It just got a little easier to find health-care services closer to home.
On Thursday, the Ontario government launched two new initiatives to improve access to health care, and hopefully relieve stress on the province’s emergency rooms.
Health Care Connect aims to help people find a family health-care provider.
Dr. Mark Mensour, emergency department lead with the North Simcoe Muskoka Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), said the program aims Read the rest of this entry »

In Minnesota, where the company has operated for several years, dozens of churches are hosting screenings in the next two months alone. Life Line doesn’t pay the churches; the churches view them as a way to promote health and wellness. “It’s a nice service we provide because you cannot go to a doctor and demand the same tests,” said Jim Anderson, adult minister at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Bloomington.
The screenings are usually promoted Read the rest of this entry »

WASHINGTON (AP) — Food and Drug Administration officials have finalized guidelines that make it easier for pharmaceutical companies to use medical journal articles to promote drugs for unapproved uses.
The final guidelines, which have been criticized by some lawmakers as too lenient, allow companies to distribute articles about their products to doctors — even when they involve uses that have not been federally approved.
The FDA Read the rest of this entry »

, particularly if you’re a nervous cellist.
On Tuesday, doctors announced that a condition cited in medical journals for 34 years was actually just a hoax.
, called “cello scrotum,” was described as raw and swollen loins of men who play their cellos a tad too long, or too vigorously. The malady has been cited in several papers discussing other musical ailments, such as “fiddler’s neck,” finger dermatitis and permanent muscle twitches.
Only now Read the rest of this entry »

are claiming victories following a New Jersey Superior Court hearing on the ongoing legal battle over Virtua’s “top docs” marketing campaign.
Last week, the court issued an injunction temporarily barring Virtua, of Cherry Hill, N.J., from using advertisements claiming it has the most “top docs” in South Jersey.
Late Tuesday, judge Mary E. Colalillo modified the order to permit Virtua to continue the advertisements, Read the rest of this entry »

: A warning to those who are hoping to ward off weight gain this holiday season: The Food and Drug Administration has released a list of 25 diet drugs you should avoid. The listed products contain “controlled substances,” which aren’t listed on the labels, and could endanger the health of those who take them. Some of the products bill themselves as “natural” or “dietary supplements,” but they may contain ingredients that aren’t approved for use in Read the rest of this entry »

For others, the reality of a sexually transmitted disease or a substance abuse problem makes it apparent that a teen suddenly requires services that are, at best, awkward to obtain from a practice with coloring books and toy boxes in the waiting room.
But even if parents and teen patients agree that a new doctor is needed, finding a provider who can serve as a medical bridge to adulthood can be daunting.
A new report out this week from a committee Read the rest of this entry »

Thursday, February 19, 2009 9:46 AM PST
OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Washington State Medical Association opposes any attempt by lawmakers to tell doctors how to fight a drug-resistant infection known as MRSA.
A bill sponsored by Rep. Tom Campbell of Roy would require doctors to screen vulnerable patients for the germ. The bill was prompted by a Seattle Times investigation that found hospitals often have ignored steps to control MRSA.
A bill sponsored Read the rest of this entry »

Dr. Ken Arnold, president of the Ontario Medical Association, visited Windsor’s Caboto Club to meet with local doctors on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008.
Nick Brancaccio, The Windsor Star
About $850 million will go to doctors for fees, and the remainder will be spent on other programs, Arnold said in an interview. But Ontario doctors are still behind other Canadian physicians in remuneration and some are leaving because of that. He said, for example, Read the rest of this entry »

: Drinking too many cups of joe might not only bring on a case of jitters, but it could provoke hallucinations, a study by England’s Durham University finds. The study, published in the journal
, concludes that people with a high caffeine level from coffee, tea, or energy drinks are more likely to see things or hear voices that are not real. High caffeine users, defined as those who drank the equivalent of seven cups of instant coffee a day, were Read the rest of this entry »