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California Ballot Measures Would Have Negative Effect On Health Care Access For Children, Immigrants, Minority Advocacy Groups Say
A coalition of ethnic minority advocacy groups has raised concerns that two of six budget-related propositions on the May 19 special election ballot would negatively affect minorities" health, New America Media reports. Proposition 1A would increase California"s cash reserve from 3% to 12.5% of state revenue and create a state spending cap. The measure also would extend recent tax increases for an additional two years. Proposition 1D would shift funds from First 5 California Children and Families Program, which provides health care services to children regardless of their immigration status, to the general fund.Cary Sanders -- director of Having Our Say, a coalition of 50 Asian, Hispanic and black organizations -- said, "If Proposition 1A and 1D pass, communities of color will have to shoulder the cost of our broken system because Proposition 1A limits our ability to invest in the health care system and Proposition 1D will result in more children becoming uninsured." Sanders noted that the First 5 program could reduce health and educational disparities.Quyen Vuong, executive director of the International Children Assistance Network, said Prop. 1D would cut $1.6 billion from the First 5 program. Julie Soderlund of Budget Reform Now, a committee campaigning in favor of the ballot measures, rejected arguments that Prop. 1D would compromise children"s health services. She added that the First 5 program accumulates $400 million in state funds and $2.1 billion in county funds, which she said could be put to good use by diverting them to the general fund to support human services. Alice Chen, a board member of the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, said Prop. 1A could restrict minority communities" access to immunizations and dental and health services. However, Soderlund said that Prop. 1A would help prevent "roller coaster rides" in the state"s budget. State Assembly member Fiona Ma (D), who also supports the measures, said she is concerned that if the propositions fail, lawmakers would have to pursue other alternatives to close the budget gap, which could have an even worse impact on communities.Jan Robinson-Flint, executive director of Black Women for Wellness, raised concern over the legislative power Prop. 1A gives the governor over spending for programs. She asked, "Do we trust our current and future governors to do what"s right for our communities?" (Po/Ng, New America Media, 5/13).
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Researchers To Inject People With Diabetes With Cells From Pigs
Researchers are hoping that cells from pigs from a remote group of islands 300 miles from New Zealand could lead to a new treatment for Type 1 diabetes.
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Canadians Watch U.S. Reform Effort Closely
American health care reform has become a "hot topic north of the border," the Washington Times reports. "If Mr. Obama succeeds, the U.S. could draw even more Canadian doctors and nurses to the U.S., exacerbating a shortage of medical professionals, said Dr. Brian Day, a Canadian health care critic and former head of the Canadian Medical Association. If Mr. Obama fails, perhaps Canada could open its system to "medical tourism" from the U.S., Dr. Day said." Under the Canadian system, everyone is insured and has "access to basic health care without ever seeing a doctor or hospital bill." But 70% of Canadians also have "some form of supplemental health insurance," in part because of long wait times for tests and treatments under the government plan. For Canadian citizens who become ill in the U.S., it is often cheaper to "ride on a private Lear jet back to Canada" than to be treated in a U.S. hospital.
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HITSP Begins Harmonization Process For Use Of Electronic Health Records In Clinical Research

The Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP), a cooperative partnership between the public and private sectors that works to ensure the interoperability of electronic health records (EHRs) in the United States, has begun work to identify global standards to support "core research data element exchange," specifically, a common set of information that can readily be exchanged between EHRs and clinical research systems. As administrator of HITSP, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) appreciatively acknowledges thirty-five organizations that have contributed their financial support to make this work effort possible, including: -- Abbott -- Accenture -- BioClinica, formerly Phoenix Data Systems -- Biogen Idec -- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Cleveland Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative at Case Western Reserve University -- Case Western Reserve University -- Cleveland Clinic -- MetroHealth System -- University Hospitals -- Critical Path Institute -- Deloitte Consulting LLP -- Digital Infuzion -- Duke University -- Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center -- Duke Clinical Research Institute -- Eli Lilly and Company -- Genentech, Inc. -- Genetic Alliance -- Genzyme -- GlaxoSmithKline -- Greenway Medical Technologies -- HP -- JSS Medical Research Inc. -- McDougall Scientific Ltd. -- Medidata Solutions Worldwide -- MedXview -- Nextrials, Inc. -- Numoda Corporation -- Oracle -- Outcome -- Partners HealthCare -- Perceptive Informatics, a subsidiary of PAREXEL International -- PharmaNet Development Group, Inc. -- Pfizer -- Quintiles -- Schering-Plough Research Institute -- Target Health Inc. "On behalf of ANSI, I thank these organizations for their generosity and forward thinking," said Frances Schrotter, ANSI senior vice president and chief operating officer. "These contributions have made it possible for HITSP to begin working toward a sustainable, interoperable infrastructure through which healthcare advances clinical research and in turn informs clinical care." In addition to the contributions from the clinical research community, six U.S. federal agencies have demonstrated their support, including the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Cancer Institute, the National Center for Research Res, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation, Department of Health and Human Services. The initiative began late last year when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requested that ANSI convene a workgroup of experts to prioritize a value/use case for standards harmonization in this area. Co-chairs Dr. Rebecca Kush, president and CEO of the Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC), and Dr. Gregory Downing, director of the Initiative on Personalized Health Care at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, are leading the workgroup effort. At an initial meeting in Washington, DC on November 10, 2008, the workgroup identified the need for a common set of information that can readily be exchanged between EHRs and clinical research systems to support research activities on a global scale. With the initial priority "core research data element exchange" value case identified, HITSP convened a workgroup of technical experts and stakeholders in the clinical research space on June 9-11, 2009, in Arlington, Virginia. The final goal is to produce a streamlined electronic standards implementation guide that outlines the standards, how they support clinical research, and how they fit with existing HITSP guidelines -- termed "Interoperability Specifications" -- that are already in use within the clinical care environment. "We are deeply appreciative of the many organizations who have committed their support and active participation to this initiative," said Dr. Kush. "Our work will help to streamline and enhance clinical research within the healthcare setting, providing the means to better assess such areas as efficacy, effectiveness and safety for the benefit of patients, investigators, clinicians, technology and service providers, and researchers alike." About HITSP Operating under contract to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), HITSP is administered by ANSI in cooperation with strategic partners including the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), the Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) and Booz Allen Hamilton. About ANSI ANSI is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute represents the diverse interests of more than 125,000 companies and organizations and 3.5 million professionals worldwide. The Institute is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and is a U.S. representative to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF). ANSI currently has offices in New York City and Washington, DC. American National Standards Institute


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