Foreign Drug Manufacturers

New GAO Report: 1 November 2007:


Preliminary findings suggest weaknesses in the FDA’s program for inspecting foreign drug manufacturers . This report, which includes testimony before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, discusses preliminary information on (1) the extent to which the FDA has accurate data to manage the foreign drug inspection program, (2) the frequency of foreign inspections and factors influencing the selection of establishments to inspect, and (3) issues unique to conducting foreign inspections.


Source: Government Accountability Office

Health Care Snapshots

From the Kaiser Family Foundation:

This is "a series of online publications ... that use charts, data and analysis to provide insight into the political and policy debates about the cost of health care in the United States." Some of the topics include out-of-pocket spending for health care, insurance premium cost-sharing and coverage take-up, health care spending in the U.S. compared with other countries, and effect of changes in medical technology on health care costs.
URL:
http://www.kff.org/insurance/snapshot/

Health Care Costs

From the Council on Foreign Relations:

Backgrounder: Healthcare Costs and U.S. Competitiveness

Backgrounder about health care costs in the U.S., where "factoring in costs borne by government, the private sector, and individuals, the United States spends over $1.9 trillion annually on healthcare expenses, more than any other industrialized country." Includes links to related websites and other material about economics and health.
URL: http://www.cfr.org/publication/13325/

Alternative Medicine

From the University of Maryland Medical Center:

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Index (CAM)

Collection of material about different types of CAM, such as acupuncture, biofeedback, herbal medicine, hypnotherapy, massage, and yoga.
Includes discussions of conditions (by organ and symptoms), and drug, herb, and supplement interactions and uses.

URL: http://www.umm.edu/altmed/

Bioterriorism

From The Center for Public Health and Disasters:

Bioterrorism: Are You Prepared?

The materials available through this site were developed specifically to help familiarize physicians with:

agents most likely to be used in a bioterrorist incident
associated signs and symptoms
decontamination and infection control measures
treatment
reporting
working with local, regional, and state facilities
bioterrorism-related information resources.

The Center for Public Health and Disasters is committed to bringing you the best in disaster training materials. We hope this information will help you and your staff learn about recognizing and responding to a biological terrorism event.

The training materials include:

PowerPoint slide presentation
List of bioterrorism-related journal articles
Links to other web-based resources
Frequently asked questions about biological agents

Source: Center for Public Health and Disasters (UCLA)

Health Map

A map of emerging infectious diseases:

HEALTHmap: Global Disease Alert Map

This site aggregates data from news and health information sources to provide a real-time map of emerging infectious diseases. View all disease alerts by country, or limit results to specific diseases or information source.

Includes a feed of the latest alerts. Created by a team from the Children's Hospital Informatics Program of Children's Hospital Boston and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health, Sciences and Technology.

URL: http://healthmap.org/

World Health Statistics 2007

From the World Health Organization:

Statistics: WHO publishes key world health statistics

World health statistics 2007, the most complete set of health statistics from its 193 Member States. This edition also highlights trends in 10 of the most closely watched global health statistics. It is the authoritative annual reference for a set of 50 health indicators in countries around the world.

Consumer Health Information

New from the FDA:

A Web page, “Consumer Health Information for You and Your Family” (www.fda.gov/consumer), provides comprehensive and timely consumer information.

A free monthly e-newsletter - “FDA Consumer Health Information” (www.fda.gov/consumer/consumerenews.html), will alert consumers to content contained on the page.

Adolescent Health

From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

Fact sheets, data, and other material about adolescent health topics such as injuries, alcohol and drug use, sexual behaviors, nutrition and obesity, skin cancer, and youth violence.

Includes background on the National Initiative to Improve Adolescent Health by the Year 2010, and links to related websites.

URL:
http://www.cdc.gov/node.do/id/0900f3ec801e457a

Health Care Costs

The cost of health care:

Snapshot: Health Care Costs 101, 2007 Edition


The fourth edition of Health Care Costs 101, an annual overview of the latest health spending trends in California and the nation, finds reasons for both hope and concern.

While spending on health care continues to moderate, the growth in health spending was twice the rate of inflation in 2005, resulting in constant pressure on government, employers, and consumers to keep up.

Among the key findings:

* Total spending on health reached $2 trillion in 2005 and is projected to reach one-fifth of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2016;* Per person spending on health care increased 77% between 1995 and 2005;* Hospitals and physician services take the largest share of the health care dollar (52%);* The growth rate for prescription drug spending is at its lowest level in 20 years; and* While out-of-pocket costs for consumers continue to rise, their share of all health care spending (15%), has declined.

Direct to Full Text

224 pages; PDF.

World Health Day

It's World Health Day

World Health Day: 7 April


Collection of links to sites related to World Health Day.

"On this day around the globe, thousands of events mark the importance of health for productive and happy lives."

Also includes links to recent UN documents on the subjects of human health and illness prevention and treatment. Available in several languages.

From the Dag Hammarskjöld Library of the United Nations.

URL: http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/health/

State Health Facts Online

Health Facts by State

"State-level data on demographics, health, and health policy, including health coverage, access, financing, and state legislation...." for all states and U.S. territories.

Additionally, there are state comparisons in eleven categories that include demographics and the economy, health status, health coverage and uninsured, health costs and budgets, managed care and health insurance, women's health, minority health, HIV/AIDS, and more.

Related resources includes a glossary.

From the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.


URL: http://www.statehealthfacts.kff.org/

Health Care Quality

Guide to Health Care Quality

This booklet offers information for consumers on evaluating health care services to find quality care and make good health care decisions.

It provides tips on finding and communicating with a physician, asking questions, and taking an active role in health care. From the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

URL: http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/guidetoq/

Children's Health Information

New Resource for Children’s Health Information

Statehealthfacts.org

Includes a children’s health section that offers customized fact sheets for each state, a directory of all children’s health topics on the site, and the latest children’s health research from KCMU and headlines from kaisernetwork.org.
Source: StateHealthFacts.org (Kaiser Family Foundation)

Some of the latest stats updated on StateHealthFacts.org
Number of Medicare Advantage Contracts
2007+ Total Medicare Advantage Enrollment
2006+ Infant Mortality Rate (Deaths per 1,000 Live Births) by Race/Ethnicity
2001-2003+ State Mandated Benefits

Core Health Indicators

This site offers the latest statistics from World Health Organization (WHO) publications such as World Health Statistics and World Health Report.

Find data by country or region, year, and a large selection of vital and epidemiological indicators such as deaths, life expectancy, diseases, risk factors, and access to health care. From the WHO Statistical Information System (WHOSIS).

URL: http://www3.who.int/whosis/core/core_select.cfm

Health, United States, 2006

Health, United States, 2006 with Chartbook on Trends in the Health of Americans -
Now available at:

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus.htm