A large US managed health care organization, Kaiser Permanente, has banned the dispensing of the Cox-2 inhibitor arthritis painkiller Bextra, because it may heighten the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Full Article: http://www.healthtalk.ca/vioxx_bextra_012905_37883.php
By MARTIGA LOHN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Twenty patients died in Minnesota hospitals during a 15-month period because of medical errors or oversights including falls, faulty medical equipment and administering the wrong medication, the state Health Department said in a new report.
The report, released Wednesday, documented 99 serious errors between July 1, 2003 and Oct. 6, 2004. Minnesota is the first state to report its mistakes under standards developed by the National Quality Forum, a Washington-based nonprofit. New Jersey and Connecticut also adopted the standards, which are being considered elsewhere.
Read more...Seattle Post
SUNDAY, Jan. 16 (HealthDayNews) -- A new tool to assess the quality of home health care for the elderly and people with disabilities has been developed by an international team that includes University of Michigan researchers.
The tool is designed to be used by consumers, government and home-care agencies to improve home care and to provide useful feedback about it.
The assessment is based on 22 indicators that look at processes such as administering flu vaccine, providing physical or occupational therapy, and reviewing patient medication and outcomes. Details about the assessment tool appear in the current issue of The Gerontologist.
Read more...ajc.com Health
Posted on : 2005-01-11| Author : Helen Steele
News Category : Health
The healthcare expenditure of Americans is increasing at a rate that is outpacing overall economic growth by nearly 3 percentage points. Although the figure is more than previous years, it is still the lowest annual increase seen in seven years. These findings were made by a group of researchers from the National Health Statistics Group which also runs Medicare and Medicaid.
Read more...EARTHtimes.org
09 Jan 2005
USA - HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced that under the new National Response Plan released today by the Department of Homeland Security, HHS will continue to lead the federal government in providing public health and medical services during major disasters and emergencies.
"HHS will continue to work closely with all our partners to protect the health of the American public," Secretary Thompson said. "The National Response Plan will help strengthen crucial working relationships between federal, state, local and tribal officials, and the private sector concerned with public health issues during disasters or terrorist attacks."
Read more at...Medical News Today
Posted By: News-Medical in Healthcare News
Published: Monday, 3-Jan-2005
In 2002, the General Accounting Office (GAO), now known as the Government Accountability Office, published a study revealing that 85 percent of the time Medicare customer service representatives (CSRs) gave the wrong answer to questions posed by physicians regarding the proper way to bill Medicare so as to obtain payment. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) promised to take steps to remedy the problem.
After reviewing the 2002 study, I concluded two years ago that a monkey could answer Medicare policy questions as accurately as a Medicare bureaucrat. Today, after examining the results of the GAO’s follow-up study, published in July 2004, I felt compelled to find a more appropriate comparison and test subject. My search ended when a creature from the family Bufonidae volunteered his services. Covered in warts, and an avid promoter of the low-carb, bug-and-fly diet, he might, I felt, have the right stuff to participate in my GAO-like study.
Read more...News-Medical.Net
Posted By: News-Medical in Medical Research News
Published: Monday, 3-Jan-2005
Researchers have shown a correlation between fast food, weight gain, and insulin resistance in what appears to be the first long-term study on this subject.
The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study by Mark Pereira, Ph.D., assistant professor in epidemiology, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, and David Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Obesity Program at Children's Hospital Boston, reported that fast food increases the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. The results of this 15-year study will be published in the Jan. 1 issue of The Lancet.
Participants who consumed fast food two or more times a week gained approximately 10 more pounds and had twice as great increase in insulin resistance in the 15-year period than participants who consumed fast food less than once per week.
Read more...News-Medcal.Net
