http://www.doctormedica.com/en-gbThe number of state health department epidemiologists and the tasks they can perform have decreased since 2006, according to a study published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Dec. 18, 2009, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5849a1.htm). The report and public health experts indicate that the reduction in health departments' epidemiology capacity is due in part to diminished federal public health preparedness funding, and states' over...en-gbhttp://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=121http://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=1212010-01-112010-01-11Cholesterol levels increase sharply at the onset of menopause, which may elevate the risk of coronary heart disease, according to a study in the Dec. 15/22, 2009, Journal of the American College of Cardiology (content.onlinejacc.org/cgi/content/abstract/54/25/2366/). The study indicated that early intervention by physicians could reduce this risk. Researchers analyzed data from 1,054 women who participated in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation. SWAN is a multisite, epidemiologic...en-gbhttp://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=120http://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=1202010-01-082010-01-08Medicaid enrollment increased by an average of 4.8% nationally between December 2007 and December 2008 to reach 44.7 million, according to figures compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Six states experienced double-digit increases: Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Maryland and Wisconsin. Wisconsin led all states with a 16.8% enrollment spike in the 12-month period, in part due to an expansion of Medicaid eligibility in BadgerCare Plus in February 2008. The program increased access t...en-gbhttp://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=119http://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=1192010-01-052010-01-05New Jersey physicians would have to refuse lunches from drug reps and publicly disclose any industry payments of more than $200 as conditions of licensure if new recommendations from the state attorney general's office are adopted. The proposals were among 22 recommendations included in a Dec. 3 report to Attorney General Anne Milgram (www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases09/pr20091203b.html). The report also recommended the state medical board require that 25% of continuing medical education credit...en-gbhttp://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=118http://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=1182010-01-042010-01-04Chinese health officials visited the United States recently to learn more about the U.S. medical system and its use of health information technology. Earlier this year, China passed legislation to create a universal health care system. Part of the reform plan involves building a nationwide health information exchange. Representatives from the China Ministry of Health, which is heading up the country's three-year, $124 billion plan to completely reform its health care system, visited with o...en-gbhttp://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=117http://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=1172009-12-312009-12-31The North Carolina Medical Board has begun posting online a broad range of disciplinary actions taken against physicians and physician assistants (wwwapps.ncmedboard.org/clients/ncbom/public/licenseeinformationsearch.aspx). Among the information now included in profiles are final suspensions or revocations of hospital privileges; final disciplinary orders of any regulatory agency or board; felony convictions; misdemeanor convictions involving offenses against a person; offenses of moral turpi...en-gbhttp://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=116http://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=1162009-12-302009-12-30America's smoking rate dropped 20% from 1990 to 2005, but the obesity rate rose nearly 50% during the same period. If those trends continue through 2020, the health benefits of the nation's clearer lungs will be offset by damage done by thicker middles, according to a new study. Researchers forecast that life expectancy and quality of life will continue to rise, thanks to medical progress and other factors. But smoking and weight gain both could deprive patients of even longer lives, said a s...en-gbhttp://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=115http://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=1152009-12-282009-12-28The Senate approved comprehensive health system reform legislation by a strict party-line vote of 60-39 during a rare Christmas Eve session. Passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was assured the previous day when the Senate moved to end debate and proceed to a final vote, the last of a series of procedural motions that required 60 votes to proceed. The legislation now goes to a conference committee, where lawmakers will try to negotiate a consensus bill between the Senate ...en-gbhttp://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=114http://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=1142009-12-242009-12-24The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Dec. 8 that Medicare will cover HIV screening services, effective immediately. Testing will be covered for Medicare beneficiaries who are at increased risk for HIV, as well as for those who request the service. Under the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008, lawmakers gave CMS the flexibility to add to Medicare's list of covered preventive services. Before MIPPA, Medicare could cover additional screenings only w...en-gbhttp://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=113http://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=1132009-12-232009-12-23Children with autism spectrum disorder can see significant improvement in IQ, language and adaptive behavior when they receive comprehensive developmental behavioral intervention before age 2½, a new study shows. Young children who received this more intensive intervention on average increased their IQs 17.6 points after two years. Called the Early Start Denver Model, the therapy model involves parents and therapists working with children on improving communication, social skills and oth...en-gbhttp://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=112http://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=1122009-12-222009-12-22Thousands of feet above the ground, Illinois internist John Saran, MD, delivered a premature, 5-pound baby boy in the back of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737. The doctor thought his flight was going to be the start of a quiet weekend with his wife, Janet, in the mountains overlooking Salt Lake City -- a getaway with no calls or pages from the office. Instead, Dr. Saran became an instant media sensation, appearing on morning talk shows and in newspapers throughout the country. "I've [res...en-gbhttp://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=111http://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=1112009-12-212009-12-21Patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes can avoid hospitalization with good primary care, medical experts say. But black patients with diabetes are hospitalized about five years earlier than are white diabetics, showing yet another area of health care delivery in which racial disparities seem to prevail. Researchers at Yale University in Connecticut examined a nationally representative sample of 6,815 hospital discharges from 2005 and found that the disparities persisted even after ...en-gbhttp://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=110http://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=1102009-12-182009-12-18 The Senate health reform bill as introduced would set a more sustainable course for the American health system, although its success ultimately would depend on the effectiveness of its implementation, said Peter Orszag, PhD, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. Orszag said the bill's proposed Medicare commission, tax on high-cost insurance plans and delivery system reforms -- including an emphasis on comparative effectiveness research -- are important provisions that ...en-gbhttp://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=109http://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=1092009-12-172009-12-17West Virginia family physician Stephen Sebert, MD, is waiting for vaccine that may not arrive. In early October, his multispecialty practice received influenza A(H1N1) vaccine for about 100 employees who interact with patients. But that was it. His patients still need to be immunized, and Dr. Sebert wonders if he will get another shipment of vaccine. "We were telling patients, 'Get [the vaccine] any place you can.' But now I don't think anyone has it," he said. Similar scenarios of vacc...en-gbhttp://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=108http://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=1082009-12-162009-12-16The number of dollars required to pay for each of the 10 most expensive hospital procedures grew at rates that far outpaced the increase in average yearly hospital care costs, according to a report issued Dec. 2 by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb82.jsp). Experts say the growth in these numbers are most likely due to more people accessing these services and advancements in technology that have made the procedures more successful, albei...en-gbhttp://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=107http://www.doctormedica.com/news-podr.html?id=1072009-12-152009-12-15