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Maryland County Officials Create State's First Suburban HIV/AIDS Commission
Anne Arundel County, Md., Executive John Leopold recently appointed 20 community leaders, government officials and health workers to serve on the county"s first HIV/AIDS commission, which aims to understand and develop strategies for addressing the disease, the Baltimore Sun reports. The Sun reports the commission is believed to be the first of its kind in a suburban Maryland county and similar to a commission launched in Baltimore City. Council member Daryl Jones in 2008 proposed legislation to create the commission, citing the increasing number of HIV cases in the northern part of the county, likely because of its close proximity to Baltimore. According to Jones, the commission aims to generate funds for testing and outreach services; address stigma associated with the disease; and heighten awareness of the virus among residents. The commission also will produce an annual report on HIV/AIDS-related issues in the county, Jones said. Anne Arundel County had 1,000 recorded HIV/AIDS cases in 2006, with 56 newly reported HIV cases that year, according to the Maryland AIDS Administration. "It"s pretty much what I would classify as having the potential to reach epidemic proportions," Jones said, adding that Baltimore has the second highest AIDS rate among major metropolitan areas in the country. According to Kelly Sipe Russo, a physician clinical specialist with the county health department"s division of public health, the department has identified "hot spots" in the county with high HIV/AIDS rates, including the northern area and Annapolis. Russo noted that while HIV/AIDS rates in the county are not on the rise, they also are not declining, even with programs in place to increase awareness and provide help for those living with the disease. According to the Sun, although res and staffing are limited for many programs, health department officials still believe the programs are slowly having an effect and that more outreach is needed, especially for testing and treatment. Jones said that the economic downturn could lead more people to drug or alcohol use. He also noted that the stigma surrounding the disease is a major factor behind the creation of the commission. "Part of what the commission will address is figuring out ways to take away some of the fear factor" associated with HIV testing, he said. The Sun also profiled Carolyn Massey, an HIV-positive woman appointed to the commission. She said that stigma associated with the virus still is widespread, adding, "I feel we"re doing some of the right things the right way. HIV infection is something that does not have to happen" (Dixon, Baltimore Sun, 5/18).

In Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Models, Novel DNA Vaccine Leads To Kidney Damage Prevention
DNA vaccination using lupus autoantigens and interleukin-10 (IL-10, a cytokine that plays an important role in regulating the immune system) has potential as a novel therapy to induce antigen specific tolerance and may help to prevent kidney damage in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), according to a new study presented at EULAR 2009, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Copenhagen, Denmark.
News of the day
'Hijacking Mechanism' Of HIV-1' Pinpointed By McGill/JGH Researchers
Researchers at McGill University and the affiliated Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research at Montreal"s Jewish General Hospital - along with colleagues at the University of Manitoba and the University of British Columbia - may have found a chink in the armour of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), the microorganism which causes AIDS. They have pinpointed the key cellular machinery co-opted by HIV-1 to hijack the human cell for its own benefit. Their study was published in May in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Health Insurance

ASC X12 Releases Implementation Guide: "Personal Health Record Transfer Between Health Plans"

Standardized requirements for one health insurance plan to electronically send Personal Health Record (PHR) data to another health insurance plan, called the "Personal Health Record (PHR) Transfer Between Health Plans Technical Report, 005050X274," was released by the Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12, providing monumental interoperability among insurance companies assisting consumers. "This Implementation Guide provides a standards-based mechanism to electronically send PHR data from a predecessor to a successor health plan," said Dan Kazzaz, Chair, ASC X12. "It provides needed support to health plans in the role of maintaining longitudinal PHRs for individuals and moving PHRs from health plan to health plan whenever individuals" or companies" health plan coverages shift." This implementation guide builds on the pioneering work of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and America"s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) in their 005010 implementation guide of the same name. The document brings together work of several standards-setting organizations to describe the business process, message structure, data elements and examples and includes a glossary. "This announcement by ASC X12 is good news for consumers who, when they change coverage, want to transfer their PHRs to their new health plans and continue with all of the advantages that PHRs bring with them," said AHIP President and CEO Karen Ignagni. "We are pleased that the new standard builds on the work of AHIP and BCBSA, which was designed to be consistent with that of the standards organizations, and to be a building block for their future efforts," Ignagni said. "BCBSA believes the increased use of personal health records will allow consumers to take a greater role in their own healthcare and ultimately improve quality and health outcomes," said Scott P. Serota, BCBSA president and CEO. "BCBSA is proud of its partnership with ASC X12 and other organizations to promote the use of PHR standards." The Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP), a cooperative partnership between the public and private sectors has named ASC X12 and Health Level Seven (HL7) standards in their Interoperability Specifications. The "Personal Health Record Transfer Between Health Plans Technical Report" benefits from ASC X12 and HL7 standards. This implementation guide for ASC X12"s Patient Information Transaction Set 275 describes a standard method to encapsulate an HL7 Plan-to-Plan Personal Health Record Data Transfer (P2PPHR). Neither the ASC X12 guide, nor the HL7 guide are standalone documents. The X12 guide relies on the HL7 guide, which relies on and references other HL7 documents. X12 standards provide robust acknowledgments at several levels, from transmission to implementation guide adherence. HL7 standards provide a thorough collection of clinical-based data elements and a rich vocabulary gleaned from other well-known standard coding systems, such as, SNOMED, CPT, and LOINC. Applications of this standard include: -- When an employer or coverage sponsor changes from one health plan to another, the new health plan may request the prior plan to transfer PHR information of covered individuals. -- When an individual changes jobs and elects coverage under a new health plan, he may request the transfer of PHR information for covered individuals. The prior health plan, with the individual"s authorization, will transfer the PHR information to the new health plan. -- When an individual or subgroup of individuals changes from one health plan to another, the new health plan may request the prior health plan to transfer the PHR information of those covered individuals. The combination of X12 and HL7 specifications incorporate Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) Release 2 (R2)-defined eXtensible Markup Language (XML) in the 275 transaction to delineate the data elements that are supported by health plan claims, administrative functions, clinical actions, medications, providers, facilities, and other data directly entered by individuals into their PHR. About ASC X12 Celebrating 30 years of Business Process and Technical Expertise in the Development and Adoption of Electronic Data Exchange Standards The ASC X12, chartered by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in 1979, develops EDI standards and documents for national and global markets. With more than 315 X12 EDI standards and increasing X12 XML schemas, ASC X12 enhances business processes, reduces costs and expands organizational reach. Members include standards experts from health care, insurance, transportation, finance, government, supply chain and other industries. To participate in ASC X12"s vital standards-setting role, visit http://www.X12.org, or call 703-970-4480. DISA


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