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Judge To Hear Arguments On S.D. Abortion Law Requiring Statement That Procedure Ends Human Life
A federal judge will hear oral arguments on July 17 regarding a lawsuit challenging a South Dakota law that requires doctors to tell women seeking abortions that the procedure will end a human life, the AP/Sioux City Journal reports. Planned Parenthood, which operates the state"s only abortion clinic, appealed the law after it was passed in 2005. U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier temporarily prevented the law from going into effect, but the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in July 2008 overruled that order, and the state began enforcing the law. According to the AP/Journal, Schreier will decide during the hearing whether to grant motions for summary judgment and will consider Planned Parenthood"s request to stop the state from imposing sanctions over the law"s requirements (AP/Sioux City Journal, 6/26).
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New Jersey Senate, Assembly Panels Advance Autism Coverage Bill
Committees in the New Jersey Senate and Assembly on Monday unanimously approved a bill that would provide insurance benefits of up to $36,000 annually for autism treatments, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The funding, provided to developmentally disabled individuals younger than age 21, would go toward diagnostic services and early behavioral intervention, as well as occupational, physical and speech therapies. The Assembly could vote on the bill as early as Thursday, while the Senate bill is being considered by the state Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D), who sponsored the Senate bill, said, "I don"t know of any parent who wouldn"t do everything in their power to give their autistic or developmentally disabled child every chance to excel. However, the enormous cost of behavior intervention ... makes it out of the realm of possibility for many families." Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D), who sponsored the Assembly bill, said, "In this economy, every New Jersey resident is struggling, but families with kids with special needs are struggling even more," adding, "They"re maxing out their credit cards and taking out second mortgages" to cover gaps in health insurance benefits.Citing cost issues, the New Jersey Business and Industry Association and the New Jersey Association of Health Plans were among those opposed to the bill. Christine Stearns, NJBIA vice president for health and legal affairs, said that the bill would make employer-sponsored insurance more costly and cause firms to drop such coverage, adding, "How, who and what is part of a basic health plan is all part of that." Stearns added that the bill is preferable to previous versions because it mandates that covered services be medically necessary and prescribed, places a reasonable cap on prices and ensures that the cost of educational services provided by schools is not shifted to insurers. Roberts said the bill would save money by delivering earlier treatment that could prevent more costly problems in the future (Henry, Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/19).
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Acucela's Novel Visual Cycle Modulator Demonstrates Promise As A Treatment For Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Acucela, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing new treatments for blinding eye diseases, announced today that data on the company"s novel visual cycle modulator, ACU-4429, a potential oral treatment for dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), will be featured at the Aegean Retina XI Meeting being held in Crete, Greece from July 3 to 5, 2009. Dry AMD is a leading cause of vision loss in people over the age of 50, yet there are no therapies currently approved to treat this condition.
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Acsys Interactive: Empowering Patients And Clinicians To Co-Produce Quality Care

A collaborative team with members from the Yale Center for Medical Informatics, Yale-New Haven Children"s Hospital/Yale School of Medicine and Acsys Interactive have responded to a national call for proposals from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Project HealthDesign:Rethinking the Power and Potential of Personal Health Records, with the design of a trial involving a diverse pediatric population with multiple chronic illnesses. We will be testing whether and how information about patterns of everyday living can be collected and interpreted such that patients can take action to better manage their health and clinicians can integrate new insights into clinical care processes. It is envisioned that leading edge technology such as the Google Health PHR platform along with Apple"s iPhone or iTouch mobile devices will be used to capture the ODLs. The proposed project team includes specialists experienced in these approaches and ethnographic evaluation; in pediatric disease management; in patient-centered care involving patient-clinician-technology partnerships; in bioethics; and in IT technical development. The team includes Bonnie Kaplan, PhD, of the Yale Center for Medical Informatics and also President of Kaplan Associates, Alia Bazzy-Asaad, MD, Chief, Pediatric Respiratory Medicine Section, Yale-New Haven Children"s Hospital/Yale School of Medicine along with Alan Mocksfield, VP Interactive Technology, Acsys Interactive. Dr. Kaplan relates, "Our innovative combination of techniques provides the kind of nuanced and broad view of patient-clinician-designer collaboration that co-produces quality health care." Announcement of successful proposals is expected to take place in late fall. Acsys Interactive a national award winning, full service, digital agency serves clients within healthcare, financial services, industrial manufacturing, higher education and consumer products. Acsys Interactive


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