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Time: Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs. 2007-Dec, by Catherine Guthrie
Commonwealth Fund: New Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey Finds Broad Support for Public Reporting of Health Care Quality, Price Information. 2007-Nov-19, press release
Health care providers, insurance companies and drug makers should make information about prices available to the public, according to a new survey of leaders in health care and health policy. The latest Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey finds widespread support for such measures: In addition to the reporting of provider quality and prices, 86 percent of respondents support public reporting of drug prices charged to major purchasers, and 82 percent support the public reporting of medical loss ratios—the share of premium dollars that private insurance companies spend on actual medical care, rather than marketing, administration, and other expense or profit.
The survey focused on transparency in health care quality and pricing—that is, the public reporting of such information by name of hospital, physician practice, or other health care provider. Three-quarters of health care leaders believe increased transparency in quality and price is essential to improving the performance of the U.S. health care system.
The vaccine business is huge and pretty slow-moving, like most big institutions. Terror threats have made some people pessimistic about our ability to protect ourselves. But now researchers have discovered an innovative approach that targets a different part of our immune system. Of course these mavericks will now have to get funding...
Houston Chronicle: Houston lab may revolutionize disease treatment. 2007-Dec-3, by Eric Berger
Conducted by a team of scientists at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the experiments demonstrated a concept that could revolutionize the way public health planners approach outbreaks of infectious disease. The aerosol — a purified extract of a common bacterium — stimulates the lungs to vigorously reject pathogens. ...Unlike vaccines, which must typically be given a week or more before exposure, the new aerosol is highly effective against a host of pathogens — including anthrax, influenza and even bubonic plague — if given just a few hours before infection. .... "Our idea was, why not strengthen the immune system in the body's lungs," said Dr. Burton Dickey, chair of pulmonary medicine at M.D. Anderson and a leader of the research.
