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Today's OpEds: Opposing views on hospital medical errors; lesson for Andy Harris; Dems and abortion

If a 747 jetliner crashed every day, killing all 500 people aboard, there would be a national uproar over aviation safety and an all-out mobilization to fix the problem. In the nation's hospitals, though, about the same number of people die on average every day from medical "adverse events," many of them preventable errors such as infections or incorrect medications.

19 Nov 2010

Substance abuse treatment facilities offering nicotine replacement therapy increased by 6%: Report

The percentage of substance abuse treatment facilities offering nicotine replacement therapy to clients gradually increased by about 6 percentage points from 2006 to 2009, according to a new Spotlight report issued by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration released in conjunction with the "Great American Smokeout."

19 Nov 2010

Cough suppressant syrup may predict patients metabolise tamoxifen in breast cancer treatment

Cough medicine could be used as way of predicting how well individual patients metabolise tamoxifen used in the treatment of their breast cancer, according to new research presented at the 22nd EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Berlin today

19 Nov 2010

African Americans have faster rates of decline in kidney function

African Americans along with some groups of Hispanics have faster rates of decline in kidney function compared to white Americans, according to a study presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 43rd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition.

19 Nov 2010

Study compares effect on HT status in mid, late life on dementia risk

Compared to women never on hormone therapy, those taking hormone therapy only at midlife had a 26 percent decreased risk of dementia; while women taking HT only in late life had a 48 percent increased risk of dementia, according to Kaiser Permanente researchers.

19 Nov 2010

ProvenCare to focus on potential problems in lung cancer patients

Northwestern Memorial Hospital is one of six national participants in a pilot study that will test whether operable lung cancer patients and their families have a smoother care experience and better outcomes by hardwiring data systems to reduce medical error and to reliably adhere to best practice standards.

19 Nov 2010

CDC data: Adults remain unvaccinated against preventable infectious illnesses

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that adults remain largely unvaccinated against preventable infectious illnesses.

18 Nov 2010

March of Dimes reports decline in Colorado’s premature birth rate

Premature birth in Colorado has declined along with three key contributing factors, it was reported today by the March of Dimes in its annual assessment, the Premature Birth Report Card. However, despite these improvements (and for the third straight year), the state's overall grade is a "D."

18 Nov 2010

Cigarette smoke, automobile exhaust and french fries increase risk of developing Alzheimer's disease

There is growing evidence that exposure to a group of chemicals known as type-2 alkenes -- which are found in the smoke inhaled from cigarettes, the exhaust of automobiles and even in French fries - can increase the chances of developing Alzheimer's disease and other neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease.

18 Nov 2010

Report plus Great American Smokeout offer reasons to quit, renew tobacco prevention efforts

A new report issued by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) shows that each year, smoking is responsible for 5,135 deaths in Minnesota and $2.87 billion in excess medical costs to treat diseases caused by smoking. The report, titled "Health Care Costs and Smoking in Minnesota," was completed by Jeffrey Fellows, Ph.D., and a nationally known health economist from the Center for Health Research at Kaiser Permanente Northwest.

18 Nov 2010

St. Jude organizes tobacco cessation program for cancer survivors who smoke

Cancer survivors who smoke and need help quitting can receive help through a tobacco cessation program organized by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

17 Nov 2010

Cholesterol-lowering statin therapy benefits patients with calcium buildup in arteries

Rolling back suggestions from previous studies, a Johns Hopkins study of 950 healthy men and women has shown that taking daily doses of a cholesterol-lowering statin medication to protect coronary arteries and ward off heart attack or stroke may not be needed for everyone.

17 Nov 2010

School vending machines influence dietary intake of students

Vending machines in public schools influence the diets of school children and can affect overall dietary intake and health, depending on what foods they contain.

17 Nov 2010

8 states get better grade on 2010 March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card

Eight states earned a better grade on the 2010 March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card and 32 others and the District of Columbia saw their preterm birth rates improve.

17 Nov 2010

Study finds gender differences linked to gaming and health risks associated with problematic gaming

A new study on gaming and health in adolescents, conducted by researchers at Yale School of Medicine, found some significant gender differences linked to gaming as well as important health risks associated with problematic gaming. Published today in the journal Pediatrics, the study is among the first and largest to examine possible health links to gaming and problematic gaming in a community sample of adolescents.

17 Nov 2010

Pre-term births are leading cause of health problems in infants and cost the U.S. over $26 billion annually

The Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation (CHRT) based at the University of Michigan today released its Prematurity Issue Brief that shows pre-term births --- births at less than 37 weeks of gestation --- are the leading cause of health problems in infants and estimated to cost the U.S. more than $26 billion annually. In addition, the report shows that a black infant in Michigan is 70% more likely to be born prematurely than an infant of any other race.

17 Nov 2010

Never-smokers have better chance of surviving head and neck cancer

Patients with head and neck cancer who have never smoked have much better survival rates after radiation therapy than patients with a history of smoking, new research from UC Davis Cancer Center has found.

17 Nov 2010

Researchers suggest that genetic screening may predict heart attack risk

Testing for 11 specific genetic variations in hundreds of people with no history of heart disease provided information that led to revision of their estimated heart attack risk, say Mayo Clinic researchers.

17 Nov 2010

Health officials gather in Uruguay to discuss WHO anti-smoking treaty

"As sales to developing nations become ever more important to giant tobacco companies, they are stepping up efforts around the world to fight tough restrictions on the marketing of cigarettes," the New York Times reports in an article ahead of a conference in Punta del Este, Uruguay, which began on Monday. At the conference health officials are debating guidelines to enforce a global anti-smoking treaty known as the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) (Wilson, 11/13).

17 Nov 2010

Today's Op-Eds: Congress needs conservative leadership; reviving tort reform; can states afford to drop Medicaid?

Nothing has gone quite so awry as the massive, government-run Obama health program, and it is plain that the individual mandate, the employee mandate, the abortion funding, the tangle of outsider/insider councils like the comparative effectiveness board and the effective nationalization of healthcare under grants of authority to the Department of Health and Human Services.

16 Nov 2010

Smoking News and Research

Today's OpEds: Opposing views on hospital medical errors; lesson for Andy Harris; Dems and abortion

Substance abuse treatment facilities offering nicotine replacement therapy increased by 6%: Report

Cough suppressant syrup may predict patients metabolise tamoxifen in breast cancer treatment

African Americans have faster rates of decline in kidney function

Study compares effect on HT status in mid, late life on dementia risk

ProvenCare to focus on potential problems in lung cancer patients

CDC data: Adults remain unvaccinated against preventable infectious illnesses

March of Dimes reports decline in Colorado’s premature birth rate

Cigarette smoke, automobile exhaust and french fries increase risk of developing Alzheimer's disease

Report plus Great American Smokeout offer reasons to quit, renew tobacco prevention efforts

St. Jude organizes tobacco cessation program for cancer survivors who smoke

Cholesterol-lowering statin therapy benefits patients with calcium buildup in arteries

School vending machines influence dietary intake of students

8 states get better grade on 2010 March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card

Study finds gender differences linked to gaming and health risks associated with problematic gaming

Pre-term births are leading cause of health problems in infants and cost the U.S. over $26 billion annually

Never-smokers have better chance of surviving head and neck cancer

Researchers suggest that genetic screening may predict heart attack risk

Health officials gather in Uruguay to discuss WHO anti-smoking treaty

Today's Op-Eds: Congress needs conservative leadership; reviving tort reform; can states afford to drop Medicaid?

Achieving and maintaining ISO 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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