Most Employers Underestimate Full Costs of Employee Health on Productivity
[http://www.alere.com/docs/JOEM_2009_FINAL.pdf] 

Alere Research says focus on productivity
[http://eba.benefitnews.com/news/research-says-focus-on-productivity-2672465-1.html]

Moral crisis in California's approach to health - CCAAP Proposes the Medical Home as the Solution.
[http://www.bakersfield.com/opinion/forum/x820007322/Moral-crisis-in-states-approach-to-health]

The Full Costs of Depression In the Workforce...research by the Integrated Benefits Institute
[http://ibiweb.org/do/viewdocument/DocumentDetail?linkId=37837&aId=E51FAAAF0789E6FF1DCFD5CCB283EB24]

President Outlines Reform; Expresses Willingness to Cut Medicare and Medicaid to Pay for It
[http://www.hanys.org/news/index.cfm?storyid=1006]

Health industry delivers savings plan to Obama as Promised
[http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/6453111.html]

Bill Introduced to take Nutritional Program National
[http://www.hpj.com/archives/2009/jun09/jun8/0515Harkinmenulabelingini.cfm?
title=Senator%20Tom%20Harkin,%20D-IA,%20Chairman%20of%20the%20Senate%20Committee]

Economist Articles Examine Use of Mobile Phones for Global Health
[http://globalhealth.kff.org/Daily-Reports/2009/June/05/GH-060509-Mobile-Phones.aspx]

INDUSTRY NEWS

Third Burden of Disease Today Conference Sunnyside Park Hotel, Parktown, Johannesburg, South Africa July 21-22, 2009 [http://www.ihrm.co.za/index.php?view=details&id=21%3A3rd-burden-of-disease-today-conference&option=com_ redevent&Itemid=41] - Organizers:  The Institute of Health Risk Managers & Conference Chair, Len Deacon.  Overview:  The conference will provide you with an opportunity to be informed of the latest developments regarding communicable & non-communicable diseases and get involved in finding solutions to this massive challenge by being actively involved in workshops under the guidance of experts in the respective fields. The solution lies in all of us working collaboratively to tackle the issues to everyone's benefit, namely patient, funder, provider and employer.  IDMA will be present to report on the results.

[http://eba.benefitnews.com/news/research-says-focus-on-productivity-2672465-1.html] - -  According to a new study appearing in the May/June issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion, obese workers with type 2 diabetes report less productivity on the job than their normal-weight co-workers, and diabetes itself also has an effect on work impairment.  In a survey of 7,338 working adults with or at risk for diabetes, participants answered questions about missed work time, reduced on-the-job effectiveness and impairment in daily activities. The analysis found that being obese and having diabetes predicted on-the-job problems with productivity.  Obese people with type-2 diabetes experienced the most work impairment, losing 11 percent to 15 percent of work time - about 5.9 hours per week - because of health problems that affected productivity on the job, said Fox, president of Strategic Healthcare Solutions, LLC. In comparison, normal-weight participants at low risk for diabetes reported losing only 9 percent of work time - about 3.6 hours per week - due to health problems.  Obese workers with type-2 diabetes also experienced the most problems off the job, reporting impairment during 20 percent to 34 percent of their daily activities, like shopping, exercising and childcare.  EHS- Today.  May 5, 2009.

Most Employers Underestimate Full Costs of Employee Health on Productivity
[http://www.alere.com/docs/JOEM_2009_FINAL.pdf] - Large multi-employer study indicates that the costs of poor health are much greater for employers than medical and pharmaceutical spending alone.  Poor health among workers is far costlier to U.S. employers than they realize, impacting their profitability and undercutting the nation's overall productivity, according to a major study published this week in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (JOEM).   The multi-year study of ten organizations employing more than 150,000 workers indicates that employers who focus only on medical and pharmacy costs in creating employee health strategies may misidentify the health conditions that most impact the productivity of their employees -- while underestimating the impact of other factors.   One such factor, "presenteeism," occurs when employees with health conditions are present at their jobs but are unable to perform at full capacity. The study closely examined the effects of presenteeism, concluding that impaired employee-performance typically creates a greater drain on a company's productivity than employee absence - a finding which could come as a surprise to some employers.   The study also found that when considering medical and drug costs alone, the top five conditions driving costs are cancer (other than skin cancer), back/neck pain, coronary heart disease, chronic pain, and high cholesterol. BUT when health-related productivity costs are measured along with medical and pharmacy costs, the top five chronic health conditions driving these overall health costs shift significantly, to depression, obesity, arthritis, back/neck pain and anxiety.

Survey Reveals Top Healthcare Priorities of CFOs
[http://www.alere.com/diseasemgmt/resources/articles/article-1] - New research by the Integrated Benefits Institute (IBI) based on a survey of 343 chief financial officers gives a clear path to connect ill health to business relevant outcomes.  Controlling health plan cost is critical to CFOs and ranks as the single most important objective over the next two years for survey participants. Second-most important, however, is the goal to manage all health-related costs, including absence and disability. The third most important objective is improving employee health, which can be expected not only to reduce costs but also to improve outcomes. Few CFOs will seek to expand benefits over the next two years.  Unfortunately, few CFOs receive information on absence or on presenteeism. Only 20 percent get reports on the amount of absence on a routine basis, and 44 percent never receive such reports. More than seven in 10 never get reports on the financial impact of absence. The results are bleaker with presenteeism. More than 80 percent never get reports on the incidence of presenteeism, and 92 percent never receive reports on its financial impact.

Moral crisis in California's approach to health - CCAAP Proposes the Medical Home as the Solution.
[http://www.bakersfield.com/opinion/forum/x820007322/Moral-crisis-in-states-approach-to-health] -   California leaders are considering cuts to health and human services programs that could put lives in at risk.  Gov. Schwarzenegger proposes: eliminating the Healthy Families program, which insures nearly a million children; reducing Medi-Cal-funded mental health programs; eliminating Medi-Cal coverage for breast and cervical cancer treatments for women over age 65; reducing funding for primary care health services in rural areas; and other cuts.  CAFP is sponsoring Assembly Bill 1542 to define the purpose and criteria for a medical home, a first step in encouraging adoption of the model. The bill recently passed unanimously in both the Assembly Health Committee and on the Assembly Floor. AB 1542 is co-sponsored by the California Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and authored by the Health Committee.  Providing every patient with a medical home would solve many of the problems plaguing health care in our state -- including costs. In this model, primary care physicians and their practice teams deliver state-of-the-art care, focusing on prevention, effective management of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease, and coordination of all medical care. Patient centered medical home projects have been launched in more than 30 states. Efforts in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Colorado, for example, have delivered improved patient outcomes and multi-million-dollar cost savings. North Carolina alone has saved half a billion dollars in its Medicaid program by implementing medical homes.  The Bakersfield Californian.  June 4, 2009.

Brandeis Study Shows That Cardiac Rehabilitation Saves Lives
[http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news-1/Cardiac-rehabilitation-saves-lives-48219-1/] - Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death worldwide and a major driver of medical and economic costs, especially among older adults. It has long been established that cardiac rehabilitation improves survival, at least in middle-aged, low- and moderate-risk white men. Now a large Brandeis University-led study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology reports that older cardiac patients benefit as much from cardiac rehab as their younger counterparts.  Worldwide, in 2004, 7.2 million people died from CHD, while in the United States alone, more than 13 million people suffered from CHD, and almost half a million died from heart disease in 2003. Moreover, Americans aged 65 and older account for more than 55 percent of heart attacks and 86 percent of CHD deaths.  "The good news is that patients who use cardiac rehab live longer than those who do not use it, regardless of their clinical diagnosis, gender, race, or socioeconomic background" said Dr. Jose Suaya, lead author and visiting scholar at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. The study showed that "patients with different clinical backgrounds-heart attacks, coronary bypass operations, and even congestive heart failure-all had lower mortality when using cardiac rehab," Dr. Suaya asserted. The study examined mortality in 601,099 Medicare beneficiaries who were hospitalized in 1997 for heart disease or bypass surgery and followed up through 2002.    Eurekalert. June 8, 2009.

The Next Generation of Disease Management: 2009 and Beyond - [http://www.dismgmt.com/107ais_book_nextgen.htm] - Atlantic Information Services has published this new book discussing the future of disease management. With chronic-care programs already well-established in most health plans, DM is becoming more targeted, more integrated with other programs including wellness and lifestyle coaching, and more focused on the bottom line. The Next Generation of Disease Management: 2009 and Beyond brings expert insight into DM's basic building blocks. $223.00. Click here to order

The Full Costs of Depression In the Workforce...research by the Integrated Benefits Institute
[http://ibiweb.org/do/viewdocument/DocumentDetail?linkId=37837&aId=E51FAAAF0789E6FF1DCFD5CCB283EB24] -  IBI analyzed a master research database provided by Ingenix, a subsidiary of UnitedHealthcare Group, including 401,000 unique employees from six companies.  IBI worked with Harvard Researcher, Dr. Ron Kessler on this project.  The research confirmed that early identification and treatment for depressed employees may be cost effective in reducing disability lost time.  In reviewing depression short-term disability costs, lost-time lost productivity was the largest  cost component and which, with wage-loss payments, are two and a half times the costs of medical and pharmacy expenditures.  Integrated Benefits Institute, 595 Market Street, Suite 810San Francisco, CA 94105, 415.222.7280, info@ibiweb.org, ibiweb.org.
Download Slide Presentation:  [http://ibiweb.org/UserFiles/File/Depression%20-%20The%20Real%20Costs
%20of%20Workforce%20Depression%20-%20Full.pdf].

Australia/China:  Happy life leads to good health
[http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/news.asp?artid=13719&title=Happy-life-leads-to-good-health&odr=&page=] - Monash University, together with the Australian Psychological Society and Peking University, has established a motivational coaching program in the Fengtai District in Beijing, China to help patients with diabetes lead happier and healthier lives. The Happy Life Club uses clinical coaches trained in motivational interviewing to support patients with chronic diabetes to better manage their illness.   Many illnesses including diabetes require a patient to modify their behaviour to manage their illness better. In the case of diabetes, research shows that changes in lifestyle factors such as dietary changes, weight loss, and reducing stress frequently result in major improvements in the health and wellbeing of a patient. Motivational interviewing is a proven technique that has been used internationally in managing people who are addicted to smoking. However there is limited published research on how effective the technique is for the management of chronic illness.  Monash University: June 2009.

Boehringer Ingelheim Unveils Diabetes Pipeline

[http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/06-06-2009/0005039516&EDATE=] - Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced its pipeline of oral antidiabetic compounds, establishing itself in the type 2 diabetes therapeutic area. The Company is investigating compounds in Phase II and Phase III clinical development worldwide. New Phase II data results for linagliptin (BI 1356), a dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitor and the Company's lead diabetes compound, were presented today at the 69th Annual American Diabetes Association (ADA) Scientific Sessions in New Orleans.  Results from the Phase II study presented at ADA show that 1, 5 and 10 mg doses of linagliptin achieved clinically relevant andstatistically significant reductions in HbA1c, a measure of blood sugar, when given as add-on therapy to type 2 diabetes patients inadequately controlled on metformin (placebo-corrected changes from baseline; -0.40 percent for the 1 mg dose, -0.73 percent for the 5 mg dose, and -0.67 percent for the 10 mg dose).  Press Release. June 6, 2009.

No scars: New obesity surgery goes through mouth
[http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/8545167] - Doctors are testing a new kind of obesity surgery without any cuts through the abdomen, snaking a tube as thick as a garden hose down the throat to snap staples into the stomach.  The experimental, scar-free procedure creates a narrow passage that slows the food as it moves from the upper stomach into the lower stomach, helping patients feel full more quickly and eat less.   Doctors say preliminary results from about 200 U.S. patients and 100 in Europe look promising.   After about 18 months, obese European patients have lost an average of about 45 percent of their body weight, said Dr. Gregg Nishi, a surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He discussed the European and U.S. studies during a Chicago conference this week for digestive disease specialists.  Guardian.co.uk.  June 7, 2009.

Groundbreaking Approach to Treating Obesity Highlighted by Keynote Lecture at American Diabetes Association Annual Scientific Sessions
[http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090608005218&newsLang=en] - Dr. Seeley's lecture will highlight the nature and function of adipose (fat) tissue as a significant determinant of obesity, and a groundbreaking approach to developing novel obesity therapeutics that directly targets adipose vasculature to shrink fat cells and help the body sustain a lean, healthy state.  His leading-edge research adds to a growing body of evidence that shows body weight to be closely regulated by interaction with and signaling to the brain from adipose tissue. Zafgen is pursuing these key scientific concepts to advance obesity drug candidates into clinical development.  Business Wire. June 8, 2009.

Regulating the Sugar Factory in Diabetes
[http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090521112704.htm] - Scientists in Sydney and Boston believe they may have identified a gene that controls abnormal production of sugar in the liver, a very troublesome problem for people with diabetes.  The liver is the sugar factory for the body - when blood sugar (glucose) levels fall, the liver makes and releases more. In people with diabetes, especially Type 2 diabetes, the liver doesn't stop making sugar when it should, so blood sugar levels can rise overnight while they sleep even though they haven't eaten.  With her colleagues in Boston, Dr Jenny Gunton, diabetes specialist and endocrinologist from Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research, in collaboration with Dr Xiao Hui Wang and Professor Ronald Kahn from Harvard Medical School and Joslin Diabetes Centre in Boston, have been studying a transcription factor, or kind of 'master regulator', called ARNT, which controls expression of other genes involved in processes like glucose breakdown and insulin production. In an earlier study, the group showed that there is 90% less ARNT in insulin-producing cells of people with Type 2 diabetes.  Dr Jenny Gunton and her colleagues believe that if a new drug could be developed to increase ARNT activity in the liver, then it may be possible to shut down abnormal sugar production and improve blood sugar control in people with diabetes.  Science Daily. May 26, 2009.

Consumers not refilling prescriptions at increasing rate & use of generics continue to increase

[http://drugtopics.modernmedicine.com/drugtopics/Modern+Medicine+Now/Rx-drugs-are-losing-to-generics-in-the-war-for-con/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/

600558?contextCategoryId=47443] - The rate of prescription abandonment increased 34 percent since 2006, according to an analysis by Wolters Kluwer Health (WKH).  The WKH report found that prescription abandonment - whereby a patient submits a retail prescription but doesn't pick it up - increased from 5.15 percent in 2006 to 6.8 percent in 2008. The study found that abandonment rates increase as co-pays do. New prescriptions with co-pays of $100 or more had an abandonment rate of more than 20 percent, while the abandonment rate for scripts with co-pays of $10 or less was 4 percent.  According to the report, in 2008 prescriptions were filled for 2.4 billion generic drugs versus 1.4 billion brand-name medications. Generics have seen a growth rate of 12 percent since 2004, while brand-name medications dropped 6 percent during the same period.  Drug Topics. June 1, 2009.

India:  Smoking more harmful to women than men
[http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=LifeStyleSectionPage
&id=fd393ebe-7ea9-4c9b-b604-645f861f3d36&Headline=Smoking+more+
harmful+to+women] - Praveen Aggarwal, chief cardiologist, Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre, New Delhi, confirms a series of heart attacks among female smokers.
Aggarwal told IANS: "The cause of heart ailments among female smokers is much higher because women have small arteries in comparison to men. Even the first heart attack in a women smoker can cause sudden death."   Roshan Roa, senior cardiologist, Metro Hospital and Heart institute, Noida, said: "The risk of heart complications among woman smokers is twice that of a normal smoker."  According to a new World Health Organisation (WHO) study, one in 10 women in urban India smoke or chew tobacco. The WHO report also estimates that seven percent of women in developing countries smoke compared with 48 percent men.  Hindustan Times. June 10, 2009

	5th Annual National Australian Disease Management Conference 2009
	Grand Hyatt, Melbourne, Australia September 3-4. 2009 [http://www.adma.org.au/index.html]
ADMA has recently finalized a document titled: ADMA and Disease Management in Australia: A Strategic Framework 2008-2012. [http://www.adma.org.au/ADMAStrategicFramework27November.pdf] This white paper on disease management in Australia includes the results of a survey of 39 key stakeholders and opinion leaders in health and disease management is included as an appendix in the full document. Call for Abstracts:[http://www.adma.org.au/CallForAbstracts2009.pdf]

President Outlines Reform; Expresses Willingness to Cut Medicare and Medicaid to Pay for It
[http://www.hanys.org/news/index.cfm?storyid=1006] - President Obama, in a letter to key U.S. Senators drafting health care reform legislation--Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Health Committee Chairman Edward Kennedy (D-MA)--outlined for the first time during the health reform debate, his position on key issues in the reform debate. The President reiterated his commitment to ensuring health care reform is achieved without increasing the federal budget deficit, expressing a willingness to work with Congress to cut current levels of Medicare and Medicaid spending by $200 billion to $300 billion over ten years.   Offered on top of the $300 billion in Medicare and Medicaid spending level reductions in his 2010 budget request to Congress, the President suggested that the additional program savings could be achieved by adopting new technologies, addressing the geographic variation in Medicare spending, and improving the management of chronic disease, among others. The President urged the lawmakers to complete comprehensive health care reform legislation by October. HANY. June 5, 2009.

Related Story:  Obama health overhaul may be death knell for small insurers [http://www.finance-commerce.com/article.cfm/2009/06/06/Obama-health-overhaul-may-be-death-knell-for-small-insurers] - President Barack Obama's health overhaul may send insurance leaders UnitedHealth Group Inc., WellPoint Inc. and Aetna Inc. on a wave of acquisitions of smaller companies as the industry shifts from paying claims to preventing illness.  As few as 70 of the country's 700 health plans may be left standing in a retooled system, with companies covering fewer than 500,000 people the most vulnerable to consolidation, said Paul H. Keckley, executive director of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions in Washington, in an interview this week in San Diego at the industry's annual conference.  Finance & Commerce. June 5, 2009.

Geneva:  WHO on verge of declaring H1N1 flu pandemic
[http://in.reuters.com/article/health/idINTRE5583US20090609] - The World Health Organization (WHO) is on the verge of declaring the first influenza pandemic in more than 40 years, but wants to ensure countries are well prepared to prevent a panic, its top flu expert said on Tuesday.  Keiji Fukuda, acting WHO assistant director-general, voiced concern at the sustained spread of the new H1N1 strain -- including more than 1,000 cases in Australia -- following major outbreaks in North America, where it emerged in April.  Confirmed community spread in a second region beyond North America would trigger moving to phase 6 -- signifying a full-blown pandemic -- from the current phase 5 on the WHO's 6-level pandemic alert scale.  Reuters India.  June 9, 2009.

Oregon House passes health reform bills
[http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/06/house_passes_health_reform_bil.html] -  The Oregon House passed two broad health reform bills Monday that are designed to contain costs, create a new health agency and add thousands of uninsured adults and children to the state health plan.  Legislators and health care advocates said the bills represent Oregon's biggest leap forward in health reform since it enacted the Oregon Health Plan 15 years ago. "This will put Oregon on the map for health care reform," said Rep. Tina Kotek, D-Portland.  OregonLive.com.  June 8, 2009.

International Expert Committee Recommends New Way to Diagnose Diabetes
A1C Test Recommended as Tool to Diagnose Diabetes
[http://ca.sys-con.com/node/991931] -  international expert committee assembled by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), International Diabetes Federation (IDF), and European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) is recommending the A1C assay as the new test for the diagnosis of diabetes.  "A1C values vary less than FPG values and the assay for A1C has technical advantages compared with the glucose assay," said David M. Nathan, MD, Director of the Diabetes Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, who chaired the Expert Committee. "Also, testing for diabetes using A1C is more convenient and easier for patients who will no longer be required to perform a fasting or oral glucose tolerance test."   The Committee concluded that an A1C value greater than or equal to 6.5% be used for the diagnosis of diabetes.  AJAX World. June 5, 2009.

National Coalition Hosts Event to Examine Costs Savings through Delivery System Reform
[http://www.fightchronicdisease.org/media/statements/pfcd/DeliverySystem.cfm] -  Today during a Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease policy briefing on Capitol Hill, health care experts emphasized that making improvements to the health care delivery system is critical to address the number one driver of cost, disability and death within the health care system:preventable and poorly managed chronic illnesses.  The panelists discussed ways to drive down health care costs by establishing a delivery system that provides better care coordination for chronically ill patients, while building in incentives to reward patients and providers for prevention, early detection and dedicated disease management.  "Care coordination through employer or community-based models needs to be an essential element of any national health reform plan," said Kenneth Thorpe, Ph.D., Executive Director of the PFCD, who was also the moderator of the event. "We hope key findings from the successes of the programs discussed today will serve as a guide to policymakers, and others, as they look to develop policies to address the crisis of chronic illness."  Press Release. June 5, 2009.

Health industry delivers savings plan to Obama as Promised
[http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/6453111.html] - Health industry officials sought Monday to make good on a $2 trillion savings proposal announced with great fanfare at the White House, but they came up short by several hundred billion dollars.  Nevertheless, the officials claimed success in producing solid proposals in time for a deadline set by President Barack Obama after a White House photo op May 11 where they promised to curb their own costs to help his health care agenda.  Obama asked for a progress report by early June and the five industry groups and one labor union delivered it on Monday. They sent the White House a letter along with a series of cost-savings proposals they said could total $1 trillion to $1.7 trillion in savings over a decade.  The groups identified three big areas for savings: $150 billion to $180 billion from more-efficient use of health care services, $350 billion to $850 billion from better managing chronic diseases, and $500 billion to $700 billion through administrative and business improvements such as standardizing claim forms.  Chron.com. June 1, 2009.

Tobacco: Why Not Obesity?
[http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/06/tobacco_why_not_obesity.php] - Major health problems associated with smoking account for about a tenth of our health care spending, about the same amount as illness and behaviors associated with obesity. Today, the Senate will vote to regulate tobacco like a drug and crack down on marketing. Costs associated with cigarette consumption will rise. A lot of folks wonder why the government can't borrow the tobacco approach and apply it to obesity, which also seems to be -- seems to be, I say -- a condition that results from an addiction to food?   Trouble is, obesity belongs to a different category of conditions. There is a social and psychological element to the smoking contagion, but its origins, effects and treatments are much more defined.    Also, people can live without nicotine. They can't live without food.  The Atlantic. June 8, 2009.

BMI registries eyed as promising tool for fighting childhood obesity

[http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2009/06/08/bil20608.htm] - Michigan's statewide system could prove to be a model for physician-reported registries.  Data have been collected to show the rise in childhood obesity -- to 16% of children between the ages of 2 and 19 in recent years, up from 5% for the period of 1971 to 1974.  Now a growing number of public health officials see data being useful not just to measure the obesity rate, but as a means to lower it.  Body mass index registries are emerging nationwide as the newest tool in the fight against childhood obesity. The latest attempt -- and the most ambitious -- is in Michigan, where doctors are expected to begin submitting height and weight information on children to the state's health department. Once funding is secured as expected by year's end, a date will be set for doctors to begin reporting.  AMNews. June 8, 2009.

Progress made on the pay-for-performance front
[http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/progress-made-pay-performance-front] -  Although  pay-for-performance is still a largely undeveloped concept in the healthcare industry, P4P proponents report significant progress in some isolated pockets, and overall the initiative is continuing to move forward.  P4P is a program promoted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that rewards physicians for exceeding established benchmarks of care. The rationale behind the concept is to use financial enticements for doctors to provide the highest quality care for the lowest cost, resulting in the healthcare system becoming more efficient and cost effective while achieving better patient outcomes. Even if the majority of physicians aren't ready, the P4P program's structure is continuing to take shape, Baker said. CMS plans to post 2009 results next year based on information reported to the Physicians Quality Reporting Initiative. Once that occurs, she said consumers will have a platform from which to evaluate participating physicians.

Ireland:  The growing problem of male obesity

[http://www.irishmedicalnews.ie/index.php/clinical/clinical-focus/1715-the-growing-problem-of-male-obesity] - Obesity in Ireland has increased by 67 per cent since 1990 and is thought to be increasing at the rate of one per cent per year.  The prevalence of obesity here is greater in men than in women, with 14 per cent of men and 12 per cent of women classified as obese, although in certain regions this figure rises to 18 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.  A study published in Preventing Chronic Disease this year showed that among older men, the prevalence of overweight was 46.3 per cent, and the prevalence of obesity was 25.1 per cent compared to 33.4 per cent and 28.8 per cent in older women, respectively.  Irish Medical News. June 9, 2009.

Bill Introduced to take Nutritional Program National

[http://www.hpj.com/archives/2009/jun09/jun8/0515Harkinmenulabelingini.cfm?title=Senator%20Tom%20Harkin,%20D-IA,%20Chairman%20of%20the%20Senate

%20Committee] - Senator Tom Harkin, D-IA, and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, D-CT  have introduced legislation requiring that nutritional information be displayed on chain restaurant menus and vending machines. The introduction of their legislation, the Menu Education and Labeling (MEAL) Act, will take the success that has been made at the city and state level with respect to menu labeling to the national level. High Plains/ Midwest AG Journal.  June 9, 2009.

The "medical home" discussion heats up

HealthScreen Disease Management Offers Advice to Employers on the High Cost of Absenteeism, Reduced Productivity, Turnover and Morale Issues

Economist Articles Examine Use of Mobile Phones for Global Health
[http://globalhealth.kff.org/Daily-Reports/2009/June/05/GH-060509-Mobile-Phones.aspx] - The Economist examines how mobile phones could be used to detect the spread of diseases worldwide. According to the Economist, "[t]he world's 4 billion mobile phones could be turned into sensors on a global data-collection network" and aid workers, engineers and several other professionals "are now building systems that use handsets to sense, monitor and even predict population movements, environmental hazards and public-health threats."  One of the innovations profiled in the article is a "suite of open-source software to share, aggregate and analyse data from mobile phones," which was launched by the nonprofit group Innovative Support to Emergencies, Diseases and Disasters (InSTEDD), the Economist reports. InSTEDD focuses on using mobile phones to improve disaster response in developing countries. Kaiser. June 5, 2009.

New Data in Support of Tethys Bioscience's PreDx™ Diabetes Risk Score Presented at ADA Scientific Sessions
[http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/new-data-in-support-of,851945.shtml] - today announced the presentation of new data supporting the cost-effectiveness and clinical utility of its flagship product, the PreDx Diabetes Risk Score, at the American Diabetes Association's 69th Annual Scientific Sessions (June 5-9, New Orleans, Louisiana). The PreDx Diabetes Risk Score (DRS) is a first-of-its-kind risk-assessment tool that delivers an assessment of an individual's risk of developing type 2 diabetes within five years.  EarthTimes. "The data presented at ADA add to the mounting body of evidence in support of the utility of the PreDx Diabetes Risk Score," said Mickey Urdea, Tethys' chairman and chief executive officer. "By arming physicians and patients with tools to accurately gauge risk of diabetes and take action to prevent or delay it, we may be able to reduce the enormous health and economic toll of this growing epidemic."   June 7, 2009.

Increasing Asthma Medication Compliance via Automated Voice Technology