It's on .

Household Products Database
August 4, 2003 - The National Institutes of Health unveiled a consumer's guide that provides easy-to- understand information on the potential health effects of more than 2,000 ingredients contained in more than 4,000 common household products.

Campaign for Safer Health Care
August 4, 2003 - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in partnership with the American Hospital Association and the American Medical Association, today announced a campaign to help distribute valuable information about improving patient safety to health care providers and patients across the country.

Men's and Women' s Preventive Health Checklists 
July 22, 2003 - Two brand-new pamphlets from the AHRQ-sponsored U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, "Women: Stay Healthy at Any Age: Checklist for Your Next Checkup" and "Men: Stay Healthy at Any Age: Checklist for Your Next Checkup" tell you exactly what you need to know about the most important health screening tests.

New Blood Test Can Help Predict Coronary Heart Disease Risk
July 22, 2003 - FDA has cleared for marketing a blood test that can help predict the risk of coronary heart disease by measuring the level of an enzyme that is higher in persons with the disease. The test is intended to augment other tests and clinical evaluation. About 7 million Americans have coronary heart disease, caused by a narrowing of the coronary arteries that feed the heart.  

FDA Initiative Aims to Protect Consumers from Counterfeit Drugs
July 22, 2003 - Prompted by an increase in counterfeit drugs, FDA has launched an initiative to protect consumers from these potentially unsafe products. The initiative is designed to improve identification of risks and threats from counterfeit drugs; establish a public and private coalition to fight drug counterfeiting and distribution; and develop new tools to identify, deter, and combat counterfeiting.

Most Americans Clean Their Plate
July 2003 - Most Americans clean their plates, no matter how full those plates are, according to a survey released on Thursday. The findings, released by the American Institute for Cancer Research, add to the debate over how much restaurants and fast-food outlets are contributing to the epidemic of obesity in the United States and elsewhere. (Medline article available until 08/17/03.)

Quality of Care in Nursing Homes Nationwide
July 18, 2003 – The HHS Office of Inspector General has posted to its website Congressional Testimony presented before the Senate Committee on Finance on the quality of nursing home care.  Following the testimony is a list of selected OIG nursing home reports including links to the full documents.

Articles in the Current Issue of FDA Consumer Magazine
July 14, 2003 - The July-August issue of FDA Consumer is available online with articles on: Alzheimer's disease, new cancer treatments, streamlining cancer drug development, blood safety, reducing preventable device injuries, Hispanic health, SARS, reporting problem products, and more.

National Participating Physician Directory Now Offers More Information on CMS Web Site
July 11, 2003 - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has made more information available on the CMS web site about the medical background of thousands of physicians currently participating in the Medicare program.

HHS to Require Food Labels to Include Trans Fat Contents
July 9, 2003 -  HHS announced today that food labels will be required to list the amount of unhealthy trans fatty acids, or trans fat, to give consumers better information when choosing their foods.

Celebrate the Fourth of July at FirstGov. Gov
July 2, 2003 - On this page you'll find:

SPRY National Conference - October 2-3, 2003
July 1, 2003 - The SPRY Foundation, together with the federal government and private organizations, is sponsoring a national conference on "Computer-Based Technology and Caregiving for Older Adults." The conference will bring together experts from both research and applied fields to share and translate their experiences and knowledge of using technologies to promote improved caregiving to older adults.

Senior Corps Seeks 100,000 Volunteers for America's Communities
June 2003 -  In a nationwide search for 100,000 volunteers age 55 and over, Senior Corps of the Corporation for National and Community Service (the Corporation) today launched Ask a Friend, Share Your Volunteer Spirit, a campaign to recruit volunteers for activities that help support and strengthen their communities.

FDA Approves Heartburn Drug Prilosec for Over-the-Counter Sales
June 26, 2003 - FDA has approved Prilosec OTC as the first over-the-counter treatment for frequent heartburn. FDA Commissioner Mark B. McClellan, M.D., says the switch of the drug from prescription to OTC status "will help reduce costs and expand the availability of treatment options for millions of Americans." Prilosec OTC is not intended for people who have heartburn infrequently (one episode a week or less) or for those who want immediate relief of heartburn.

NCOA Supports New Program on Cholesterol Therapy
June 25, 2003 - In an effort to help uninsured and under-insured Americans without affordable access to well-tolerated and effective cholesterol therapy, The National Council on the Aging (NCOA) announced the addition of the SAVE Program to its first of its kind Web-based service known as BenefitsCheckUp®.  This development coincides with the national introduction of the SAVE Program by Andrx Laboratories to cash-paying patients and their physicians in need of a cost-effective alternative to expensive name brand pharmaceuticals.

Baldness Drug Prevents Cancer in Men, Study Finds
June 25, 2003 - A popular baldness drug that works by lowering male hormone levels also seems to prevent prostate cancer, a major killer of men, U.S. researchers said Tuesday. The drug, finasteride, worked so well that the researchers stopped their trial so that all the men could take the drug. It seemed to reduce prostate cancer by 25 percent. (This is a Medline news item that will only be available until July 24.)

Full Circle of Care
June 20, 2003 - We reviewed this site favorably last July, but they've greatly expanded their website, including a new section for caregivers and professionals to choose a state and directly link to that state's aging agency, Area Agencies on Aging, ombudsman, health insurance information, disability resources, and elder abuse - including phone numbers.

General Accounting Office Report on Elderly Housing
June 17, 2003 - 80-page report finds that project funding and other factors delay assistance to needy households. [This is a .pdf file which requires the Acrobat Reader.] A shorter Highlights version is also available.

HHS Revises Regulations and Procedures to Speed Access to Generic Drugs
June 12, 2003 - HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations to streamline the process for making safe, effective generic drugs available to consumers by limiting a drug company to only one 30-month "stay" of a generic drug's entry into the market for resolution of a patent challenge.

Web-Based Exhibit On Genetics Research Now Available
June 11, 2003 - An on-line exhibit on genetics research, sponsored by the Office of NIH History, is now available on the World Wide Web.  The exhibit explains the importance of genetics research and the profound impact it will have on our future.  A physical version of the exhibit is also on display at the NIH Clinical Center.

Aspirin as Effective as Ticlopidine in African American Antiplatelet Stroke Prevention Study
June 11, 2003 - Results from the African American Antiplatelet Stroke Prevention Study (AAASPS) show that aspirin is as effective as ticlopidine for prevention of a second stroke in this population.

Accelerated Roll-out Schedule for National “Do Not Call” Registry
June 10, 2003 - The Federal Trade Commission announced that telephone registration for the National “Do Not Call” Registry will be accelerated, and will be available to consumers coast-to-coast during July 2003. Online registration will be available nationwide on or around July 1. Telephone registration will open for consumers in states west of the Mississippi River – including Minnesota and Louisiana – on the same date. Telephone registration will be available one week later to the entire country.

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