November 5th, 2010 by RyanDuBosar in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News
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Republicans who had opposed healthcare reform before the election are now elected officials with a say in how the programs are funded. At federal and state levels, the program’s opponents either have a larger voice or are now in charge of implementing elements of reform. Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid said he’d consider adjustments to healthcare reform.
Frightened seniors flipped toward opposition to healthcare reform, while flipping on the issue may have saved a few Democrats. Exit polling showed 48 percent would repeal healthcare reform, 16 percent would leave it as is, and 31 percent would expand it.
Now that Republicans have a larger say in the matter, take a look at their plan for healthcare in A Pledge to America, starting on page 25, and decide for yourself. (New York Times, Kaiser Health News, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Politico, CBS News, GOP.gov)
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
November 2nd, 2010 by JenniferKearneyStrouse in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News
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All eyes are on today’s mid-term elections and how they’ll play out across the country. The results are likely to affect the recently enacted healthcare reform legislation, Politico reports. Although repealing the legislation would be difficult, Republicans may be able to challenge its implementation if they gain control of the House. Attempts to modify the law could require a delicate balance since, as noted by the Washington Post‘s Ezra Klein, some of its provisions, such as coverage for dependents age 26 and younger, are individually popular.
Reuters has published a Q&A on what the election results could mean for the healthcare reform law. The Wall Street Journal is asking readers to weigh in on whether the legislation is affecting their votes. (Politico, Washington Post, Reuters, Wall Street Journal)
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
October 31st, 2010 by RyanDuBosar in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, News, Research
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New York City’s war on sugary soft drinks had to balance evidence-based medicine with a short, simple message that would go viral in the community. Going viral won, according to e-mails of internal discussions between the city’s health commissioner, his staff, and the ad agency that crafted the campaign. The statement that soda would cause a person to gain 10 pounds a year is contingent upon many factors, argued the staff, but the desire to produce a media message with impact overruled the details. One nutritionist called the campaign “deliciously disgusting.”
Chocolate may moderate HDL cholesterol in type 2 diabetics, according to the November issue of Diabetic Medicine. High polyphenol chocolate increased HDL cholesterol in diabetics without affecting weight, insulin resistance or glycemic control. Researchers enrolled 12 type 2 diabetics in a randomized, placebo-controlled double-blind crossover study to 45 g chocolate with or without a high polyphenol content for eight weeks and then crossed over after a four-week washout period. HDL cholesterol increased with high polyphenol chocolate (1.16+/-0.08 vs. 1.26+/-0.08 mmol/l, P=0.05) with a decrease in the total cholesterol: HDL ratio (4.4+/-0.4 vs. 4.1+/-0.4 mmol/l, P=0.04). No changes were seen with the low polyphenol chocolate.
With Halloween, sugar will be on everyone’s mind (and in everyone’s stomachs). To find out how many calories and how much fat that pile of Halloween candy totals, try this interactive module. (New York Times, Diabetic Medicine, ABC Chanel 7 News-Denver)
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
October 29th, 2010 by RyanDuBosar in Better Health Network, News, Research
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Teen pregnancy rates have declined, but likely bottomed out, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Teen births dropped by a third between 1990 to 2005, but rose again in 2006 and 2007. The latest figures for 2008 show a decline of 2.4 percent, to 41.5 pregnancies per 1,000 teenagers. Experts told My Health News Daily/MSNBC the dropping rates have bottomed out, and that new strategies are needed to deglamorize teen pregnancy.
Teen birth rates were consistently highest in states across the South and Southwest, and lowest in the Northeast and upper Midwest. In 2008, state-specific teenage birth rates varied widely, from less than 25.0 per 1,000 15-19 year olds (Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont), to more than 60.0 per 1,000 (Arkansas, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas). Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
October 27th, 2010 by JessicaBerthold in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News
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Dr. Jay Anders, the CMIO of EHR vendor MED3000, offered a few tips during a Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) session on implementing an EHR successfully:
1. Make a clear communication pathway. Everyone needs to know what’s going on, from the physicians to the receptionist.
2. Clearly identify the needs of every physician who is going to use the EHR. The needs of an internal medicine doctor aren’t the same as a dermatologist. Make sure the EHR meets those needs.
3. Get a physician champion for the EHR who will be responsible for talking about the project to peers and answering questions, and be the first person to implement it. Pay that person for his or her time spent in championing duties.
4. Some people need more time than others. Don’t let a resistant doctor stop the implementation. Develop a plan for dealing with resisters that includes how you’ll respond to negative comments, how to implement other colleagues despite the resister, and how to sell the benefits of the EHR to the resister.
5. Expect the EHR implementation to be time-neutral. Most EHRs don’t save time; their value is in improved patient care and documentation, which leads to better reimbursement.
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
