1.
America has the best health care in the world.
Let’s bury this one once and for all. The United States is No. 1 in only one sense: the amount we shell out for health care. We have the most expensive system in the world per capita, but we lag behind many developed countries on virtually every health statistic you can name. Life expectancy at birth? We rank near the bottom of countries in the
, just ahead of Cuba and way behind Japan, France, Read the rest of this entry »
THE SKINNY ON …
•The basics: A precursor of the Atkins Diet, this regimen for weight loss has amazingly been around in various forms since the 1930s and, yes, it does seem to help a person shed up to 10 pounds over a 12-day period. The diet requires the consumption of half a grapefruit or eight ounces of unsweetened grapefruit juice with each of your three daily high-protein meals. You’re allowed to pig out on meat or fish at lunch and dinner, Read the rest of this entry »
For Jeff Palumbo of Grant, Minn., the epiphany came this year when he took his son in for ringworm. Palumbo had just switched to his employer’s high-deductible plan. Despite multiple phone calls to his clinic and his insurer to ask the price of a doctor visit, he kept getting the same maddening answer: It depends. Finally, someone told him it would cost at least $85. When Palumbo ended up getting billed $125 for the visit — “For seven minutes!” — Read the rest of this entry »
If he takes cocaine 24 hours later, when deemed “in competition’’, a two-year
ban awaits. This inconsistency screams out to be corrected.
Applying new tests laid down by the World Anti-Doping Agency, the fabulous
beaker boys from UK Sport will be visiting more footballers more frequently
from July 1.
UK Sport’s crusade should, of course, be welcomed even if football is not
afflicted by the drug epidemic that Read the rest of this entry »
Published December 28, 2008
How many consultants will it take to unscrew the last light bulb at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston?
The answer may become clear in January with a spanking new $300,000 study of the size, scope and location of UTMB facilities.
During the past 15 years, a series of such reports costing millions has produced a demoralized medical branch staggering toward a bleak future or failure.
First, if, in Read the rest of this entry »
Perot Systems (No. 35 on the 2008 VARBusiness 500 list) will significantly bolster its health-care interests after acquiring Tellurian Networks, a managed services provider of electronic medical records (EMR) and practice management (PM) applications. The acquisition was announced Friday, though financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are pleased to welcome Tellurian’s associates to the Perot Systems global team,” said Peter Altabef, Perot’s president Read the rest of this entry »
Children as young as 12 have been caught dealing drugs in Northern Ireland in
the last five years.
New statistics show that 112 children aged 16 and under have been cautioned,
arrested or charged by the PSNI for supplying drugs in Northern Ireland over
the five-year period between April 2003 and March 2008.
A 12-year-old boy was the youngest person to be cautioned for the offence –
the drug seized from him was amphetamine. Read the rest of this entry »
Women can get answers to a variety of health-related questions at the DuPage Women’s Fair, which is being held Wednesday, Sept. 10, in Lombard.
Area health care providers, including Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, Central DuPage Hospital, Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare and Adventist Hinsdale Hospital, are collaborating with state Reps. Sandy Pihos and Patti Bellock and the American Cancer Society for the free event.
“It’s promoting a healthy lifestyle Read the rest of this entry »
NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health
care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care
organizations and recognizes physicians in key clinical areas. NCQA’s
Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) is the most widely
used performance measurement tool in health care. NCQA is committed to
providing health care quality information through the Web, media and data
licensing Read the rest of this entry »
One “patient” fell asleep. Another compulsively searched for food. The third, curious and easily distracted, wandered off.
The future doctors were perplexed. First-year students in Stanford University’s School of Medicine, their impressive GPAs and MCAT exam scores didn’t matter to these dusty volunteers.
But the students quickly discovered that other skills did. Like patience. Persistence. Rapport. Over a single afternoon, their “patients” — Read the rest of this entry »