NCI Provides Updated Online Resource with Information on State Insurance Coverage Laws for Patients in Clinical Trials
(December 16, 2008) The National Cancer Institute recently updated its list of states that require health plans to cover patient care costs in clinical trials. The online feature, found at http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/ctlaws-home, is a useful resource for those who work to increase enrollment in cancer clinical trials. In the wake of new legislation, the Ohio entry was updated and a new entry for Washington, DC, was added. In addition, the interactive map was enlarged for easier use. Some health plans don't cover routine care costs once a person joins a clinical trial, posing a barrier to enrollment. The NCI State Cancer Legislative Database Program tracks laws and voluntary agreements that require health plans to cover such costs. The Cancer.gov feature provides user-friendly links to current laws or agreements and their key provisions, as well as links to related resources.

Annual Report to the Nation by Leading Cancer Organizations Indicates Decreasing Incidence and Death Rates from All Cancers
(November 25, 2008) A new report from the nation's leading cancer organizations published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute shows that, for the first time since the report was first issued in 1998, both incidence and death rates for all cancers combined are decreasing for both men and women, driven largely by declines in some of the most common types of cancer.
For more information see the NCI news release, access the full report, and read the Houston Chronicle news story.

Lamar McGinnis President-Elect of American College of Surgeons
(November 14, 2008) Former ICC governing board member and treasurer, Lamar McGinnis, MD, is chosen president-elect of the American College of Surgeons.
For more information see the press release and the story in Clinical Congress NEWS.

Diversity in Medical Education: Facts and Figures 2008
The Association of American Medical Colleges has released Diversity in Medical Education: Facts and Figures 2008. This is the 15th data book in its Facts & Figures Data Series. This publication provides students, medical educators and administrators, researchers, policy makers, and the general public with a compendium of detailed statistical information on race, ethnicity, and gender in medical education in the United States for the 2007 academic year. This publication also includes data related to the pre-college component of the education pipeline leading to the M.D. degree and other health sciences and health professions careers.
Order a print copy or download the free PDF file

AAMC Herbert W. Nickens Faculty Fellowship Awarded to Marcella Nunez-Smith, MD
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Herbert W. Nickens Faculty Fellowship has been awarded to Marcella Nunez-Smith, M.D., assistant professor of general internal medicine at Yale University School of Medicine. The fellowship recognizes an outstanding junior faculty member who demonstrates leadership in addressing inequities in medical education and health care; who works to address the educational, societal, and health care needs of minorities; and who is committed to a career in academic medicine. Dr. Nunez-Smith will be presented with her award--a $15,000 grant to support her academic and professional activities--at the association's Annual Meeting in San Antonio later this week.
For more information about AAMC Grants and Awards see . . . http://www.aamc.org/about/awards/start.htm

Study Seeks Input from Asian Americans on Use of Internet Cancer Support Groups
Eun-Ok Im, MPH, PhD, FAAN, School of Nursing, University of Texas at Austin and her colleagues are conducting an Internet study to determine reliability and validity of the Health Information National Trends Survey questionnaire [HINTS] subscale on general Internet use and the questions on the use of ICSGs (UICSG) and to determine feasibility/usability of the online forum topics on the influences of cultural factors on the use of ICSGs among Asian Americans living with cancer who are online. To collect this information, they are going to use a web-based survey and an online forum among Asian Americans living with cancer. You are eligible for the study if you are an Asian American living with cancer more than 18 years old who can read and write English and whose self-reported ethnic identity is non-Hispanic Asian. Reimbursement for individual participation will be made by providing 10 dollars gift certificate per internet survey participant and 50 dollars gift certificate per online forum participant.
learn more about this project and participate in the survey or forum

HRSA Awards $2.4 Million for Patient Navigator Demonstration
(October 2, 2008) The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announces six awards totaling nearly $2.4 million for two-year projects to assess how individuals known as "patient navigators" can improve patients’ chances of beating and managing chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity and asthma. Grants from the Patient Navigator Outreach and Chronic Disease Prevention Demonstration Program will be used to recruit, train and employ patient navigators, who can be nurses, social workers, community health workers or anyone with first-hand knowledge of the communities they serve.
read the HRSA news release