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Mexico's health system reforms working

Julio Frenk, Minister of Health of Mexico, outlines the results of the country's 6-year project of health system reform in a Public Health article in this week's issue of The Lancet.

7 Sep 2006

U.S., Africa HIV/AIDS epidemics deserve equal attention, funding

Over the last few years, the U.S. increasingly has "turned its attention" to the HIV/AIDS "crisis" in Africa even though in "large parts of this country, America is Africa," Patrick Moore, author of "Tweaked: A Crystal Meth Memoir," writes in a Long Island Newsday opinion piece.

7 Sep 2006

Many adults need help understanding basic medical instructions, as most are written at above-average level

Fewer than one in six U.S. adults have proficient health literacy, according to report released on Wednesday by the National Center for Education Statistics, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports.

7 Sep 2006

Patient satisfaction not best indication of quality of care

The argument that the "best way to improve the quality and restrain the cost of health care is to make the market for health care more like the market for everything else" is based on the erroneous "belief that health care is -- in most respects -- like any other product," columnist David Wessel writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

7 Sep 2006

Fewer deaths from cancer in the U.S.

According to a new report fewer Americans are dying of cancer even though the rates of new cancers remains the same.

7 Sep 2006

Hospitals, local governments have more work to do to prepare for disasters

Hospitals and local governments since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have been working to improve disaster preparedness and better equip their facilities to handle large surges of patients, though for "all the progress in improving readiness, experts warn that there is still a long way to go," the Wall Street Journal reports.

6 Sep 2006

Calls for transparency in programs that rate physician quality

Transparency in the health care system "fosters trust, drives efficiency and advances quality" -- which "can be a good thing" for both patients and providers -- but programs that rate physician quality "need to be transparent too," Kenneth Peelle, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, writes in a Boston Globe opinion piece.

6 Sep 2006

Mental health care in New Orleans remains the biggest hole in the safety net

Mental health care in New Orleans "remains the biggest hole in a safety net that was decimated" by Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

6 Sep 2006

New assessment shows continued serious fuel and water shortages at Lebanese health facilities

A newly-published assessment of health facilities in Lebanon shows that a quarter of those examined are not functioning due to physical damage, lack of staff or lack of accessibility, and that water and fuel shortages remain a serious concern.

6 Sep 2006

Lingering and longlasting effects of 9/11

According to a new report on the health effects of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, 70% of the rescue personnel and workers who responded to the disaster suffered from lung problems during and after the recovery efforts.

6 Sep 2006

Extensive Drug Resistant TB now a major threat

The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concern over the emergence of virulent drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis (TB) and is calling for measures to be strengthened and implemented to prevent the global spread of the deadly TB strains.

5 Sep 2006

Increased demand for assisted living creates waiting lists, higher prices for care

Increased demand for assisted living facilities has made waiting lists "increasingly common" and has led to higher prices, the Wall Street Journal reports.

5 Sep 2006

Bush Administration, Republicans 'refuse' to acknowledge success of VA Health System

The Department of Veterans Affairs health care system "is a stunning success -- but the [Bush] administration and the Republicans in Congress refuse to build on that success because it doesn't reflect their conservative agenda," columnist Paul Krugman writes in a New York Times opinion piece.

5 Sep 2006

Messy nappies may be sign of severe intestinal infection

Anyone who's ever cared for an infant or young child knows what it's like to change the occasional smelly, messy diaper.

5 Sep 2006

Record your electrocardiogram wearing a shirt

World Congress of Cardiology Report - A shirt capable of recording the electrocardiogram (electrical activity of the heart) has been developed and tested in a European research project (WEALTHY, Wearable Health Care System), funded by the European Community.

5 Sep 2006

Study highlights differences in Anthropometric characteristics between Asian and European population

World Congress of Cardiology Report - Results from a large scale international study assessing prevalence of abdominal obesity in over 170,000 people have previously confirmed that a high waist circumference is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) independently of body mass index (BMI) and age.

5 Sep 2006

Cardiovascular disease prevention program for Chile

World Congress of Cardiology Report - Fifty-five percent of the Chilean adult population is at risk of a cardiovascular event with a high rate of morbidity and mortality affecting mainly a productive population, between 35 and 74 years of age. This risk is 1.4 times greater for men.

5 Sep 2006