Apr 28 2010
Crossposted at DKos and other blogs
Once again, the states are leading the way on health care reform. This past week, the Vermont House and Senate passed two versions of a bill that would essentially get a consultant to design three systems for health care in Vermont: something similar to Canadian single payer, something similar to a private system with a public option, and something similar to the recently passed federal health insurance bill.
Apr 25 2010
25 April is a day of unified commemoration of the global effort to provide effective control of malaria around the world. This year’s World Malaria Day marks a critical moment in time. The international malaria community has less than a year to meet the 2010 targets of delivering effective and affordable protection and treatment to all people at risk of malaria, as called for by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon.
Apr 25 2010
Welcome to this week’s Health and Fitness. This is an Open Thread.
(Reuters) – Africa is making dramatic progress in tackling malaria, a mosquito-borne disease that has killed a million people a year on the continent and stunted economic growth, a top expert said on Thursday.
Infection rates in Zambia, for instance, more than halved from 2001 to 2008 due to widespread distribution of mosquito nets, targeted spraying of insecticides and better and cheaper diagnosis and treatment, said Rob Newman, director of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Malaria Program.
Zambia’s success augurs well for similar programs in their relative infancy in much larger countries such as Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and the one with the heaviest malaria case-load, he said.
“Where we are in Africa today compared to even a few years ago is dramatic,” Newman told Reuters from WHO headquarters in Geneva. “The steepness of the decline surprises even me, and I’ve been doing this for a very long time.
(Reuters) – The World Health Organization said on Friday it had added 16 more malaria diagnostic tests to its approved list to help health workers quickly identify which patients have the disease and need immediate treatment.
(Reuters) – The U.S. government announced on Thursday it would focus part of its $63 billion, six-year Global Health Initiative plan to accelerate efforts to fight malaria, mostly in Africa and aimed at women and children.
Reuters) – Six years after the insect killer DDT was globally outlawed on grounds of environmental damage, two researchers say there are new reasons for doubting the chemical is harmful and are urging its use against malaria.
(Reuters) – Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, billionaire Bill Gates and Queen Rania of Jordan will put their fame to work this week as they join a Twitter campaign to end malaria deaths.
As is now custom, I’ll try to include the more interesting and pertinent articles that will help the community awareness of their health and bodies. This essay will not be posted anywhere else due to constraints on my time. Please feel free to make suggestions for improvement and ask questions, I’ll answer as best I can.
Apr 24 2010
This is a quick calculator for figuring how many chickens you may owe your doctor.
“Doctors are reasonable people”
Senate hopeful Sue Lowden’s plan for Healthcare reform is to barter chickens for medical procedures. But you may be unsure how many chickens are required for your medical care. This handy calculator converts many common procedures into chickens so you won’t look like an idiot at your next Doctor’s Appointment.
Warning: Please refrain from eating or drinking while reading
h/t to Aravosis at AMERICAblog
Apr 17 2010
Welcome to this week’s Health and Fitness. This is an Open Thread.
(Reuters) – The eruption of an Icelandic volcanic that has paralyzed air traffic in much of Europe could also harm people with breathing problems, the World Health Organization said on Friday.
The U.N. health agency said the fine particles in the ash cloud were not harmful so long as they remained in the upper atmosphere, but could be more problematic if they fell to earth.
About a quarter of the ash particles were believed to be less than 10 microns in size, the most dangerous because they could penetrate deeper in the lungs, the WHO said in a statement.
Health Officials and the WHO are advising that patients with chronic lung diseases and cardiovascular disease listen to local news reports about air pollution level and take appropriate precautions such as staying indoors. Even though there are no warnings here in the US, large volcanic eruptions have in the past affected the air quality around the world.
As is now custom, I’ll try to include the more interesting and pertinent articles that will help the community awareness of their health and bodies. This essay will not be posted anywhere else due to constraints on my time. Please feel free to make suggestions for improvement and ask questions, I’ll answer as best I can.
Apr 15 2010
cross-posted from Sum of Change
Apr 14 2010
The health “care” – really insurance – bill that passed is far from a perfect bill, in large part because it leaves a system intact that is the source of a ton of the problems that were used to create support for it, and it is not actually universal health care.
To get any kind of actually universal coverage we’re going to need to turn to the states. Clearly those thousands of lobbyists are too powerful in DC to really challenge the powers that be in the insurance and pharmaceutical industries. So the good news is that there are state-level campaigns for single payer, and they’re gaining a lot of momentum in states like California and Pennsylvania.
Apr 11 2010
There has been an uproar over the new health care bill from the left and right. On the left, it was that the health bill didn’t go far enough and became a give-a-away to the insurance industry. On the right, it has been nothing short of sheer stupidity.
There isn’t a better example of sheer stupidity than this:
First there was Dr. Cassell firing patients. Then there’s “dermdoc” bragging on a message board that he has just laid off his first Obama-voting employee. From CBS News’ Political Hotsheet:
Last Friday, someone going by the name “dermdoc” posted a thread on a message board for Texas A&M students and alumni with this topic: “Laid off my first Obama voting employee today.”
“Our reimbursement rates are spiraling downward, taxes are projected to go up with Obamacare, so I did it,” the person wrote. He later added: “I made this decision because I can.”
“It is kind of interesting watching their face as you explain to them the economic consequences of the policies of the guy they voted for,” wrote dermdoc.
The original message board thread has now been removed, but that didn’t deter “dermdoc” from expanding on his original thesis.
“Elections have consequences,” wrote dermdoc. “If you vote for someone who raises my taxes and lowers my income, you pay the cost.”
“My office manager and med business guru have calculated that this is just the beginning. Tax rates are going to go through the roof with additional Obamacare taxes AND the expiration of the Bush tax cuts,” he added. “And most analysts think reimbursement rates for docs will go down about 20-25% the next 2 years, and that is BEFORE Obamacare really kicks in.”
And, we then learn, that this was all just a case of the person being an idiot…
Apr 10 2010
Welcome to this week’s Health and Fitness. This is an Open Thread.
The Food and Drug Administration said recent research raises “valid concerns” about the possible health effects of triclosan, an antibacterial chemical found in a growing number of liquid soaps, hand sanitizers, dishwashing liquids, shaving gels and even socks, workout clothes and toys.
snip
In a letter to a congressman that was obtained by The Washington Post, the FDA said that recent scientific studies raise questions about whether triclosan disrupts the body’s endocrine system and whether it helps to create bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. An advisory panel to the FDA said in 2005 that there was no evidence the antibacterial soaps work better than regular soap and water.
snip
Triclosan was developed as a surgical scrub for medical professionals. It is also used in pesticides. In recent years, it has been added to a host of consumer products to kill bacteria and fungus and prevent odors. It can be found in everything from kitchen cutting boards to shoes, often packaged with labels that tout “antibacterial” properties.
Most hand sanitizers, such as Purell, use alcohol and do not contain triclosan.
April 9, 2010 — With the FDA reviewing the antibacterial chemical triclosan, widely found in everyday products such as hand soaps, body washes, toothpastes, cosmetics, toys, clothing, and furniture, should you or shouldn’t you ditch products with this ingredient?
Here are the most frequently asked questions about triclosan, with answers from experts on both sides of the debate, to help you decide.
As is now custom, I’ll try to include the more interesting and pertinent articles that will help the community awareness of their health and bodies. This essay will not be posted anywhere else due to constraints on my time. Please feel free to make suggestions for improvement and ask questions, I’ll answer as best I can.
Editor’s Note: Starting with this essay, due to concerns about fair use, I will only publish the links to the Healthy Recipes.
Apr 10 2010
Dr. Jennifer Potter, Director of the Women’s Health Program at Fenway Health announced a health fair for LBT women on May 11 in this morning’s edition of Bay Windows. That will be in the midst of National Women’s Health Week.
She acknowledges that LGBT people all experience health disparities because of continued discrimination and ignorance on the part of of health professionals. But she also notes that the majority of research and funding for LGBT people is directed at gay men’s health, primarily at gay men infected with HIV. LBT people are often left out in the cold.
Aside: I’ve had a lot of personal experience with that, having had to train my own medical practitioners how to treat me. Too often, medical schools don’t provide training in how to interact with transpeople, let alone how to treat us. Back in the early 90s I participated in a video interview with a doctor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (Karen Young: her son was a student at the university where I taught) to be used in its ethics courses, hoping to address the issue. I do not know if it is still being used…and I never received a copy.
Apr 09 2010
Apparently inspired by certain Democrats voting against the health insurance reform, the Service Employees International Union – a union representing over 2 million workers – is surprisingly planning to work against Democrats this election season.
Perhaps the strongest challenge to Democrats, if not the Democratic establishment itself, will be in North Carolina. The national SEIU is working with the State Employees Association of North Carolina, its state affiliate, to form the North Carolina First Party.
Apr 04 2010
The commitment I seek is not to outworn views but to old values that will never wear out. Programs may sometimes become obsolete, but the ideal of fairness always endures. Circumstances may change, but the work of compassion must continue.
What we have in the United States is not so much a health-care system as a disease-care system.
The more our feelings diverge, the more deeply felt they are, the greater is our obligation to grant the sincerity and essential decency of our fellow citizens on the other side.–Sen Ted Kennedy