During a recent panel, experts discussed the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program (MCPAP) for Moms and how it achieved scale.

The post How One Massachusetts Maternal Mental Health Program Scaled Across the Country appeared first on MedCity News.

As radiopharmaceuticals enter a new phase, industry leaders must rethink external services and internal capabilities to master the complexities of delivering advanced therapies.

The post Unlocking the Future of Radioligand Therapy: From Discovery to Delivering at Scale appeared first on MedCity News.

Neurogene’s Rett syndrome gene therapy has preliminary data supporting safety and efficacy of the one-time treatment. But a late-breaking report of a serious complication in a patient who received the high dose sent shares of the biotech downward.

The post Neurogene Gene Therapy Shows Signs of Efficacy in Small Study, But an Adverse Event Spooks Investors appeared first on MedCity News.

As winter arrives and daylight hours decrease, it gets easier to hit the snooze button and stay in bed. It turns out that there’s a scientific reason behind this phenomenon that helps to explain why people struggle to adjust their internal clocks—also known as circadian rhythm or sleep-wake cycle—when the weather turns colder.

In vitro diagnostics (IVDs) play an indispensable role in modern medicine. Health care providers routinely rely on these tests—which analyze samples such as blood or saliva—to help diagnose conditions and guide potentially life-altering treatment decisions. In 2017, for example, clinicians ordered blood tests during about 45% of emergency room visits in the United States, according to the Centers...

Over the past year, COVID-19 has taken a grave toll in lives as well as on medical and health care systems worldwide. The pandemic has laid bare the importance of public health readiness and the myriad consequences when such a crisis strikes an unprepared population.

The Pew Charitable Trusts today commended Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D), state Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R), and Lee Chatfield (R)—whose term as state House Speaker ended last month—for passing and signing a bipartisan package of bills aimed at protecting public safety while reducing the number of people in county jails.

2020 was a difficult year for dental providers as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the country. When stay-at-home orders went into effect in the spring, dental offices closed their doors to all but emergency patients.

Chicken products cause an estimated 1 in 7 of the nation’s human Salmonella illnesses each year, partly because the pathogen can easily contaminate the environments where birds are raised. To reduce the risk that contaminated meat will reach consumers, poultry companies need measures that control the bacterium on farms where chickens are bred and raised.

The United States is grappling with two severe health crises: the COVID-19 pandemic and an opioid epidemic that appears to be worsening as more people deal with stress and isolation as they face increased barriers to medical care. Preliminary numbers for 2020 show that overdose deaths were outpacing the record-setting number of more than 71,000 fatalities in 2019.

Technology has revolutionized the way people live their lives. Individuals can use smartphones to access their bank account, shop from almost any store, and connect with friends and family around the globe. In fact, these personal devices have tethered communities together during the coronavirus pandemic, allowing many people to maintain much of their lives remotely.

The Food and Drug Administration published a concept paper in early January that describes a preliminary proposal for how the agency will ensure that companies developing antibiotics for administration to animals establish defined, evidence-based durations of use for all medically important antibiotics.

Yesterday’s conference sessions surfaced interesting questions and approaches regarding the post-acute sector, bundled payment, emergency medicine and anesthesia. Post-Acute Focus: With more and more focus on the need to rationalize and re-organize the post-acute sector, we have seen multiple industry leaders start to evolve their strategies.  I blogged yesterday about AccentCare’s interesting strategy in the...… Continue Reading

Modern innovation typically occurs one step-improvement at a time. Some clients initially question whether their new application of an existing technology is patentable. Usually, the answer is ‘yes.’ Under U.S. law (and most other jurisdictions), an innovation to an existing technology is patentable so long as at least one claim limitation is novel and non-obvious....… Continue Reading

In response to President Obama’s National Cancer Moonshot initiative to eliminate cancer, the USPTO has launched the “Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program.” The Pilot Program provides an accelerated review for applications related to cancer immunotherapy and is set to launch in July 2016. According to the USPTO, this initiative: aims to cut the time it takes to...… Continue Reading

A large amount of wind, much discussion about the U.S healthcare, and the public getting soaked again – if you were thinking about Washington, DC and the new Congress, you’re 3,000 miles away from the action. This is the week of the annual JP Morgan Healthcare conference in San Francisco, with many thousands of healthcare...… Continue Reading

Addressing the Social Determinants of Health:  Is the healthcare industry pushing a rock up a hill?  We collectively are trying to provide healthcare with improved quality and reduced cost, but the structure of the nation’s healthcare system remains heavily siloed with the social determinants of health often falling wholly or partly outside the mandate and...… Continue Reading

Day 3 of the JPMorgan healthcare conference was one of striking contrasts between the old and the new. (And, by the way, the rain finally stopped for a day, but it will be back tomorrow to finish off the last day of the conference). The Old:  Sitting in the Community Health Systems (CHS) presentation and...… Continue Reading

Some interesting presentations on the last day of the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference that concentrated on common themes – the increasing importance of ancillary business line to bolster core business revenue and of filling in holes to achieve scale and full-service offerings. Genesis Healthcare – The largest U.S. skilled nursing facility (SNF) provider, which also is...… Continue Reading

This is not a drill. Companies and law enforcement agencies around the world have been left scrambling after the world’s most prolific ransomware attack hit over 500,000 computers in 150 countries over a span of only 4 days. The ransomware – called WannaCry, WCry, WannaCrypt, or WannaDecryptor – infects vulnerable computers and encrypts all of...… Continue Reading

Hospitals across the U.S. have significantly restricted the use of pain medications containing narcotics. This shift comes amid […]

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced a 2.9% cut to Medicare physician payments for […]

We’re seeing an alarming increase in the number of failed biotech companies. While the biotechnology industry holds enormous […]

Currently, more than 20 SAS products, solutions, and technology packages interact with Hadoop. Read this book to understand how to maximize your big data assets.

Watch the video and learn basic principles of modeling panel data using SAS/ETS.

SAS admins need to know about these menu options that may not be available in SAS Visual Analytics Viewer.

Johnson & Johnson must pay US$15 million (S$19.6 million) to a Connecticut man who alleges that he developed mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer, as a result of using the company's talc powder for decades, a jury found on Tuesday (Oct 15). Plaintiff Evan Plotkin sued the company in 2021 soon after his diagnosis, saying he was sickened by inhaling J&J's baby powder. The jury in Fairfield County, Connecticut Superior Court also found that the company should pay additional punitive damages, which will be determined later by the judge overseeing the case. "Evan Plotkin and his trial team are thrilled that a jury once again decided to hold Johnson & Johnson accountable for their marketing and sale of a baby powder product that they knew contained asbestos," Ben Braly, a lawyer for Plotkin, said in an email. Erik Haas, J&J's worldwide vice president of litigation, said in a statement that the company would appeal "erroneous" rulings by the trial judge that kept the jury from hearing critical facts about the case.

To mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we speak to inspiring Singaporeans about their journey in battling and overcoming cancer.  Warda Ismail gets anxious about things easily, especially when it comes to her health.  So much so that her doctor once told her that she is a "borderline hypochondriac", she shared with AsiaOne in an interview.  For the uninitiated, hypochondria is a condition where a person is excessively and unduly worried about having a serious illness. To keep her mind at ease, the 44-year-old preschool educator has the habit of going for regular medical checkups.  Though she was vigilant, her worst nightmare came true — she was diagnosed with breast cancer on May 8 this year.  And in the midst of her recovery journey, she got more terrible news — her mother, who had been caring for her, was diagnosed with stage-three gall bladder cancer.  Despite the string of unfortunate events, Warda persevered and tried to have a more positive outlook on life and her health. 

HONG KONG — China's National Health Commission (NHC) published its first set of guidelines to standardise the diagnosis and treatment of obesity, with more than half of China's adults already overweight and obese, and the rate expected to keep rising.  The guidelines, made public on October 17, come as China experiences an upward morbidity trend of its overweight and obese population. The rate of overweight or obese people could reach 65.3 per cent by 2030, the NHC said.   "Obesity has become a major public health issue in China, ranking as the sixth leading risk factor for death and disability in the country," the guidelines said. China is facing a twin challenge that feeds its weight problem: In a modernising economy underpinned by technological innovation, more jobs have become static or desk-bound, while a prolonged slowdown in growth is forcing people to adopt cheaper, unhealthy diets.

NEW YORK – Moves by major US fast-food chains to temporarily scrub fresh onions off their menus on Oct 24, after the vegetable was named as the likely source of an E. coli outbreak at McDonald’s, laid bare the recurring nightmare for restaurants: Produce is a bigger problem for restaurants to keep free of contamination than beef. Onions are likely the culprit in the McDonald’s E. coli outbreak across the Midwest and some Western states that has sickened 49 people and killed one, the US Department of Agriculture said late on Oct 23. The company pulled the Quarter Pounder off its menu at one-fifth of its 14,000 US restaurants. In past years, beef patties dominated the dockets of food-borne-illness lawyers, before US federal health regulators cracked down on beef contamination after an E. coli outbreak linked to Jack in the Box burgers hospitalised more than 170 people across states and killed four. As a result, beef-related outbreaks became much rarer, experts say.

Singapore's food culture is legendary, with staples such as chicken rice, bak chor mee, laksa, and roti prata feeding generations of locals and visitors alike. But there's one thing they all have in common — carbs! In carb-crazy Singapore, sticking to a keto diet might seem like a gone case and borderline sacrilegious, but trust me, it's doable. I've been through it, and I'm here to share my tips on how you can enjoy our local food scene while staying keto. What is keto? In case you blur about what a ketogenic (keto) diet is, it's all about cutting carbs and eating more fat. Yup, you read that right — more fat. Sounds shiok, right? The goal is to push your body into ketosis, where instead of burning carbs for energy, it burns fat. Hello, weight loss! Beyond that, keto helps you avoid those pesky post-meal sugar crashes — you know, the ones that make want to toh after a heavy meal. My keto experience I first tried keto as a teen, thinking it was just about cutting out rice, bread, and noodles. Wrong! Keto is stricter than that. To stay in ketosis, you've got to limit your carbs to just 20-50g a day.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday that slivered onions served on McDonald's, opens new tab Quarter Pounder hamburgers and other menu items were the likely source of an E. coli outbreak that sickened 90 people. The outbreak linked to Quarter Pounder was first reported on Oct 22, and slivered onions were suspected to be the source of the infections. The US Food and Drug Administration and the company have confirmed that Taylor Farms was the supplier for the affected locations, and it has since recalled several batches of yellow onions produced in a Colorado facility. The FDA on Wednesday said it had initiated inspections at a Taylor Farms processing center in Colorado, a state where 29 people have fallen ill due to the outbreak. An onion grower of interest in Washington state is also being investigated, the FDA added. The CDC said the number of infected people has risen by 15 people from 75 and 27 persons have been hospitalised due to the illness, which has already killed one person.

LONDON — The world's biggest food and beverage companies on average sell products in low-income countries that are less healthy than what they sell in high-income countries, according to a new report. Products sold by companies including Nestle, Pepsico and Unilever were assessed as part of a global index published by the Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNI), its first since 2021. The non-profit group found that across 30 companies, the products sold in low-income countries scored lower on a star rating system developed in Australia and New Zealand than those sold in high-income countries. In the Health Star Rating system, products are ranked out of five on their healthiness, with five the best, and a score above 3.5 considered to be a healthier choice.

Life can sometimes feel like a never-ending cycle of stress and decisions. That's usually my weekdays in a nutshell: chasing deadlines, making tough calls, and hopping between meetings. When your brain feels like it's on overdrive, it's time to hit pause. Engaging in some therapeutic activities can give your mind the breather it desperately needs. The good news? They don't have to be complicated or time-consuming. Here are some that can work wonders for your mental clarity and overall well-being. Step outside for a walk Walking is one of the simplest ways to clear your mind. It's amazing what a little fresh air at your nearby PCN can do. Just stepping outside and getting those legs moving can shift your perspective in a matter of minutes — and burn a few calories too! Disconnect from your phone and enjoy the sights and sounds of the great outdoors. I find that a 30-min walk and a change of environment works wonders for me, helping me rationally dissect my worries, such as my crushing feelings of inadequacy at work.

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson didn't speak to each other for "weeks at a time" when they worked on The X Files. The 64-year-old actor and Gillian, 56, enjoyed huge success with the iconic sci-fi series — but the duo actually had a turbulent relationship for many years. David said on the Fail Better podcast: "There was a long time, working on the show, where we were just not even dealing with one another off-camera. And there was a lot of tension. Which didn't matter, apparently, for the work cause we're both f****** crazy, I guess. We could just go out there and do what we needed to do." Gillian was amazed that they achieved so much success while their off-screen relationship was so tense.

Megan Fox is pregnant. The 38-year-old actress — who has Noah, 12, Bodhi, ten, and Journey, eight, with her ex-husband Brian Austin Green — has confirmed via social media that she's expecting her first child with Machine Gun Kelly.

Michelle Yeoh had never heard of Wicked before she was asked to join the cast of the movie-musical. The Oscar-winning actress plays Madame Morrible in the new film version of the hit stage show, which is based around characters first seen on screen in 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz. She's confessed she knew nothing about the popular musical before she was approached by director Jon M. Chu about joining the cast. According to The Hollywood Reporter, she said: "At that point, I had no clue what he was talking about because I had not seen Wicked the musical before. I knew Wizard of Oz, who doesn't, but not Wicked because I hadn't been going to the theatres and was not doing what I love which is watching musicals for quite a while, I hate to say." The new movie stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda during their time at Shiz University in the Land of Oz with Michelle's character Madame Morrible serving as the school's headmistress. Michelle went on to say: "So I read it [the script] and called Jon back and said, 'This is a musical and she sings'. And he said, 'Oh easy, you'll have fun, you're up for the challenge.'

My Chemical Romance teased a new project on social media. The Welcome to the Black Parade rockers — who broke up in 2013 before releasing new song The Foundations of Decay nine years later — have largely kept things quiet since their reunion tour ended in March 2023, besides a headline slot at When We Were Young Festival last month. On Monday (Nov 11), the band's official Instagram shared an image of a hazy skyline and confetti alongside Russian letters which translate to "TPK". The cryptic post was captioned: "If you could be anything, what would you be?" https://www.instagram.com/p/DCPw84izQkN/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== While there are no further hints about the message and what it could mean, fans have suggested it may refer to MCR's scrapped record The Paper Kingdom, which was ditched in 2013 and would have been their fifth album.

The quest for realism in Thai drama The Empress of Ayodhaya went too far when a cat was reportedly drugged in a poisoning scene. In episode five of the show, the character Indravedi (Fern Nopjira Lerkkajornnamkul) suspects her drink has been drugged, so she asks nanny Thongdee (Ja Molywon Phantara) to test it out on the black feline. The cat can be seen convulsing and retching, and the camera moves to show Indravedi looking concerned, while Thongdee declares that it is dead. The scene caused public outrage with fears that the cat had actually been killed, and calls to ban the period drama were trending on X. On Nov 7, a now-deleted X account reportedly belonging to Ja posted: "The cat didn't actually die. We put it under anaesthesia, but while filming, the cat retched and seized." She and Fern initially thought the cat had actually died while filming and their faces "turned pale", she added.

Armie Hammer's mom got him a vasectomy for his birthday. The Call Me by Your Name actor — who has two children, Harper, nine, and Ford, seven, with his ex-wife Elizabeth Chambers — has revealed the bizarre gift Dru Hammer got him for his 38th birthday in August. Speaking to his mom on the second episode of a two-part chat on his new podcast Armie HammerTime Podcast, she said: "Let's talk about what I gave you for your birthday this year." She continued: "I call Armie, and I go, 'What would you like for your birthday this year?' He was like, 'I don't know. Maybe money. Whatever.' And I was like, 'I believe I'm going to give you a vasectomy.'"

South Korean actor Song Jae-rim died yesterday (Nov 12) at the age of 39. The Seongdong Police Station in Seoul confirmed that he was found deceased in his apartment at around 12.30pm. According to media reports, a friend whom he was supposed to meet for lunch had visited his home and reported the death. A two-page letter was reportedly found at the scene but the cause of death has not been confirmed. A police official, however, stated that there are "no signs of foul play". His wake was held at Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital Funeral Hall at 5.30pm yesterday. His funeral will be held tomorrow at Seoul City Crematorium. Jae-rim gained popularity after starring in the 2012 drama The Moon Embracing the Sun and the 2014 reality series We Got Married. This year, he starred in two dramas — My Military Valentine and Queen Woo. Following news of his death, comedian Hong Seok-cheon and other celebrities posted tributes to Jae-rim on social media.

LONDON — Britain is to debate whether to legalise assisted dying for the terminally ill, potentially paving the way for the law to change. Below is a list of countries which allow people to choose to end their lives or are considering doing so.  Switzerland Switzerland legalised assisted dying in 1942 on the condition the motive is not selfish, making it the first country in the world to permit the practice. Doctors can prescribe drugs and administer them or had them over for self-administration. A number of Swiss organisations such as Dignitas offer their services to foreign nationals.   United States Medical aid in dying, also known as physician assisted dying is legal in 10 states: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont and Washington, plus the District of Columbia. Oregon was the first state to legalise it under a law which came into effect in 1997. It allows mentally competent patients who are terminally ill and with less than six months to live to ask for life-ending medication. People from outside Oregon may travel to the state to take advantage of the law. 

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump is expected to take a slew of executive actions on his first day as president to ramp up immigration enforcement and roll back signature Biden legal entry programs, a sweeping effort that will be led by incoming "border czar" Tom Homan and other Republican immigration hardliners, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The executive actions would give federal immigration officers more latitude to arrest people with no criminal records, surge troops to the US-Mexico border and restart construction of the border wall, the sources said. Homan, who served as acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement from 2017-2018 under Trump, will bring a deep understanding of the US immigration system after a four-decade career that took him from a frontline Border Patrol agent to head of the agency that arrests and deports immigrants in the US illegally.

WASHINGTON — US President-elect Donald Trump said on Nov 12 that Elon Musk and former Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. Musk and Ramaswamy "will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies", Trump said in a statement. Trump said their work would conclude by July 4, 2026, adding that a smaller and more efficient government would be a "gift" to the country on the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Businessman and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy attends Donald Trump's campaign event sponsored by conservative group Turning Point Action, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, Oct 24, 2024. PHOTO: Reuters file The appointments reward two Trump supporters from the private sector.

SEOUL - South Korea's military said it will hold a three-day joint exercise with the United States and Japan starting on Wednesday (Nov 13), featuring fighter jets and marine patrol aircraft as well as the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington. The Freedom Edge exercise is a response to what the South Korean military said were threats from North Korea, which recently conducted an intercontinental ballistic missile test, drawing condemnation from Seoul, Tokyo and Washington. It also comes as the US State Department said North Korean troops have started engaging in combat operations in Russia's war with Ukraine. The exercise will include South Korean and Japanese fighter jets and maritime patrol aircraft, as well as the USS George Washington, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement. The trilateral exercise follows a first round held earlier this year after the leaders of the three countries agreed at a summit in 2023 to hold annual training drills. Pyongyang has long condemned joint drills between South Korea and the United States, calling them a rehearsal for invasion.

The Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals (CDRT) will be able to mandate mental health treatment for those who cause unreasonable interferences in the community if a bill to amend the Community Disputes Resolution Act (CDRA) goes through.  The bill was proposed in Parliament by Minister for Community, Culture and Youth Edwin Tong on Tuesday (Nov 12). The CDRT currently hears disputes under CDRA between neighbours involving acts of unreasonable interference with the enjoyment or use of places of residence. Under the bill, the tribunal will be able to issue Mandatory Treatment Orders (MTO) should there be a belief that the acts of disturbance stem from an underlying psychiatric condition. "In those cases, the issue therefore is not just a disamenity one," Minister Tong said. "Hence, the MTO is intended to address the root cause of certain acts that a resident may engage in." Tong added that their priority remains in persuading the resident to go for treatment voluntarily, and that the CDRT-issued MTO is a measure of last resort. There are also criteria that must be met for the MTO to be issued.

SINGAPORE – The police are investigating deepfake nude photos of Singapore Sports School (SSP) students that were created and spread by other students. In response to queries from The Straits Times, school principal Ong Kim Soon said SSP is “aware of the incident involving the creation and sharing of deepfake photos by our student-athletes”. “The school does not condone such harmful behaviour,” he said, adding that it has launched an investigation and lodged a police report. The police, in response to queries from ST, confirmed that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing. A reader who identified himself as a parent of a victim had alerted ST in an e-mail on Nov 12 about the deepfake nude images that were being circulated. “Many parents of affected female students in Singapore Sports School are making police reports about deepfake nude photos of their daughters generated by male students from the school,” the parent said. When contacted, the parent said that female teachers were also targeted, and that the school has offered affected students counselling.

As a group of friends circled a hearse, chants were heard. Then, they stopped and bowed to the portrait displayed at the front of the vehicle. This was not a typical Buddhist funeral, but rather the unconventional birthday celebration of a funeral director, reported Shin Min Daily News. According to the Chinese evening daily, a video circulating online showed the friends chanting a birthday song. The hearse's interior had been decorated with balloons and a birthday banner, with the man even laying inside for photos. The clip garnered criticism from netizens, with some deeming it overboard and disrespectful to the funeral industry. In an interview with Shin Min, director of Xin An Funeral Services Chen Weisong (transliteration) explained that he had celebrated his birthday at the company's premises with his friends and family last week. Halfway through the performances by singers, his employees and business partners had surprised him with the birthday-themed hearse bearing his portrait. Chen told 8world he was not angry and did not think it was taboo. "I was too embarrassed to turn down their gesture," he said. 

SINGAPORE - When an online retailer began selling his products on e-commerce platform Qoo10 in August 2023, he did not bat an eyelid when it took 30 to 45 days for the platform to disburse his first payout, compared with about three to seven days for other e-commerce sites he was using. But nearly a year later in July, payments owed to his business by Qoo10 had ballooned to about $1.6 million, as the platform’s payment delays exceeded two months and disbursements began trickling in, in smaller amounts. The Singaporean, who wanted to be known only as Mr T and did not wish to divulge what he sold, pulled the plug on his Qoo10 shop this year in the middle of July, and filed a civil claim with the courts. He obtained a default judgment in October for Qoo10 to pay him what he is owed, after the e-commerce site failed to serve a notice of intention to contest or not contest the claim. Mr T, who added that he had borrowed nearly $1 million from banks, friends and relatives to pay his suppliers, said: “I am not holding out hope that I will get much, or any, of my money back from Qoo10... By this point, I just want closure because it’s been so stressful.”

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) reported a 42 per cent fall in its half-year profit on Wednesday (Nov 13), as the firm was hurt by the absense of S$1.2 billion it had logged through the divestiture of Telkomsel shares in its prior corresponding period. Last year, Telkomsel, the Indonesian associate of Southeast Asia's largest telecom firm, agreed to merge with its parent's IndiHome broadband arm in an effort to expand into Indonesia's fixed broadband market. SingTel's Australian unit Optus, currently embroiled in a legal battle with the country's competition watchdog, reported operating revenue of A$4.02 billion (S$3.51 billion) during the six months, in line with A$4.02 billion reported a year ago. "Optus and NCS drove the positive momentum, underscoring our focus on execution and operating rigour," the group's Chief Executive Officer Yuen Kuan Moon said. Southeast Asia's largest telecom firm said net profit for the six months ended Sept. 30 was S$1.23 billion, as compared to S$2.14 billion last year and missing a Visible Alpha estimate of S$1.37 billion.