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The Medicare Drug Benefit: A Prescription for Confusion

If many seniors are scratching their heads about the new Medicare prescription drug plan, so are the experts.

20 Nov 2005

Cancer survivors require tailored follow-up plans

Citing shortfalls in the care currently provided to the country's 10 million cancer survivors, a new report recommends that each cancer patient receive a "survivorship care plan."

13 Nov 2005

Cervical cancer control program increases rate of follow-up

Low-income women with abnormal Pap tests who participated in a program that combines screening and treatment in one visit had a higher rate of treatment and follow-up than women who did not participate, according to a study in the November 2 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

3 Nov 2005

Health care cuts in the US are costing lives

Lori Smith, a representative of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign in Tennessee, believes that plans to dismantle national social programmes for sick and poor people throughout the US are leading to suffering and death.

30 Oct 2005

Beds closed as thousands wait for surgery in Western Australia

Many West Australians could die long before they are able to undergo surgery for painful conditions, the Australian Medical Association (WA) said last week.

26 Oct 2005

Depression raises disability risk

Depressed middle-aged adults are at four times greater risk for being unable to perform everyday tasks than their non-depressed peers, a Northwestern University study found.

25 Oct 2005

Lack of gene expression associated with ovarian cancer

The expression of two specific genes is almost completely downregulated in ovarian cancer tumours. An extensive analysis of gene expression in ovarian cancer tumour cells has revealed this important finding, which should be an aid to early diagnosis.

24 Oct 2005

Surgery to treat obesity far more risky for men

Researchers say that using stomach-shrinking surgery to treat severe obesity is riskier than previously thought for men, the elderly and people with conditions such as hypertension.

19 Oct 2005

Half of childhood asthma hospitalizations could be prevented with improved parent-physician communication

Each year, some 196,000 children are hospitalized in the United States with asthma attacks. In addition to the severe breathing problems that the children may experience, it also costs the health care system an estimated $835 million to treat them.

4 Oct 2005

Governments considering reclassifying some drugs from prescription to over-the-counter status

Governments in several countries with public Pharmacare and in a few provinces in Canada are considering reclassifying some drugs from prescription to over-the-counter status. In a Canadian Medical Association Journal essay, Lynd and colleagues comment on the economic effects of such changes.

27 Sep 2005

Cost-cutting strategy employed by HMOs for 15 years is simply not working

With rising concern over the cost of the new Medicare prescription drug benefit program – going into effect January, 2006 and estimated to cost $593 billion over the next decade – a new UCSF study reveals that a key cost-cutting strategy employed by HMOs for 15 years is simply not working.

19 Sep 2005

13 million children now living in poverty in the U.S.

In newly released data it appears that poor families and children are being left behind as the benefits of a steadily growing economy fail to trickle down to their level.

31 Aug 2005

Anti-cancer antibodies produced in chickens

A team of researchers have produced the first fully functional, human sequence monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in chickens.

29 Aug 2005

Chicken pox vaccination has decreased hospitalizations and doctor visits over the last 10 years

Since the introduction of the varicella (chicken pox) vaccine in 1995, hospitalizations and doctor visits because of chicken pox have dropped dramatically, according to a study in the August 17 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

18 Aug 2005

Women whose breast cancer is detected by mammography have a significantly better prognosis

Women whose breast cancer was detected by screening mammography had a significantly better prognosis than those whose cancer was found another way - even if the cancer had already spread to their lymph nodes, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center who looked at outcomes from randomized screening studies of more than 150,000 women.

17 Aug 2005

Updated consumer guide explains dispute resolution process

The Kaiser Family Foundation and Consumers Union today released an updated guide to help consumers through the process of resolving disputes with their health plans.

4 Aug 2005

NicStic - world's first smokeless and tobacco-free cigarette to go on sale

According to Swissmedic, the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products, the NicStic is not a medicinal product and the way has been cleared for its commercial production.

4 Aug 2005

New health campaign targets uninsured kids in the U.S.

According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, an estimated 45 million Americans lack health insurance, and nearly 20 percent of them are children.

3 Aug 2005

American Psychological Association lauds action agendas to transform U.S. mental health system

The American Psychological Association (APA) lauds the release of the Campaign for Mental Health Reform's action agenda, Emergency Response: A Roadmap for Federal Action on America's Mental Health Crisis, designed to help the federal government transform the delivery of mental health services.

2 Aug 2005

Medicare at 40: Past Accomplishments and Future Challenges

As Americans commemorate Medicare's 40th Anniversary, AARP's Public Policy Institute (PPI) has released the report, "Medicare at 40," which examines the program's successes as well as the challenges that lie ahead. It found that Medicare has largely accomplished its original goals of ensuring access to care and establishing financial protections for medical costs.

2 Aug 2005