Dental Clinics Ease Burden in ER

Getting medical or dental care without coverage by an insurance provider can be pretty tricky these days.  Long waits in overcrowded, uncomfortable waiting rooms are expected.  Sometimes the wait can last days.  Those are days spent off the job, not earning any money, for many patients in waiting. Read more

Google Health Gets First Insurer On Board

Earlier today, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts became the first medical insurance provider to partner up with Google Health, the recently launched online medical records service offered free of charge to patients by internet giant, Google. Read more

Health Care for Kids Varies Widely Across US

When an American child needs medical attention, the quality of care expected varies widely from one state to the next, with a four-fold measure of quality separating children covered under a medical insurance plan and those who are uninsured. Read more

Trust a Politician To Fix Healthcare

Thomas Kuhn proposed that scientific theories should be looked on not as not dealing with purely scientific facts, but also as systems of belief relating to a wider context, a frame of reference consisting of interlocking scientific, social and even political ideas. This ideological context, that Kuhn termed a paradigm, “Is implicitly agreed upon by scientists who subscribe to a particular theory and who share the same worldview.” Paul Feyerabend wryly noted that suppressing an authentic paradigm, in preference to one politically favored, could permanently damage society. Read more

Medicare Part D Falls Short on Prescription Coverage

Medicare coverage expanded a bit in 2006 to include coverage for prescription drugs, Part D, provided a Medicare beneficiary chose to enroll in Medicare Part D.  Now that the prescription coverage plan has been in effect for a while, a review survey covering the year 2006 reveals mixed opinions for the plan. Read more

Unanimous Vote Bans Gifts to Doctors in Massachusetts

A unanimous vote, 36-0, in the Massachusetts Senate passes legislation pertaining to healthcare reforms within the state. The bill is the first of its kind in the nation although Minnesota and Vermont both have similar laws but without the full scope of the Massachusetts act. Read more

Boomers Will Face Health Care Challenges

Although advances in health care have contributed to the longevity of baby boomers, there will be serious problems in three years when the first of the nation’s 78 million boomers begin reaching the age of 65. According to a report released today by the Institute of Medicine our health care system is “woefully unprepared” to address the needs of aging boomers. Read more

Hospice Care Not Widely Available Across US

Even though most of us don’t talk much about it, almost everyone would like to leave this life in a pain-free, peaceful, dignified manner.  And dignity at the time of death is exactly what every hospice strives to achieve.  It’s their main mission and the industry has flourished, especially in the last twenty years.  Unfortunately, hospice care facilities are not readily available across a wide swath of the nation. Read more

Tobacco Company Paid For Cancer Study

The New York Times released a recent report regarding a connection between a tobacco company and a funded lung cancer study. In 2006, Dr. Claudia Henschke of Weill Cornell Medical College stunned the cancer world with her research suggesting that near 80% of lung cancer deaths could be prevented with the use of CT scans. Read more

Many Unhappy With Healthcare Cuts in San Francisco

The city of San Francisco’s Health Commission will cut $28.1 million in health care costs to help the city bridge a $251 million budget gap for the 2008-09 fiscal year. About half of those cuts that will take place April 15 include eliminating Health at Home, a program in which public health nurses visit chronically ill, homebound people; closing Buster’s Place, a 24-hour drop-in center for homeless people who are looking for shelter or a hot shower; closing a workers’ compensation clinic at San Francisco General Hospital; reducing mental health services; and reducing hours for the hospital’s oral surgery clinic and operating rooms.

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