November 30th, 2009 by Dr. Val Jones in Announcements, Health Policy, Quackery Exposed
Tags: Alternative Medicine, Bill, CAM, Healthcare reform, House, Integrative Medicine, Quackery, Senate, Snake Oil
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I’ve been warning folks about this for years – and alas, fake medicine and quackery has finally oiled its way into the healthcare reform bills. We are in the midst of a growing primary care shortage, and on the brink of vastly expanding health insurance coverage without increasing the supply of physicians and nurses. How will our country solve the supply/demand mismatch? Potentially by allowing people without appropriate training in science and medicine to become your “medical home.” That’s right – your next doctor or nurse may be someone with an online degree in snake oil salesmanship.
I know it’s hard to believe… But please read this press release (reproduced below) for more information – and call your Senator to complain. Maybe we’ll be able to get these sections removed before a bill passes? Read more »
November 22nd, 2009 by DrRich in Announcements, Better Health Network
Tags: Cardiology, Contest, Dr. Wes, Photoshop
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DrRich urges his readers to consider entering Dr. Wes’ Healthcare Reform Photo Contest.
Dr. Wes, like DrRich himself, is an electrophysiologist, and is therefore a person of exquisite artistic taste. Even better, he’s married to Diane, who probably actually knows what she’s doing.
Your submission (which Dr. Wes fully expects you to torture and disfigure mercilessly with Photoshop, not unlike the actual healthcare reform bills) can espouse a point of view either for or against healthcare reform. The winner (after Wes and Diane cull out all the completely inappropriate and disgusting submissions, and choose the five or six finalists), will be determined by a reader poll. So while it may defy the odds, it is not outside the realm of possibility that a pro-reform photo can win – especially since the pro-reform photos are less likely to be excluded for offensive subject matter.
Best of all, the winner gets an iPod touch, with which you can listen to DrRich’s podcasts.
The rules, deadlines, etc. can be found at Dr. Wes’ blog.
*This blog post was originally published at The Covert Rationing Blog*
November 22nd, 2009 by David Kroll, Ph.D. in Announcements, Better Health Network
Tags: Britain, Infectious Disease, NHS, Obstetrics And Gynecology, Psychiatry, Sexual Health, Sexual Health Hub, Urology
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No matter how early I wake up, it’s always five hours later in the UK and I’m overwhelmed by the thought that I’m already behind (I won’t even get into the feeling I have when I think of our Australian readers).
So when I start the day reading my Twitter stream, it’s usually populated by midday news from England. I follow the NHS – National Health Service – “one of the largest publicly funded health services in the world,” and their superb health information site, NHS Choices.
This morning I saw this tweet about the launch of their new sexual health site:
@NHSChoices Our new sexual health hub includes advice on contraception, good sex guides, sex & young people, STIs and much more http://bit.ly/3wtJwL Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Terra Sigillata - PostRank (PostRank: All)*
November 20th, 2009 by Dr. Val Jones in Announcements
Tags: Anita Dunn, Anne Schuchat, Blogger Briefing, Flu, H1N1, H1N1 Flu, Kathleen Sebelius
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Do you have any nagging questions about the H1N1 flu? Then please join me at a special blogger briefing at HHS on Monday at 3:30pm ET. In a Better Health/MedPage Today exclusive, I’ll be live-blogging the event from inside the HHS studio in DC, and the conversation will be available via live webcast. Please send in your questions in advance (press release and instructions are below) or feel free to forward developing questions to me via Twitter: @drval during the event. Hope to chat with you soon!
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Please join the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for a special briefing on H1N1 flu. As your readers turn to you for accurate and timely information about the ongoing H1N1 pandemic, we want to arm you with the most current information and take your questions on H1N1 and seasonal flu. Send us the questions that you or your readers want to know and our communication experts will answer them during the webcast. Send questions to hhsstudio@hhs.gov by Sunday, November 22th at 3 pm (EST). Read more »
November 19th, 2009 by Dr. Val Jones in Announcements, Health Policy, Quackery Exposed
Tags: CAM, Harry Reid, Healthcare reform, Non-discrimination, S.3590, Senate, Senate Bill, Tom Harkin
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For those of you following the surprising healthcare reform bill mandate of Christian Science prayer as a medical treatment to be payed for by your taxes… I have good news. That was stricken from the merged legislation.
The bad news is that there is currently even more worrisome language in the S.3950 bill. Senator Tom Harkin has introduced language that would essentially require ineffective medical treatment systems like homeopathy to be paid for by government programs, and give people without legitimate medical training the right to become primary care physicians who would establish a “medical home” for patients. Read more »
