dead patients or by people posing as doctors."

30 Sep 2009

Hearing loss is a concern for all ages: Sonic Innovations

In conjunction with Hearing Aid Awareness Week, Sonic Innovations (www.sonici.com), a Utah-based global hearing aid manufacturer, warns that not being able to hear is more important to your health than you may think. Hearing loss has been linked to depression, anxiety and self-esteem issues.

30 Sep 2009

Ontario's doctors to stress the importance of health care professionals working together to the Standing Committee

At an appearance today before the Ontario Legislative Standing Committee on Social Policy, Ontario's doctors will stress the importance of health care professionals working together to enhance and strengthen the delivery of safe and quality care to patients.

30 Sep 2009

ASU receives $32 million as research grants

Arizona State University researchers to date have received more than $32 million in stimulus package research grants. For ASU, which has played a very active role in attracting this additional funding, much of these research funds have gone for projects that meet challenges currently confronting society.

30 Sep 2009

Finance Senators picking sides as panel continues health bill markup

Politico: "Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus faces multiple challenges as he gavels in another week of work on health care Tuesday. High on the list: controlling the drama in the hearing room."

30 Sep 2009

First edition: September 29, 2009

The Finance Committee will resume work today on its mark up of its health bill -- with some fireworks likely on the public plan and other wild cards.

29 Sep 2009

Progress on the Baucus Bill is in the eye of the beholder

The New York Times: "Senate Democrats on Friday preserved the guts of their proposal to reinvent the health care system, but Republicans scored political points on several issues, like the effects of the bill on older Americans. The Democrats beat back Republican attacks on the legislation as the Senate Finance Committee deferred some of the most contentious issues to next week."

28 Sep 2009

Sonomax signs five year licensing agreement with Dutch company

Sonomax Hearing Healthcare Inc. (TSX Venture: SHH) announces that it has signed a five year licensing agreement with a newly formed Dutch company which has adopted the name Sonomax Europe BV (hereafter SEBV) with Sonomax's approval. Sonomax is not a stakeholder in SEBV.

26 Sep 2009

Symposium on ways to lower preterm birth rate

Journalists are invited to attend a gathering of the nation's leading maternal-child and quality assurance health care experts who will review and develop programs that may help lower the nation's costly preterm birth rate.

26 Sep 2009

Gates Foundation launches campaign to highlight U.S. global health investment successes

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on Thursday announced the launch of the Living Proof Project that aims to highlight how U.S. foreign aid contributes to improving global health, the Associated Press reports. Bill Gates said in a statement, "We want to show Americans that their investments in global health are working" (Pace, 9/24).

26 Sep 2009

Kirk named to replace Kennedy, bringing Senate Democrats to crucial 60 votes

Democrats again reach 60 seats in the Senate with the announcement of Ted Kennedy's interim replacement. The Los Angeles Times reports that Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick "named Paul Kirk Jr., a former Democratic National Committee chairman and close friend and former aide of the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, to serve as a temporary replacement for the deceased senator until a special election for the seat is held in January."

25 Sep 2009

Finance committee agonizes over Medicare cuts

Politico reports: "The top Senate Republican says Democratic cuts to Medicare will cost them in the 2010 elections, warning that the hundreds of billions in reductions to the senior citizen health program is 'Orwellian.' Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the Senate minority leader, criticized Democrats for insisting that a half-trillion dollars in cuts to Medicare as part of the health care overhaul, well, aren't exactly cuts to Medicare.

25 Sep 2009

Hamilton Health Sciences contravening the collective agreement: Registered nurses of ONA

Thirty-seven registered nurses, members of the Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA) will attend an arbitration hearing in Hamilton tomorrow that will decide whether Hamilton Health Sciences will be allowed to continue to arbitrarily reassign nurses to other vacant positions within the hospital.

25 Sep 2009

Severe plagiocephaly in babies can lead to ear infections

The recommendation to lay babies on their backs to sleep has reduced sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), but has led to an increased number of infants with a skull deformity called deformational (or positional) plagiocephaly. Now new research suggests that infants with more severe plagiocephaly may have a higher rate of middle ear abnormalities associated with ear infections (otitis media), reports the September issue of The Journal of Craniofacial Surgery. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a 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.

25 Sep 2009

Virginia Surety to provide underwriting and compliance services for ESCO

Virginia Surety Company, Inc., a unit of The Warranty Group, Inc., today announced an agreement to provide underwriting and compliance services for Ear Service Corporation's (ESCO) comprehensive loss, damage and repair programs for the hearing aid industry.

24 Sep 2009

How the human brain processes incoming sensory signals amidst background noise

The brain never sits idle. Whether we are awake or asleep, watch TV or close our eyes, waves of spontaneous nerve signals wash through our brains. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies studying visual attention have discovered a novel mechanism that explains how incoming sensory signals make themselves heard amidst the constant background rumblings so they can be reliably processed and passed on.

24 Sep 2009

NIH Director's Pioneer Award and New Innovator Award for Duke scientists

Two Duke University Medical Center scientists have won prestigious National Institutes of Health Director's awards to pursue novel research.

24 Sep 2009

MMI to provide sign language interpreters for deaf or hard-of-hearing patients

Under a voluntary resolution agreement reached with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), deaf or hard-of-hearing patients at the Mid-Maryland Musculoskeletal Institute (MMI) of Frederick, Md., will be screened and provided with sign language interpreters whenever interpreter services are necessary for effective communication. MMI is an 11-physician orthopedic practice with offices in Frederick and Hagerstown, Md., serving approximately 1,000 patients per month.

23 Sep 2009

Many amendments already introduced to Senate Finance bill

The Salt Lake Tribune: "Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, has 51 ways he wants to change the latest health reform proposal including one amendment that would ease a tax on high-end insurance plans for 'any state with a name that begins with the letter 'U.'

23 Sep 2009