Tag: World Health Organization

• The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) joins the World Health Organization to recognize the World Hepatitis Day July 27.

Politics and Policies:

• Obama administration announces ground-breaking public-private partnership to prevent health care fraud. It is designed to share information and best practices in order to improve detection and prevent payment of fraudulent health care billings.
• Doctors petition for limits on painkillers. They have urged the FDA to curtail the overuse and abuse of prescription painkillers by changing the labeling directions on how and when physicians should prescribe them.
• African health experts- policy makers, advocates and researchers are meeting in Kampala, Uganda to reaffirm national and regional commitments to achieving Millennium Development Goal (MGD) 5, to ensure the health of girls and women become a regional priority.
• A number of public health organizations in South Africa have extended their support for the amendments on the Tobacco Products Control Act which is meant to support the non-smokers.
• Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new inhaled drug for the treatment of the lung disease COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease).
• According to congressional budget office Supreme Court health care law leaves 3 million more uninsured.
• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will award inpatient rehabilitation facilities $140 million increase in Medicaid payments under the IRF prospective payment system in fiscal year 2013.
• Singapore ratifies ILO (International Labor Organization) framework for occupational health and safety.
• The Australian Health Department wants to outsource its operational and management responsibilities for the personally controlled e-health record system to a single provider.

Programs

• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services awarded Colorado Health Insurance Cooperative Inc. a $69.4 million loan to launch a Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan in Colorado.
• Hospitals in Iowa provided $1.4 billion community benefits (health screenings, support groups etc.) in 2011.
• $6.1 Million “Innovation Grant” awarded to test comprehensive care physician model.
• Bungoma (Kenya) Hospital project hit by row.
• In Sierra Leone, youth want a review of abortion law.
• Energy, health care dominates agenda on the eve of Canada’s annual summer summit.

Research

• A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that adult mortality rates fell after three states (New York, Maine, Arizona) Medicaid expansions.
• Study finds drop in death rate in states that follow lines of Obama health law.
• A new technique uses PET/CT imaging with a compound called choline (F-Flourocholine) to help doctors to detect prostate cancer earlier.
• Trial signals major milestone in hunt for new TB drugs.  The results presented at the 2012 International AIDS Conference reveal progress in the pursuit of an antiretroviral- compatible TB treatment for the patients with TB/HIV co-infection.
• The results of a study of HIV treatment policies in 23 countries show that governments have made improvements to get better antiretroviral treatment (ART) to more people but implementation of innovative community-based strategies is lagging behind.
• According to study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, lung function may decline slower in smokers with sufficient vitamin D levels as compared to smokers who are vitamin D deficient.
• A study shows that people with serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are 2.6 times more prone to developing cancer.
• A study shows that inactivity puts 1 in 3 adults at risk for disease.
• According to a study some people are more physically active may be due to their genetic predisposition while evolutionary factors and the obesity, might also play a role in it.
• Researchers have identified various successful and promising interventions to improve the opportunities for regular physical activity. Promoting exercise and community events through mass media campaigns as well as decision prompts and signage to motivate people are among the few identified as successful examples.
• A study shows new way of delivering anti-scarring drug reduces the need for repeat injections by 40 percent. This process reduces post-surgical scarring of glaucoma patients.
• Study shows that information and communication technologies could be an effective way of encouraging millions of people worldwide to become more physically active.
• A paper in the Lancet says physical inactivity should be recognized as a pandemic.
• Researchers have found that the drug resistant HIV is on rise in Africa.
• Study suggests that short, cumulative exercise sessions are beneficial for health especially for maintaining a healthy blood pressure.

Diseases & Disasters

• An earthquake of 3.8 magnitude hit Los Angeles on July, 25, 2012.
• Five infant deaths signal serious whooping cough outbreak in UK.
• According to the Ugandan health officials, about 14 people in western Uganda have been killed by the infection with the deadly Ebola virus. There is no cure or vaccine for the treatment or prevention from this deadly infection in Uganda. National emergency task force has been set up to prevent the spread of disease.
• The typhoid outbreak in Zimbabwe is suspected to be caused by the consumption of contaminated water.
• Mysterious nodding disease afflicts young Ugandans.
• Whooping Cough epidemic in Washington State.
• World Health Organization has expressed its concerns over the rise in cholera cases in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo amid clashes between the armed groups and government.