Massachusettsbased Catholic hospital system Caritas Christi Health Care on Friday ended its joint venture with the Missouribased health insurer Centene after Cardinal Sean OMalley of the Archdiocese of Boston insisted that the relationship linked Catholic hospitals too closely to abortion providers, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports (AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 6/27). Under the joint venture, Caritas [...]

Southamptons teaching hospitals have been recognised by one of the UKs top medical organisations for leading the way in use of antibiotics in the fight against infection. The British Medical Association, the professional body for doctors and medical students, praised Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trusts development of clear and simple antimicrobial prescribing guidelines for staff. [...]

A new Auburn Universitydesigned, hightech pharmacy in Meridian, Miss., is the first of its kind and is a model facility that could be built in communities across the United States.
Auburn pharmacy professors Kenneth Barker and Betsy Flynn led a multidisciplinary team in designing the recently opened facility for Vital Care Inc., which will help pharmacists [...]

The North Carolina Senate on Tuesday voted 2521 to approve a bill (S. 221) that would require public school systems in the state to offer a sex education curriculum that includes information on abstinence, contraceptives and sexually transmitted infections, the WinstonSalem Journal reports. Currently, only two public school systems in the state offer comprehensive sex [...]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first generic version of the emergency contraceptive Plan B (levonorgestrel) tablets, 0.75 mg. The generic product will be available by prescription only for women ages 17 and under.
Plan B was first approved in 1999 for prescription use only for women of all ages. Plan B [...]

President Obama is causing the “core culturewar battle” over sex education to “come full circle” by proposing to redirect funding for abstinenceonly sex education to a new Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative that “rejects an abstinenceonly approach,” Washington Times columnist Cheryl Wetzstein writes. According to Wetzstein, Obamas fiscal year 2010 budget plan “zeroed out” the Title [...]

Intervet/ScheringPlough Animal Health, the global leader in veterinary biologicals, announced the availability of the first vaccine against canine influenza virus (CIV), which was granted a conditional product license by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on May 27, 2009, for use by veterinarians in the United States.
“Canine influenza is a highly contagious [...]

CNN examines Chinas efforts to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS by educating sex workers about the disease and prevention strategies. “It is estimated that some 700,000 people are living with HIV in China and there are about 50,000 new infections every year, according to the Chinese government and UNAIDS. The U.N. agency believes a significant [...]

Oculus Innovative Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq OCLS), a healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a family of products based upon the Microcyn® Technology platform, announced that preliminary results from its U.S. 40patient feasibility study, in which an enhanced formulation of the companys Microcyn Technologybased hydrogel was used in the treatment of acne, are highly encouraging [...]

PLC Systems Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board PLCSF), a company focused on innovative cardiac and vascular medical devicebased technologies, announced that it will be presenting at the IN3 East Medical Technology Company Conference at the Westin Copley Place Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts on Wednesday, June 24, 2009, at 535 pm. Presenting for the company, with a [...]