Examines effectiveness of various drugs in prevention of episodic migraine headaches in children as reported in 24 publications of controlled trials that enrolled about 1500 children.  From the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Latest annual report on the administration’s domestic and international economic policies with chapters on jobs, fiscal policy, reducing health care costs and improving quality, climate change, international trade, and U.S. agriculture. Also has a major statistical appendix on economic data.   From the Council of Economic Advisers

Comprises recommendations that address a select group of common , yet sometimes controversial, issues regarding initiation and use of specific contraceptive methods.  Intended to serve as a source of clinical guidance for health-care providers and to be used with U.S. Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use 2010, which describes who can use various methods of contraception.  From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Report to Congress on Medicare payment issues including a re-examination of the hospital readmissions reduction program.  Calls for options for refining a program intended to penalize hospitals with high patient readmission rates after discovery that most penalized hospitals are those treating poorest patients.  From the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission

Covers the ingredients listed on the labels of 17,000 dietary supplements currently on the U.S. market and from recently discontinued products.  Expected to grow to 55,000 dietary supplement products over the next 3 years.  From the National Institutes of Health and the National Library of Medicine

5-3 Supreme Court decision that so-called “pay for delay” deals, where drug companies pay to delay the introduction of generic competition may violate antitrust laws.  The Federal Trade Commission had argued that payments by Solvay Pharmaceuticals to delay generic competition for one of its products for 9 years were a violation of antitrust law.  From the Legal Information Institute of Cornell University

The largest expenses for drugs for the adult general population in 2010 were metabolic, central nervous system, cardiovascular, psychotherapeutic, and gastrointestinal items.  From the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

The largest expenses for the elderly for drugs in 2010 were for metabolic, cardiovascular, central nervous system, respiratory, and gastrointestinal drugs.  From the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Examines the characteristics and costs of beneficiaries of both programs, the different payment systems used, and recent federal-state efforts to integrate the payment systems and coordinate the care.  From the Congressional Budget Office

Reports 3.9 million births in the U.S. in 2012, essentially unchanged from the number for 2011.  The fertility rate was also unchanged at 63.2 births per 1,000 women aged 15-44.  From the National Center for Health Statistics

Analyzes the way tobacco companies tried to influence the outcome of a government-commissioned study issued in 2001 by examining internal company documents released as a result of court action.  From the journal PLOS Medicine.

Provides estimates for the percentage of persons under 65 who were in families having problems paying medical bills by selected demographic variables.  The percentage of persons declined when six months data from 2012 were compared with that for 2011.  Also shows how insurance coverage affects the ability to pay medical bills.  From the National Center for Health Statistics.

Analyzes data from 17 countries that participated in the Global Adult Tobacco Survey to assess whether awareness of antismoking messages in four media channels was associated with a smoker’s intention to quit.  From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Presents information on the most common causes of injuries treated in hospital emergency room departments in 2010.  Covers the characteristics of those who were injured, including age and form of health insurance, and types of injuries suffered.  From the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Reports that an American has a 31% chance of dying of heart disease, a 22% chance of dying of some form of cancer, and a much smaller chance of dying from accidents, diabetes, or septicemia—3 of the 10 leading causes of death during 1999-2001.  Covers 33 selected causes of death by race and sex.  From the National Center for Health Statistics

The major annual compilation of statistics on the health of the American people.  Contains 134 trend tables organized around 4 major subject areas.  The 2012 issue also has a special feature on emergency care.  From the National Center for Health Statistics

Discusses results of tests to use germ-killing soap and ointment on all intensive-care-unit patients to reduce the incidence of staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections.  From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Focuses on 40 studies to identify the benefits and harms of specific tools and strategies in screening for postpartum depression.  From the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

This report evaluates adjustment methods for calculating estimates of risk factors for women of childbearing age.  Tries to adjust for the fact that age-related factors may be overly influenced by the youngest and oldest women in a range.  From the National Center for Health Statistics

Reviews the current status of physical education in American schools, examines the influence of physical activity on long and short term health, and offers recommendations for improving school physical education programs.  From the Institute of Medicine

Provides background information on compounded drugs and nontraditional compounding pharmacies,  including an overview of the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak, recent recalls of compounded drugs, and other adverse events involving compounded drugs. From the Congressional Research Service, posted by the Federation of American Scientists

Reports on three cases of infection from a strain of avian influenza not previously reported in humans and which resulted in the deaths of the patients.  From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Surveys a large number of research articles to review evidence about the accuracy of suicide risk screening  instruments and the efficacy of treatments to prevent suicide.  From the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Discovers that among those with stage 1 and stage 2 hypertension, treatment with medication was lower for Mexican Americans and African Americans.   From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Reports that teen birth rates fell sharply in the period 2007-2011.  Provides rates by state and demographic characteristics of teens.  From the National Center for Health Statistics

Reports the results of research to develop a new poverty measure that better reflects the  true economic circumstances of low-income Virginians.  The VPM claims to be an improvement over the official U.S. poverty measure by accounting for regional cost differences, family resources from in-kind government transfers, necessary medical expenses, and  other factors.  From the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia

This report presents a summary of progress in the underlying science of stem cell research over the last decade including regulatory and ethical framework, scientific advances,  and clinical developments.  From the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology

Examines reasons for patient transfers from EDs to other acute care hospitals including specialty coverage, ability to treat condition, trauma level, and patient characteristics including source of payment.  Reports that medicare patients were most likely to be transferred to other hospitals. From the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Special report on progress made against the HIV/AIDs epidemic in African nations.  From UNAIDS

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr066.pdf

Reports that by 2007 28% of such agencies had adopted both electronic health records and mobile technology.  Also reports on characteristics of agencies adopting new technologies and the functions most often used.  From the National Center for Health Statistics