Intel Corp. has launched a personal health system that combines a device used by patients at home with an online interface that permits healthcare professionals to
patients’ medical conditions. Called the Intel Health Care Management Suite, the device was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration in July. It provides ongoing access to information about patients’ vital signs and offers educational information, patient reminders, surveys, and video-conferencing Read the rest of this entry »

for coverage, regardless of health status, the Associated Press reports. But insurers also favor a requirement for all Americans to have health insurance. Requiring health insurance for all is needed, according to industry analysts, because mandatory inclusion of both healthy and sick people would allow insurers to distribute risk over a larger group of people. Two health insurance trade organizations—
that each called for coverage of those Read the rest of this entry »

As Economy Falters, Many States Cut Back on Medicaid
as revenue falls and more people are out of work and without private health insurance, the
reports. Nineteen states have already lowered payments made to nursing homes and hospitals and ended coverage of certain treatments. Some states have stopped payments for services that the federal government doesn’t require them to cover, such as physical therapy, hospice care, hearing aids, and eyeglasses. Read the rest of this entry »

used for pain, colds, and other problems, the Associated Press reports. The Food and Drug Administration says that it is trying to squeeze unapproved drugs from the market, but certain federal laws allow Medicaid to continue to cover the drugs. Officials in charge of the Medicaid program say they are aware of the issue, but they say congressional assistance is needed to fix the problem. Both Medicaid and the FDA are under the umbrella of the U.S. Read the rest of this entry »

called chelation for the treatment of autism, the
. The therapy, commonly used for lead or
, involves injecting a man-made amino acid
into the veins in an effort to remove heavy metals from the body. Some who think that vaccines containing mercury trigger autism believe the therapy could treat the disorder. NIMH officials said the agency isn’t confident in the safety of chelation, which critics have called an unethical experiment on kids, the Read the rest of this entry »

and a vaccine that could work against a wide range of flu strains, according to a new study published online yesterday in
.
“We identified new human antibodies that inactivate influenza, not just bird flu but any of the seasonal influenza viruses that affect us in the winter,” researcher Wayne A. Marasco, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, told HealthDay. The researchers found 10 Read the rest of this entry »

Just 2 percent of nearly 1,200 graduating medical students surveyed say they plan to work in primary care or internal medicine, according to new research published in the
. That number was 9 percent in a 1990 survey, the
. The new report raises concerns about a possible shortage of doctors who can be the primary gatekeepers in handling patient care in the future. The graduating students surveyed said that what discourages them about primary care Read the rest of this entry »

Vaccines Not to Blame for Autism, Court Rules
in three children, according to long-awaited
from a special federal court yesterday, Nancy Shute reports. The families had filed claims arguing that the measles-mumps-rubella shot, which contained the mercury-based preservative thimerosal, was responsible for their children’s autism and other neurological problems.
The cases have been intensely watched in the hugely contentious battle over whether Read the rest of this entry »

The National Transportation Safety Board is holding the first of four days of public hearings in Washington, D.C., today, focusing on how to
. The NTSB investigated nine fatal accidents involving medical helicopters during the past 12 months; 35 people were killed in all. “We have seen an alarming rise in the numbers of EMS accidents, and the Safety Board believes some of these accidents could have been prevented if our recommendations had been Read the rest of this entry »

before that as those who don’t take virginity pledges, according to a new study published in the January issue of
.
Previous research found that those who take virginity pledges are more likely to wait to have sex than those who don’t take such pledges. But this study used a different statistical method from earlier studies, which allowed researchers to compare pledge takers with non-pledge takers who were likely to delay having sex; it also didn’t Read the rest of this entry »