Rocky Delgadillo, the Los Angeles City Attorney, is suing the insurance company Health Net. Delgadillo accuses the company of using misleading forms to get customers to make errors or admissions that could then be used as an excuse for canceling their insurance policies when they need expensive treatments. From the article: The suit states that….
Continue ReadingArchives for February 2008
HIV Patients Still Snubbed By Doctors and Nurses
When AIDS was first discovered and little was known about it, that ignorance resulted in a great deal of paranoia, ostracism and cruelty towards AIDS patients. Now, more than two decades after we have known about AIDS and during which the disease has been studied and treated if not cured, we might be tempted to….
Continue ReadingNew Project To Help Patients Manage Medical Records
A new project, conceived of by Google and the Cleveland Clinic, will try to give patients the ability to access and control their health information. This project would hopefully enable patients to give their information quickly and easily to multiple physicians and pharmacies. Such a thing would be beneficial because, as we have discussed often….
Continue ReadingA Collaborative Approach to Fighting Bedsores
Bedsores, a common hospital problem, are not just ugly nuisances. They can turn into deep and extremely painful wounds that go clear to the bone, and can be fatal when infected. That is why it is encouraging to find that hospitals and nursing homes are beginning to take a highly effective collaborative approach towards preventing….
Continue ReadingScientists Conceal Raw Data from Cancer Studies
Most scientists are extremely unwilling to part with the raw data of the studies they perform on cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. The author of the article speculates that this reluctance is due to convenience and careerism, specifically the fear of having others (especially layfolk) analyze their work and possibly find flaws in it. This….
Continue ReadingAdvocacy Groups Seek Repeal of Needle Exchange Laws
One-third of new HIV cases in the U.S. are due to injection drug use, and HIV/AIDS has decimated the African-American community in particular. That is why it is no surprise that the NAACP and other advocacy groups chose Thursday–which was National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day–to call on Congress to repeal a ban on federal funding….
Continue ReadingDiet Soda strongly linked to Metabolic Syndrome
Those who drink a can of diet soda a day are 34% more likely to develop metabolic syndrome than those who don’t. “Metabolic syndrome” is a cluster of symptoms that are risk factors for heart disease. The reason for this link is still unknown: it might be chemical or it might have something to do….
Continue ReadingDepressed Doctors More Likely to Make Mistakes
A depressed medical resident is six times more likely to make a medication error than one who is not depressed, according to a new study published in the British Medical Journal. The study’s findings are not absolutely conclusive, as the authors note. But the common problem of medication errors is often correctly attributed to the….
Continue ReadingGuidelines for Hand Hygiene in Professional Settings
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has an article on hand hygiene. Much of it is somewhat technical, categorizing different types and levels of sterilization precautions and measurements of efficacy. If you scroll down, however, there are quite a few practical details that may be helpful. Much of it is common sense: fingernails….
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