Health News
E-Clips
An electronic healthcare news link service
provided by UHA,
Friday, April 11, 2008
Intermountain
offering MRIs at Springville site (Deseret Morning News, April 10, 2008) Intermountain
Healthcare is now offering weekly MRI services at its Springville Clinic with a
mobile unit that will be available for scheduled scans each Wednesday. http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695269032,00.html
Utah County honors partners in health effort (Deseret Morning News, April 10, 2008) Though most people tend to be frustrated with public health care, Utah County officials think it's doing well and getting better in their county. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695268639,00.html
Get Prepared, Then
Rest Easy, Experts Say (
68% of
Ex-valley physician shot dead in Texas (Logan Herald Journal, April 10, 2008) A former Cache Valley physician was gunned down outside of her San Antonio, Texas, medical practice Friday afternoon before a nearby police officer arrived and opened fire on the gunman — shooting him several times. http://hjnews.townnews.com/articles/2008/04/09/news/news03.txt
Health Department
employee may have violated gift ban (
Three Utahns Per Week Die Without Health Insurance (KCPW, April 10, 2008) Three Utahns die each week because they don't have health insurance, according to a study released Tuesday by Families USA. Unveiled just as the state begins to look at market-based health-system reform, the report highlights the relatively high rate of uninsured Utahns. http://www.kcpw.org/article/5733
Legislative task
force's mandate: Find a way to insure all Utahns
(
Study uses hormones to treat multiple sclerosis (Salt Lake Tribune, April 10, 2008) Pregnant multiple sclerosis patients have long noticed a sharp reduction in their symptoms - only to see them reappear after giving birth. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8872392
Westminster two steps closer to new science center (Salt Lake Tribune, April 11, 2008) The final piece in Westminster College's plan to develop its campus reached crucial milestones this week with approval from the Salt Lake City Planning Commission for a proposed four-story science building and a major gift to help pay for the $25 million project. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8887288
National Healthcare Headlines
Bill Advances to Suspend Medicaid Cost-Shift Rules (Wall Street Journal, April 10, 2008) Legislation to block Medicaid rules that states said would shift billions of dollars of costs to them began a move through the House. (You must have an online subscription to view this story) www.wsj.com
Quality Care at
Bargain Prices (Editorial, New York Times, April 10, 2008) When politicians
talk of reforming the health care system to rein in costs, skeptical patients
often worry that they will be forced to accept shoddy treatment in second-rate
institutions. So it is a relief to learn that the famed Mayo Clinic in
Group issues warning on medication mix-ups for kids (USA Today, April 11, 2008) A hospital group says more needs to be done to prevent medication errors in children. A safety alert issued Friday by the group comes days after the release of a study finding that drug mix-ups and overdoses harm roughly one out of 15 hospitalized children, a number far higher than earlier estimates. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-04-11-children-rx_N.htm . Also found at http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695269375,00.html
Public Forum to Address Safety Issues on Vaccines (New York Times, April 11, 2008) In the midst of yet another controversy about whether vaccines cause autism, the federal government will hold its first ever public meeting on Friday to discuss a governmentwide research agenda to explore the safety of vaccines. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/11/health/policy/11vaccine.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin
Hospitals' suburban
push stirs fears (Boston Globe, April 10, 2008) Concerned about big
Edwards's wife backs Clinton on healthcare (Boston Globe, April 10, 2008) John and Elizabeth Edwards are staying on the sidelines of the Democratic nomination fight, but she let it be known yesterday that she prefers Hillary Clinton's healthcare plan - a plug that could be the closest the Edwardses will get to an endorsement. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/04/10/edwardss_wife_backs_clinton_on_healthcare/
Heparin Is Now Suspected in 62 Fatalities Across U.S. (New York Times, April 10, 2008) The number of suspicious deaths in the United States linked to the blood thinner heparin has risen to 62 from 19, with most of them reported this past December, January and February, according to the first detailed analyses of heparin fatalities by the Food and Drug Administration. (You must register to view this link—no fee)
Lack of insurance
contributes to many deaths in
FDA Investigates Transplant Drugs' Risks (Washington Post, April 11, 2008) Regulators are exploring whether organ transplant drugs made by Roche and Novartis increase the risk of an often-fatal neurological disease. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/10/AR2008041002734.html
Drug Experiment Blocks Radiation Damage (Washington Post, April 11, 2008) Scientists mimicked one of cancer's sneaky tricks to create a drug that promises to prevent a serious side effect of cancer treatment--radiation damage--or offer an antidote during a nuclear emergency. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/10/AR2008041002448.html
Person who allegedly
breached patient records talks (KUTV, April 10, 2008) A former employee at
a
Health Care Horror Stories (Opinion, New York Times, April 11, 2008) Not long ago, a young Ohio woman named Trina Bachtel, who was having health problems while pregnant, tried to get help at a local clinic. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/11/opinion/11krugman.html?th&emc=th
The Young Lions of Able Troop (Washington Post, April 10, 2008) Army Maj. Steven Gventer stuck his trusty Garmin GPS on the windshield of a white van idling in a garage before dawn at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/09/AR2008040904220.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Stolen NIH Laptop Held Social Security Numbers (Washington Post, April 10, 2008) Social Security numbers for more than 1,200 participants in a National Institutes of Health study were stored on a stolen laptop containing their medical records, putting those patients at risk of identity theft, agency officials said yesterday. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/09/AR2008040903680.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Takeda's
Genzyme Recalls Three Lots Of Transplant Drug, FDA Says (Wall Street Journal, April 10, 2008) Genzyme Corp. voluntarily recalled three lots of Thymoglobulin, a drug used during transplants, after the solution was found to have a different appearance than usual, the Food and Drug Administration said on its Web site. (You must have an online subscription to view this story) www.wsj.com
Novartis Names Hantson
Head of
PDL Declares Dividend, Plans Spinoff (Wall Street Journal, April 11, 2008) PDL BioPharma Inc. declared a $502 million special cash dividend and said it plans to spin off its biotechnology operations -- amounting to a major restructuring -- after months of efforts to sell the company or boost returns. (You must have an online subscription to view this story) www.wsj.com
Genentech Profit Jumps By 12% on Solid Revenue (Wall
Street Journal, April 11, 2008)
Genentech Inc.'s first-quarter profit rose 12%, but sales of its flagship cancer drug Avastin didn't do as well as some analysts had expected. (You must have an online subscription to view this story) www.wsj.com
Nursing Homes, in Bid to Cut Costs, Prod Patients to Forgo Lawsuits (Wall Street Journal, April 11, 2008) Nursing-home patients and their families are increasingly giving up their right to sue over disputes about care, including those involving deaths, as the homes write binding arbitration into their standard contracts. (You must have an online subscription to view this story) www.wsj.com
Tainted Cubicin Won't Hurt Sales, Cubist Pharmaceuticals Says (Wall Street Journal, April 10, 2008) Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it doesn't expect the recent discovery of a rubber chemical in some of its reconstituted Cubicin injectable antibiotic to have any impact on the company's 2008 sales. (You must have an online subscription to view this story) www.wsj.com
In Shift to Digital, More Repeat Mammograms (New York Times, April 10, 2008) It is a phone call that women dread. Something is not quite right on the mammogram: come back for another one. But don’t worry, the script goes, most repeat tests wind up normal. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/10/health/10scan.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin
Experimental drug blocks radiation damage (USA Today, April 10, 2008) Scientists mimicked one of cancer's sneaky tricks to create a drug that promises to prevent a serious side effect of cancer treatment — radiation damage — or offer an antidote during a nuclear emergency. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-04-10-radiation-drug_N.htm
U.S. cases of food poisoning held steady in 2007; salmonella most common cause, government says (Salt Lake Tribune, April 10, 2008) Americans didn't suffer more food poisoning last year over the previous year despite high-profile outbreaks involving peanut butter, pot pies and other foods. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8880767