Wednesday, December 21, 2016

352,282 Georgians Sign Up For Affordable Care Act Coverage; 85 Percent Receive Subsidies; Act Slated For Repeal

With Its Future Cloudy, ACA Continues To Draw Rising Enrollment by Andy Miller.  Georgia Health News.  December 21, 2016.

Higher And Higher With Higher To Go: Felony Indictments Reach Officials In Flint Water Crisis

Four More Officials Charged With Felonies In Flint Water Crisis by Brady Dennis.  Washington Post.   December 20, 2016

Study: Affordable Care Act Largely Explains The Drop In Uninsured Rate

How Much Of A Factor Is The Affordable Care Act In The Declining Uninsured Rate?  The Commonwealth Fund. 

Congressional Budget Office Lays Down Key Metric For Comparing Any Obamacare Replacement Plan

CBO Lays Down Key Ground Rules For Scoring Obamacare Replacement Plans by Tierney Sneed. Talking Points Memo. December 20, 2016

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Kaiser Family Foundation Poll: 26% Of Americans Want Repeal of Entire ACA; 50% of Trump Supporters

Kaiser Health Tracking Poll:  November 2016.  Kaiser Family Foundation.  December 1, 2016;

Poll:  Only About 1 in 4 Wants Trump To Repeal Obamacare.  Talking Points Memo.  December 1, 2016

Anti-Vaccine Activists Are Hopeful After Election Of Trump And Selection Of Price

Meeting With Trump Emboldens Anti-Vaccine Activists, Who See An Ally In The Oval Office by Rebecca Robbins.  Stat.  November 30, 2016. 

21st Century Cures Act Raises Concerns About FDA Approval Process

21St Century Cures Act Will Distort The Meaning Of 'FDA Approved' by Reshma Ramachandran And Zackary Berger.  December 1, 2016

Price Nomination Reveals Fissures In Doctor Group

Liberal MDS are Furious After Top Doctors Group Backed Trump's Pick For Health Secretary by Rebecca Robbins.  Stat.  December 1, 2016. 

Tradeoffs in Prescription Drug Pricing

The True Story Of America's Sky-High Prescription Drug Prices by Sarah Kliff.  Vox. November 30, 2016

Issues And Obstacles Facing New HHS Secretary

Health Nominee Price May Find That Changing HHS Isn't Easy.  Associated Press/WTOP.  November 29, 2016

New HHS Secretary-Nominee Offers Many Changes

Tom Price, H.H.S. Nominee, Nominee, Drafted Remake Of Health Law by Robert Pear.  New York Times.  November 29, 2016

Checkup For Aerobic Fitness

Should A Simple Fitness Check Be Part Of Your Checkup? by Gretchen Reynolds.  New York Times.  Nov.  30, 2016.

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Virtual Reality To Treat Patients With Dementia

This Physician Is Using Virtual Reality To Treat Patients With Dementia by Hayley Tsukayama.  Washington Post.  November 17, 2016

GOP Senator: Repealing And Replacing Obamacare Could Be Gradual And Piecemeal

Key GOP Senator:  Repealing And Replacing Obamacare Could Take Years by Lauren Fox.  Talking Points Memo.  November 17, 2016.

Obamacare Repeal And Georgia

How Will A Trump Presidency Affect Health Care In Georgia by Andy Miller.  Georgia Health News.  November 9, 2016

Surprise Billing For Out-Of-Network Services May Be Very Common

The Surprisingly Comon Reason Your Medical Bill Might be Higher Than You Expect by Carolyn Y. Johnson.  Washington Post.  November 17, 2016.

Internet Use Contributing To Surge In Highway Deaths, Reversing Declines Over Four Decades

Biggest Spike In Traffic Deaths In 50 Years?  Blame Apps by Neal E. Boudette.  New York Times.  November 15, 2016.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Charging More For Inferior Health Coverage

The Republican Medicare Plan Is An Atrocity by Ian Millhiser.  Thinkprogress.  November 15, 2016

Paul Ryan Drive To Gut Medicare Will Demand Informed Journalism

Paul Ryan Is Determined To Gut Medicare.  This Time He Might Succeed by Michael Hiltzik.  Los Angeles Times.  November 14, 2016

AMA: Ethical Guidelines For Team-based Care

American Medical Association Adopts New Guidance Furthering Patient Care Collaboration by Jeff Lagasse.  Healthcare Finance.  November 15, 2016

GOP Hates Obamacare Penalties; May Have To Use Them In Any Alternative

GOP Health Insurance Alternatives May Wind Up Using Penalties Like The Mandate by Michelle Andrews.  Kaiser Health News/NPR.  November 15, 2016

Research Study: Florida's 'Stand Your Ground' Law Linked To Homicide Increase; Proponents Question Objectivity

Florida's 'Stand Your Ground' Law Linked To Homicide Increase by Josh Sanburn.  Time.  November 14, 2016.

Depression Worsening In Teens, Especially Girls

Depression Worsening In Teens, Especially Girls by Maggie Fox.  NBC News.  November 14, 2016

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Eldercare Is A Worldwide Concern: 500,000 In China Wander Away Every Year--Alzheimer's/Dementia Cited

500,000 Elderly People Go Missing In China Every Year by James Griffiths and Serenitie Wang.  CNN.  October 12, 2016

Strategies For Confronting Offensive Speech

Lessons In The Delicate Art Of Confronting Offensive Speech by Benedict Carey and Jan Hoffman. New York Times.  October 12, 2016

For First Time Paralyzed Man Experiences Touch In A Mind-Controllled Arm

In A Medical First Brain, Implant Allows Paralyzed Man To Feel Again by Amy Ellis Nutt.  Washington Post.  October 13, 2016

A New High Tech Maze May Implications For Study Of Alzheimer's And Autism

Building A Better Rat Maze Could Help Us All Cooperate.  American Technion Society/Science Daily.  October 13, 2016

Growing Field Of Population Health Demands Changing Data Analytics And Report: IBM And Siemens Respond

IBM Watson, Siemens Partner To Tap Population Health Industry  by Bruce Jansen. Forbes.  October 11, 2016.

Tuberculosis Is Now A Top 10 Killer Around The World: Link To HIV/AIDS And Antibiotic Resistance Cited

An Entirely Curable Disease Is A Top 10 Killer Around The World by Lauren Weber.  Huffington Post.  October 13, 2016

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

What Is Healthy Food? The FDA Wants Your Opinion

FDA Asks Public:  What Is 'Healthy Food'? by Robert Preidt.  U.S. News.  September 28, 2016.

Mitochondrial Transfers and "Three-Parent Babies"

Birth Of Baby With Three Parents' DNA Marks Success For Banned Technique by Gina Kolata.  September 27, 2016

Physical Activity Fends Off Muscle Loss, Improves Memory

Walking Fends Off Loss Of Mobility And It's Not Too Late To Start by Katherine Hobson.  NPR.  September 26, 2016

Presidential Election Impact On Health Care Companies

Trump or Clinton?  What The Presidential Race Means For Health Care Companies by Baylee Pulliam.  September 27, 2016

Early Intervention Key to Successful therapy For Autism

DNA Research May Led To Early Intervention For Children With Autism by Andy Steiner.  MinnPost.  September 28, 2016

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Obama Administration Seeks To Protect Title X Family-Planning Money From State Cuts Because Of Abortion

Obama Introduces New Rule To Prevent States From Defunding Abortion Providers by Claire Landsbaum.  New York Magazine.  September 12, 2016

Leveraging Basic Research To End All Disease: The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

An End To All Disease?  Zuckerberg, Chan Pledge $3 Billion To Ambitious Cause by Barbara Ortutay.  Associated Press/Christian Science Monitor.  September 22, 2016.

Uncertainties About Compensation Leading To Doctor Retirements

More Doctors To Retire As MACRA And Value-Based Pay Hit by Bruce Japsen.  Forbes.  September 21, 2016

Environmental Factors In Antibiotic Resistance

How Do Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Get Into The Environment?  by Suzanne Young and Valerie Harwood. RealClear Health  September 22, 2016

Antibiotics Of The Future From The Overlooked Past: Ethnobotany At Emory

Could Ancient Remedies Hold The Answer To The Looming Antibiotic Crisis?  by Ferris Jabr.  New York Times Magazine.  September 14, 2016

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Up To 25% Of New Prescriptions For Blood Pressure Medicine Are Never Filled

1 In 4 Medicare Patients Uses Blood Pressure Meds Incorrectly by Dennis Thompson.  HealthDay .  September 13, 2016.

For Five Decades, Sugar Industry May Have Largely Shaped Research Into The Role Of Nutrition And Heart Disease

How The Sugar Industry Shifted Blame To Fat by Anahad o'Connor.  The New York Times.  September 12, 2016

Engineering The ICU Into The Modern Era

Raising An Alarm, Doctors Fight To Yank Hospitals ICUs Into The Modern Era by Usha Lee McFarling.  Stat.  September 7, 2016

Training, Tourniquets, Wound-Packing Are Saving Lives In Trauma Care Since 9/11

Better Training, Tourniquets And Techniques Since 9/11 Are Saving Lives by Rachel Bluth.  Kaiser Health News.  September 10, 2016

Low Carb Diet And "Uncurable" Diabetes

Before You Spend $26,000 On Weight-Loss Surgery, Do This by Sarah Hallberg and Osama Hamdy.  The New York Times.  September 10, 2016. 

Thursday, September 8, 2016

High Variability Suggests Glycemic Index Is Unreliable Indicator of Blood Sugar Response

Hifh Variability Suggests Glycemic Index Is Unreliable Indicator Of Blood Sugar Response.  Tufts University, Health Science Campus/Science Daily.  September 7, 2016

Uninsured Rate Falls Under 9 Percent For the First Time Ever; Tremendous Declines In States That Expanded Medicaid

For The First Time Ever, America's Uninsured Rate Has Fallen Below 9 Percent by Sarah Frostenson.  September 7, 2016

Hospitals Acquire 31,000 Physician Practices Between 2012 and 2015.

Hospital Ownership of Medical Practices Grows By 86% In Three Years by Maria Castellucci.  Modern Healthcare.  September 7, 2016.

Fragmented Political System, Not Medicine Or Epidemiology, Shapes Zika Response

U.S. Response To Zika Is Uneven and Fragmented by Scott Greer.  RealClearHealth.  September 6, 2016. 

Rural Hospitals Hurt More Without Medicaid Expansion; More Likely To Be Profitable With Medicaid Expansion

Lack Of Medicaid Expansion Hurts Rural Hospitals More Than Urban Facilities by Shefali Luthra.  Kaiser Health News.  September 7, 2016.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Hospital Units Tailored To Older Patients Can Help Prevent Decline

Hospital Units Tailored To Older Patients Can Help Prevent Decline by Anna Gorman.  NPR.  August 9, 2016

Political Rhetoric That Is Statistically Predictable But Individually Unpredictable Appeal To Violence

Trump's 2nd Amendment Comment Wasn't A Joke.  It Was "Stochastic Terrorism." by Emily Crockett.  Vox.  August 10, 2016. 

How The World's Tiniest Organisms Explain Our Evolution, Our Health, And Our Eventual Demise

How The World's Tinest Organisms Explain Our Evolution, Our Health, And Our Eventual Demise by Julia Belluz.  Vox.  August 9, 2016

Surgical Innovation In Addiction Treatment Requires New Skills And Facilities

New Addiction Treatment Brings New System For Doctors To Navigate by Karen Shakerdge.  Side Effects.  July 11, 2016.

New Employment Platform For Nurses Aims To Unearth Passive Talent

Can This Startup Revamp How Nurses Are Hired?  by Neil Versel.  MedCity News.  August 10, 2016

Mortality Rise In 2015 May Have Been A Blip

U.S. Mortality Rate Declines, And Researchers Breathe A Sigh Of Relief by Sabrina Tavernise.  The New York Times.  August 9, 2016.

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Pokemon Smartphone Game Has Kids On The Move With Augmented Reality

Pokemon Has Kids On The Move--And On Their Phones by KJ Dell'Antonia.  The New York Times.  July 12, 2016

Apps And Online Symptom Checkers Require Caution

Using The Web Or An App Instead Of Seeing A Doctor?  Caution is Advised by Austin Frakt.  The New York Times.  July 11, 2016

Opinion: Maybe 97% Of Medicine Can Be Reduced To Algorithms--The Uberization of Medicine

How Uber Will Redicine Healthcare by Robert Graboyes.  Realclearhealth.  July 11, 2016.

Overworked Americans Aren't Taking The Vacation They've Earned

Overworked Americans Aren't Taking The Vacation They've Earned by Patti Neighmond.  NPR.  July 12, 2016

Bagged Greens And Salad Kits Sales Projected To reach $7 Billion A Year

As Bagged Salad Kits Boom Americans Eat More Greens by Dan Charles and Allison Aubrey.  NPR.  July 12, 2016. 

Sunday, July 3, 2016

The Insider's Advantage In The Healthcare System

The Illicit Perks Of the M.D. Club by Vatsal G. Thakkar.  The New York Times.  June 30, 2016. 

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Is When We Eat As Important As What We Eat?

Is When We Eat As Important As What We Eat.  King's College London/Science Daily.  June 22, 2016

Americans Spend $30.2 Billion Out-Of-Pocket On Complementary Health Approaches

Americans Spend $30.2 Billion Out-Of-Pocket On Complementary Health Approaches.  NIH/National Center For Complementary And Integrative Health.  June 22 2016. 

Drug And Device Companies' Marketing Efforts Prevalent In Southern Hospitals

Doctors At Southern Hospitals Take The Most Payments From Drug, Device Companies by Charles Ornstein and Ryann Grochowski Jones.  NPR.  June 29, 2016

UCLA Study Estimates 1.4 Million Adults In U.S. Identify As Transgender

New Survey Doubles The Estimate Of Transgender Adults In US by David Crary.  AP/Washington Post.  June 30, 2016

Suicide Rates By Occupation Subject Of New CDC Study

These Jobs Have The Highest Rate Of Suicide .  CBS/AP.  June 30, 2016

Direct-To-Consumer Stem Cell Treatments, Not Backed by Science, Popping Up Everywhere

Stem Cell Clinics Hawking Unproven Therapies Sprout Up Across US by Usha Lee McFarling.  Stat.  June 30, 2016

Hospital Network Issue Leads To Clash Between Insurers and Hospitals

GA., Calif. Hospitals Sue Blue Cross Plan For Sending ER Reimbursements To Patients by Andy Miller.  Kaiser Health News/Realclearhealth.  June 30, 2016

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Microbes Transferred From People To Surfaces Could Be Early Warning System for Public Health Threats.

'Bug' On The Subway:  Monitoring The Microbial Environment To Improve Public Health.  Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health/Science Daily.  June 28, 2016

Legal Battles Ahead In Abortion Rights

The Supreme Court's Abortion Ruling Could Be A Game Changer For The Pro-Choice Movement by Emily Crockett.  Vox.  June 28, 2016

Supreme Court Ruling On Abortion Does Not Guarantee Access

Opinion:  The Supreme Court Ruling Is An Abortion-Rights Victory.  But It Doesn't Guarantee Access To Services by Melissa Batchelor Warnke.  The Los Angeles Times.  June 28, 2016.

Supreme Court Declines Case From Pharmacists Who Have Religious Objections To Types Of Contraceptives

Supreme Court Rejects Pharmacists' Religious Rights Appeal by Rachel La Corte.  AP.  June 28, 2016