Miscellaneous News

RSS

Concern that the health service could fail to learn important lessons from a crucial series of ambulance and emergency trials

University of Warwick Medical School researchers are concerned that the health service could fail to learn important lessons from a crucial series of ambulance and emergency trials that increase the skills of paramedics and help reduce unnecessary emergency hospital admissions.

26 Aug 2004

Doctors urge Government to 'wake up' to new sleep apnoea bill

“Heavy snoring and sleep apnoea used to be seen as a laughing matter – but this new bill underlines the fact that the condition is no joke.

26 Aug 2004

BMA Scotland launches public consultation on smoking in public places

BMA Scotland is today launching a campaign to encourage members of the public to have their say in the Scottish Executive's consultation on smoking in public places.

26 Aug 2004

One billion people still use unsafe sources of drinking water

More than 2.6 billion people - over 40 per cent of the world's population - do not have access to basic sanitation, and more than one billion people still use unsafe sources of drinking water, warns a report released today by the World Health Organization and UNICEF.

26 Aug 2004

$700,000 to help prevent or control diabetes among New Yorkers

Governor George E. Pataki has announced that 14 community-based organizations in New York State have been awarded grants totaling $700,000 to help prevent or control diabetes among New Yorkers.

25 Aug 2004

Private health insurers are failing to cover vital cancer treatment

According to a report released by the charity, most PMI policies do not cover cancer patients throughout the course of their illness. This means that funding for vital cancer treatment is being suddenly withdrawn, often at a critical time, when patients are at their most vulnerable.

25 Aug 2004

Concerns about the education of medical students

Concerns are raised about the education of medical students, as a BMA report reveals that most young doctors have never considered careers in teaching and research.

25 Aug 2004

Another large tobacco company has joined the Master Settlement Agreement with Iowa and other states

Iowa's share of payments will be about $14.8 million over the next ten years, with over one-fifth of that going to State coffers.

23 Aug 2004

Sugar Association disputes sucrose ties to obesity

In a letter published in the August 21 issue of the journal The Lancet, Dr. Charles Baker, Vice President Scientific Affairs for the Sugar Association, outlined his rebuttal to a viewpoint published in The Lancet in March, 2004 that obesity is linked to increased sweetener consumption.

23 Aug 2004

Tobacco youth buy rate in Nevada cut in half

Nevada Attorney General Brian Sandoval has announced that the percentage of stores that sold cigarettes and other tobacco products to minors has dropped to 8.2% in July.

23 Aug 2004

New era of medical capabilities for the South Pacific

A team of Health Informatics staff from the University of Otago’s Information Science Department is taking the South Pacific into a new era of medical capabilities as part of a World Health Organisation (WHO) initiative to educate medical staff in the Pacific.

23 Aug 2004

Future for telemedicine is a very bright one

The European telemedicine markets are at a critical growth phase where vendors need to capitalise on growing opportunities and gain the early-mover advantage over competitors.

23 Aug 2004

Low levels of contamination also influence mortality rate

Navarre doctor Rosa María Alás Brun has shown, in her PhD thesis defended at the Public University of Navarre, that, despite contamination rates in Pamplona being very low, these still have an influence on death rates.

23 Aug 2004

Athletic shoes best at reducing risk of falling in older adults

Falls are the most frequent cause of fatal injury to older Americans, and non-fatal falls, which are also common, can curtail mobility and quality of life for older adults.

22 Aug 2004

Health care plans not likely to curb health care costs

Consumer-directed health care (CDHC) - high-deductible plans often touted as the answer to spiraling health care costs - is not likely to curb health care costs, and could even worsen health outcomes by reducing patients' receipt of needed preventive care and care for chronic conditions, says a new report from The Commonwealth Fund.

22 Aug 2004

Medical personnel at Abu Ghraib ignored medical ethics and human rights

A Health and Human Rights article in this week’s issue of THE LANCET highlights how US Army medical personnel at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison ignored medical ethics and human rights standards and were complicit with human rights abuses of Iraqi prisoners.

20 Aug 2004

Health Canada has outlined proposed changes to the current labelling requirements for tobacco packaging

Health Canada has released a consultation document,"Building On Success - A Proposal for New Health-Related Information on Tobacco Product Labels," outlining proposed changes to the current labelling requirements for tobacco product packaging.

20 Aug 2004

$1.7 Billion dollar public health settlement with major tobacco company

Attorney General Baker stated that, “Georgia’s citizens receive two major victories from this settlement. The first is that Sun Tobacco now will be subject to the same marketing restrictions as other MSA participants, prohibiting them from marketing tobacco products to our youth.

20 Aug 2004

Family doctor visits have become more affordable for half of New Zealand's population

New Zealand's Ministry of Health has released research that shows Primary Health Organisation (PHO) family doctor visits have become more affordable for half the country's population.

20 Aug 2004

Florida-based online pharmacy illegally prescribed the powerful painkiller Vicodin to an Illinois state employee

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Secretary Fernando Grillo today announced a suit has been filed against a Florida-based online pharmacy that illegally prescribed the powerful painkiller Vicodin to an employee in Madigan's office posing as a consumer who had injured his back after slipping on ice.

20 Aug 2004