October 31st, 2011 by Dr. Val Jones in Health Policy, News, Opinion
Tags: 9.9.9., Abortion, Colon Cancer, Cupcakes, Healthcare reform, Herman Cain, National Press Club, Obamacare, Sexual harassment Scandal
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9.9.9 And Pizza-Themed Cupcakes
Today I attended a sold-out, National Press Club luncheon where Herman Cain was the featured speaker. When I signed up for the luncheon 4 weeks ago I had no idea that rumors of a sexual harassment “scandal” would suck the air out of the packed ballroom. While Cain convincingly diffused the scandal, I was there primarily to hear what he had to say about healthcare. In fact, I had submitted a question for his consideration a month in advance.
Interestingly, Mr. Cain stated that he decided to run for office the day that President Obama signed Obamacare into law. He said that he was so disappointed in Obama’s leadership on this policy in particular, that he was moved to step up to get America back on the right track. Cain argued that the American people didn’t want Obamacare, and the way that the president forced it upon them against their will was emblematic of his poor leadership skills. He went on to say that America’s healthcare system is the best in the world, and that he wouldn’t have beaten colon cancer without the great care he received. “We don’t have a healthcare quality problem, we have a healthcare cost problem” he quipped. He then suggested Read more »
October 31st, 2011 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in News, Opinion
Tags: advanced, Anti-A4-Fla2, anti-Fla-X, Antibodies, ASCA, ATG16L1, biomarker testing, CBir1, Crohn's Disease, CRP, Early, ECM1, Gastroenterology, IBD, ICAM, NKS2.3, OmpC, pANCA, Precision Medicine, Prometheus Labs, SAA, STAT3, Technology, Ulcerative Colitis, VCAM, VEGF
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If you want a glimpse at a company putting precision medicine into practice look no further than Prometheus Labs. They make diagnostic products for personalized care in digestive disease and oncology. I use their products to diagnose and target therapy in children with inflammatory bowel diseases (crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis).
IBD offers a nice place to see the evolution of precision diagnostics:
Early biomarker testing. Initially we had ASCA and pANCA antibodies to discern crohn’s and ulcerative colitis.
Advanced biomarker testing. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
October 30th, 2011 by Stanley Feld, M.D. in Announcements, Opinion
Tags: Accident, Contact information, family members, ice, In case of emergency, Loved Ones, Mobile Phone, Personal Responsibility, Public Service Announcement, Technology
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A good friend and fellow physician sent me this notice. This is an important public service announcement.
An individual citizen, not the government, initiated the program. If adoption of the program becomes a national standard, it will demonstrate people power and individual responsibility.
The key to Repairing the Healthcare System is individual responsibility. This program represents an opportunity for every individual to assume responsibility for themselves and alert everyone they know to be responsible for themselves.
A paramedic conceived ICE. At the scene of accidents he found cell phones on an unconscious victim but he could not find whom to notify.
He thought it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognized symbol to find a victim’s contact person In Case of an Emergency in the victims cell phone directory.
The ICE cell phone number could be Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Repairing the Healthcare System*
October 30th, 2011 by DrWes in News, Opinion
Tags: Diet, Energy Stars, food, Food Marketing Institute, GMA, Grocery Manufacturers Association, Healthy, Institute of Medicine, Rating System
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The Institute of Medicine has just released it’s recommendation that all foods be rated with an ‘energy star’ system: three stars = good, zero stars = bad:
The Energy Star system is a model because it’s simple and easy to use, and also because it’s gained traction with industry, which now develops products with the rating in mind, committee members said.
Except that this rating system hasn’t gained traction with industry:
But the Grocery Manufacturers Association and Food Marketing Institute announced their own front-of-the-pack system, called Facts Up Front, in January. It gives information on calories, saturated fat, sodium and added sugars but doesn’t rate foods according to those components.
In a statement today, the GMA said it has “concerns about Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
October 29th, 2011 by PreparedPatient in Health Policy, Opinion
Tags: CLASS Act, Community Living Assistance Services and Support, Health and Human Services, Health Reform Law, Insurance, Kathleen Sebelius, Long Term Care, medicaid, Nursing Homes, Rising Premiums, Secretary of Health and Human Services
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The Obama administration has dealt a mighty blow to one part of the health reform law by effectively killing off the CLASS Act, which was to be a baby step in the development of a national program to pay for long-term care. The CLASS Act, short for Community Living Assistance Services and Support Act, was supposed to be a voluntary and federally backed insurance program for people to use to cover potential long-term care needs. The idea was for Americans to pay premiums into the fund during their working years. If they later became disabled and needed assistance, they would be entitled to a daily cash benefit of, say, $50 to buy services of a personal care attendant or make home improvements that would allow them to stay in their homes—the preference of most seniors. Advocates of the CLASS Act even envisioned that some of the benefit could be used for nursing home care.
The program, though, was never popular with insurance companies and politicians who listened to them, and the Act barely made it into the final bill. It ran into trouble from the beginning. The Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, was tasked with Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Prepared Patient Forum: What It Takes Blog*
