Annual report of the Chief Medical Officer, 2014: the health of the 51%: women
This report examines women’s health in England and makes a range of recommendations to improve it. It identifies several missed opportunities for intervention in women’s health, and brings attention to ‘embarrassment’ as a needless barrier to health. It makes recommendations on a wide range of health issues, most notably obesity, ovarian cancer and ‘taboo problems’ such as incontinence and the menopause.
Report
Press release (Source: Health Management Specialist Library)
Source: Health Management Specialist Library - December 11, 2015 Category: UK Health Authors: The King's Fund Information & Knowledge Service Tags: Local authorities, public health and health inequalities Source Type: blogs
Sexism in Science: Bias Beyond the Lab
CONCLUSION
There’s no doubt that we’ve come far in this field and an improved concentration on exploring sex-based biology has resulted in a better understanding of sex differences–but we need to continue to such efforts in order to promote good health for all men and women. Clinical trials need to be designed to ensure not only the inclusion of, but also the recognition of their differences. Working toward inclusivity of medical research will benefit us all by increasing our understanding of what causes various illnesses and how to treat them.
RESOURCES
Primary
Society for Women’s Health Research: History
...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - November 19, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Women's Health Source Type: blogs
In Memorium: Cathy Polley
Cathy Polley
I was about three weeks into a new job in DC and my then boss told me she had a colleague of hers I had to meet. “She’s – you just have to meet her.” I followed my boss into a meeting some time later and there, for a brief moment, I met Cathy Polley for the first time. Cathy was bright, engaging, and her eloquent techniques for sharing hard data and evidence were only matched by her diplomatic grace that so few carry as a skill anymore. I fast became a fan of her work and being.
Our paths continued to cross throughout my time in that position and throughout the last several years I’m lucky enou...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - November 5, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Healthcare.gov Improvements And New Investigative Reports (Updated)
This report is beyond the scope of this blog. (Source: Health Affairs Blog)
Source: Health Affairs Blog - October 23, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Timothy Jost Tags: Costs and Spending Following the ACA Medicaid and CHIP ACA Marketplace budget reconciliation insurance fraud open enrollment Prevention Preventive Services Mandate social security Source Type: blogs
Not all patients want to be autonomous
Jodi (name and descriptors changed to protect patient identity.) had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer several years earlier, had received adjuvant carboplatin and paclitaxel therapy, relapsed three years later, and since then, had been on several forms of therapy — most recently receiving weekly paclitaxel. She was tolerating treatment well, but a CT scan done to re-evaluate her extent of disease (EOD) showed that the disease had progressed.
She took the news of her disease progression without flinching; she had long made the mental switch of seeing her cancer as a “chronic disease,” rather than one that was ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - September 24, 2015 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Don S. Dizon, MD Tags: Conditions Cancer Source Type: blogs
How a head CT changed everything for this patient
From her vantage point, cost had nothing to do with money. On most days, she struggled to her feet when I entered the room, greeted me effusively, and escorted me to her bedside chair, all the while chattering about the inadequacy of our hospital’s slushies, the beauty of the day outside, and the latest update on her children’s accomplishments at school. Despite her debilitating malignant small bowel obstruction from ovarian carcinoma, she still liked to play the hostess. I always tried to see her at the end of consult rounds, so that I could spend a few extra minutes chatting. Today was different.
She hunched in her c...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - September 19, 2015 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Susan A. Glod, MD Tags: Physician Cancer Source Type: blogs
Symptoms of Unknown Origin – The Prevalence of False Diagnosis of Disease
This study only raises the question, “How common is the error of assigning a false diagnosis of a disease?”
The literature is surprisingly silent on the prevalence of false diagnoses. I can find only one dated study of the prevalence of false diagnoses in a population. In 1967, Berman and Stamm studied over 100 children in the Seattle school system that carried a diagnosis of heart disease. (2.) Rounding off the figures, only 20 percent were found to have heart disease on careful study. Eighty percent did not have heart disease. The most telling finding was the presence of severe psychological and physical disability i...
Source: The Health Care Blog - September 16, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: THCB Source Type: blogs
Implementing Health Reform: HHS Proposes Rule Implementing Anti-Discrimination ACA Provisions
On September 3, 2015, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a notice of a proposed rulemaking intended to implement section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Department also provided a summary of the rule and a set of questions and answers regarding the rule.
Section 1557 of the ACA provides that an individual shall not, on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability, be
excluded from participation in,
denied the benefits of,
or subjected to discrimination under
any health program or activity of which any part receives federal financial assistance, or any program or a...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - September 4, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Timothy Jost Tags: Equity and Disparities Featured Following the ACA Source Type: blogs
Implementing Health Reform: HHS Proposes Rule Implementing Anti-Discrimination ACA Provisions (Contraceptive Coverage Litigation Update)
September 6 Update
Decision Upholding Religious Accommodation On Contraceptive Coverage Prompts Vigorous Dissent
On September 4, 2015, the Seventh Circuit federal court of appeals rejected another challenge to the accommodation offered by the federal government to religious nonprofit organizations that object to the coverage of contraceptives under the Affordable Care Act’s preventive services mandate. The two-to-one decision in Grace Schools v. Burwell reverses a district court decision which had granted the plaintiff religious organizations a preliminary injunction under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
Th...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - September 4, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Timothy Jost Tags: Equity and Disparities Featured Following the ACA Source Type: blogs
The Time Is Now For A Consumer Health Movement
Throughout history, social movements have galvanized wide-scale improvements in population health and quality of life. HIV/AIDS activists banded together to strengthen social services for patients, educate the public about the disease, and compel research and treatment investments that have relegated the condition to a chronic, manageable disease. The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation (now called simply Susan G. Komen) brought the issue of breast cancer out of the shadows, raising billions of dollars and saving lives by making whole families aware of the importance of prevention and early detection. Thanks to Mothers...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - September 3, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Karen Wolk Feinstein Tags: GrantWatch Health Professionals Population Health Quality Consumers Health Philanthropy Health Promotion and Disease PreventionGW HPV Patient Engagement Physicians Pittsburgh Source Type: blogs
5 things OB/GYNs should know about treating survivors of childhood cancer
Recent research shows improvement in long-term survival rates for childhood cancer patients, but also highlights the challenges that remain for many of the almost 400,000 survivors in the United States. Among these survivors are women facing gynecological health issues from the late effects of their treatment. What follows are several areas of concern that gynecologists and obstetricians should consider when treating women who had cancer as girls.
1. Treatment summary. An adult woman who had cancer during childhood should have a written summary of treatments she received. Certain commonly utilized treatments for childhoo...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - September 3, 2015 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Lisa Diller, MD Tags: Conditions Cancer Source Type: blogs
Nature’s Medicine Cabinet
More than 70 percent of new drugs approved within the past 30 years originated from trees, sea creatures and other organisms that produce substances they need to survive. Since ancient times, people have been searching the Earth for natural products to use—from poison dart frog venom for hunting to herbs for healing wounds. Today, scientists are modifying them in the laboratory for our medicinal use. Here’s a peek at some of the products in nature’s medicine cabinet.
A protein called draculin found in the saliva of vampire bats is in the last phases of clinical testing as a clot-buster for stroke patients. Vampire b...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - August 14, 2015 Category: Research Authors: Srivalli Subbaramaiah Tags: Chemistry and Biochemistry Pharmacology Cool Creatures Diseases Medicines Natural Products Source Type: blogs
Is there a place for alternative therapy in cancer treatment?
I vividly remember meeting her, despite all the years that had passed. At 6 feet tall she towered over me (granted, anyone who has met me will know that’s not hard to imagine) and yes, I’ll admit it — she had physically intimidated me. But about 10 minutes into the initial consultation, I realized she was soft-spoken, kind, and, being recently diagnosed with metastatic ovarian cancer, she was scared. Surgery had not been recommended given the advanced nature of the disease, and she was sent to me to discuss medical therapy. She had been told it was not curable, had read that the prognosis wasn’t very good.
“L...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - August 9, 2015 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Don S. Dizon, MD Tags: Meds Cancer Source Type: blogs
This is what it’s like to face recurrent cancer while going broke
I am one of many people today “living” with cancer. I want to focus on the impact cancer has on my personal finances, and this is probably true for any chronic illness, not just cancer.
First, you often have to give up your job. While undergoing chemo, most of us don’t have the energy for a full time job. And if you do keep working, there are all the appointments, scans and second opinion consultations, which make having a regular job difficult. Not to mention the scanxiety, as it’s been called, which makes it hard to concentrate on anything besides your health. Many of us are relying on our savings...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - August 4, 2015 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Holly Davis Tags: Patient Cancer Source Type: blogs
Profit over Safety – Centers for Disease Control Names 271 New Vaccinations
Conclusion
How many vaccinations will be considered to be a sensible number? If all of the vaccinations currently under development are deemed a success, how many of them will be added to the schedule? As there is little research to determine which ingredients are in the vaccinations listed as “under development” by the CDC, many parents are concerned about their toxicity and how best to protect their children.
I will leave you with the wise words of Robert F, Kennedy Jr: “Vaccine industry money has neutralized virtually all of the checks and balances that once stood between a rapacious pharmaceutical industry and ou...
Source: vactruth.com - August 3, 2015 Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Christina England Tags: Christina England Logical Top Stories Centers for Disease Control (CDC) PhRMA Robert F. Kennedy Jr. World Health Organization (WHO) Source Type: blogs
