By Sarah Arnquist

ELECTION 2008: Stateline.org has a useful Web tool to compare synopsis of McCain and Obama’s stance
on issues ranging from health care to abortion to the environment. Despite the fact both candidates barely mentioned health care reform at their respective party’s conventions, Stateline says health care remains a top issue.

More election coverage: The New York Times on Sunday examined what Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin’s really may do for children with disabilities in office given her record, and on Monday the Times zeroed in on her motherhood, including the fact that she was "leaking amniotic fluid" while giving a speech in Texas to support building a natural gas pipeline through Alaska.

WSJ Health blog reports on Sen. Chuck Grassley’s persistent pressure on nonprofit hospitals, demanding to know why they deserve their tax breaks.

The FDA has published online medications currently under investigation for possible safety concerns, the Associated Press reported. The list includes 20 medications and their possible side-effects or warning signs. Examples of drugs on the list are Heparin for possible "Anaphylactic-type reactions" and Seroquel for "overdose due to sample pack labeling confusion."

ABC: A Rhode Island man arrested this week for drunk driving had a potentially lethal blood-alcohol level at the highest ever recorded by police.

LA Times: Physicians and entrepreneurs team up to launch Medpedia — a Wikipedia for medical issues.

HC Finance News: HHS doles out $49 million to state high-risk pools.

Plain Dealer: AHIP launches astroturf campaign in Cleveland called a "Campaign for an American Solution." Members of Health Care for All protested outside.

Wash Post: Some doctors and hospitals are trying to go green.

LA Times: Medicare Part D a boon to drug companies.

By THCB Staff

USA Today: Examines individual health policies and concludes they leave many behind.

USA Today: A record number of babies were born in the USA in 2007. Is this the next baby boom?

CNN: Teen pregnancies up for first time in 15 years.

NY TIMES: Paul Krugman predicts the doldrum economy to last many years and targets lack of universal health care as a reason.NY TIMES: David Brooks says we’re entering an era of "epic legislation" and health care is one of the areas where policy makers will redefine the landscape for future generations.

REUTERS: Family planning groups object to a Bush administration memo that
proposes to redefine abortion to include several types of
contraception, including birth control pills and intrauterine devices.

CNN: FDA lifts the safety ban on tomatoes.

WSJ Health Blog: California rulings against insurance rescissions could spread across the country.

HEALTHNEWSREVIEW: Journalistic hype of health news never stops, says Gary Schwitzer critiques as he critiques ABC’s claims about a "miracle drug" for Alzheimer’s. disease.

WASH POST: Pioneering heart surgeon, Michael E. DeBakey, 99, dies.

WASH POST: AMA apologizes for historical racism.

NY TIMES: Docs Medicare payment problem persists.

NY TIMES: The hilarities and health benefits of dancing.

WSJ: Lessons from Massachusetts health reform.

WSJ: Medicare auditors recover $700 million in overpayments.

AP: Can rising gas prices save lives?

WASH POST: Japanese dying from too much work.

CANADIAN MEDICINE: Advanced Access scheduling causes headaches.

By THCB Staff

FORBES: Fed Chief Ben Bernanke fans the flames of
health reform. "It’s not just balancing the federal budget; it’s really
a much broader question of the stability and strength of our economy
over a longer period of time," Benanke said.CHICAGO TRIBUNE: AMA turns thumbs down to secret medical shoppers. "It is grossly unethical," said Dr. Howard Chodash, a professor at Southern Illinois University Medical School.

WASH POST: "Halting runaway medical inflation represents a potential victory for all generations," wrote Sandra Day O’Connor and James R. Jones.

BOSTON GLOBE: "No single reform would do as much to improve the wealth of our nation and the lives of Americans as a comprehensive overhaul of our healthcare system. But the best chance of swift and major reform may have died with the end of Hillary Clinton’s run for the White House," consultant Ellen Lutch Bender wrote in an Op-ed.

US NEWS: 6 Ways to Avoid Dying of a Surprise Heart Attack — inspired by the unfortunate and untimely death of Tim Russert.

NY TIMES: Massachusetts health reform working but challenges remain.

CNN: Baby Boomers seek "brain fitness" gurus.

AMA NEWS: Patients don’t use online ratings to pick docs but do rely on word of mouth online.

It’s up at Jason Shafrin’s Healthcare Economist.

By THCB STAFF

NYT Lying – Giving Ourselves The Psychological Push We Need to Reach Future Goals? Or Just Good Old-Fashioned Twisted Fun?

LAT: Food 2.0 – What to eat while Googling

Microsoft: Health 2.0 could eventually "expand Web 2.0 concepts to the entire health
ecosystem of payors, providers, employers, consumers, life sciences entities and even the government."

Wired Science: ""With the world teetering on the edge of a full-blown food crisis, it may be time to cut back on biofuel, said Barack Obama yesterday."

MIT Tech Review: The Candidates on Tech

HealthTech: "A Pan-European eHealth Infrastructure Could Revolutionize Healthcare."

SF Chronicle: Medical Tourism is Big…

WSJ: Medical Tourism is Not So Big…

Continue reading…

By THCB Staff

VentureBeat: Emphasis Search, This Year’s WebMD, Raises 1M for Specialist Matching Service
Surgeons Meet in Second Life: First International Virtual Association Formed
(Hat Tip: Medical Quack)

WSJ Health Blog: Are General Surgeons the Primary Care Docs of the Operating Room? Aggravated DocSurg: "The harder the patient, the less the reimbursement we usually get."

WIRED SCIENCE: PETA offering $1 million prize to first scientist who can produce lab-grown meat in bulk.

Web 2.0h … really? "The OrgChart wiki is one of the coolest and most wonderfully dangerous features I’ve seen on a suit-and-tie site like Forbes.com." 

Columbia Journalism Review: Dems Are Not Calling for Government Health Care. "After his abysmal debate performance" Stephanopoulos tries (unsuccessfully) to set the record straight.

DC City Council Pushes for Mandatory Universal Healthcare CoverageComing to a Hospital Near You: Mouth Swabs Swifty Diagnose Heart AttacksLAT: Men Don’t Get Healthcare Because They Don’t Want to Take it Off for Docs?