Medical News

RSS

Drug-resistant tuberculosis a very real threat in the Pacific region

Health officials in the Pacific are concerned about two new strains of tuberculosis - multi drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) - both strains have been found to be resistant to the two most powerful drugs that have been used to treat tuberculosis (TB) for the past five decades.

5 Jun 2009

Alcohol and smoking the culprits in bowel cancer

Each year, worldwide around one million new cases of bowel (colorectal) cancer are diagnosed and more than half a million people die from the disease.

4 Jun 2009

Australia's swine flu toll soars to almost 900

As the number of swine flu cases now confirmed in Australia edges close to 900, neighbour Singapore has issued advice warning its residents not to travel to Victoria the state worst-hit by the outbreak of influenza A H1N1 with 752 cases.

4 Jun 2009

Eyes provide clues to a common cause of stroke

In a groundbreaking study researchers have concluded that evidence of the cause of "lacunar stroke" can be found by looking at the back of a patient's eyes.

4 Jun 2009

Australia in top five countries worse hit by swine flu

The latest update from the World Health Organization, #43, says as of 3rd June, 66 countries have officially reported 19,273 cases of influenza A H1N1 infection (swine flu), including 117 deaths.

4 Jun 2009

Keep Grandad away from the pokies!

According to Australian researchers easier access to gambling venues has influenced the rise in the number of older adults with gambling problems but there is more to the issue.

4 Jun 2009

Delays to seeing docs stretch on

A new study finds the average wait for a medical appointment has increased by more than a week since 2004, to 8.6 days, USA Today reports.

4 Jun 2009

Hackers going after medical records

Hackers raided a server at the University of California, Berkeley last fall, stealing everything from Social Security numbers to immunization records in an episode that highlights one danger of moving health information from file cabinets to cyberspace, Forbes reports in a first-person account by one of the 160,000 victims.

4 Jun 2009

Medical bills underlie 60 percent of U.S. bankruptcies

"Medical bills are involved in more than 60 percent of U.S. personal bankruptcies, an increase of 50 percent in just six years, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday," according to Reuters.

4 Jun 2009

White House seeks more money in case of a H1N1 pandemic emergency

The White House requested new funding for swine flu from Congress late Tuesday and also sought an additional $3.1 billion from the unspent stimulus funds in case of a pandemic emergency, according to various news sources.

4 Jun 2009

Economic downturn pushes cost of medicines up, pharmacists lobby for reform role

"Even with the Medicare drug benefit, even with the prevalence of low-cost generics, even with loss-leader discounting by big chains, many Americans still find themselves unable to afford the prescription medications that manage their life-threatening conditions," The New York Times reports.

4 Jun 2009

Dodd: HELP Committee to release reform bill within days

An initial version of health reform legislation could be available "in the next several days," Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, told Dow Jones Newswires.

4 Jun 2009

New taxes could help pay for reform, but would cost political capital

The first, a possible new tax on at least some employer-sponsored health benefits, has support from members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. But during last year's presidential campaign, President Obama spoke out strongly against just such a plan when his opponent, Sen. John McCain suggested it, Roll Call reports.

4 Jun 2009

Obama open to using MedPAC to set Medicare payment rates

As the administration searches for ways to pay for health care reform and restrain medical costs, President Obama suggested Wednesday that he would consider transferring the power to set Medicare reimbursement rates from Congress to the independent advisory agency known as MedPAC, MedPage Today reports.

4 Jun 2009

Government-run insurance program gets Presidential push

President Barack Obama yesterday detailed his support for "government-run insurance program that would compete with private insurers," CQ Politics reports.

4 Jun 2009

Indian Health Service loses equipment at alarming rate

The Associated Press reports that "the Indian Health Service is continuing to lose equipment at an alarming rate despite efforts to better account for the agency's property, according to congressional investigators.

4 Jun 2009

President Obama "open" to coverage mandate for all Americans

President Obama on Wednesday signaled in a letter to top Senate Democrats that he may be open to requiring all Americans to have health insurance coverage as part of health care reform.

4 Jun 2009

Health reform debate players weigh in on their roles

ABC News says Dr. Ezekiel "Zeke" Emanuel, special health adviser to the president's budget director, "has emerged as a key behind-the-scenes player for what could be the biggest overhaul of the nation's health care system in the past two decades." The brother of President Obama's chief of staff and is nervous that something could go wrong in the process.

4 Jun 2009

GOP: public plan option big obstacle to health reform

Democrats and Republicans moved further apart this afternoon over the possibility of including a public plan in any health care reform legislation.

4 Jun 2009

Congress unlikely to approve Obama's request for additional flu money, majority leader says

U.S House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Wednesday expressed skepticism that Congress would approve President Obama's recent request for an additional $2 billion to help fight the H1N1 (swine flu) virus, Reuters/Washington Post reports.

4 Jun 2009