Acts Against Painful Diseases
Before House of Representatives members went home to campaign this fall, they passed two bills that would advance national efforts against degenerative joint diseases. Led by Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), the House passed the Arthritis Prevention, Control, and Cure Act (H.R. 1210), which would expand public health initiatives that address arthritis and focus federal research and training support on pediatric rheumatology. On the same day, the Scleroderma Research and Awareness Act (H.R. 2408), introduced by Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) and Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-Mich.), also passed the House. The bill would direct the National Institutes of Health to conduct research on scleroderma and related conditions including pulmonary hypertension, gastroparesis, Raynaud's phenomenon, and Sjögren's syndrome. The relevant advocacy organizations praised the sponsors and applauded the bills' goals. In its statement, the Arthritis Foundation called on the Senate to pass its version of the arthritis act (S. 984) before the end of the year. Scleroderma Foundation board chair Joseph P. Camerino, Ph.D., said, “With the passage of this landmark legislation, the scleroderma community has even greater hope that a cure will be found.”
Grants Fund Lupus Research
The Lupus Foundation of America has made six new grants for studies into what it considers neglected areas of lupus research: pediatric lupus, reproductive health issues in lupus, lupus nephritis, and neuropsychiatric lupus. “The research funded this year tackles some of the most complex and challenging areas of lupus research,” said Sandra C. Raymond, president and CEO of the Washington, D.C.–based foundation. “These areas of research have suffered from a lack of resources, and in some cases have seen little advancement.” With the new grants, Dr. Bruce C. Richardson of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor will study the genetics of male lupus; Dr. Richard K. Burt of Northwestern University in Chicago will look at hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in lupus; Dr. Richard J. Quigg of the University of Chicago will study complement manipulation in lupus nephritis; Dr. Martin G. Pomper of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore will assess imaging microglial activation in neuropsychiatric lupus; Dr. Michelle A. Petri of Johns Hopkins will study the use of levothyroxine in pregnant systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients; and Dr. Kathleen M. O'Neil of the University of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City will look at the effect of puberty on SLE.
World Arthritis Day Celebrated
If you were feeling blue on Oct. 12, maybe it was the glow of the official color of World Arthritis Day. The event, spearheaded by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) and the Arthritis Foundation, included bathing landmarks such as Niagara Falls in blue light. The purpose of World Arthritis Day is to “raise awareness of arthritis in all its forms among the medical community, people with arthritis, and the general public; to influence public policy by making decision makers aware of the burden of arthritis and the steps which can be taken to ease it; to ensure all people with arthritis and their caregivers are aware of the vast support network available to them,” according to the EULAR Web site on the commemoration (
Nursing Expansion Called For
Nurses' roles and responsibilities should change significantly to meet the increased demand for care created by health care reform, according to an Institute of Medicine report that immediately drew criticism from the American Medical Association. The report urged the removal of regulatory and institutional obstacles to nurses who take on additional patient-care duties. To handle these new responsibilities, nurses should receive higher levels of training through an improved education system, including a new residency program and additional opportunities for lifelong learning, the IOM report said. The AMA took issue with the report's call to expand nurses' scope of practice, saying that nurse practitioners don't have nearly the amount of training and clinical experience that doctors do. “With a shortage of both nurses and physicians, increasing the responsibility of nurses is not the answer to the physician shortage,” said AMA board member Rebecca J. Patchin in a statement.
First EHR-Certifying Bodies Named
A nonprofit organization that is dedicated to health information technology and a software-testing lab have been chosen as the first two bodies to officially test and certify electronic health record systems for the federal government. The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology and the Drummond Group can immediately begin certifying EHR systems as being HHS compliant, the Department of Health and Human Services said in an announcement. Now that HHS has named the certifying organizations, vendors can start applying for certification of the EHR systems and physicians soon should be able to purchase certified products, the HHS said.