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Study suggests potential ingredient in rice for prevention of cardiovascular diseases

Rice is generally thought to be a healthy addition to the diet because it is a source of fiber. However, not all rice is equally nutritious, and brown rice might have an advantage over white rice by offering protection from high blood pressure and atherosclerosis ("hardening of the arteries"), say researchers at the Cardiovascular Research Center and Department of Physiology at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia.

27 Apr 2010

Military trauma transition units breed culture of drug abuse, depression

The New York Times reports on a Warrior Transition Battalion unit in Colorado used by the military to transition injured veterans back into the military or their home lives. "Created in the wake of the scandal in 2007 over serious shortcomings at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Warrior Transition Units were intended to be sheltering way stations where injured soldiers could recuperate and return to duty or gently process out of the Army.

27 Apr 2010

Mediterranean diet helps reduce risk of cognitive decline in older adults

Findings about what specific components of diets are most beneficial are frequently changing. However, an ongoing study of older adults shows evidence that one type of diet can help mitigate cognitive problems. An ongoing prospective study called the Chicago Health and Aging Project has shown that adherence to the Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk of cognitive decline with older age.

27 Apr 2010

Nurses who are interrupted while administering medication make errors: Report

Nurses who are interrupted while administering medication appear to have an increased risk of making medication errors, according to a report in the April 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

27 Apr 2010

Humana posts first quarter earnings despite health reform 'uncertainty'

Reuters: Humana, a large provider of Medicare plans, projected second-quarter profits ahead of estimates. Reuters reports that pre-market trading reflected gains but shares then fell 2.8 percent in the morning as a result of "uncertainty" stemming from the new health law. "Humana is the second major health insurer to report results since Congress passed an overhaul of the health system.

27 Apr 2010

Medical marijuana dispensaries going corporate

Medical marijuana dispensaries are going corporate as "more and more states allow medical use of the drug." As "California considers outright legalization, marijuana's supporters are pushing hard to burnish the image of pot by franchising dispensaries and building brands; establishing consulting, lobbying and law firms; setting up trade shows and a seminar circuit; and constructing a range of other marijuana-related businesses."

27 Apr 2010

New health law will require industry to disclose payments to physicians

Doctors who accept speaking fees, five-star meals and other compensation from pharmaceutical or medical device companies will soon see their names - and the value of the gifts they accept - revealed on the Web, under a new federal law that follows several states in drawing attention to such financial benefits" (Weintraub, 4/26).

27 Apr 2010

Schools, systems get more funding to expand electronic medical records

The (Allentown, Penn.) Morning Call: Beginning next year, doctors and hospitals that share computerized medical records "including a list of prescriptions, drug allergies, doctor visits, and test results — will qualify for a share of $1.5 billion in incentives from the federal government. By 2015, those that don't will face Medicare funding cuts."

27 Apr 2010

KHN column: The hidden costs of publicly financed health insurance

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act continues the American tradition of privately provided, publicly subsidized health insurance. It's how most Americans' health insurance is financed today. But despite its advantages, there is a hidden cost to this arrangement: insurers have more information about health care coverage, spending and utilization than the taxpayers that help fund them.

27 Apr 2010

Pelosi commends President Obama for signing TRICARE Affirmation Act into law

The health insurance reform legislation enacted last month fully protects the health care benefits of our active duty military, military retirees, and their families. None of its provisions would undermine or affect the excellent health coverage these brave men and women and their families already receive.

27 Apr 2010

California Republican lawmakers continue to press for tort reform

The Contra Costa Times: "The effort to overhaul the nation's health care system has so far skirted the issue of tort reform, intensifying debate over the role malpractice lawsuits play in increasing premiums." Critics say the new health reform law does not do enough to address the high costs of medical lawsuits, but other experts say that malpractice suits do not contribute to increasing health costs.

27 Apr 2010

Aetna Better Health, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia reach agreement for Medicaid program

Aetna Better Health in Pennsylvania and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia announced today that they have reached agreement on a new contract that adds the hospital to the Medicaid provider's network in Pennsylvania. The new contract is effective immediately.

27 Apr 2010

Costs, effects on business questioned as health overhaul analysis continues

The Associated Press: The biggest unanswered question in the health overhaul debate remains what the new law will mean for ordinary Americans. "Many experts believe the law falls short on taming costs, and that will force Congress to revisit health care in a few years.

27 Apr 2010

States struggle to balance budgets with Medicaid changes

Health News Florida: A provision in Florida's state budget bill that would have reformed the state's Medicaid system has been officially dropped by state legislators. "The House proposed a sweeping plan that gradually would have led to almost all Medicaid recipients enrolling in managed-care plans, while the Senate proposed a smaller expansion of a pilot managed-care program.

27 Apr 2010

Wellcare faces allegations about director's resignation; Wellpoint confronts reports regarding breast cancer recissions

"A prominent director at WellCare Health Plans Inc. resigned Wednesday and raised questions about accounting practices at the Medicare and Medicaid company. Regina Herzlinger, the head of the board's audit committee and a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, said internal audits found WellCare overbilled the Illinois Medicaid program by $1 million in 2009 and potentially overcharged states for almost $500,000 worth of maternity care."

27 Apr 2010

A first step in the long road to health reform

Australia provides good health care to the majority of its citizens most of the time and compares well with like countries. The capacity for illness to destroy families financially, seen in the US and in many less economically advanced countries where governments make small or no contributions to the cost of health care, is much diminished by Medicare, public hospitals and subsidised pharmaceuticals.

27 Apr 2010

Nurses interrupted – leading to 12% rise in medication errors: study

In a study published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine on the 26th of April the causes of “procedural failure and clinical error” by nurses in Australian hospitals were analyzed. The study found that nurses made at least one mistake or oversight in a whopping 80.2% of cases where they were administering drugs or other therapy to patients. These mistakes could range from not checking the patient’s identity before giving the drug to not washing hands. Researchers say that in some cases these mistakes could be fatal.

27 Apr 2010

NHS funding a major issue in the coming election

The state of the British economy has made the cut backs in NHS funding a major issue in the coming election. However no matter what the posturing is right now, and no politician wants to be seen making cuts here, there may be no other viable alternatives. No matter who forms the government after 6th May, they will be under great strain to keep their earlier promises of no health fund cuts.

27 Apr 2010

Experts warn doctors to be aware of new requirements in health bill's false claims act

"A longtime Miami-Dade healthcare operator and his son have been charged with bilking more than $2.8 million from Medicare in an undercover FBI case. The father has fled the country and the son is cooperating with authorities. Ernesto Angel Montaner and his son, Ernesto Montaner, are accused of operating a network of physical rehabilitation clinics in Miami-Dade that submitted millions of dollars in phony bills to the federal healthcare program for the elderly and disabled between 2003 and 2008" (Weaver, 4/24).

26 Apr 2010

AHRQ releases Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit

Several studies have found that a majority of American adults have trouble with basic health literacy tasks such as reading and understanding prescription drug labels and following their doctors' instructions correctly.

26 Apr 2010