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Victorian Invention A Watchful Approach To Parkinson's
Victorian researchers have developed a wristwatch that continuously monitors the health status of people with Parkinson"s disease to help doctors manage their treatment, Victorian Minister for Innovation Gavin Jennings said today.
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Recession Prompting Increase In Number Of People With HIV Seeking Public Services In California
The Los Angeles Times on Sunday examined how the recession is impacting people living with HIV in California. Brad Hare, medical director of University of California-San Francisco"s Positive Health Program at San Francisco General Hospital, said that people living with HIV who have lost their jobs and private health insurance are turning to public and nonprofit clinics for the first time and are responsible for a 12% increase this year in the clinic"s overall patient visits. He added that many of the patients he sees have gone months without receiving medical care. In addition, at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, which also provides HIV treatment, the number of new patients has doubled over the last year, Thomas Soule, a spokesperson for the center, said. The Times also profiled a client of the center (Lin, Los Angeles Times, 5/31).
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Deep Brain Stimulation For Depression Pilot Study Demonstrates Sustained Improvement In Depression Symptoms
According to the latest data in a clinical study supported by St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ), deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy for depression may provide sustainable improvement in depression symptoms among patients with major depressive disorder. Study results will be presented at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) meeting in San Francisco.
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Senators Call For Changes At VA Amid Health Lapses

Responding to reports of dangerous lapses in the VA medical system, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee said Wednesday that more centralized control is needed, The Associated Press reports. "Disparities in quality control procedures at VA medical centers raise questions about whether local, regional or national leaders are in charge, Democratic Sen. Daniel Akaka of Hawaii said in a statement before the committee hearing." "VA spokeswoman Katie Roberts said the agency was releasing $26 million from reserve funds to buy new equipment to improve the cleaning of endoscopes and other reusable medical devices. The announcement came as VA officials continued taking heavy criticism on Capitol Hill over botched colonoscopies and other endoscopic procedures in Miami, Augusta, Ga., Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Mountain Home, Tenn." Lawmakers have called for more standardized cleaning procedures for the VA (Evans, 6/24). The VA is also facing criticism that it gave bad radiation treatments to 100 cancer patients, Fox News reports: "Veterans groups and lawmakers say VA hospitals have permitted these violations because federal regulations allow doctors to work with little outside scrutiny. They say the VA health system, with its under-funded hospitals and overworked doctors, is showing signs of an "institutional breakdown," in the words of one congressman." Fox referred to an earlier New York Times article on the violations (Abrams, 6/24). By the middle of July, federal VA officials will have made unannounced visits to every VA health facility in the United States to inspect endoscopes, the Miami Herald reports: "Gerald Cross, acting undersecretary for health at the Department of Veterans Affairs, said he was "distraught" by the findings of the surprise inspections. "I was very disappointed," Cross said. "We did something wrong, and I expect it to be corrected"" (Clark and Tasker, 6/25). Senators at the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs hearing wondered if mistakes at VAs are common, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports: "The senators also wanted to know if such mistakes were occurring at VA hospitals more than at facilities in the private sector, and whether still more errors in the hospital system would emerge. "What worries me is what else has happened," said Sen. Richard Burr (R., N.C.)" (Flam, 6/25). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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