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To flu experts, 'pandemic' confirms the obvious

"It came as no surprise on Thursday when the World Health Organization declared that the swine flu outbreak had become a pandemic," The New York Times reports.

13 Jun 2009

Drugstores group sues Delaware over Medicaid cutbacks

Walgreen Co.'s member organization in Delaware has "filed a suit against the state to put a stop to Medicaid rate cuts" just one week after "Walgreens announced it will stop filling prescriptions of brand-name medications for patients on Medicaid" in Delaware, the News Journal reports.

13 Jun 2009

Michigan hospitals suffer GM's bankruptcy, new Medicaid cuts

Health care could be the next Michigan industry to take a tumble, as hospitals anticipate caring for more uninsured patients in the wake of General Motor's bankruptcy and cuts to the state Medicaid program, the Detroit Free Press reports.

13 Jun 2009

Nursing shortage eases with recession's help

"The nation's deep recession is helping to alleviate the decade-long nursing shortage, as workers who had left the field in better times are returning in droves," the Wall Street Journal reports.

13 Jun 2009

Medicare reimbursement issues enter health reform debate

New legislation introduced yesterday would attempt to shift Medicare reimbursement policy to reward patient health outcomes, rather than the volume of services provided, MinnPost, a nonprofit online news organization, reports. "We need to be sure to keep score," said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who introduced the bill, according to MinnPost. "That means measuring outcomes and rewarding providers that deliver quality results."

13 Jun 2009

Senate passes landmark bill: FDA to regulate tobacco

The New York Times reports that "more than four decades after the surgeon general declared smoking a health hazard, the Senate on Thursday cleared the final hurdle to empowering federal officials to regulate cigarettes and other forms of tobacco for the first time.

13 Jun 2009

Lawmakers want Federal rules to cover home health care workers and end-of-life care

Lawmakers want federal rules to cover home health care workers while Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., plans to introduce legislation in Congress today to better educate the public on end-of-life care.

13 Jun 2009

Dodd's wife serving on health care company boards

The wife of Sen. Chris Dodd, a leading player in this year's attempt at health care reform, serves on the board of three health care companies, The Associated Press reports.

13 Jun 2009

Congress clears tobacco bill for President's signature

The House of Representatives today voted by a 3-to-1 margin to pass a bill approved by the Senate yesterday. The measure gives the federal government sweeping new powers to regulate tobacco, reports the Washington Post. "President Obama hailed the bipartisan votes in Congress on the bill, which he said 'truly defines change in Washington.' He said he looks forward to signing it into law."

13 Jun 2009

A group of health CEOs want to end Medicare fee-for-service payments

A group of more than a half dozen CEOs from some of America's largest health care providers on Friday called for an end to fee-for-service payments under Medicare, and for incentives to create administrative efficiencies to lower costs to help pay for America's health care reform.

13 Jun 2009

Recent releases: HIV prevention; clinical trials debate; definition of global health; drug resistant tuberculosis

In a Journal of the American Medical Association commentary piece, Anthony Fauci and Carl Dieffenbach of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases explore results from a WHO mathematical model study that found universal, voluntary, annual HIV testing followed up with immediate treatment for those testing positive -- the "test and treat model" -- could "reduce HIV incidence" and "end the [HIV] pandemic within 50 years."

13 Jun 2009

India to promote drugs in Africa after fake Chinese drugs 'made in India' seized

India launched a project to promote its $10.7 billion pharmaceutical industry in Africa after fake drugs labeled "Made in India," but with actual origins in China were seized on the continent, IANS/Hindu reports.

13 Jun 2009

Global Post articles examine Malaria worldwide

Global Post examines the quest for an effective vaccine to fight malaria. According to Global Post, "epidemiologists are pinning their hopes on a malaria vaccine" because "[k]illing mosquitoes, or avoiding bites, is an imprecise solution to malaria."

13 Jun 2009

International scientists' network to map drug-resistant malaria

PTI/Hindu reports on the Worldwide Antimalarial Resistance Network (WWARN) – an "international network of malaria scientists," which will be "established to map the emergence of resistance" to malaria drugs and "guide global efforts to control and eradicate the disease."

13 Jun 2009

Wall Street Journal examines program to spur vaccine development for developing world diseases

The Wall Street Journal examines a $1.5 billion program supported by Italy, the U.K., Canada, Russia, Norway and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that hopes "to encourage pharmaceutical companies to develop vaccines for diseases common to poor countries," which is expected to be announced Friday "on the sidelines of a meeting of top finance officials from the Group of Eight major industrial powers."

13 Jun 2009

Progress seen in some African HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment programs, U.N. Special Envoy says at World Economic Forum on Africa

Several African countries have successfully scaled up their HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs, U.N. Special Envoy for HIV and AIDS in Africa Elizabeth Mataka said during a media briefing at the World Economic Forum on Africa being held in Cape Town, South Africa, the ZANIS/Lusaka Times reports. Zambia and Botswana were among some of the countries that have made significant progress in southern Africa, according to Mataka.

13 Jun 2009

Recipients of HIV/AIDS programs aid expected to feel crunch of global economic crisis

At the 2009 HIV Implementers' Meeting in Namibia Thursday, Paul DeLay, deputy executive director of UNAIDS, said the global economic crisis will impact countries who receive international aid for HIV/AIDS programs, so recipients of such aid should identify priorities for their programs, the China Post reports (China Post, 6/12).

13 Jun 2009

Declaration of H1N1 pandemic to accelerate H1N1 vaccine production

The WHO's decision Thursday to declare H1N1 (swine) flu a pandemic will "speed the production of a vaccine against the new virus," however scientists continue to caution that "it will be fall at the earliest before the first doses are available," the Los Angeles Times reports.

13 Jun 2009

Scientists create simple chemical system that mimics DNA

A team of Scripps Research scientists has created a new analog to DNA that assembles and disassembles itself without the need for enzymes. Because the new system comprises components that might reasonably be expected in a primordial world, the new chemical system could answer questions about how life could emerge.

13 Jun 2009

Diabetes drug exenatide promotes weight loss when added to diet and exercise

In combination with diet and exercise, the diabetes drug exenatide helped nondiabetic, obese individuals lose over three times more weight than those receiving a placebo, or dummy treatment, for 6 months.

13 Jun 2009

Medical News

To flu experts, 'pandemic' confirms the obvious

Drugstores group sues Delaware over Medicaid cutbacks

Michigan hospitals suffer GM's bankruptcy, new Medicaid cuts

Nursing shortage eases with recession's help

Medicare reimbursement issues enter health reform debate

Senate passes landmark bill: FDA to regulate tobacco

Lawmakers want Federal rules to cover home health care workers and end-of-life care

Dodd's wife serving on health care company boards

Congress clears tobacco bill for President's signature

A group of health CEOs want to end Medicare fee-for-service payments

Recent releases: HIV prevention; clinical trials debate; definition of global health; drug resistant tuberculosis

India to promote drugs in Africa after fake Chinese drugs 'made in India' seized

Global Post articles examine Malaria worldwide

International scientists' network to map drug-resistant malaria

Wall Street Journal examines program to spur vaccine development for developing world diseases

Progress seen in some African HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment programs, U.N. Special Envoy says at World Economic Forum on Africa

Recipients of HIV/AIDS programs aid expected to feel crunch of global economic crisis

Declaration of H1N1 pandemic to accelerate H1N1 vaccine production

Scientists create simple chemical system that mimics DNA

Diabetes drug exenatide promotes weight loss when added to diet and exercise

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