Family Planning Cooperative Purchasing Program
A non-profit purchasing collaborative for health care & community organizations
August 12, 2008
Perceived Medical Discrimination May Discourage Cancer Screening
Public Release Date: 6-August-2008
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Perceived discrimination in medical care translated into lower rates of screening for breast and colorectal cancer in minority patients, investigators here found.
Patients who perceived discrimination in the healthcare setting were up to 70% less likely to be screened, LaVera M. Crawley, M.D., of Stanford, and colleagues, reported in the August issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention.
Continue reading "Perceived Medical Discrimination May Discourage Cancer Screening"
August 07, 2008
Surrogacy Still Stigmatised, though Attitudes Changing Among Younger Women
Public Release Date: 6-July-2008
Although younger people are becoming more positive towards surrogate mothers, current day attitudes to surrogacy are still broadly negative, a scientist will tell the 24th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.
Continue reading "Surrogacy Still Stigmatised, though Attitudes Changing Among Younger Women "
August 06, 2008
Six-Week Postpartum Visit Should Be Changed to Three-Week Visit To Consider Contraception
Public Release Date: 31-July-2008
Summary of "The Postpartum Visit: It's Time for a Change in Order To Optimally Initiate Contraception," Speroff, L., and Mishell, D.R., Contraception, August 2008.
Traditionally, women are advised to receive their first postpartum pelvic examination six weeks after childbirth. However, Leon Speroff of Oregon Health and Science University and Daniel Mishell of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine in the commentary write that scheduling the traditional postpartum visit for six weeks after delivery is an "anachronism" that is "based upon statements in old textbooks and teachings from a time when infection was prevalent and before modern methods of contraception were available."
August 05, 2008
Minorities Less Likely to Know About Breast Cancer Options
Public Release Date: 30-July-2008
Half of patients don’t know how survival differs between surgical options
This release is available in Spanish.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Nearly half of women treated for breast cancer did not know that their odds of being alive after five years are roughly the same whether they undergo mastectomy or breast conserving surgery. Minority women were even less likely to be aware of this important factor of their treatment decision, according to a study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Continue reading "Minorities Less Likely to Know About Breast Cancer Options"
August 04, 2008
Lawsuit Calls for Removal of Misleading Language About Parental Notification Measure From Voter Guide
Public Release Date: 4-August-2008
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California and other groups on Friday filed a lawsuit in Sacramento County Superior Court that asks the California secretary of state to remove misleading language about a parental notification ballot initiative from the official voter guide, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Medicare Expands List of Unreimbursed Preventable Conditions
Public Release Date: 1-August-2008
BALTIMORE -- In a final rule issued yesterday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services expanded to 12 the number of "preventable" hospital-acquired conditions it will stop reimbursing as of October 1.
Continue reading "Medicare Expands List of Unreimbursed Preventable Conditions "
July 30, 2008
Interest of Extended-Cycle Oral Contraceptive Increasing Among Women, Survey Finds
Public Release Date: 29-July-2008
More than two-thirds of women in the U.S. said they are interested in suppressing monthly bleeding using extended-cycle oral contraceptives, according to a survey recently presented at a conference of the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, HealthDay/Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reports. Despite increased interest, women also expressed some reluctance about the safety of suppressing monthly bleeding, the survey found. However, 97% of physicians surveyed said that it is medically safe and acceptable to suppress bleeding.
July 29, 2008
Health Partnership Expands Cancer Screening Services
Public Release Date: 15-July-2008
The Health Partnership of Monroe County, which evolved from the Women's Health Partnership, has expanded its free cancer screenings for women and men and now offers coverage for the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine.
Continue reading "Health Partnership Expands Cancer Screening Services "
July 28, 2008
Poll Finds 48% Support for, 39% Opposition to California Parental Notification Ballot Initiative
Public Release Date: 25-July-2008
About 48% of likely California voters said they support an initiative on the state's Nov. 4 ballot that would require parental notification before minors could receive abortions, while 39% of likely voters said they oppose it, according to a Field Poll released earlier this week, the Contra Costa Times reports. The poll was conducted among 672 likely voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.6 percentage points (Harmon, Contra Costa Times, 7/22).
July 24, 2008
Researchers Urge Combined War on TB, HIV
Public Release Date: 22-July-2008
SAN FRANCISCO -- Tuberculosis care and prevention must become an integral part of the battle against HIV/AIDS, researchers here said.
The "catastrophic and intersecting epidemics of HIV and TB" in resource-limited settings need a "bold approach to TB prevention, diagnosis, and treatment," according to Diane Havlir, M.D., of the University of California San Francisco, and colleagues.
Continue reading "Researchers Urge Combined War on TB, HIV "
July 23, 2008
104 Reps. Send Letter Asking Bush To Halt Potential Rule That Could Limit Birth Control Access
Public Release Date: 23-July-2008
One-hundred four House members on Monday sent a letter to President Bush calling on him to "halt all action" on a proposed regulation being developed by the Bush administration that allegedly seeks to allow medical providers to refuse patients access to commonly used contraceptive methods as a matter of conscience on the grounds that they are a form of abortion, ABC News reports. The letter says the draft regulation's "definitions are so broad as to go far beyond abortion politics and threaten virtually any law or policy designed to protect women's access to safe and effective birth control" (Jaffe, ABC News, 7/21).
July 22, 2008
Economics Determine Cancer Survival Worldwide but Race Matters in U.S.
Public Release Date: 16-July-2008
LONDON -- Cancer survival rates differ widely around the world, primarily along economic lines but racially in the U.S., according to the first direct global comparison.
Five-year survival rates for breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer were generally higher in North America, Australia, Japan, and most of Europe than in Africa, South America, and eastern Europe, found Michel P. Coleman, M.B.Bch., M.Sc., of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and colleagues.
Continue reading "Economics Determine Cancer Survival Worldwide but Race Matters in U.S. "
July 16, 2008
Legislators, Advocates Respond To Potential Federal Rule That Could Limit Birth Control Access
Public Release Date: 16-July-2008
Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) and several family planning advocates on Tuesday responded to a regulation being developed by the Bush administration that would effectively allow abortion to be defined to include commonly used contraceptive methods and would protect the rights of medical providers who refused to offer them, Reuters reports.
Bush Administration Developing Rule That Could Limit Access to Birth Control
Public Release Date: 15-July-2008
The Bush administration is developing a regulation that would define abortion as "any of the various procedures -- including the prescription, dispensing and administration of any drug or the performance of any procedure or any other action -- that results in the termination of the life of a human being in utero between conception and natural birth, whether before or after implantation," the New York Times reports. The draft proposal leaked to the Times also would require all recipients of aid from HHS to certify they will not refuse to hire health care workers who object to abortion and certain types of birth control.
Continue reading "Bush Administration Developing Rule That Could Limit Access to Birth Control "
Congress Overrides Bush Veto of Medicare Bill
Public Release Date: 15-July-2008
WASHINGTON -- The ink was barely dry on President Bush's veto of the bill that blocked a scheduled 10.6% cut in Medicare payments to physicians when the House of Representatives voted 383-41 to override it. The Senate followed suit soon after, by a vote of 70-26.
Continue reading "Congress Overrides Bush Veto of Medicare Bill "
July 15, 2008
Ovarian Cancer's Specific Scent Detected by Dogs
Public Release Date: 26-June-2008
Research published in the journal Integrative Cancer Therapies
Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, and Singapore – Ground-breaking research in the June issue of Integrative Cancer Therapies published by SAGE explored whether ovarian cancer has a scent different from other cancers and whether working dogs could be taught to distinguish it in its different stages.
Continue reading "Ovarian Cancer's Specific Scent Detected by Dogs"
July 09, 2008
Flaws in the Barcoded Technology Used to Reduce Medication Administration Errors Identified
Public Release Date: 1-July-2008
Barcoded medication technologies and their inadequate integration with hospital workflow
PHILADELPHIA – In the first study of its kind, researchers led by The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine's Ross Koppel, Ph.D. studied how hospital nurses actually use bar-coded technology that matches the right patient with the right dose of the right medication. The surprising result is that the design and implementation of the technology, which is often relied upon as a "cure-all" for medication administration errors, is flawed, and can increase the probabilities of certain errors.
July 08, 2008
Cancer Survivors are Living "In Limbo" with Unmet Needs for Care
Public Release Date: 28-May-2008
Many long-term survivors of cancer are not receiving the necessary symptom management that they require to help them live with the consequences of their disease, its treatment, or both, according to a leading professor of palliative medicine.
Continue reading "Cancer Survivors are Living "In Limbo" with Unmet Needs for Care "
June 24, 2008
New Biological Classification of Ovarian Cancer
Public Release Date: 21-May-2008
A thesis from The Sahlgrenska Academy in Sweden shows that it might be possible to predict with great probability which women with ovarian cancer will survive the disease before painful treatment with antineoplastic agents. A better prognosis would considerably improve the quality of life of patients since the treatment could be made more effective and thereby result in fewer side effects.
Continue reading "New Biological Classification of Ovarian Cancer "
June 23, 2008
Teen Pregnancy Surge in Gloucester, Mass., Stirs Debate Over Sex Education, Contraception
Public Release Date: 23-June-2008
A surge in teen pregnancy at a high school in Gloucester, Mass., has sparked a debate over whether to provide students access to comprehensive sex education and confidential distribution of contraception, the New York Times reports (Zezima, New York Times, 6/20).
At least 17 girls at Gloucester High School are pregnant -- four times more than last year -- and nearly half the girls became pregnant after allegedly making a "pact" to become pregnant and raise the children together, TIME Magazine reports (Kingsbury, TIME Magazine, 6/18).
June 11, 2008
Safety Concerns Over Merck's HPV Vaccine Gardasil Unfounded, CDC Officials Say
Public Release Date: 9-June-2008
Safety concerns over Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil are unfounded, and reports of serious adverse events are unrelated to the vaccine, CDC officials recently said, the Dallas Morning News reports.
According to the Morning News, about 5,000 reports have been filed by the public through a CDC- and FDA-administered database that monitors the safety of vaccines after they are licensed (Meyers, Dallas Morning News, 6/6).
Continue reading "Safety Concerns Over Merck's HPV Vaccine Gardasil Unfounded, CDC Officials Say"
May 27, 2008
Kansas Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program for Low-Income, Uninsured Women Runs Out of Funding
Public Release Date: 6-May-2008
The Kansas Early Detection Works program, which provides uninsured low-income women in the state with breast and cervical cancer screenings at no cost, has depleted its operating funds and will delay almost all cancer screenings until July 1, the Wichita Eagle reports.
May 21, 2008
Federal Appeals Court Declares Virginia Abortion Ban Unconstitutional
Public Release Date: 21-May-2008
On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., declared a Virginia law banning so-called "partial-birth" abortion unconstitutional, the Washington Post reports. In a 2-1 decision, the panel said the law infringed on a woman's constitutional right to abortion (Barnes, Washington Post, 5/21).
Continue reading "Federal Appeals Court Declares Virginia Abortion Ban Unconstitutional"
May 19, 2008
Taking the Sex out of Sexual Health Screening
Public Release Date: 9-May-2008
Young women would accept age-based screening for the sexually transmitted infection chlamydia, but would want this test to be offered to everyone, rather than to people 'singled out' according to their sexual history.
Continue reading "Taking the Sex out of Sexual Health Screening "
May 12, 2008
Christian Science Monitor Examines Threats to Specialty Schools for Teenage Moms
Public Release Date: 1-May-2008
The Christian Science Monitor on Wednesday examined how funding shortfalls, concerns about education equality and changing social mores are threatening alternative schools that cater to pregnant and parenting teenagers.
Continue reading "Christian Science Monitor Examines Threats to Specialty Schools for Teenage Moms"
May 08, 2008
Study Finds Carcinogenic HPV Infections Often Clear Within One Year
Public Release Date: 24-April-2008
Summary of "Rapid Clearance of Human Papillomavirus and Implications for Clinical Focus on Persistent Infections," Rodríguez et al., Journal of the National Cancer Institute, April 2, 2008.
Researchers examined the outcomes of 800 carcinogenic human papillomavirus infections among 599 women enrolled in a population-based cohort in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, in order to better understand the natural history of human papillomavirus, or HPV, and to gauge the extent of treatment that women with HPV infections should receive.
Continue reading "Study Finds Carcinogenic HPV Infections Often Clear Within One Year "
May 07, 2008
PAS: Moms May Be Waiting Too Long for Daughters' HPV Vaccination
Public Release Date: 5-May-2008
HONOLULU -- Mothers may be less willing to vaccinate their daughters against the human papillomavirus (HPV) during the optimal preteen years than at older ages, researchers found.
Even among female health professionals, fewer than half said they intended to get their daughter inoculated with the HPV vaccine (Gardasil) before age 13, as recommended by the CDC, results of a survey presented here at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting showed.
Continue reading "PAS: Moms May Be Waiting Too Long for Daughters' HPV Vaccination "
May 05, 2008
Who Pays for Health Care When Workers are Uninsured?
Public Release Date: 2-May-2008
Health insurance coverage and unpaid health care for full-time workers and their family members without employer coverage costs the U.S. public $45 billion a year, according to a report from The Commonwealth Fund released today.
This includes $33 billion in the cost of public coverage such as Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program, and $12 billion in uncompensated care expenses-which are paid by Federal, state and local governments and shifted to other payers-provided to uninsured workers and dependents.
Continue reading "Who Pays for Health Care When Workers are Uninsured? "
May 01, 2008
Compound in Grapefruit Impedes HCV Infection
Public Release Date: 30-April-2008
BOSTON -- A natural compound found in grapefruit may provide a new treatment for hepatitis C, researchers here found.
Naringenin, a flavonoid, reduced the secretion of hepatitis C virus from infected cells by 80%, Yaakov Nahmias, Ph.D., of Harvard, and colleagues reported in the May issue of Hepatology.
Continue reading "Compound in Grapefruit Impedes HCV Infection "
April 28, 2008
House Passes Medicaid Bill 349-62
Public Release Date: 24-April-2008
The House on Wednesday voted 349-62 to pass a bill (HR 5613) aimed at blocking seven new Medicaid regulations, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports (Abrams, AP/Houston Chronicle, 4/23). The 349 votes for the bill, which included 221 Democrats and 128 Republicans, is 75 more votes than would be required to override a presidential veto (Lengell, Washington Times, 4/24).
Continue reading "House Passes Medicaid Bill 349-62"
April 24, 2008
Majority of U.S. Physicians Favor National Health Insurance
Public Release Date: 2-April-2008
The largest survey ever of American physicians' opinions on health-care financing has found that 59 percent of doctors support government legislation to establish national health insurance while only 32 percent oppose it.
Continue reading "Majority of U.S. Physicians Favor National Health Insurance "
April 22, 2008
Study Examines Effect of Race-Related Treatment on Breast, Cervical Cancer Screenings
Public Release Date: 21-February-2008
Abstract of "Understanding the Role of Reactions to Race-Based Treatment in Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening," Crawford et al., Journal of the National Medical Association, February 2008.
Natalie Crawford of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and colleagues examined the association between race and ethnicity, and screening for breast and cervical cancer.
April 07, 2008
Obesity in Pregnancy Weighs Heavily on Healthcare Services
Public Release Date: 3-April-2008
ATLANTA, Ga. -- Pregnant women who were overweight were more likely to use all levels of healthcare services -- from prenatal testing, to Caesarean section, to phone calls -- than normal-weight women, a study found.
Continue reading "Obesity in Pregnancy Weighs Heavily on Healthcare Services "
April 03, 2008
Success of Philadelphia's STI Screening Program for High School Students 'Good News,' Editorial Says
Public Release Date: 1-April-2008
Philadelphia's public health officials "should be commended for their success" in implementing a "bold" program in 2003 that offers no-cost screening for sexually transmitted infections to high school students, a Philadelphia Inquirer editorial says. According to the Inquirer, the "aggressive and innovative" program has "become a model for other cities," including New York City, Baltimore and Los Angeles.
April 01, 2008
Family Communication Impacts Attitude About Genetic Counseling / Testing for Breast Cancer
Public Release Date: 18-March-2008
Whether or not relatives talk about the family’s history of cancer significantly impacts attitudes and knowledge about genetic counseling and testing for those at moderate risk of developing breast cancer, according to a new preliminary study presented today at the American Society for Preventive Oncology meeting in Bethesda, Md.
March 31, 2008
Study Examines Changes in Initiation of Prenatal Care Among Teens in U.S.
Public Release Date: 20-March-2008
Summary of "Prenatal Care Initiation Among Pregnant Teens in the United States: An Analysis Over 25 Years," Hueston et al., Journal of Adolescent Health, March 2008.
Researchers examined trends in prenatal care initiation among teenagers who gave birth in the U.S. between 1978 and 2003 in order to assess the demographic and social factors that might be related to delaying prenatal care.
Continue reading "Study Examines Changes in Initiation of Prenatal Care Among Teens in U.S. "
March 26, 2008
Study Examines Diaphragm Use, Acceptability for STI Prevention
Public Release Date: 20-March-2008
Abstract of "Evidence-Based Planning of a Randomized Controlled Trial on Diaphragm Use for Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections," Behets et al. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, March 2008.
Frieda Behets of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and colleagues examined whether commercial sex workers in Madagascar would accept and use a diaphragm to prevent sexually transmitted infections in an effort to determine potential obstacles in future research on the effectiveness of a diaphragm for use in STI prevention.
Continue reading "Study Examines Diaphragm Use, Acceptability for STI Prevention"
March 24, 2008
SGO: Knowledge of HPV Vaccine Found Uneven Among Primary-Care Specialties
Public Release Date: 18-March-2008
TAMPA, Fla., March 18 -- Internists' and family physicians' knowledge about human papillomavirus vaccine lags significantly behind that of colleagues in pediatrics and obstetrics-gynecology, according to a survey reported here.
Continue reading "SGO: Knowledge of HPV Vaccine Found Uneven Among Primary-Care Specialties "
March 10, 2008
Rule Shifts Would Let States Rework Medicaid Plans and Charge Patients More
Public Release Date: 26-February-2008
WASHINGTON -- States would have greater latitude to craft their own Medicaid benefit packages and require increased cost sharing by patients, spell out two new regulations proposed by CMS.
The proposals are central to an ongoing debate between the federal government and states over how to pay for services under Medicaid, the 43-year-old federal-state program that provides healthcare services to 59 million poor and disabled patients. The federal government pays 57% of the $330 billion in annual costs.
Continue reading "Rule Shifts Would Let States Rework Medicaid Plans and Charge Patients More "
March 04, 2008
Yale Test Detects Early Stage Ovarian Cancer with 99 Percent Accuracy
Public Release Date: 12-February-2008
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have developed a blood test with enough sensitivity and specificity to detect early stage ovarian cancer with 99 percent accuracy.
Results of this new study are published in the February 15 issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research. The results build on work done by the same Yale group in 2005 showing 95 percent effectiveness of a blood test using four proteins.
Continue reading "Yale Test Detects Early Stage Ovarian Cancer with 99 Percent Accuracy"
March 03, 2008
Study Finds That Increase in Family Planning Spending Fueled by Medicaid Expansions
Public Release Date: 21-February-2008
Abstract of "Public Funding for Family Planning, Sterilization and Abortion Services, FY 1980-2006," Sonfield, A. et al., Guttmacher Institute, January 2008.
Guttmacher Institute researchers, led by Adam Sonfield, examined public funding for family planning client services, family planning education and outreach activities, sterilization services and abortion services in the U.S. during fiscal year 2006 and compared it with prior surveys between FY 1980 and FY 2001.
February 28, 2008
About One-Quarter of Women with HIV Want to Become Pregnant
Public Release Date: 25-February-2008
COLUMBUS, Ohio – About one in four women who have tested positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) expect pregnancy and motherhood to be a part of their future, recent research suggests.
A woman’s age at the time she learns of her HIV status appears to influence this decision. Women in an Ohio State University study who learned of their HIV infection when they were under age 30 were almost four times more likely to say they wanted to become pregnant than were women who were over 30 when they learned they had HIV.
Continue reading "About One-Quarter of Women with HIV Want to Become Pregnant"
February 26, 2008
Intervention Program Boosts Health, Reduces Symptoms in Breast Cancer Patients
Public Release Date: 28-January-2008
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Psychological interventions for cancer patients do more than just ease emotional distress – they directly improve health, new research suggests.
A study of 227 breast cancer patients found that those who participated in a psychological intervention program were rated as having better health by a research nurse a full year after the program started.
Continue reading "Intervention Program Boosts Health, Reduces Symptoms in Breast Cancer Patients"
February 18, 2008
Bush's FY 2009 Budget Proposal Increases Abstinence-Only Funding, Flat Funds Family Planning
Public Release Date: 4-February-2008
President Bush's fiscal year 2009 budget proposes to increase spending for abstinence-only education and global health initiatives but would eliminate or reduce spending on other health care programs, the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports (Taylor, AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 2/1). Bush's proposal provides $300 million for the Title X family planning program in FY 2009, the same level as FY 2008.
February 11, 2008
Health Insurance Co-Payments Deter Mammography Use
Public Release Date: 23-January-2008
PROVIDENCE, R.I. Brown University — When faced with even a modest health insurance co-payment for a mammogram, significantly fewer women receive these potentially life-saving breast cancer screenings, according to a new study by Brown University and Harvard Medical School researchers.
Continue reading "Health Insurance Co-Payments Deter Mammography Use"
February 06, 2008
Increase in Contraceptive Costs at Colleges Reaching Crisis Level, Advocates Say
Public Release Date: 28-January-2008
The increase in contraceptive costs sold at student health centers on college campuses and some community clinics is becoming a crisis, some advocates for birth control access said recently, McClatchy/Raleigh News & Observer reports. According to some advocates, packets of birth control pills have increased from between $5 and $10 for a monthly supply to between $40 and $50 (Hotakainen, McClatchy/Raleigh News & Observer, 1/27).
Continue reading "Increase in Contraceptive Costs at Colleges Reaching Crisis Level, Advocates Say"
January 30, 2008
Taking Oral Contraceptives Lowers Risk of Developing Ovarian Cancer, Lancet Study Says
Public Release Date: 28-January-2008
The longer a woman takes oral contraceptives, the greater the decline in the risk of developing ovarian cancer, according to a study published Friday in the Lancet, Toronto's Globe and Mail reports.
January 29, 2008
High-Quality Preop Ultrasound Improves Evaluation of Adnexal Masses
Public Release Date: 21-January-2008
LONDON -- For suspected ovarian cancer, high-quality ultrasonography can double the sensitivity of accurate diagnoses, help reduce major staging procedures, and shorten hospital stays, investigators here concluded.
Better imaging studies led to 40% fewer major staging procedures. High-quality ultrasonography had a sensitivity for cancer diagnosis that was double that of less experienced ultrasonographers.
Continue reading "High-Quality Preop Ultrasound Improves Evaluation of Adnexal Masses "