Latest KFF Health News Stories
Florida Steps Up Efforts Against Pill Mills; Hospital Executives Under Scrutiny
The New York Times looks at Florida’s efforts to stop illegal sales of prescription drugs while other outlets examine local hospital issues.
Cardin Is ‘Optimistic’ That ‘Super Committee’ Will Fix SGR
Repealing SGR would end the series of “doc fix” legislative patches. Also: KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey discusses likely consensus builders on the debt panel.
Calif. Bill To Regulate Health Insurance Rates Dies
Heavy lobbying in the state Senate helped kill the bill, which would have strengthened the state’s ability to review insurance premium increases.
Wis. Patients Getting Tested For HIV After Misuse Of Equipment
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that a nurse misused equipment to teach diabetic patients how to inject insulin. Meanwhile, researchers look at how hospital uniforms can carry germs.
Medi-Cal Investigation Of Inflated Bills Yields Settlement From Lab Corp.
Meanwhile, federal investigators look into suspicious sales of prostheses, and S.D. whistle blower earns reward from federal government.
UnitedHealthcare To Administer Major Calif. Physicians Group
The insurer will acquire the management arm of a practice association of 2,300 physicians.
Medicaid Changes Plaguing Some Recipients
State Medicaid program cutbacks are having an effect on care for low-income Americans.
Hospital Growth Slows, NLRB Issues Nursing Home Union Decision
Moody’s predicts the slowdown will continue for several years. Meanwhile, the NLRB overturns a 1991 policy on unions in nursing homes.
Study: EHRs Improve Diabetes Care, Improve Clinical Quality
A Case Western Reserve University study has found electronic health records could help keep patients healthier – at least those with diabetes – and that clinical quality improvement is greater at practices that use EHRs.
Roundup: New Health Center Money In Ill.; Groups Question Insurers On Discrimination In Fla.
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
New Federal Study Spotlights Heavy Soda Consumption
CDC finds that half of Americans consume drinks containing sugar, such as soda and energy drinks, and that teenagers and young adults drink the most.
“A study conducted in Uganda and Zambia by the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) found high rates of syphilis and HIV co-infection among pregnant women in both countries,” but showed that “integrating rapid syphilis screening and HIV testing for pregnant women was feasible, cost-effective, and helped to prevent transmission of syphilis and HIV from mother-to-child,” PlusNews reports.
Obama Gets Tough On Abortion Protesters; State Abortion Laws Challenged In Courts
Access to abortion clinics and challenges to new state abortion laws are in the news.
UNICEF, NGOs In West Africa Work To Encourage Better Sanitation In Rural Areas
UNICEF and non-governmental organizations “operating in West Africa say the main barrier to more pit latrines in rural areas is not poverty or lack of resources, but a lack of understanding about costs and benefits,” IRIN reports. “Plan International, WaterAid and UNICEF programs all encourage communities to recognize the need for better sanitation, and to build latrines themselves,” the news service writes, adding, “Building and using latrines is one of the most effective ways to combat diarrhea, which kills 1.5 million under-five children globally each year.”
FTC Presses For More Competition On Generic Drugs
The agency criticizes manufacturers’ delay in putting drugs on the market.
NCD Summit Negotiations Must Get Back On Track To Help Millions Worldwide
With negotiations over the outcomes for the U.N. High-level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) stalled, “[i]t is feared that sound proposals for clear goals and timelines to tackle these devastating diseases are being systematically deleted, diluted and downgraded by some U.N. Member States and urgent action is needed to put the negotiations back on track, when they recommence on September 1,” Rob Moodie, chair of Global Health at the Nossal Institute of Global Health, writes in the Crikey health blog “Croakey.”
People Living With HIV In Egypt Feel Health Care Sector Is Source Of Stigma, Report Says
According to a 2011 report (.pdf) on HIV-related stigma in Egypt from the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, “the health care sector was consistently identified by people living with HIV as a major source of stigma and discrimination,” PlusNews reports. “A study quoted in the report found that denial of care, breach of confidentiality, non-consensual testing, poor quality of care, gossip and blame were all frequent features of Egypt’s health care setting” and “[m]any of the 11,000 Egyptians living with HIV would rather suffer minor health problems than attempt to obtain health care,” the news service writes.
‘Sustainable Global Pharmacovigilance’ Systems Needed To Monitor ARVs, Other Drugs
With more widespread access to antiretroviral (ARV) drugs “comes a greater need to monitor and promote the safety and effectiveness of these essential medicines in the new environments, which are distinct from those of pre-market studies and the resource rich countries that have had ARV access for years. Without sufficient monitoring systems in place, we can’t efficiently identify and stop counterfeiting of ARV drugs,” Jur Strobos, deputy director of the Forum for Collaborative HIV Research, and Andy Stergachis, professor of epidemiology and global health and director of the Global Medicines Program at School of Public Health at the University of Washington, write in an opinion piece in The Scientist.
Libyan Health System Suffers Following Months Of Fighting
“Recent fighting in Libya, especially in the capital Tripoli, has taken a toll on medical services with overstretched personnel working under very difficult conditions, and seriously ill and injured patients unable to reach hospitals and clinics, health workers say,” IRIN reports.
