Health (Illness, Treatment, Prescriptions)
03/05/2007
Pharmaceutical companies are spending more than $4 billion a year on direct-to-consumer advertising, and it is working. Patients ask for the medications they see on TV and in magazines, and physicians prescribe them. Health systems are also lining freeways with billboards boasting "remarkable care," and marketing campaigns that tout the advantages of CT scans for cancer screening have members calling health plans to see if such services are covered.
A debate is growing about the rationale for advertising health care products and services, and a growing body of evidence is being unveiled about its effects.
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03/05/2007
Pfizer's controversial deal with drugs wholesaler UniChem, making it the exclusive distributor of the pharmaceutical group's medicines in the UK, goes ahead today after a last-ditch attempt to block it failed on Friday.
Eight wholesalers, including Phoenix Healthcare Distribution and AAH Pharmaceuticals, sought an injunction against the deal. But after a four-hour hearing in the high court, the judge decided against an injunction, "pending an effective hearing." Steve Dunn, group managing director at AAH, said the court's decision was disappointing.
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03/05/2007
Hot topics: Veterans Media Military Iraq Iran Congress Administration
Wife Of Iraq Veteran: ‘My Life Was Ripped Apart';
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee';s national security panel is holding hearings this morning on the neglect at Walter Reed military hospital.
They heard from Anne McLeod, wife of wounded Iraq veteran Cpl. Dell McLeod, who was profiled by the Washington Post. Dell ";takes 23 pills a day, prescribed by various doctors at Walter Reed. Crowds frighten him. He is too anxious to drive,"; and he can';t be left alone. ";I don';t even know this man anymore,"; his wife says.
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03/05/2007
CHICAGO (AP) - Deciding which medicine to give a child in pain just got easier: The first head-to-head study of three common painkillers found that ibuprofen works best, at least for kids with broken bones, bruises and sprains.
Available generically and under the brand names Advil and Motrin, ibuprofen beat generic acetaminophen and codeine in an emergency room study of 300 children treated at a Canadian hospital.
The youngsters, aged 6 to 17, were randomly assigned to receive standard doses of one of the three medicines. They then periodically rated their pain. Half an hour later, ratings were similar in the three groups.
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03/05/2007
Newswise -; Based on a new study released today, researchers urge more comprehensive imaging for patients presenting to hospitals with stroke symptoms. Using both MRI and echocardiography to image the heart greatly enhances the detection of the cause and selection of the best treatment of cardioembolic strokes, the "meanest" type of stroke.
A cardioembolic stroke occurs when a thrombus (clot) dislodges from the heart, travels through the cardiovascular system and lodges in the brain, first cutting off the blood supply and then often causing a hemorrhagic bleed - a double whammy of both types of stroke, ischemic first and then hemorrhagic.
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03/05/2007
AP Medical Writer
CHICAGO -; Deciding which medicine to give a child in pain just got easier.
The first head-to-head study of three common painkillers found that ibuprofen works best, at least for kids with broken bones, bruises and sprains.
Available generically and under the brand names Advil and Motrin, ibuprofen beat generic acetaminophen and codeine in an emergency room study of 300 children treated at a Canadian hospital.
The youngsters, aged 6 to 17, were randomly assigned to receive standard doses of one of the three medicines. They then periodically rated their pain. Half an hour later, ratings were similar in the three groups.
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03/05/2007
CHICAGO (AP) - Deciding which medicine to give a child in pain just got easier: The first head-to-head study of three common painkillers found that ibuprofen works best, at least for kids with broken bones, bruises and sprains.
Available generically and under the brand names Advil and Motrin, ibuprofen beat generic acetaminophen and codeine in an emergency room study of 300 children treated at a Canadian hospital.
The youngsters, aged 6 to 17, were randomly assigned to receive standard doses of one of the three medicines. They then periodically rated their pain. Half an hour later, ratings were similar in the three groups.
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03/05/2007
Psychotherapist, author and guided imagery innovator Belleruth
Naparstek is the creator of the popular, Time Warner Health
Journeys guided imagery audio series. Her first book, Staying
Well with Guided Imagery, is a widely used wellness primer.
Her second, Your Sixth Sense, has been translated
into 8 languages and called one of the most thoughtful and
sophisticated looks at intuition in print. Her new book on
imagery and posttraumatic stress, Invisible Heroes: Survivors
of Trauma and How They Heal (Bantam Dell), won the Spirituality
& Health Top 50 Books Award and came out in paperback
January of 2006.
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03/05/2007
Heart failure is a condition in which the heart has lost the ability to pump enough blood to the body's tissues. With too little blood being delivered, the organs and other tissues do not receive enough oxygen and nutrients to function properly.
Description
According to the American Heart Association, about4.9 million Americans are living with congestive heart failure. Of these, 2.5 million are males and 2.4 million are females. Ten people out of every 1,000 people over age 65 have this condition. There are about 400,000 new cases each year.
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03/05/2007
ISLAMABAD: An early warning system can help doctors prevent many cases of deep-vein thrombosis, the so-called "economy-class syndrome" that causes potentially fatal blood clots, researchers said.
Up to 2 million Americans develop the clots each year, usually because of inactivity, cancer or dehydration.
The condition has been known to afflict passengers on long airline flights, and such a clot claimed the life of NBC television news reporter David Bloom in 2003 when he was covering the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
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03/05/2007
CHICAGO -- Deciding which medicine to give a child in pain just got easier: The first head-to-head study of three common painkillers found that ibuprofen works best, at least for kids with broken bones, bruises and sprains.
Available generically and under the brand names Advil and Motrin, ibuprofen beat generic acetaminophen and codeine in an emergency room study of 300 children treated at a Canadian hospital.
The youngsters, ages 6 to 17, were randomly assigned to receive standard doses of one of the three medicines. They then periodically rated their pain. Half an hour later, ratings were similar in the three groups.
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03/05/2007
Doctors once said Joe - who caught the superbugs over eight months at two hospitals - was one of the sickest children in the country.
He suffers from Angelman syndrome - a disorder which has left him with severe learning difficulties, epilepsy and jerky body movements.
His battle with the bugs began after he contracted Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a rare illness that causes blisters and sores. That saw Joe taken to the Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro, last June close to death.
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03/05/2007
In a letter she wrote in the depths of despair, Bonnie thanked friends Dale Eastman and Joy Moose of the Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation for their help. She also lamented her situation.
"I'm on a learning expedition, learning how to access a system that I never had to use before," she wrote. "It is so difficult being poor. I would rather get up and go to work as I have been doing every day of my life than sit in offices begging for services that are so caught up with bureaucracy."
Joy and Dale, president and vice president of the breast cancer foundation, did whatever they could to help and bolster Bonnie.
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03/05/2007
The review appears in the current issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing medical trials on a topic.
Doctors, nurses and other health-care providers have worried about HIV exposure since the AIDS epidemic first began in the early 1980s. Since the virus that causes AIDS is transmitted through blood, a simple needle stick could infect anyone treating a patient.
The risk, however, is quite low.
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03/05/2007
CHICAGO - Deciding which medicine to give a child in pain just got easier: The first head-to-head study of three common painkillers found that ibuprofen works best, at least for kids with broken bones, bruises and sprains.
Available generically and under the brand names Advil and Motrin, ibuprofen beat generic acetaminophen and codeine in an emergency room study of 300 children treated at a Canadian hospital.
The youngsters, aged 6 to 17, were randomly assigned to receive standard doses of one of the three medicines. They then periodically rated their pain. Half an hour later, ratings were similar in the three groups.
Click here to view this article
03/05/2007
CHICAGO -; Deciding which medicine to give a child in pain just got easier: The first head-to-head study of three common painkillers found that ibuprofen works best, at least for kids with broken bones, bruises and sprains.
Available generically and under the brand names Advil and Motrin, ibuprofen beat generic acetaminophen and codeine in an emergency-room study of 300 children treated at a Canadian hospital.
The youngsters, ages 6 to 17, were randomly assigned to receive standard doses of one of the three medicines. They then periodically rated their pain. Half an hour later, ratings were similar in the three groups.
Click here to view this article
03/05/2007
CHICAGO (AP) - Deciding which medicine to give a child in pain just got easier: The first head-to-head study of three common painkillers found that ibuprofen works best, at least for kids with broken bones, bruises and sprains.
Available generically and under the brand names Advil and Motrin, ibuprofen beat generic acetaminophen and codeine in an emergency room study of 300 children treated at a Canadian hospital.
The youngsters, aged 6 to 17, randomly were assigned to receive standard doses of one of the three medicines. They then periodically rated their pain. Half an hour later, ratings were similar in the three groups.
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03/05/2007
Annual Report
The County Department of Mental Health offers a full range of services designed to meet the needs of area residents. This state-licensed clinic offers comprehensive programs representing a broad range of disciplines including psychiatry, psychology, nursing and social work. Counseling and crisis intervention can be accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Regional Action Phone Line (RAP). Their number is (800) 889-1903. The emergency services staff respond to hundreds of calls per year.
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03/04/2007
Robot-assisted surgery has been evolving over the past decade, from simple adjustable arms to support cameras in laparoscopic surgery, through to the more sophisticated four-armed machines now being installed in a number of hospitals in Australia.1 The name “robot” is somewhat misleading, as these devices do not perform autonomous tasks, but are under the direct control of a surgeon who usually works from a remote console to insert robot-controlled instruments into a patient.
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03/04/2007
Going to the hospital with chest pains that you think are coming from a heart attack can save your life, but it also can waste an awful lot of time.
Each year, 6 million Americans run into emergency rooms complaining of chest pains. About half of them have inconclusive early test results about whether the heart suffered any damage. And of that 3 million, roughly 65 percent are eventually found not to have suffered a heart attack, but are instead experiencing pain because of some other source - from indigestion to pulled rib muscles.
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03/04/2007
You are a very special person to us! Perhaps you or a loved one has benefited from treatment by a holistic doctor, or maybe you just know there's a better way to practice medicine. In either case, you can be an ambassador and a great help to our cause.
We want you to know about the American Holistic Medical Association. We are the doctors you have found, and others are still seeking! The mission of the AHMA in its 26 years has been to encourage doctors to learn about natural healing.
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03/04/2007
Medication is Not Enough: Job and Family Counseling Needed as Well
Read more. Psycho-social Treaments
Schizophrenia Advocacy
Based on the outcome of a new CATIE study announced in a press release issued by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the USA Today reported on the study's finding that in order to live independently with a better quality of life, more community services in the areas of job training and family counseling are needed.
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03/04/2007
If you haven't seen it yet, head over to IAVA's website to view PBS Newshour's discussion on traumatic brain injury,the signature wound of the Iraq War. Tuesday night's ABC News special, To Iraq and Back, has sharpened our focus on this war wound, which often follows an improvised explosive device attack.
Reporter Bob Woodruff, who suffered TBI following an IED attack last year in Iraq, submitted disturbing evidence that suggests this is yet another area where we appear to be falling behind in providing our troops the care that they need to fully and successfully make their way back to civilian life.
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03/04/2007
As fundamental in Chinese culture as the Great Wall and dim sum, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) - with its acupuncture needles and herbal remedies - seems to have been around forever, and always will be.
Or will it?
As reported in The Boston Globe, a philosophy professor at a regional university in China launched a controversy in October with an online petition calling to oust Traditional Chinese Medicine from the national medical system. Four days later he had 10,000 signatures.
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03/04/2007
Vaccine could wipe out cervical cancer soon
GATHERING PLACE
Barbara Marumoto
THE GOVERNOR of Texas recently mandated that 11- and 12-year-old girls would receive a new vaccine to protect them from cervical cancer. Gov. Rick Perry did allow several "opt out" provisions. But, will something similar happen in Hawaii? No, judging by current legislative activity, there are no surprises regarding cervical cancer vaccines in store here. The state Department of Health and legislators are glad that there soon will be several brands of vaccines on the market. Good news for women and girls who wish to avail themselves of this medical advance.
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03/04/2007
By Mary Carmichael
Newsweek
March 12, 2007 issue - When surgeons removed Carol Hurlburt's diseased gallbladder in 2005, they had to cut a long, gory incision in her abdomen, and she was still hurting when her husband developed his own gallbladder infection a month later. Richard Hurlburt, however, was a candidate for a less painful, minimally invasive procedure performed with the aid of cameras inserted through small holes in his abdomen - a "laparoscopic cholecystectomy" that would have him home the next day. But, Carol says, Richard's common bile duct, which links the gallbladder, liver and small intestine, was cut.
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03/04/2007
SIERRA VISTA -; Those who know Darian Aira describe a pretty, highly motivated, happy and successful woman with a passion for helping children.
With a doctorate in pediatric physical therapy, Darian dedicated her life to children with special needs. Her friends say Darian has a rare gift when it comes to working with her kids.
But on Aug. 5, 2006, Darian';s life changed drastically when the car she was driving was struck by a drunk driver, clocked traveling more than 100 miles per hour. The driver of the speeding vehicle was killed at the scene, while Darian sustained a life-threatening traumatic brain injury that left her in a coma.
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03/03/2007
Hospitals have been quick to cash in on this concept that
celebrates the idea that the birth of a baby involves the entire family. Apollo
Hospitals plans setting up stand-alone birthing centres under the brand name
of 'The Cradle'. Says Ratan Jalan, CEO, Apollo Health and Lifestyle
Limited (AHLL), "The project, costing between Rs 10 crore and Rs 20 crore,
will be launched in Bangalore soon, followed by another one at Gurgaon.
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03/03/2007
Introduction
This industry consists of offices and clinics of licensed medical doctors, excluding doctors of osteopathic medicine (covered in SIC 8031: Clinics of Doctors of Osteopathy). These establishments are engaged in general or specialized medicine or surgery. This category includes the offices of the following types of medical specialists: anesthesiologists, dermatologists, gynecologists, neurologists, obstetricians, oculists, ophthalmologists, orthopedic physicians, pathologists, pediatricians, plastic surgeons, psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, radiologists, medical surgeons, and urologists.
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03/03/2007
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts: A new study in the journal Neurology is being hailed as unassailable proof that marijuana is a valuable medicine. It is a sad commentary on the state of modern medicine that we still need "proof" of something that medicine has known for 5,000 years.
READ WHOLE ARTICLE:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/01/opinion/edgrinspoon.php
::::::::
PETE writes:
I have never personally taken any sort of "Illegal drug," and only under extreme health danger do I take prescribed drugs. Reason: Most of them deliver more suffering that what ails you.
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03/03/2007
Doctors and nurses have been lowering some heart-attack patients' body temperature to give them a better chance to avoid brain damage that can occur in connection with cardiac arrest. Patients are rapidly cooled to 91.4 degrees Fahrenheit, maintained at that temperature for 24 hours, then gradually rewarmed to the normal temperature of 98.6.
The technique known as "induced hypothermia" is a relatively new treatment, said Dr. Ken Lightheart, RVMC's chief of cardiovascular medicine, "but within the last year it's become the standard of care in large teaching hospitals.
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03/03/2007
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - A state jury dealt Merck & Co. a mixed verdict Friday in the drug maker's latest trial over its former painkiller Vioxx.
The Atlantic City jury ruled Merck was negligent and did not properly warn doctors about the cardiovascular risks in the case of one former Vioxx user who survived a heart attack. The ruling sets the stage for a second trial phase, starting Monday, to consider whether Vioxx caused the heart attack suffered by Frederick "Mike" Humeston, 61, of Boise, Idaho, and whether he deserves compensatory damages.
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03/03/2007
If more than three hours pass between the time a patient experiences a stroke and when they arrive at the hospital, it is too late for the only FDA-approved treatment for acute stroke - intravenous tPA, a clot-busting drug. Now a new device called the Merci Retriever - a tiny corkscrew designed to physically remove the source of the stroke, a blood clot in the brain - is giving hope to patients who arrive late. The device is offered to patients as part of an ongoing clinical trial offered at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
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03/03/2007
Is your natural beauty hidden behind a mask of melasma? While best known as the "mask of pregnancy", melasma literally means dark skin. You dont have to be pregnant (or even a woman!) to develop melasma. And if you think youre silently suffering alone, think again. An estimated six million women throughout the U.S. are currently affected by this distressing, albeit cosmetic concern.
Here A Spot, There A Spot, Everywhere A Spot, Spot.
Melasma is a darkening of the facial skin, commonly affecting the apples of the cheeks, the mid forehead, jawline and areas around the mouth. Overachieving melanocytes are to blame.
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03/03/2007
A review of existing research confirms that healthcare workers should undergo a month of preventive drug treatment if they are exposed to HIV on the job. Still, the reviewers say that there's been little research into occupational postexposure prophylaxis, and it's still not clear what should be done when healthcare workers are exposed to patients who are resistant to some drugs.
The review appears in the current issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research.
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03/03/2007
Did
you know that 80% of cases of cervical cancer occur in low-income countries?
That means that only 20% happen in the more developed countries like the US.
Worldwide there are 500,000 new cases each year and 250,000 deaths. What
this means is that 50,000 deaths occur in the developed countries of the
world.
The
average age of a woman with cervical cancer is 48. The effectiveness or
dangers of this vaccine will not be known for at least a decade. Let's put
things into perspective.
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03/03/2007
The overall number of cancer deaths in the U.S. fell for thesecond straight year from 2003 to 2004, and a marked declinein breast cancer mortality contributed to this notable achievement.The Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET;Journal Watch Women's Health Dec 27 2005) has estimatedthat 28% to 65% of the decline in breast cancer mortality from1975 to 2000 can be attributed to the use of screening mammographyin women older than 40.
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03/03/2007
CNN's Lou Dobbs is out to revitalize the war on drugs, claiming in a recent commentary that we've “been in retreat” for three decades, and promising ongoing coverage of “a war that is inflicting even greater casualties than the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan” on his show in the following week. Drug reporting often brings out the worst in the media - partial reporting, dodgy, context-free statistics, and moral posturing. So how did the “Dobberman” do?
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03/03/2007
BOSTON-;Hasn';t anyone ever told drug companies to put a warning label on their lobbying? You know, the kind you find on every little prescription bottle? Caution: Too much lobbying may result in an overdose of suspicion. Push too hard and you may experience political acid reflux.
As it is, Merck seems to have rolled a million-;or many millions-;into a shoestring. And the real losers may be girls and women who need access to the vaccine against cervical cancer.
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03/02/2007
Preventing High Blood Pressure: How Lowering Sodium Intake Can Help
OU Physicians (405) 271-5067
Oklahoma City, OK -- Oklahomans can help control high blood pressure by reducing the amount of sodium in their diet. The body only requires half a gram of sodium per day, however, the average American consumes at least nine grams of sodium per day, which can lead to high blood pressure.
According to Jorge Saucedo, M.D., an OU Physicians cardiologist, "Unfortunately, most people do not read nutritional labels and a lot of processed foods contain high amounts of sodium.
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03/02/2007
Women weighing the pros and cons of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) now have one additional factor to consider -- a new generation of HRT treatments containing drospirenone are touted as beneficial for lowering the blood pressure of hypertensive post-menopausal women.
Santiago Palacios, the director of the Palacios Institute of Women's Health, said drospirenone is a Progestogen with Aldosterone Receptor Antagonism (PARA).
"The PARA effect is what differentiates drospirenone from other progestines," Palacios said.
Progestines are chemicals that mimic the action of the hormone progesterone.
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03/02/2007
Democrats who control the House and Senate veterans'; affairs committees have rejected the Bush administration';s call for new enrollment fees and higher drug co-payments for some veterans and have proposed bigger budgets for health care.
In the Senate, Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, the veterans'; committee chairman, and his fellow Democrats are asking for a $2.9 billion increase over the Bush budget proposal for the Department of Veterans Affairs, specifically for medical care.
The Bush administration had requested $39.4 billion for the VA for nonbenefits items, including $34.6 billion for health care-related costs.
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03/02/2007
The Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA) today kicked off its 2007 Annual Meeting by calling on Congress to move forward with legislation to bring safe and effective biogenerics to patients in need and remove barriers that delay consumer access to affordable generic medicines.
In her opening remarks, GPhA President and CEO Kathleen Jaeger encouraged Congress to approve the Access to Life-Saving Medicine Act, bipartisan legislation that would mandate that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) create a clear and efficient abbreviated approval pathway for generic versions of biopharmaceuticals.
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03/02/2007
By Mary Agnes Carey, CQ HealthBeat Associate Editor
Twenty-eight percent of Medicare prescription drug plans tracked in five zip codes across the country increased their costs for a group of selected drugs by 5 percent or more in 2006, with prices for one Florida plan rising by nearly a third, according to a new report from Consumers Union.
Such increases also might continue in 2007, according to the report, which was released late Wednesday.
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03/02/2007
Abraham Lincoln once said, ";People are just as happy
as they make up their minds to be."; Funny thing: the 16th president
spent his life suffering from ";melancholia,"; as depression
was described in the mid-1800s. The concept that happiness is a question
of choice has long since been overturned, and yet ";buck up";
and ";try harder"; admonitions are routine.
Depression is now primarily viewed as a biologically-based, difficult-to-treat,
and oh-so-common condition. About 1 in 20 people in the United States
seek treatment for some form of depression-related disorder each year.
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03/02/2007
Walk a mile in my shoes. That's what those suffering from mental illness chanted at last May's mental health rally, as hundreds gathered to call for an expansion of mental health insurance coverage in Michigan. Now nine months later, that just might happen.
According to Rep. Bert Johnson (D-Detroit), "We are introducing legislation that would require health insurance in Michigan offer health benefits on par with coverage for other medical conditions."
Thursday a bipartisan group of state representatives introduced the Mental Health Parity Plan.
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03/02/2007
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Eli Lilly has come up with a new insulin pen with a digital display that allows patients to record and review the time, date and dose of the last 16 insulin shots.
HumaPen Memoir is intended for use with Lilly's Humalog (insulin lispro injection [rDNA origin]), for diabetes sufferers who need to repeatedly administer mealtime doses of insulin.
The dosage record and review function is intended to aid patient compliance and provide accurate information for both patients and physicians developing an appropriate diabetes treatment plan.
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03/02/2007
Two Million Oregonians Could Benefit from the State's New Rx Purchasing Pool, but the Drug Companies Want to Bar the Door.
Last Thursday, five state senators who sit on the Human Services heard from Oregonians who want them to expand the state's new prescription drug purchasing pool so that more people can join and reap the benefits of lower prescription drug costs.
Patients, health care advocates, seniors, business and labor leaders, Gov.
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03/02/2007
Today a bill backed by the state agricultural industry passed through the Oregon House of Representatives on the claim that it would be good for farmworkers. The vote was 33-24 for the bill.
Rep. Jeff Kropf (R-Sublimity), who left the 2003 legislative session with a 35% voting record on working family bills, spoke for the industry today by asking lawmakers to consider the "opportunity" under House Bill 3258 to help farm workers get organized and bargain collectively.
But Oregon farmworkers don't need friends like Rep. Kropf.
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03/02/2007
(CBS) Americans think the U.S. health care system is in need of major repairs, according to a CBS News/New York Times poll.
Nine out of 10 say the system needs at least fundamental changes, including 36 percent who favor a complete overhaul.
Although most Americans say they are generally satisfied with the quality of their own health care, including 41 percent who say they are very satisfied, it's a different story when it comes to the cost of care.
Just one in five are very satisfied with what they pay for health care, while a majority (52 percent) are dissatisfied, including a third who are very dissatisfied.
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03/01/2007
Millions of people with chest pain enter emergency room limbo, spending up to 24 hours waiting for tests to tell if a heart attack really is brewing or if it's something less dire. A computerized heart scan may start easing the wait, giving doctors a faster picture of clogged arteries to help determine who can go home - within just four hours - and who needs more care. If these souped-up CT scans pan out - and major studies of several thousand chest-pain sufferers are to begin soon - they may do more than send the worried well home faster.
"To be able to show the patient what's going on in their arteries is very powerful," says Dr.
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03/01/2007
Whatever your prognosis, it's wise to have plans in place to assure that your wishes will be carried out. Not only will this protect your loved ones against having outsiders (hospitals, courts, government agencies) dictate what must happen to you and to them, it will provide you with peace of mind - a valuable asset in coping with any major disease. This process is estate planning, and it is by no means limited to the wealthy. Each of us has the right and the responsibility-to ourselves and our families-to set certain decisions down on paper.Come have your questions answered by a local estate planning attorney ,Lisa Vira. Ms.
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03/01/2007
SALEM - Oregon lawmakers are considering a controversial bill that would require health insurance companies to cover birth control pills if they cover other prescriptions.
The Access to Birth Control bill, also known as the "ABC Bill", additionally would require hospitals to offer emergency contraception to sexual assault victims.
Twenty-six states already have birth control parity laws, which treat the pill like other drugs, and many Oregon women say it's time for their state to pass similar legislation.
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03/01/2007
SHANGHAI: Doctors in this city have stopped prescribing antibiotics to
patients who suffer from common colds in a bid to combat the growing resistance
of some illnesses to such drugs.
The city's public health bureau released detailed instructions on the
clinical use of antibiotics yesterday. According to the new rules, doctors must
conclude, based on symptoms and laboratory test results, that a patient has been
infected with bacteria before prescribing antibiotics. Patients with ordinary
cases of the flu, measles or viral hepatitis will not be treated with
antibiotics from now on.
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03/01/2007
There has been some recent debate within the profession about the effectiveness of the probe-to-bone (PTB) test in diagnosing osteomyelitis. A new study in Diabetes Care has found that the PTB test has a relatively low positive predictive value when it is utilized for diabetic patients with foot wounds.
The two-year study tracked 1,666 patients with diabetes who underwent regular foot exams and were instructed to come to the clinic if they developed signs of lower-extremity complications. For those with infections, researchers compared PTB test results to a culture of infected bone.
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03/01/2007
Nassau and Suffolk counties in New York state on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against HHS to prevent funding cuts for HIV/AIDS programs under the recently passed Ryan White CARE Act Reauthorization Bill (HR 6143), the Long Island Newsday reports. Under previous CARE Act allocations, the counties received $6.1 million annually in funding for services for people living with HIV/AIDS, according to the Newsday. However, previous CARE Act allocations were scheduled to run out on Wednesday, and HHS officials have said they will announce on Thursday how much the counties will receive under the reauthorization bill, the Newsday reports.
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03/01/2007
If New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch (D) and the New Hampshire Citizens Health Initiative have their way, all health care providers statewide will be able to prescribe medication electronically, or use e-prescribing, by 2008.
Critics, though, say that plan could invade patients' privacy. Moreover, since financial incentives are being offered to use e-prescription, those who don't use it will be penalized.
A federal program--the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006--calls for health care quality measures, including the use of e-prescribing, to be in place by 2008. Congress is creating a Physician Assistance and Quality Initiative Fund with $1.
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03/01/2007
Antibiotics Are Not For Flu or Other Viral Illnesses
The Pharmacy Profession in UK to Undergo Historic Changes
Rules Filed to Clarify Pharmacists' Responsibilities in Filling Prescriptions
ADHD Drug Manufacturers to Notify Patients about Cardiovascular and Psychiatric Adverse Events
A new Brandeis University study published online in Clinical Therapeutics suggests that private health plans increasingly rely on escalating copayments to manage drug costs, as opposed to administrative controls.
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03/01/2007
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The biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing sector is set to expand substantially in the next few years as biotech companies increasingly rely on outsourcing to improve efficiency and reduce costs, new research suggests.
According to a report published by consulting firm HighTech Business Decisions, pharmaceutical and biotech firms are relying more and more on contractors to provide more production capacity and a wider range of services.
"Biopharmaceutical companies outsource for various reasons.
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03/01/2007
If you are an avid television watcher, you have probably seen commercials urging young women to "Tell Someone." Maybe you didn't jump off the couch and spread the word about HPV (human papillomavirus), the sexually transmitted infection responsible for cervical cancer.
Health professionals, on the other hand, are hard at work trying to educate people about HPV and Gardasil, a newly developed vaccine that prevents the types of HPV that cause cervical cancer. The "Tell Someone" campaign, funded by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC) and Sexualityandu.ca, is one such attempt to teach people about HPV.
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03/01/2007
Shire is committed to the search, research, development and marketing of pharmaceutical products for the treatment and prevention of diseases and the improvement of health of people who suffer from these disorders, throughout the world. We conduct our business based on our values - integrity, and respect, customer focus, global teamwork, openness and innovation and excellence in execution. We care for the interests of those with whom we have relationships - our patients, our customers, our suppliers, our shareholders, our employees, the environment and the communities where we conduct our activities.
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03/01/2007
Speaking of disabilities. "People first" is the most important principle in communicating with and about people with disabilities, said Vicki Pappas, director of the Center for Planning and Policy Studies at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community. This standard applies in a literal sense when describing people -- "person with autism" is appropriate; "autistic person" is not -- and in a figurative sense when interacting with someone who has a disability. "People with disabilities would prefer to be seen as people, not as objects of pity or as heroes who have overcome adversity," she said.
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03/01/2007
The theme for the World Consumer Day for this year is "Unethical Drug
Promotion". Drug Promotion is normal and is being practised vigorously
by multi national companies.
This is a money spinner. It is an industry with the largest profit
margins all over the world. Drugs is needed for healthy living to cure
diseases, thereby not only for human beings, even the animals looked
after by human beings are at the mercy of the Drug Companies.
Drug Promotion is implemented in various ways.
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02/28/2007
Treating post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans of Vietnam and older
wars has often proved just as long a haul, with varying results.
But with hundreds of New Mexico veterans of the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan already seeking psychological help, a new state initiative
is aiming to train counselors in what might seem like a novel technique:
using eye movements to treat traumatic memories.
So far, 25 counselors from across the state have received training in a
method called "eye movement desensitization and reprocessing." A second
state-sponsored training session is scheduled for next month.
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02/28/2007
Celera (NYSE:CRA), an Applera Corporation business, today announced the publication of data from its research studies identifying several candidate genetic markers associated with late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD), including markers in multiple genes that have never been associated with LOAD. Two of these genes are PCK1, a gene that regulates blood glucose levels, and GALP, a gene that is modulated by insulin and regulates food intake, suggesting a link between Alzheimer's disease and irregular glucose/insulin levels.
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02/28/2007
Texas Parents Sue Gov. Perry For Executive Order Mandating HPV Vaccine For Middle School Girls
28 Feb 2007
The parents of three Texas girls on Friday filed a lawsuit claiming Gov. Rick Perry (R) went beyond his authority and illegally issued an executive order mandating that all girls entering the sixth grade beginning in September 2008 receive a human papillomavirus vaccine, the Los Angeles Times reports (Hart, Los Angeles Times, 2/25).
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