2011-08-18
Washington Update: What the Debt Deal Means for Hematologists
The President and Congress struck a last-minute deal and approved legislation to raise the nation's debt limit and reduce the deficit. While the conclusion of the debt bill saga prevents the country from default and ends one of the most contentious legislative periods in congressional history, there are still political hurdles and deadlines ahead. Read more about what this will mean for hematologists.
New Deficit Panel is Key to Solving Medicare Physician Payment Cuts
Physicians are scheduled to receive a 29.5 percent cut from Medicare beginning January 1, 2012 unless Congress takes legislative action to prevent it. Consequently, the new special congressional committee created in the recently approved debt deal is gaining attention as the best chance to resolve the matter. Read more.
HHS Announces Proposal to Revise Rules Protecting Human Research Subjects
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) that proposes various ways of enhancing the regulations overseeing research on human subjects. Before making changes to the regulations – which have been in place since 1991 and are often referred to as the “Common Rule” – the government is seeking the public's input on an array of issues related to the ethics, safety, and oversight of human research. Read more.
NIH Sets Up a Website for Comments on Common Fund Programs
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Strategic Planning in the Office of the Director (OD) has developed an interactive website for the scientific community to weigh in on the ideas submitted for new Fiscal Year 2013 Common Fund programs. This comment website is intended to allow NIH staff and the general community to help shape programs that may emerge from this strategic planning process, and ASH is counting on its members to participate in this interactive dialog to shape the NIH strategic planning. Read more.
Update on Hematologic Drug Shortages: ASH Posts Information & Resources for Physicians
The United States is continuing to experience severe shortages of drugs used to treat hematology patients. ASH has taken several steps to resolve these drug shortages, including alerting and working with the Food & Drug Administration and Congress. Read the latest update on the status of hematologic drug shortages, ASH advocacy efforts, and resources for physicians.
Court Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging NIH Funding of Embryonic Stem Cell Research
On July 27, Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a lawsuit challenging federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research. Judge Lamberth’s decision follows nearly a year of court proceedings that left a cloud of uncertainty over the future of federally funded embryonic stem cell research. Read more.
NIH Appoints Director of New Intramural Center for Regenerative Medicine
On August 3, NIH Director Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, announced the appointment of Mahendra S. Rao, MD, PhD, as the director for the new NIH Intramural Center for Regenerative Medicine (NIH-CRM). The NIH-CRM is an initiative to create a world-class center of excellence in stem cell technology on the NIH campus, including induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), which can have applications in many systems and organs of the body. Read more.
NRC Publishes Final Policy Statement on CsCl-containing Radiation Sources; Incorporates ASH Recommendations
On July 25, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published a final policy statement on the protection of cesium-137 chloride (CsCl) Sources. The NRC policy recognizes that the CsCl sources enable three specific classes of applications that benefit society: blood irradiation, biomedical and industrial research, and calibration of instrumentation and dosimetry. Incorporating ASH’s recommendations, the NRC lists hematology and bone marrow transplantation in the biomedical research uses of CsCl sources. Read more.
National Conference on Blood Disorders in Public Health Abstract Submission Now Open
ASH, in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities - Division of Blood Disorders, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and Hemophilia of Georgia, will host the second National Conference on Blood Disorders in Public Health on March 12-14, 2012, in Atlanta, GA. The purpose of this conference is to promote the adoption and full integration of evidence-based and evidence-informed public health functions that can improve outcomes among people with a blood disorder. Abstract submission for the conference is now open through September 18. To learn more about the conference and the abstract submission process, visit the conference website.
Advance Registration Open for 2011 Annual Meetingin San Diego
Advance registration and housing for the 2011 ASH Annual Meeting December 10-13 in San Diego is now open. Register online today. If you have questions, contact the ASH Meetings Department at meetings@hematology.org or 202-776-0544.
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