Health | WPN World People News

Wounds on the skin may have met their match, as developers put their stamp on a new technology that could serve as an antidote by speeding up the healing process. The innovative idea takes an ultra-thin polymer antibacterial coating infused with micrometer-size silver nanoparticles and delivers the active ingredients directly to the wound via a rubber stamp application, according to a recent study published in the "Advanced Functional Materials" journal.

At age 78, Milton Jones feel like he's earned his Medicare benefits.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today launched a new initiative which will reward hospitals for the quality of care they provide to people with Medicare and help reduce health care costs. Authorized by the Affordable Care Act, the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program marks the beginning of an historic change in how Medicare pays health care providers and facilities—for the first time, 3,500 hospitals across the country will be paid for inpatient acute care services based on care quality, not just the quantity of the services they provide.

A new national report released in conjunction with Mental Health Awareness Month and Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day indicates that 8.1 percent of America’s adolescents aged 12 to 17 (2 million youth) experienced at least one major depressive episode (MDE) in the past year. The report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) also shows that only 34.7 percent of these adolescents suffering from major depressive episodes received treatment during this period.

SAMHSA has developed a series of Metro Briefs providing detailed statistical snapshots of drug-related visits to hospital emergency departments occurring in 11 metropolitan areas across the nation. This series of briefs is based on SAMHSA’s Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), a public health surveillance system which collects data from nationally representative emergency departments participating in the program.

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) introduced legislation to defund Planned Parenthood in January.

In his seven years as a New York Times op-ed columnist, David Brooks has witnessed the full range of politicians’ charms. He has seen Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney memorize the first names of every voter in a New Hampshire diner, and held former President Bill Clinton’s friendly gaze in conversation, even across a crowded room.

Sticking to a strict drug regimen is not always easy

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, joined by leaders of major hospitals, employers, health plans, physicians, nurses, and patient advocates, today announced the Partnership for Patients, a new national partnership that will help save 60,000 lives by stopping millions of preventable injuries and complications in patient care over the next three years.