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Unequal healthcare kills 80,000 black Americans

Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher said this week that over 80,000 black Americans die every year because of disparities in health care. Despite government and public and insurance companies knowledge of this shortchange in health care for blacks, they have done little to improve the situation.

10 Mar 2005

Income, not just race, explains much of the health gap between groups of Americans

Income, not just race, explains much of the health gap between groups of Americans, and a “health equity impact” statement should accompany government policy proposals, suggests a Harvard professor in the current edition of the prestigious journal Health Affairs.

9 Mar 2005

HIVMA and AAHIVM urge lawmakers to make medical care the top priority for Ryan White Programs

The nation’s frontline HIV medical providers are calling for an end to waiting lists for essential anti-AIDS drugs that patients need in order to live.

8 Mar 2005

MRSA league figures misleading

The Queen Victoria hospital NHS trust a specialist hospital topped the league table for rates of MRSA infection but attacked the figures as "misleading" claiming they "grossly misrepresent" the hospital's infection control record.

7 Mar 2005

Five point challenge to all political parties, setting out how to improve the NHS

A five point challenge to all political parties, setting out how to improve the NHS, is published today (Tuesday 8 March 2005) by the British Medical Association. "A vote to improve health" takes the form of a doctors' manifesto for the forthcoming general election.

7 Mar 2005

National Patient Safety Awareness Week

National Patient Safety Awareness Week to be observed March 6-12, 2005, is a national education and awareness-building campaign for improving patient safety at the local level.

7 Mar 2005

Individual mortality rates in Britain

Twenty five heart surgeons in Northwest England publish their individual mortality rates in this week's BMJ. The results show that all surgeons are performing to satisfactory standards.

6 Mar 2005

Expected revolution in medicine, telemedicine, has simply not happened

Despite high expectations, telemedicine and telehealthcare systems, which enable doctors to interact with patients many miles away via video, digital imaging and electronic data transmission, have had only limited impact on the National Health Service, according to a study sponsored by the ESRC.

3 Mar 2005

BMA(NI) comment on latest NHS waiting lists

Commenting on the release today of the DHSSPS's NHS waiting list figures, BMA(NI) Chairman, Dr Brian Patterson, said that the reduction in numbers of people waiting for inpatient treatment, albeit small, was to be welcomed and paid tribute to the doctors, nurses and other healthcare staff who have worked hard to achieve this.

3 Mar 2005

Nutrition Month in Canada

Health ministers in Canada have taken the bull by the horns and announced March to be Nutrition Month to highlight the importance of a healthy lifestyle that includes healthy eating and regular physical activity.

3 Mar 2005

Virginia Department of Health seeks input to reduce obesity

Beginning in March, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) will host eight planning meetings to get input from residents on how to prevent and control obesity in the state.

1 Mar 2005

Guidelines designed to track potentially deadly infections in hospitals and clinics

Guidelines released on Monday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are designed to help track and alert the public to potentially deadly infections in hospitals and clinics.

1 Mar 2005

Australian forum explores rise of herbal medicine

RMIT University is set to host a panel of complementary medicine experts at a forum discussing the popularity of herbal medicine and its role in contemporary healthcare next month.

1 Mar 2005

Hospital admission medication errors common and potentially harmful

A medication use history is an integral part of the hospital admission process, but errors in the history may result in failure to detect drug-related problems or lead to interrupted or inappropriate drug therapy during hospitalization, according to background information in the article. Earlier studies suggest that these errors are a potentially serious safety issue.

28 Feb 2005

Beginning of new wave - first generation to turn 18 since technology and treatments have allowed them to survive to adulthood

More than half a million children with special health-care needs will turn 18 this year, the first generation to reach adulthood since sweeping medical advances ensured an unprecedented number would survive congenital conditions that until recently would have killed them.

27 Feb 2005