The Health Care Blog – Page 980 – Everything you always wanted to know about the Health Care system. But were afraid to ask.

Above the Fold

The first one’s always free….but will you buy a kid a bike?

Aug 25, 2008

By Matthew Holt

Many times because I’m an independent consultant, blogger or general self-appointed health care know-it-all people want to talk to me. And I’m always happy to talk. Sometimes these conversations turn into business for me or THCB or Health 2.0, but sometimes they don’t. What I tell anyone who wants my time is that the "first one is always free."

Saigon

Meanwhile, as part of her return from a back injury my wife Amanda has bought a bike and is training for a triathlon later this Fall. It’s also renewal time for our favorite cause the Saigon Childrens Charity. Much of its resources are spent buying rice for poor families so that they don’t need to send kids out to work, and so the kid can go to school instead. With the price of rice doubling this year, things are getting tougher for the charity and the kids.

Who’d be a pollster, eh

Aug 22, 2008• 4

By Matthew Holt

HSC says that the number of Americans going online for healthcare goes way up:

In 2007, 56 percent of American adults—more than 122 million people—sought information about a personal health concern from a source other than their doctor, up from 38 percent, or 72 million people, in 2001, according to a national study released today by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC).

Harris Interactive says it’s gone down ;

Ten years ago, in 1998, the Harris Poll began measuring the number of people going online for health care information. At that time we reported that 54 million people had done so at least once. Since then the number of those people, whom we labeled “cyberchondriacs,” have increased almost every year, reaching 110 million in 2002, and 160 million in 2007.

This year, the Harris Poll finds only 150 million who claim to have gone online to obtain health care information. Of course, 150 million is still a huge number and includes 66 percent of all adults and 81 percent of those who are online.

Extra points if you can spot the flaw in my reasoning. (Yes, it’s easy but I’ve been up late watching the Olympics….even though I said I wouldn’t)

Merck’s Marketing for HPV Vaccine Trumps Science

Aug 22, 2008• 7

By MAGGIE MAHAR

I first wrote about Gardasil on The American Prospect online in the summer of 2006, just weeks before the Merck vaccine designed to protect against cervical cancer went to market.

There, I noted that “the hullabaloo began in June when the FDA approved Gardasil, a vaccine widely described as ‘100 percent effective’ in preventing cervical cancer, a disease that kills some 233,000 women worldwide each year. The drumbeat grew louder last month when a federal panel recommended that all American girls and women ages 11 to 26 should be inoculated. And now there is talk that states may mandate the vaccine for all school-age children.

“But before prescribing for the entire population,” I suggested, “it’s worth asking a few questions: Why does the vaccine cost $360 for a three-shot regimen? How much do we know about the new product? And is this a cost-effective use of health-care dollars?”

On Rural Doctoring: The Generalist’s Mind

Aug 22, 2008• 3

By Theresa Chan

This is the second part of a series that first appeared on the blog Rural Doctoring,
where Theresa Chan writes about her experience working as a family
physician and hospitalist in a rural community in Northern California. Chan
moved from San Francisco to try out rural life.

When I think of rural doctors, I think of family practice. Part of this is training bias, because I am a family doctor, but this bias is supported by surveys which demonstrate that a significant number of rural communities would be medically underserved if it were not for the presence of family physicians.

In this post series, I will emphasize the family practice model of medical training as an approach to preparation for rural practice. I do not mean to imply that other primary care specialties–such as internal medicine, pediatrics or OB/GYN–have no place in rural communities. Quite the opposite, in fact. My job in rural California would be much more difficult if I did not have the support of the other primary care specialties. I hope this post series will be useful to medical students and residents who are training in those specialties as well, even if the content tends to veer towards family practice. I will argue that it is the generalist’s mind, rather than the specialty, which will suit a doctor for rural practice.

Reports on Gardasil study offer varying interprations

Aug 22, 2008

By Sarah Arnquist

Merck’s HPV vaccine, Gardasil, has received significant press in recent days, following a cost-effectiveness study published in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Depending on where Americans get their news, they received different summaries and interpretations of the study. No wonder consumers are confused. Here are four examples:

Chastened and More Sober, Harry and Louise Return

Aug 21, 2008• 10

By Brian Klepper

On Tuesday, Ron Pollack of Families USA led a call with bloggers — unfortunately, I couldn’t be on it — to discuss Harry and Louise Return — the new health reform campaign sponsored by five prominent organizations: the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network (ASC CAN), the American Hospital Association (AHA), the Catholic Health Association (ACHA), Families USA and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).

Health Wonk Review

Aug 21, 2008

The biweekly compendium of the best of the health blogs is up over at Worker’s Comp Insider.

Health 2.0 on icyou

Aug 21, 2008• 2

Check out videos from past conferences and learn all about Health 2.0 at our very own channel on icyou, an online source filled with loads of useful health videos!

Personal genetic companies back in service

Aug 20, 2008• 3

By Sarah Arnquist

Two direct-to-consumer genetic testing firms, 23andMe and Navigenics gained approval from California regulators this week to continue providing clients access to and interpretations of their personal DNA.

The NY Times reports this morning that, "The licenses, granted to Navigenics and 23andMe, should help defuse a
controversy that began in June when the California Department of Public
Health sent “cease and desist” letters to the two companies and 11
others that offer genetic testing directly to consumers."

The news sparked a heated summer debate over whether consumers should have unbridled access to their DNA or whether a doctor should lead the process.

On Rural Doctoring: The Landscape

Aug 20, 2008• 2

By Theresa Chan

This is the first part of a series that first appeared on the blog Rural Doctoring, where Theresa Chan writes about her experience working as a family physician and hospitalist in a rural Northern California community.

I’ve been reading the blogs of medical students and residents with some interest lately. Their stories about the trials and tribulations of learning to stay awake night and day and how to deal with cranky attendings and even crankier patients take me back to the bad old days of my own residency.

I’ve also had a few glimpses of the osteopathic medical students (OMS) who are rotating in rural California as they assume their new roles as clinical learners. Hearing about and witnessing these experiences makes me reflect on my own training and the steps I took to become a doctor in a rural community. This post series will examine these steps in more detail, and I hope it will be helpful to trainees who are considering a career in rural health care.