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Canadian health care: Socialized insurance, not socialized medicine

"Amid the debate about reforming heath care in the United States, it's tough to turn on your television these days without hearing a political ad condemning the Canadian health care system," NPR reports. While those ads are "provocative," NPR asks whether they accurately portray Canadian health care.

11 Aug 2009

AHIP study finds large cost variations in medical care

A survey by America's Health Insurance Plans released Tuesday online finds large price variations common in medical care, according to the New York Times.

11 Aug 2009

Stress management to male nursing in Johns Hopkins Nursing Summer issue

The birth of a baby. A diagnosis of breast cancer. The frailty that comes with old age. They are part of the dynamic, complex, and ever-changing landscape that makes up a women's life span. Whatever the ailment, Hopkins nurses are empowering women to embrace healthier lifestyles.

11 Aug 2009

Depomed reports promising results in phase I trial for DM-1992 in Parkinson’s

Depomed, Inc. (NASDAQ:DEPO) today announced that in its Phase 1 pharmacokinetic study in Parkinson’s patients, DM-1992, Depomed’s investigative novel gastric retentive extended-release formulation of levodopa/carbidopa, extended coverage above levodopa’s efficacious threshold and extended the time to peak levodopa concentration relative to currently available sustained release levodopa/carbidopa formulations.

11 Aug 2009

Sorting out the truth in the health care debate

The New York Times reports in a "primer on the details of health reform" that Republican criticism of a government-run insurance plan to compete with private health insurance as "socialized medicine" "seems overblown," it reports. "The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that, under the House bill, the number of people with employer-sponsored insurance would climb to 162 million in 2016, which is 3 million more than expected under current law. Further, it said, enrollment in the proposed public plan might total 11 million, far lower than estimates cited by Republicans."

11 Aug 2009

Canadian health care system may be getting 'bum rap'

Amid the debate about reforming heath care in the United States, it's tough to turn on your television these days without hearing a political ad condemning the Canadian health care system.

11 Aug 2009

Doctors' opinions not always welcome in end-of-life medical choices

Some caregivers of critical care patients prefer doctors to keep their opinions on life support decisions to themselves, according to new research that challenges long-held beliefs in the critical care community.

10 Aug 2009

Ministrokes predict memory problems, strokes predict non-memory problems

Areas of brain damage seen on brain scans and originally thought to be related to stroke may help doctors predict a person’s risk of memory problems in old age, according to research published in the August 11, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

10 Aug 2009

Sharing prescription advice among adolescents can have dangerous repercussions

What if a teenager with acne who is taking Accutane - a drug linked to birth defects - gives some to her friend, who is pregnant but does not yet realize it? Unfortunately, this is a realistic scenario.

10 Aug 2009

Democrats get an earful on health care

Marsha Trotter from Pike County, Ala., expresses her concerns to Alabama freshman Rep. Bobby Bright at a town hall meeting. The retired teacher said she fears that new health care plans would require her to meet with a government board to discuss end-of-life options. "Now that's my life and my business, and I don't want the government in it," she said. (Debbie Elliott/NPR)

9 Aug 2009

Fumbled hospital discharges can lead to medical errors

Poor communication of the outcomes of medical tests whose results are pending at the time of a patient's hospital discharge is common and can lead to serious medical errors in post-hospitalization medical treatment.

7 Aug 2009

Opposition campaigns and protests stalk Democrats

rotests about health reform continue to roil lawmakers meetings with constituents across the country."

7 Aug 2009

Doctors create program to help providers adjust to rural work settings

group of doctors has created a post-doctorate program to provide rural communities with a pipeline of providers, The Iowa Independent reports.

7 Aug 2009

Reform could strain community health centers

While the health care reform debate rages on Capitol Hill, sitting just a mile away is the Walker-Jones Health Center in Northeast Washington, one of about 1,200 federally-qualified community health centers across the country that provide free and reduced-cost care to millions of Americans.

7 Aug 2009

Psoriasis sufferers at risk for other medical conditions

Emerging research reveals that people with psoriasis are at risk for developing other serious medical conditions including heart disease, diabetes and obesity. According to a new study by the National Psoriasis Foundation, of 5,000 people with psoriasis, nearly two-thirds report having at least one other critical health problem.

6 Aug 2009

Physician practices help Michigan become a leading adopter of e-prescribing

Hundreds of physician practices in Michigan have teamed with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to help a movement that has made the state one of the national leaders of e-prescribing.

6 Aug 2009

Bloomberg examines China plague cases, potential for disease spread

"Plague-spreading fleas are expanding their territory, putting more people at risk of catching the lethal illness, a WHO official said," Bloomberg reports, in an article that examines the recent deaths of three people in China from the pneumonic plague.

6 Aug 2009

Neurosurgeons support new healthcare reform bill

The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) announced their support for many of the provisions contained in H.R. 3400, the “Empowering Patients First Act,” which was unveiled in Congress last week.

6 Aug 2009

Researchers investigate dioxin decomposition in the Viktor Yushchenko poisoning

In 2004 the current Ukrainian president, Viktor Yushchenko, suffered a severe case of dioxin poisoning. In order to understand how the human body reacts to remove the poison, Empa researchers have analyzed over a hundred samples taken from the politician.

6 Aug 2009

In Massachusetts, a radical idea for changing how doctors are paid

Dr. Richard Lopez is chief physician at Atrius Health in Boston. He says "global payments" allow health care providers to innovate to keep patients out of the hospital. (Richard Knox/NPR)

6 Aug 2009