Health News E-Clips

An electronic healthcare news link service provided by UHA,

Utah Hospitals and Health Systems Association

 

 

 

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

 

Utah Healthcare Headlines

New heart procedure revitalizes patient (Salt Lake Tribune, June 2, 2009) Rose Felice was nearing the end of her days.

 

MTC changes missionary drop-off procedures (Deseret News, June 2, 2009) Concerns over the spread of swine flu have prompted The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to accelerate its plans to permanently allow only curbside drop-off of new missionaries at the Provo Missionary Training Center.

 

National Healthcare Headlines

Nursing Homes Rated (Wall Street Journal, June 1, 2009) The federal government is stepping up efforts to improve the quality of nursing-home care and now has an online tool consumers can use in evaluating facilities.

 

The wisdom of mandates (Editorial, Boston Globe, May 31, 2009) For all the fiscal problems the Commonwealth now faces, its three-year-old universal health insurance reform cannot be blamed for driving up state government costs uncontrollably. (Registration required)

 

Sebelius, DeParle ready to tackle health care overhaul (USA Today, June 2, 2009) Kathleen Sebelius and Nancy-Ann DeParle first met at the White House mess in 1997, during the battle for a patients' bill of rights to combat the constraints of managed care. The friendship they forged then could pay big dividends for President Obama now.

 

Health industry to deliver plan to White House (Deseret News, June 2, 2009) Health industry officials pushed to get a plan to the White House Monday documenting how they'd save $2 trillion over a decade through measures like reducing hospitalizations and cutting down on paperwork. Also found at KSL.com  and Boston Globe, June 2, 2009.  

  • Health Groups Detail Plans to Reduce Costs (Wall Street Journal, June 2, 2009) Health-care providers plan to help cut up to $1.7 trillion of costs over the next decade by improving care for chronic diseases, streamlining administrative tasks and reducing unnecessary care, major industry groups said Monday.

 

Kennedy Plan: Health Insurance Mandate, Public Option (Wall Street Journal Health Blog, May 30, 2009) Ted Kennedy, long a health-care power broker, is stepping up his game in the Senate’s health-reform debate.

 

2 Democrats Spearheading Health Bill Are Split (New York Times, May 30, 2009) A significant split has developed between the two Democratic senators leading efforts to remake the nation’s health care system. They disagree over the contours of a public health insurance plan, the most explosive issue in the debate. (Registration required)

 

Baucus, Kennedy to work together on health care (Washington Post, May 30, 2009) The two Senate Democrats leading the drive to overhaul health care say they will work together to come up with legislation. (Registration required) Also found in New York Times, May 30, 2009.

 

Kennedy Plan to Outline U.S. Healthcare Overhaul (New York Times, May 31, 2009) Democratic plans for revamping U.S. healthcare are taking shape, with Senator Edward Kennedy soon to announce a proposal which could form the core of the nation's new health system. (Registration required)

 

Hurdles remain in Obama's push to revamp health care (USA Today, June 1, 2009) Now the policymakers who for months have been promising to overhaul the health care system have to start doing it.

 

Congress Returns to a Full Plate  (New York Times, May 31, 2009) Congress returns this week to face an agenda stuffed with difficult, high-profile issues that will test the ability of Democrats and the White House to deliver health care, energy and spending legislation while simultaneously contending with a Supreme Court nomination. (Registration required)

 

Congress Set to Tackle Health Care Overhaul (New York Times, June 1, 2009) It's go time for President Barack Obama's promise to enact a sweeping health care overhaul this year. (Registration required)

 

Health Reform's Savings Myth (Washington Post, May 31, 2009) "Health-care reform is entitlement reform" has become a mantra of the Obama administration. The idea is that Congress can add a massive health-care program this year -- covering the uninsured -- and use the same measures that pay for the health reform to fix the broader budget problems. If that sounds too good to be true, there's a reason. (Registration required)

 

White House Frames Health Care as Economic Problem (New York TImes, June 2, 2009) A Senate chairman who will have a major role in writing health care legislation said Tuesday he hopes to convince President Barack Obama that taxing some employer-provided benefits will help control escalating costs. (Registration required) Also found in Washington Post and Deseret News, June 2, 2009.

 

Economic Advisers Extol Benefits of Cutting Health-Care Spending (Washington Post, June 2, 2009) Slowing the growth in health-care spending from 6 percent a year to 4.5 percent would have enormous benefits for the nation's economy, creating as many as 500,000 jobs a year and increasing annual income for the average family of four by $2,600 over the next decade, the president's chief economic advisers said yesterday. (Registration required)

 

The Many Hidden Costs of High-Deductible Health Insurance (New York Times, June 1, 2009) IS your medical insurance bad for your health? If you have a high-deductible plan, the answer may be yes.  (Registration required)

 

Mistakes to Avoid in Trying To Cut Health-Care Costs (Washington Post, May 31, 2009) If you're looking for ways to trim health-insurance costs, here are a few pitfalls to avoid. (Registration required)

 

Personal responsibility needed (Deseret News, May 31, 2009) Want to know what troubles our American health-care system? Consider the thoughts of psychiatrist and Nazi death camp survivor Viktor Frankl.

 

N.J. Hospital Fight Foreshadows Health Reform Challenges (Washington Post, May 31, 2009) The last thing New Jersey needs is more hospitals, given that there aren't enough patients to fill all the existing beds, a prestigious state commission declared last year. So why is there now a campaign to build a new one just a few miles from others? (Registration required)

 

Deep Cuts Threaten to Reshape California (New York Times, May 30, 2009) Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger did not get the election results he sought. Now he seems determined to show California voters the consequences. (Registration required)

  • Paring Plans on Health Care in California Prisons (New York Times, May 31, 2009) The court-appointed receiver charged with improving the health system in California prisons and establishing a constitutionally acceptable level of care has had to scale back his plans significantly because of the state’s economic troubles, federal and state officials say. (Registration required)

 

Bill seeks insurance option for firms (Boston Globe, May 31, 2009) Small-business owners, many struggling to stay afloat, are trying to band together to buy employee health insurance in much the same way cities and towns were granted permission a few years ago. (Registration required)

 

New Virus Spurs Experts to Rethink Definition of Pandemic (Washington Post, May 31, 2009) Influenza experts are acknowledging that they were almost completely surprised by the way the current swine flu outbreak unfolded, so much so it is forcing the world to rethink what a pandemic is and what pandemic preparedness means. (Registration required)

 

MedImmune Wins Key Contract To Develop Swine Flu Vaccine (Washington Post, June 2, 2009) Federal health officials, racing to respond to a potential swine flu pandemic that has already sickened thousands of people around the world, yesterday awarded a major contract for a vaccine to Gaithersburg-based MedImmune. (Registration required)

 

Some Doctors Help With Bills As Well as Ills (Washington Post, June 2, 2009) Until recently, the sagging economy wasn't a subject Mary Newman routinely discussed during office visits. (Registration required)

 

Much is given by hospitals, more is asked (Boston Globe, May 31, 2009) One man donated a pig "of an uncommonly fine breed." Another donated an Egyptian mummy. The founders of the state's first hospital needed any gift they could get. (Registration required)

 

The doctor will see you now online (Boston Globe, June 1, 2009) You know the drill. You schlep to the doctor's office and wait for what seems like hours - despite having an appointment. As the time ticks away, your frustration level rises, along with the number of other commitments you are missing. (Registration required)

 

Food aid: WIC to follow advice on diets with less fat (Salt Lake Tribune, June 2, 2009) Until this summer, pregnant women and breast-feeding mothers couldn't use certain government funds to buy vegetables, fruits or whole grain breads. But they were able to stock up on cheese and infant formula, even as they were advised to cut back on fats and to nurse.

 

Folic Acid More Baby Protective than Thought (Salt Lake Tribune, June 2, 2009) Baby-protecting folic acid is getting renewed attention.

 

How Much Weight Should Pregnant Women Gain? (Washington Post, June 2, 2009) The National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine released new guidelines today for how much weight women should gain during pregnancy. (Registration required)

 

Amid Efforts to Give Foods More Antioxidant Punch, Mysteries Remain (Washington Post, June 2, 2009) In a greenhouse in Beltsville, Steve Britz aims light-emitting diodes at rows of plants, hoping to coax more color out of the leaves. (Registration required)

 

Exercising your way to happiness: Physical activity could help ease stress (Deseret News, June 1, 2009) You know exercise is good for you, but … (insert personalized excuse). If motivation is your problem, here's a nudge: new research shows exercise can also add to your happiness while slimming your waistline.

 

Progress but no cure reported at major cancer conference (USA Today, June 1, 2009) Study results from the world's largest cancer conference this weekend highlight both the progress and the frustrations in the fight against cancer.

  • Immune therapies finally working against cancer (Salt Lake Tribune, June 1, 2009) First there was surgery, then chemotherapy and radiation. Now, doctors have overcome 30 years of false starts and found success with a fourth way to fight cancer: using the body's natural defender, the immune system.

 

The Deadly Toll of Abortion by Amateurs (New York Times, June 2, 2009) A handwritten ledger at the hospital tells a grim story. For the month of January, 17 of the 31 minor surgical procedures here were done to repair the results of “incomplete abortions.” A few may have been miscarriages, but most were botched operations by untrained, clumsy hands. (Registration required)

 

A Rogue Industry (Editorial, New York Times, May 30, 2009) As the Senate prepares to vote on legislation to empower the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products, its members would be wise to consult a recent appeals court decision. (Registration required)

 

Cigarettes Without Smoke, or Regulation (New York Times, June 2, 2009) During 34 years of smoking, Carolyn Smeaton has tried countless ways to reduce her three-pack-a-day habit, including a nicotine patch, nicotine gum and a prescription drug. But stop-smoking aids always failed her. (Registration required)

 

Local Drugmaker Found Great Partner in Eli Lilly (Washington Post, June 1, 2009) Executives in the drugmaking business rarely have auspicious moments. The industry is filled with dead ends. Most companies pile up too many inauspicious moments and then fade away, having burned through millions of dollars. (Registration required)

 

Bausch & Lomb Settles 600 Eye Fungus Lawsuits (New York Times, May 31, 2009) Contact lens maker Bausch & Lomb Inc. had an overriding reason for going private in 2007: It wanted to handle a devastating recall of its flagship lens cleaner, its chief executive said, ''without a lot of outside distraction.'' (Registration required) Also found in USA Today, June 1, 2009.

 

AstraZeneca, Merck to Test Cancer Drugs in 'Cocktail'  Wall Street Journal, June 1, 2009) Merck & Co. and AstraZeneca PLC plan to announce Monday an unusual agreement to test a potential new cancer regimen composed of two experimental agents that are still in early human trials and several years away from reaching the market.

 

New Class of Drugs in Early Trials Offers Hope for Breast Cancer  (Wall Street Journal, June 1, 2009) A new class of drugs under development at several pharmaceutical companies showed promise in early studies against two types of especially tough-to-treat breast cancer.

 

Study: Cancer survivors not getting needed tests (Deseret News, June 1, 2009) Adult survivors of childhood cancer who most need mammograms and other tests to watch for second cancers are less likely to follow screening recommendations than the general public or even their healthy siblings, a new study finds.

 

Herceptin Slows Some Stomach Cancer (Wall Street Journal, June 1, 2009) A new study shows that Roche Holding AG's breast-cancer drug Herceptin is also effective in a subtype of stomach cancers, marking the first new use for the blockbuster drug.

 

FDA Weighs the Risks of Rituxan (Wall Street Jurnal, June 1, 2009) The Food and Drug Administration is discussing whether patients on the widely used cancer drug Rituxan should use it for a shorter period or take breaks, in light of reports linking the drug to dozens of cases of a rare and usually fatal brain disease, FDA officials said.

 

FDA to Cite Interaction Risk of Antidepressants, Tamoxifen (Wall Street Journal, June 2, 2009) The Food and Drug Administration is planning to warn doctors about an interaction between the widely used breast-cancer drug tamoxifen and certain antidepressants after a study showed women on both drugs were more than twice as likely to see their cancer return.

 

Kids of parents with mental issues at greater risk; therapy helps (USA Today, June 2, 2009) Children of parents with anxiety disorders are up to seven times more likely than others to develop anxiety problems themselves, research shows, and kids of depressed parents are also at high risk for becoming depressed.

 

Popular Autism Treatment Yields No Benefits (Wall Street Journal, June 2, 2009) Kids with autism don't benefit from treatment with the popularly prescribed antidepressant citalopram, according to a large, government-funded trial of children with autism and related conditions.

 

Researchers race to strip stem cells of cancer risk (USA Today, June 2, 2009) The race to craft stem cells that have the virtues, but not the notoriety, of their embryonic brethren faces its final hurdle: becoming safe enough to help patients.

 

Study: TV can impair speech development of young children (USA Today, June 2, 2009) A study released Monday adds to the debate over whether television impairs children's language development. The study finds that parents and children virtually stop talking to each other when the TV is on, even if they're in the same room.

 

Summertime and the Grillin' Is Easy -- but Do It Safely (Wall Street Journal, June 2, 2009) Ah, summer. Let's see. Basking in the sun is out because of skin cancer. Those mosquitoes could be carrying the West Nile virus. And the steaks sizzling on the grill, sending their smoky aroma into the air, could be culinary cancer causers. It's enough to make you want to stay inside.