Popular Articles

GE, Big Vendors Corner EMR Market; Smaller Vendors Explore Health 2.0
Staying ahead of the upcoming drive to sell electronic health records to hospitals and physicians may be difficult for smaller vendors, Pharmawire/Financial Times reports. General Electric announced a program last week to provide health care organizations with financing options to purchase health technology through its financial services arm even as it sells electronic records through its health care wing. Other large vendors like Cerner and McKesson will be able to keep up, but smaller producers will be left behind, industry experts said.
generic viagra online
Media Examines U.S. Government's Steps To Lift HIV Travel Ban
The New York Daily News on Friday examined the federal government"s recent actions to remove HIV from the list of diseases that can bar foreign residents from entry into the U.S. According to the Daily News, "The current regulations took effect in 1987, at the height of the worldwide AIDS scare," but, "[n]ow, with the backing of the Obama administration, the ban could be lifted by the end of the year." Martin Cetron, director of the CDC"s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, said, "We"re trying to end the stigma and the discriminatory practice for a disease that doesn"t warrant exclusion for coming into this country." MSNBC.com reports that "immigration critics say they"re leery of the proposal that could allow an average of 4,275 HIV-infected people into the country annually, with a lifetime medical cost of about $94 million for those admitted during the first year, according to CDC estimates published this month in the Federal Register" (Aleccia, 7/17). Through Aug. 17, CDC is seeking public comment on the proposed rule to remove HIV from the list of diseases that can bar entry into the U.S. (Miller, 7/17).
News of the day
Merck Partners With Non-Profit For Neglected Diseases Initiative
The pharmaceutical company, Merck, announced Monday it was partnering with the non-profit Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) in an effort to improve treatments for neglected tropical diseases (NTD), the AP/CNBC reports. "The agreement covers drug candidates for illnesses like visceral leishmaniasis and Chagas disease, potentially lethal parasitic illnesses spread by insects. Current treatment for those illnesses may be toxic, or very expensive, or difficult to administer, Merck said," AP/CNBC writes (AP/CNBC, 6/22).
Oncology

A Bidirectional Relationship Between Chronic Stress And Sleep Problems shown by study

According to a research abstract that will be presented on Wednesday, June 10, at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, people with chronic stress report shorter sleep duration, worse sleep quality, and more daytime functioning impairments. Conversely, daytime functioning impairments and shorter sleep duration demonstrated a predictive relationship with habitual stress complaints. Results indicate that poor sleep may be a potential cause of stress; individuals who report more fatigue and less total sleep are more likely to report more stress. According to principal investigator Eric Powell, PhD, director of research at the Research Center at Clayton Sleep Institute in St. Louis, Mo., factors that were the best predictors of high stress were daytime functioning and typical amount of sleep. "The simplest, and likely best advice for individuals with high stress and poor sleep is to look at some of the lifestyle choices they are making and ensuring sufficient sleep is at the core of those choices," said Powell. The study involved data from 544 patients at the Midwestern metropolitan sleep center who received diagnostic polysomnograms. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 79 years, were not shift workers, and had no prior sleep disorder diagnosis. Subjects completed a brief estimate of their state and trait stress, and sleepiness was assessed subjectively; individuals were divided into low and high-trait stress groups. Abstract Title: Does Habitual Stress Cause Sleep Problems and Daytime Functioning Impairments, or is Stress the Result of Poor Sleep? Presentation Date: Wednesday, June 10 Category: Behavior, Cognition & Dreams Abstract ID: 1268 Kelly Wagner American Academy of Sleep Medicine


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):