Health News E-Clips

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Utah Hospitals and Health Systems Association

 

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

 

Utah Healthcare Headlines

 

Insurers: Does your doc make the grade ? (Salt Lake Tribune, March 30, 2008) Murray dermatologist Brian Williams will listen to your concerns and thoroughly answer your questions. But it's hard to get an appointment, and once you do, you may have a long wait in the reception room. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8745652

 

BYU teams win 1st, 3rd in hospital design contest (Salt Lake Tribune, March 28, 2008) Atlanta-based Skanska USA Building has announced that Brigham Young University won first and third place in its University Grant Project Competition. http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_8737231

 

Hospital survey: How was your stay? (Salt Lake Tribune, March 29, 2008) Want to know how clean and quiet your local hospital rooms are, how well the nurses and doctors communicate with patients, or how well they manage pain? http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8738281

 

Tax watchdog rates legislators (Salt Lake Tribune, March 29, 2008) The Utah Taxpayers Association has released its annual scorecard of legislators, based on their voting record on tax-related legislation. http://www.sltrib.com/utahpolitics/ci_8738294

 

Holladay bans smoking in outdoor public areas (Salt Lake Tribune, March 29, 2008) Holladay's City Council voted this week to douse smoking in outdoor public areas. Smokers no longer will be able to light up in the east-side city's parks, cemeteries or recreation areas. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8738280

 

Facility mends minds and lives (Salt Lake Tribune, March 31, 2008) It seems more like a college campus than home to several hundred mentally ill patients, including dozens convicted or accused of murder, rape or aggravated assault. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8753642?source=rv

 

U. ophthalmologist wins research grant (Deseret Morning News, March 31, 2008) A University of Utah ophthalmologist has been awarded $750,000 over five years to identify new genes and treatments for eye diseases related to diabetes. Dr. Kang Zhang is only the third ophthalmologist to receive a prestigious Burroughs Wellcome Fund Clinical Scientists Award in Translational Research. http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695266159,00.html

 

Hospitals get ready for National Doctor's Day (Daily Herald, March 29, 2008) March 30 is National Doctor's Day, and hospitals around the county are gearing up to celebrate. http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/260642/3/

 

Surveys show customers are pleased with ‘doc-in-a-box' clinics (ksl.com, March 28, 2008) Those so-called "doc-in-a-box" clinics inside retail stores are apparently getting a thumbs-up from consumers. The clinics got their start several years ago as a way to have your ailments, appetite and prescriptions all satisfied in a one-stop shop. http://www.ksl.com/?nid=200&sid=2958361

 

Three’s Company (The Standard, March 28, 2008) Taylor, Maddie and Hallie came into the world kicking and screaming last week, having survived a prenatal scare that could have been deadly for one or all. http://www.standard.net/live/News/129184/

 

A big sigh of relief in Ogden (The Standard, March 28, 2008) A Weber County emergency dispatcher got the treat of her young career Thursday when she coached a mother giving birth. http://www.standard.net/live/news/129180

 

Governor: Expect Action from Health System Reform Task Force (KCPW, March 28, 2008) Governor Jon Huntsman expects the newly created health system reform task force to accomplish enough by November so that the legislature can take action on healthcare during next year's general session. He anticipates the task force will find out what needs to be fixed and figure out the best course of action. http://www.kcpw.org/article/5662

 

First steps on health care reform (The Standard, April 1, 2008) For most Utahns, the issue of health care reform boils down to basic observations: It costs too much, insurance is expensive and/or hard to come by, and deciding which doctors and hospitals are the best takes ridiculous amounts of research. http://www.standard.net/live/opinion/editorials/129466/

 

Low-Income Advocates Contest Rule Change (KCPW, April 1, 2008) The Department of Workforce Services is considering a rule change that low-income advocates say will unfairly penalize some of the state's poorest residents. Crossroads Urban Center's Bill Tibbits says the rule cancels their $261 monthly assistance checks if they fail to enroll in a state subsidized health care program, the Primary Care Network. http://www.kcpw.org/article/5664

 

National Healthcare Headlines

 

Lost in the labyrinth (Boston Globe, March 30, 2008) The mere thought of exploring the labyrinth called Chapter 58 gives me a case of the vapors. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/03/30/lost_in_the_labyrinth/

 

Q&A with Norman Spack (Boston Globe, March 30, 2008) CHILDREN HAVE CUT themselves. In some cases, 9- or 10-year-old kids have staged suicide attempts. The little boys sob unless they're allowed to wear dresses. The girls want to be called Luke, Ted, or James. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/03/30/qa_with_norman_spack/

 

Tobacco funded Mass. Researchers (Boston Globe, March 31, 2008) The nation's largest cigarette maker has paid for scientific research at four Massachusetts universities since 2000, a practice that critics of the tobacco industry liken to the Mafia underwriting crime fighting. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/03/31/tobacco_funded_mass_researchers/

 

Doctors have doubts on Vytorin, Zetia (Boston Globe, March 31, 2008) Two widely prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs, Vytorin and Zetia, may not work and should be used only as a last resort, a panel of four cardiologists told an audience of more than 5,000 people at a major cardiology conference yesterday. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2008/03/31/doctors_have_doubts_on_vytorin_zetia/

 

  • Doubt Cast on 2 Drugs Used to Lower Cholesterol (New York Times, March 31, 2008) Two widely prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs, Vytorin and Zetia, may not work and should be used only as a last resort, a panel of four cardiologists told an audience of more than 5,000 people at a major cardiology conference on Sunday. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/31/business/31drug-web.html?th&emc=th

 

  • Vytorin and Zetia fail in heart study (Deseret Morning News, March 31, 2008) Leading doctors urged a return to older, tried-and-true treatments for high cholesterol after hearing full results Sunday of a failed trial of Vytorin and related drug Zetia. http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695266091,00.html

 

 

  • Drug makers' shares plunge after Vytorin's results emerge (Salt Lake Tribune, March 31, 2008) Shares of Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough Corp. fell to record lows Monday, as analysts warned new clinical data would choke sales of their blockbuster cholesterol drug Vytorin, while bringing intense government scrutiny to the companies. http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_8765088

 

Righting healthcare reform (Boston Globe, Opinion, March 31, 2008) IN A NOVEMBER 2005 letter to the Legislature, more than 20 state business associations declared support for measures that would deliver healthcare cost controls to the state's ambitious reform efforts. After lauding measures like investing in electronic health initiatives and creating cost transparency at hospitals, the business leaders wrote, "Cost, after all, is the single biggest problem we face today in the delivery of health care." (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/03/31/righting_healthcare_reform/

 

Study Finds Many Patients Dissatisfied With Hospitals (New York Times, March 29, 2008) Many hospital patients are dissatisfied with some aspects of their care and might not recommend their hospitals to friends and relatives, the federal government said Friday as it issued ratings for most of the nation’s hospitals, based on the first uniform national survey of patients. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/29/washington/29hospital.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

 

Inoculated Against Facts (New York Times, Opinion, March 31, 2008) ON March 6, Terry and Jon Poling stood outside a federal courthouse in Atlanta, Ga., with their 9-year-old daughter Hannah and announced that the federal government had admitted that vaccines had contributed to her autism. The news was shocking. Health officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and at the American Academy of Pediatrics have steadfastly assured the public that vaccines do not cause autism. Now, in a special vaccine claims court, the federal government appeared to have said exactly the opposite. What happened? (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/31/opinion/31offit.html?th&emc=th

 

Zen and the Art of Coping With Alzheimer's (New York Times, March 31, 2008) During the YouTube forum with the Democratic presidential candidates in July, the first question about health care came from two middle-age brothers in Iowa, who faced the camera with their elderly mother. Not everybody with Alzheimer’s disease has two loving sons to take care of them, they said, adding that a boom in dementia is expected in the next few decades. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://health.nytimes.com/ref/health/healthguide/esn-alzheimers-ess.html?WT.mc_id=HL-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M038-ROS-0308-HDR&WT.mc_ev=click&mkt=HL-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M038-ROS-0308-HDR

 

The Murky Politics of Mind-Body (New York Times, March 30, 2008) From Plato and Aristotle to Descartes, the great thinkers have for millennia argued over what is known in philosophy as the “mind-body problem,” the relationship between spirit and flesh. Dualism tends to win the day: The mind and the body, while linked, are separate. They exist independently, perhaps mingling but not merging. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/weekinreview/30kers.html

 

Grim Outlook for an AIDS Vaccine (New York Times, Opinion, March 30, 2008) Back in 1984, federal health officials, flush with excitement over discovery of the virus that causes AIDS, famously predicted that they would have a vaccine ready for market within three years. Now, after almost a quarter-century of toil and struggle, the effort has crashed in failure. No one yet knows whether a vaccine to prevent the disease will ever be possible. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/opinion/30sun3.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

 

America, Insure Thyself (Washington Post, March 29, 2008) As Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama continue their battle for the Democratic presidential nomination, they also sustain a debate over what constitutes universal health care. Obama says Clinton's "mandated" health-care plan is unaffordable for working-class Americans; Clinton says Obama's voluntary plan would leave millions uninsured. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/28/AR2008032801236.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

 

Schering, Merck Defend Their Drugs As Stocks Suffer (Wall Street Journal, April 1, 2008) With their stock prices reeling, Schering-Plough Corp. and Merck & Co. mounted an aggressive campaign to defend their $5 billion-a-year franchise for cholesterol drugs Vytorin and Zetia against calls from leading cardiologists to curtail the drugs' use. (You must have a subscription to view this article) www.wsj.com

 

Crestor Study Halted After Strong Results (Wall Street Journal, April 1, 2008) AstraZeneca PLC said Monday it is stopping a clinical study of blockbuster drug Crestor early because the cholesterol-lowering pill showed clear benefits over a placebo. (You must have a subscription to view this article) www.wsj.com

 

Shares of Vertex Increase On Data for Hepatitis Drug (Wall Street Journal, March 31, 2008) hares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals were up 23% Monday after it released positive data on its closely watched Telaprevir, an oral medication in development to treat hepatitis C. (You must have a subscription to view this article) www.wsj.com

 

Appeals Court Affirms Injunction Barring Mylan Epilepsy Drug Sales (Wall Street Journal, March 31, 2008) A federal appeals court affirmed a ruling that prevents Mylan Laboratories Inc. from selling a generic anti-epilepsy drug until a patent for Johnson & Johnson's Topamax expires later this year. (You must have a subscription to view this article) www.wsj.com

 

Study suggests it may be OK to let small hospitals do heart stent procedures; laws may change (Daily Herald, March 29, 2008) Is it safe to have your arteries unclogged at a hospital that lacks heart surgeons who can operate if something goes wrong? http://www.heraldextra.com/component/option,com_contentwire/task,view/id,32777/Itemid,53/

 

  • Small Hospitals Push to Do Heart Work (ksl.com, March 29, 2008) Is it safe to have your arteries unclogged at a hospital that lacks heart surgeons who can operate if something goes wrong? http://www.ksl.com/?nid=201&sid=2966258

 

Study: premature babies face serious health risk (ksl.com, March 28, 2008) A new study shows how premature babies face serious health risks that they sometimes don't outgrow. http://www.ksl.com/?nid=200&sid=2957875

 

Losing weight is the lesson plan for Ind. school staff (USA Today, March 31, 2008) When 22 teachers and staff members at Whitko Middle School in Larwill, Ind., decided to lose weight in January 2007, the idea took off faster than kids bolting out of their classrooms for recess. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2008-03-30-dieters-whitko_N.htm

 

Online ratings irk doctors (USA Today, March 31, 2008) Considering a new doctor? Hoping to learn more about a doctor you already see? Or maybe you'd like to praise or pan one. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/painter/2008-03-30-your-health_N.htm

 

Accusations of Delays in Releasing Drug Results (New York Times, April 1, 2008) The lead outside investigator on a crucial trial of two widely used heart drugs said in an e-mail message last July that Merck and Schering-Plough, the companies that make the drugs, were deliberately delaying the release of the trial results “to hide something.” (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/01/business/01drug.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

 

New Therapies Fight Phantom Noises of Tinnitus (New York Times, April 1, 2008) Modern life is loud. The jolting buzz of an alarm clock awakens the ears to a daily din of trucks idling, sirens blaring, televisions droning, computers pinging and phones ringing — not to mention refrigerators humming and air-conditioners thrumming. But for the 12 million Americans who suffer from severe tinnitus, the phantom tones inside their head are louder than anything else. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/01/health/research/01tinn.html?th&emc=th

 

Am I Looking at a Malignant Melanoma? (New York Times, April 1, 2008) It was bigger than a pencil eraser and irregular in shape. That put the odds against her. But it had smooth edges; that was in her favor. From four seats away, in the diffuse light of the bookshop, it looked black. But I couldn’t be sure. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/01/health/views/01case.html?th&emc=th

 

A Suspect Diagnosis (Washington Post, April 1, 2008) It was the middle of the night in May 2006 when Alison Raphael, camped out in her daughter's Manhattan sublet, realized she had a problem she could no longer ignore. The faint traces of blood she'd noticed in her urine earlier in the day had become a crimson stream, and the dull ache on the right side of her groin had intensified. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/28/AR2008032803184.html?wpisrc=newsletter

 

New Rules on Stroke (Washington Post, April 1, 2008) In the event of a stroke, time is brain -- meaning the more quickly you recognize the problem and get proper medical treatment, the more likely you are to survive and minimize neurological damage. Increasingly, experts are concluding that means getting to the right hospital, and fast. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/28/AR2008032803166.html?wpisrc=newsletter

 

EU Court Adviser Says Glaxo Broke Antitrust Laws (Wall Street Journal, April 1, 2008) Drug maker GlaxoSmithKline PLC violated European Union antitrust laws when it refused to fill Greek drugs wholesalers' orders for several medications, an adviser to the bloc's highest court said Tuesday. (You must have a subscription to view this article) www.wsj.com

 

Medcajapan Steps Into Bond Case (Wall Street Journal, April 1, 2008) Nursing-care provider Medcajapan Co. said that it might not be able to recover ¥3.5 billion ($35 million) it lent to a hospital-refurbishment fund, widening an alleged scandal that has already claimed U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers Inc. as a victim. (You must have a subscription to view this article) www.wsj.com

 

Diabetes Drug Shown to Slow Plaque Buildup (Wall Street Journal, April 1, 2008) The diabetes drug Actos was able to slow the progression of plaque buildup in artery walls, while an older diabetes drug failed to stop the progression in patients with diabetes and coronary-artery disease, according to a study released Monday. (You must have a subscription to view this article) www.wsj.com

 

Mouthless CPR fine, doctors now say (Deseret Morning News, April 1, 2008) You can skip the mouth-to-mouth breathing and just press on the chest to save a life. http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695266408,00.html

 

 

Doubt Hangs Over Personal Gene Scans (ksl.com, April 1, 2008) For the price of a good men's suit, a batch of new services will scan your genes and spot potential health risks, from cancer to lower back pain. http://www.ksl.com/?nid=170&sid=2975685

 

Crestor: It worked so well in a trial, the study was halted (USA Today, April 1, 2008) A trial of AstraZeneca's heart drug Crestor was stopped early because the drug proved so effective that the study's independent monitors felt it would be unethical to withhold treatment from half the volunteers, company officials said Monday. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-03-31-crestor-trial_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

 

Global warming, global health: Campaign will raise awareness (USA Today, April 1, 2008) From deadly heat waves in the Midwest and Northeast to more intense Gulf Coast hurricanes and Southwest droughts, the effects of climate change will have an unprecedented impact on the health of Americans, a report said Monday. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-03-31-global-warming-health_N.htm