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Looking For Excellence - NHS Alliance Launches Acorn Awards 2009
Entries are invited for the 2009 NHS Alliance Acorn Awards. This year, the awards, which recognise excellence in primary care, have nine categories. Since last year, the NHS Alliance introduced a new category, Pharmaceutical Services Commissioning, which has been designed to showcase Primary Care Trusts which are excelling at world class commissioning of pharmaceutical services.
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How Immune Cells May Help Predict Alzheimer's Risk
What if you could test your risk for Alzheimer"s disease much like your cholesterol levels - through a simple blood test?
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Pledges To Reduce Health Care Costs, Spending Growth Could Violate Antitrust Laws, Lawyers Say
U.S. antitrust laws could affect health care industry groups" efforts to work together to rein in health care costs, the New York Times reports (Pear, New York Times, 5/27). In a letter sent to President Obama on May 10, a coalition of groups -- the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the Advanced Medical Technology Association, America"s Health Insurance Plans and the Service Employees International Union -- pledged to reduce the annual health care spending growth rate by 1.5%. The groups did not elaborate on what specific measures they would use to achieve such reductions, but the Obama administration has requested specific plans from the groups by June 1 (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 5/26). According to the Times, many of the plans being considered by the health care industry would require greater cooperation across health care providers. Robert Leibenluft, a former Federal Trade Commission official, said, "Any agreement among competitors with regard to prices or price increases -- even if they set a maximum -- would raise legal concerns." In addition, while Obama is asking for specific plans from the health care industry, the administration has not offered any relief from antitrust laws, the Times reports. Furthermore, during his campaign Obama pledged to increase enforcement of antitrust laws, according to the Times.Antitrust laws have had a negative effect on previous health reform efforts, the Times reports. In 1993, the drug industry established a voluntary cost control plan that limited each drug company"s annual increase in the average price of prescription drugs to the increase in the Consumer Price Index, but the Department of Justice ruled that the proposal would violate antitrust laws. DOJ officials said that the U.S. Supreme Court made it clear that setting price maximums was akin to setting price minimums, which is illegal. In a letter to the Senate Finance Committee, AHA wrote that uncertainty regarding the enforcement of antitrust laws "makes it difficult for a hospital and doctors to collaborate to improve care" and reduce costs. AMA has asked Congress to amend antitrust laws to allow physicians to collectively negotiate with insurers over fees and other concerns, but FTC repeatedly has designated the practice illegal price-fixing, according to the Times. FTC officials said that consumers could benefit from cooperation among health care industry groups but that cooperation also could lead to increased bargaining power for physicians and hospitals, making it easier for them to set prices and eliminate competition (New York Times, 5/27). Reform Developments
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10,000 Australians Demand Bowel Cancer Screening - New Research Shows Nine In Ten Can Survive Bowel Cancer If Found Early

A community-based Cancer Council advocacy campaign has motivated 10,000 Australians to call for expansion of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, amid new research showing 93 per cent of bowel cancer patients can survive if diagnosed early. Cancer Council Australia Chief Executive Officer, Professor Ian Olver, said there was a stark gap between what was achievable in bowel cancer detection and current survival outcomes in Australia - something the community increasingly viewed as unacceptable. "New research from the UK shows 93 per cent of bowel cancer patients would be alive after five years if diagnosed early, yet Australia"s five-year survival rate is only 62 per cent," Professor Olver said. "The sooner Australia"s bowel cancer screening program goes from one-off screening for people turning 50, 55 and 65 to two-yearly screening of everyone 50 and over, the sooner the potential to prevent deaths will be realised." The research, by the UK"s National Cancer Intelligence Network, showed 93 per cent of bowel cancer patients diagnosed at the earliest stage (stage A) were alive five years later. The prognosis for those diagnosed at later stages was progressively worse: stage B - 77%, stage C - 48%, stage D - 7%. "These findings are even more compelling in light of data from Biogrid Australia that shows screening in Australia is detecting double the number of cancers in their earliest, most treatable stage compared with those diagnosed through symptoms. "In a tight economic climate, bowel cancer screening is one of the best health investments available to Government - as it is cost-effective as well as having the potential to save 30 lives per week. "Bowel cancer has neither the profile nor the funding it deserves, but with 10,000 voices calling on Government to expedite its screening program through our online campaign within just a few weeks, awareness of the lost opportunities to prevent bowel cancer death is rapidly growing." Cancer Council"s "Get Behind Bowel Screening" campaign , launched in June, asks Australians to email their local parliamentarian and urge them to support full implementation of the screening program by 2012. Cancer Council Australia


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