Pharma's Niche
Focus Spurs US
Aid for Antibiotics
Matthew Perrone
(The Associated Press, January 25, 2012)
"Drug companies are increasingly taking advantage of the commercial benefits of developing so-called orphan drugs, which include extra patent protections, higher pricing and a streamlined review process by FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration]…But the focus on specialty drugs has put pressure on the U.S. government to ramp up its own spending on vaccines, antibiotics and drugs for more widespread health threats, which are less profitable for companies. Since 2006, government spending on research for familiar diseases like staph infections, smallpox and botulism has increased…from $54 million to $415 million last year…the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority [BARDA]…is tasked with acquiring vaccines, drugs and other necessities for public health emergencies. Since 2005, BARDA has awarded $3.5 billion to outside companies to encourage research and production of antibiotics, flu vaccines and other products that are seen as less profitable than specialty drugs…The pharmaceutical industry reached its peak of profitability in the 1990s with heavily marketed drugs for common afflictions…But with most of those products on the cusp of losing patent protection, drugmakers have finally been forced to innovate, often turning to hard-to-treat diseases for which there are few existing therapies…One side effect of the focus on developing drugs for rare diseases is increased investment by the government to spur research into more common public health threats with the potential to cause mass outbreaks of illness. One such threat comes from so-called superbugs, or bacteria that have grown resistant to antibiotic drugs…After decades of routine use, many first-generation antibiotics like penicillin are no longer effective against common bacterial strains…Physicians are encouraged to use newer antibiotics only in critical situations so that superbugs have less chance to build a resistance to them. As a result, drugmakers do not see a large commercial market for new antibiotics. Now the federal government is providing an incentive."
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Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar
(The Associated Press, January 23, 2012)
"Three out of four uninsured Americans live in states that have yet to figure out how to deliver on its promise of affordable medical care…an analysis by The Associated Press…Combined with new insurance coverage estimates from the nonpartisan Urban Institute…reveals…Such uneven progress could have real consequences. If it continues, it will mean disparities and delays from state to state in carrying out an immense expansion of health insurance scheduled in the law for 2014. That could happen even if the Supreme Court upholds…the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act…The 13 states that have adopted a plan are home to only 1 in 4 of the uninsured. An additional 17 states are making headway, but it's not clear all will succeed. The 20 states lagging behind account for the biggest share of the uninsured, 42 percent. Among the lagging states are four with arguably the most to gain. Texas, Florida, Georgia and Ohio together would add more than 7 million people to the insurance rolls, according to Urban Institute estimates, reducing the annual burden of charity care by $10.7 billion."
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Status of Health Care Exchanges
(Detroit News, January 23, 2012)
Lena H. Sun
(The Washington Post, January 21, 2012)
"A New York hospital is testing a new approach to fight obesity. A Boston hospital wants to try a new nursing model. A Montgomery County [Maryland] primary-care clinic plans to expand its pharmacy program that gives one-on-one medication counseling to patients with chronic illnesses. The people who created these programs are among the first 73 'innovation advisers' chosen by federal health officials…to experiment with ways to provide better health care and reduce costs. Funded with $6 million from the health-care overhaul act, the initiative is one of the first programs of the new Innovation Center at the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, known as CMS…as part of a year-long commitment…[these] health professionals…from institutions in 27 states and the District…[will] work on projects in their respective institutions. The goal is for them to become change agents at their home organizations, while also providing CMS officials with new ideas and approaches…Officials intend to select a second group of advisers in the spring, for a total of about 200 professionals. The projects fall into several categories…[from] reducing unnecessary readmission to the hospital…[to targeting] ways to reduce infections, medication errors and other types of harm in hospital settings. Other pilots seek to improve coordination of patient care."
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Robert Pear
(The New York Times, January 20, 2012)
"The Obama administration said Friday that most health insurance plans must cover contraceptives for women free of charge, and it rejected a broad exemption sought by the Roman Catholic Church for insurance provided to employees of Catholic hospitals, colleges and charities. Federal officials said they would give such church-affiliated organizations one additional year -- until Aug. 1, 2013 -- to comply with the requirement. Most other employers and insurers must comply by this Aug. 1. Leaders of the Roman Catholic Church had personally appealed to President Obama to grant the broad exemption. He made the final decision on the issue after hearing from them, as well as from family planning advocates, scientific experts and members of Congress, administration officials said. The rule takes a big step to remove cost as a barrier to birth control, a longtime goal of advocates for women’s rights and experts on women’s health...The rule includes an exemption for certain “religious employers,” including houses of worshipA religious employer cannot qualify for the exemption if it employs or serves large numbers of people of a different faith, as many Catholic hospitals, universities and social service agencies do."
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Jill Tucker
(San Francisco Chronicle, January 25, 2012)
"School cafeterias as of this fall will have to feature a lot more whole grain, fruits and vegetables and reduce salt, fat and fried foods, according to new federal rules…The new regulations are the first major changes to school breakfast and lunch standards in 15 years and, for the first time, set maximum calories allowed per meal. That will mean better, healthier food for kids beginning in the fall -- and a much bigger grocery bill for schools. Cafeterias will have to forgo the cheaper enriched grains…offer a variety of fruits and vegetables…as well as low-sodium protein or legumes. Federal funding for school lunches will depend on it. Nutrition advocates applauded the new standards for the 32 million children who participate in the national school lunch program each day…The federal government will boost funding by 6 cents per meal to help cover increased costs connected to the new regulations, but that won't come close to the additional 10 cents per lunch, and 27 cents per breakfast the healthier food is expected to cost schools. Department of Agriculture officials said districts can make up the difference by charging wealthier students more for full-price meals or ensuring that the federal funding isn't spent subsidizing other food sold in vending machines or school stores."
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Fiona Harvey and Juliette Jowit
(The Guardian, London, online, January 22, 2012)
"Lower income families in the UK have cut their consumption of fruit and vegetables by nearly a third in the wake of the recession and rising food prices, to just over half of the five-a-day portions that the government recommends for a healthy diet...while the average household continued to buy about four portions per person, according to statistics from the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)…These rates are likely to have declined yet further in the past year, as inflation has continued upwards and households across the board have seen real incomes shrink. Women are likely to be the worst hit by the fall, as research shows mothers tend to deny themselves meals to give more to their children…The deterioration in the diets of those worst affected by the recession will be highlighted…in a parliamentary debate on food…[and] the proposed grocery code adjudicator…and [perhaps provide] ways to put a brake on food price inflation…Farmers have been among the most vocal proponents of a grocery code adjudicator, because they accuse big supermarkets of driving down their prices below the cost of production."
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Shari Roan
(Los Angeles Times, January 26, 2012)
"An estimated 7% of American teens and adults carry the human papilloma virus [HPV] in their mouths, an infection that puts them at heightened risk of developing cancer of the mouth and throat…the [study is the]…first to assess the prevalence of oral HPV infection in the U.S. population, may help health experts understand why rates of oropharyngeal cancer -- a type of head and neck cancer -- have skyrocketed in recent years, increasing 225% between 1988 and 2004. The findings also indicate that the virus is not likely to spread through kissing or casual contact and that most cases of oral HPV can be traced to oral sex…HPV is best known as the cause of cervical cancer, which kills 4,220 women in the U.S. each year, according to the National Cancer Institute. The virus can also cause vulvar, anal, penile and various head and neck cancers. A study published in October…traced more than 70% of new cases of oral cancers to HPV infection, putting it ahead of tobacco use as the leading cause of such cancers. If present trends continue, HPV will cause more cases of oral cancers than cervical cancer by 2020, according to the October study."
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Khopotso Bodibe
(Health-e, South Africa, January 26, 2012)
"People living with HIV have a critical role to play in preventing new HIV infections. A new strategy aims to enlist the help of HIV-infected people in preventing the spread of HIV. Called 'Positive Health, Dignity and Prevention,' the strategy aims to enable people living with HIV and AIDS to get more involved in preventing new infections. In the past, such a programme was called 'positive prevention'…The difference between the two is that 'prevention with positives tends to see people living with HIV as vectors of the virus and they are likely to pass it on. It excludes everything else. The dignity is not there, the stigma issues can arise. This all-encompassing term really sees them as part of the response responsible people who also require treatment and also require support,' explains Mirriam Chipimo, senior policy and programmes advisor for the United Nations' Agency for HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), in South Africa…Chief Director of the HIV and AIDS and STIs [sexually transmitted infections] unit in the national Department of Health, Dr Thobile Mbengashe, also emphasises that prevention of new HIV infections by people living with HIV is about taking responsibility."
Kounteya Sinha
(The Times of India, January 26, 2012)
"According to the World Health Organization's [WHO] estimates…over 2.5 billion people…are now at risk from dengue. WHO estimates there may be 50-100 million dengue infections worldwide annually. Before 1970, only nine countries had experienced severe dengue epidemics. The disease is endemic in more than 100 countries. Cases across the Americas, south-east Asia and western Pacific have exceeded 1.2 million cases in 2008 and over 2.2 million in 2010. In 2010, 1.6 million cases of dengue were reported in the Americas alone…An estimated 500,000 people with severe dengue require hospitalization each year, a large proportion of whom are children. About 2.5% of those affected die, says the WHO…dengue has been identified as one of the 17 neglected tropical diseases...[and] has also been listed among the 40 emerging diseases of global importance...All the four virus serotypes DENV 1-4 have been isolated in India. Aedes aegypti is the most efficient vector of dengue in India. A Planning Commission note says, 'The risk of dengue has shown an increase in the recent years due to rapid urbanization, life style changes and improper water storage practices in urban, peri-urban and rural areas, leading to proliferation of mosquito breeding sites.'"
Nicole Gilbert
(Cronkite News, Arizona, January 25, 2012)
"The Gallup Indian Medical Center in Gallup, N.M. [New Mexico], has seen a steady increase of new HIV cases among Navajos over the past 10 years…The numbers may reflect an increase in testing, but according to infectious disease specialist Dr. Jonathan Iralu, they may reveal other trends…The Navajo AIDS Network works with the Gallup Indian Medical Center to provide case management and counseling to newly diagnosed patients all across the reservation. It also offers HIV testing, promoted by advertisements in movie theaters, posters and brochures…Today, as many as one in four HIV-positive American Indians and Alaskan Natives remain unaware that they are infected, according to a 2011 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]. The CDC funds projects focusing on native populations, like the HIV/AIDS Prevention Project, facilitated by the Commitment to Action for 7th-Generation Awareness & Education. The project…looks to break past barriers on several different Indian reservations. 'Testing, I think, is what’s really going to save our communities,' said Martha Burnside, a community liaison with the organization. If people get tested and seek treatment, maybe it will prompt others to do the same, she…stressed that aiding communities individually is essential."
Lisa Priest
(The Globe and Mail, Toronto, January 20, 2012)
"With the [Canadian] federal government holding fast to a per-capita funding model for the provinces, it’s innovation, not cash, that will save overcrowded hospitals struggling under crushing budgets and charged with improving the experience of patients…In the United States, it’s already possible to have a $2 app perform an eye exam and deliver a prescription. Sleep studies typically performed in high-tech labs can now be done at home for about $100. Electrocardiograms can be performed on a smartphone…these types of innovations will chart the future of health care…Yet these types of technological innovations in hospitals remain rare. Concerns about the privacy of patients’ information are prevalent and can stymie innovation, noted Joseph Cafazzo, leader of the Centre for Global eHealth Innovation at the University Health Network in Toronto…There are also questions about ensuring equitable access to these new modes of medical care, said Mark Farrow, vice-president and chief information officer at Hamilton Health Sciences. Not everyone can afford a smartphone or knows how to use one…Increasingly in the health system, doctors have the big ideas, and some are the entrepreneurs -- they know exactly what areas of their job are ripe for technological intervention."
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Korean Research, a First Step Toward Dr. Smartphone?
(Reuters, January 22, 2012)
Tara Carman
(Vancouver Sun, January 24, 2012)
"Almost one in five people over age 65 who can't see well enough to read ordinary newsprint or recognize a friend on the other side of the street, even with glasses, still have a valid driver's licence in this country, according to Statistics Canada…The study looked at several other medical criteria that affect a person's ability to drive, including cognition, mobility and ability to hear. Nationally, 36 per cent of those aged 65 and over
who described themselves as very forgetful and having great difficulty trying to think and solve everyday problems had a valid driver's licence in 2009, as did more than a quarter of those diagnosed with dementia…in this age group…just over half of those who can't hear well enough to participate in a small-group conversation, even with a hearing aid, still have valid licences. Despite all of this, seniors in B.C. [British Columbia, Canada] are significantly less likely than teenagers to be involved in car accidents…However, the Solicitor-General's Ministry points out that seniors spend fewer hours on the road, tend to drive only in daylight hours, drive shorter distances and tend to avoid hazardous driving conditions."
See also:
Israel: Doctors Shouldn't Have Job of Reporting Incapable Drivers'
Judy Siegel-Itzkovich
(The Jerusalem Post, January 25, 2012)
Joel Provano
(The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, January 24, 2012)
"Teenagers engage in a variety of risky behaviors while driving…But two new studies add to the evidence that one of the riskiest practices is just having another teen in the car…The studies…not only showed that having another teen in the car is dangerous, they identified why. The first study found that teens who drive with multiple passengers in the car share certain characteristics: They consider themselves thrill-seekers, felt that their parents did not set strict rules or monitor their whereabouts and were not very aware of the risks associated with driving…The second study interviewed teens who had been involved in serious crashes to determine what their behavior was just before the wreck. More teenagers -- both male and female -- said they had been distracted or engaged in risky behavior just prior to the crash when there were teen passengers in the car…The study also uncovered a drastic difference in the behavior of male and female teen drivers: Males with passengers in the car were six times more likely to perform an illegal maneuver and more the twice as likely to drive aggressively compared to when they were driving alone…The study's authors said it is incumbent on parents to promote safe behavior by young drivers."
Gozde Zorlu
(Science and Development Network, January 25, 2012)
"The most promising malaria vaccine candidate should be rolled out through mass vaccination campaigns -- rather than the WHO's [World Health Organization] routine infant vaccinations -- in parts of Africa with low malaria transmission, says a study. Researchers used computer simulations to predict the health benefits of introducing the RTS,S/AS01 vaccine through different deployment programmes in a range of transmission settings. The vaccine is in Phase 3 trials and could be approved by WHO as early as 2015. They found that vaccination of infants and schoolchildren through the WHO's Expanded Program on Immunization would work well in areas with high transmission, which includes much of rural Africa. But in low transmission areas, which are increasingly common in Africa -- especially in cities -- and also in South America and South-East Asia, mass vaccination may be much more effective…This is because in areas with high transmission rates, malaria mostly affects very young children; but in areas with low transmission, all age groups are affected, and so an infant-focused vaccination would miss most of the cases."
Kerry Grens
(Reuters, January 25, 2012)
"Although about 85 percent of kids in two U.S. states have had a complete set of hepatitis A vaccines, overall just three in 10 have had both shots, according to a new survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In certain states, particularly those in the south, midwest and eastern U.S., those rates are lower…In 1999, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended the vaccine for children in 11 states in the western United States where infection rates were the highest. In six other states, the Committee said that the vaccine could be 'considered' for children. In 33 states, recommendations for routine vaccination came on board in 2006, but only for one-year-olds…Among the first 11 states to receive the Committee's recommendation for routine vaccination, the vaccination rates were the highest in the country: 60 percent of kids had completed the two doses by age 13 to 17. Alaska and Oklahoma had the highest rates, at about 85 percent. Among these states, black, Hispanic, American Indian and Alaska Native children were more likely to have been vaccinated than white children."
Alice Park
(TIME.com, January 25, 2012)
"Researchers report that exposure to ubiquitous household chemicals may lower children’s responses to vaccines. The study…suggests that perfluorinated compounds (PFCs)…may hinder children’s ability to mount proper immune responses after they are vaccinated. The findings suggest that important gains made by immunization programs in the past century may be eroded by the emergence of these environmental chemicals…a group of 587 children born between 1999 to 2001 in the Faroe Islands…[where] most residents rely on the sea to survive, and recent studies have recorded increasing amounts of PFCs in the drinking water and fish there. All of the children received the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTaP) vaccine at 3 months, and a booster at 5. The scientists tested the children’s antibodies to diphtheria and tetanus at age 5, just before they received their booster shot, and again when they were 7…the team also drew the children’s blood to test for PFCs. When the researchers compared the participants’ antibody levels to the levels of PFCs in their blood, they…[found] that higher levels of PFCs were linked with a lower immune response…[and] kids whose PFC levels were twice as high had half the amount of antibodies to diphtheria and tetanus, compared with children who tested lower for PFCs."
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Cornelia Dean
(The New York Times, January 25, 2012)
"Tiny substances called nanomaterials have moved into the marketplace over the last decade, in products as varied as cosmetics, clothing and paint. But not enough is known about their potential health and environmental risks, which should be studied further, an expert panel of the National Academy of Sciences said…Nanoscale forms of substances like silver, carbon, zinc and aluminum have many useful properties...But researchers say…products…can…be ingested, inhaled or possibly absorbed through the skin. And they can seep into the environment during manufacturing or disposal…Not enough is known about the effects, if any, that nanomaterials have on human health and the environment, according to a report issued by the academy’s expert panel…The panel called for a four-part research effort focusing on identifying sources of nanomaterial releases, processes that affect exposure and hazards, nanomaterial interactions at subcellular to ecosystem-wide levels and ways to accelerate research progress."
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Amy Norton
(Reuters, January 24, 2012)
"People exposed to very high levels of arsenic in Chilean drinking water back in the 1950s and 60s are still showing a higher-than-normal risk of bladder cancer…The findings are not surprising, researchers say, since the cancer would take decades to emerge. But the results underscore the importance of continuing to screen high-risk people for bladder cancer, according to lead researcher Dr. Fernando Coz, a professor of urology at the Universidad de Los Andes in Santiago de Chile. The study…focused on people in the Antofagasta region of Chile. In the 1950s and 60s, drinking water in the region became contaminated with high levels of arsenic. Arsenic is semi-metallic element found in rock, soil, water and air. It is also released into the environment through industrial activities, and can be found in products like paints, dyes and fertilizers. High exposure has been linked to several cancers, including tumors of the bladder, liver and lungs. In Antofagasta, a combination of factors led to a huge increase in drinking-water arsenic by the late-1950s: naturally high arsenic levels in the environment, heavy mining and a move to make two rivers the area's main drinking-water sources."
Peter Popham
(The Independent, London, January 22, 2012)
"Dr Alfredo Mazza…became known across Italy and beyond seven years ago when…he came up with the term 'Triangle of Death' to describe the zone bounded at its eastern extreme by his home town and to the west by Marigliano and Acerra, 8km and 17km away respectively. His research revealed that in this area the incidence of some types of cancer is massively higher than elsewhere in Italy…And though he could not prove it, he believed there was an explanation…Pollution from cars and lorries in Campania probably rivals anything to be found in the industrial heartland in the north of the country. But for Dr Mazza, the density of the traffic has a different meaning…Nola, Marigliano and Acerra are very easy to reach…this hinterland of Naples, thanks to the motorways, has become the pattumiera, the poisoned dustbin, of the country…through the boom years of the 1980s and 1990s…the industries of Italy…Instead of paying exorbitantly to have their toxic waste disposed of correctly by specialist companies…paid the [Neapolitan] gangs only a fraction of what it would have cost to get the job done safely and legally…They dumped it anywhere and everywhere…Sometimes they simply buried the loaded trailers or containers underground…This went on for years…And then, as years turned into decades, the young people started to fall sick."
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Victoria Colliver
(San Francisco Chronicle, January 25, 2012)
"San Francisco's On Lok Lifeways…which provides coordinated medical and day care services, was developed in the early 1970s and became the model for the Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly, or PACE, a state and federally funded program designed to help frail seniors stay in their homes…State budget woes that threaten seniors and disabled people, in addition to growing interest from state and federal government to provide better and less costly care, have caused policymakers to take a closer look at programs like…On Lok, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year…PACE programs are expensive to start up, highly regulated and have eligibility limitations, the programs' officials say. The state's current budget crisis has contributed to delays in expansion while proposed cuts to health services may increase demand for its services. But government efforts to save money and improve health in light of the federal health care law have drawn recent attention to PACE. Several studies have shown that PACE programs reduce hospitalizations and nursing home use while extending lives. But…additional data are needed to show whether the program -- which is more expensive than traditional Medicare and Medicare managed-care plans -- is less costly than skilled nursing facilities."
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U.S. OKs Increase in Nursing Home Tax to Bring In More Medicaid Money
David Jackson and Gary Marx
(Chicago Tribune, January 24, 2012)
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Caroline E. Mayer
(The Washington Post in collaboration with Kaiser Health News, January 23, 2012)
"LTC [long-term-care insurance]…is intended primarily to cover people who need assistance with so-called activities of daily living…It can be expensive: Premiums range from $1,000 to $5,000 a year, depending on the age, sex and health of the purchaser as well as the extent of the coverage…Even advocates acknowledge that it isn’t for everyone. Jesse Slome, executive director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, an industry group, sums it up well: 'Long-term care is a universal issue facing all Americans who are getting older. But long-term-care insurance is not a universal solution.' So how great is the need for such coverage? It depends on how you look at the data…it is important to understand how the coverage works and what’s available…Most standard health insurance plans do not cover long-term care. Nor does Medicare or insurance policies that supplement Medicare. Medicaid, however, is the largest source of coverage for long-term care…But Medicaid comes with significant limitations…At the end of 2010, about 7 million Americans had LTC insurance, according to LIMRA, an association of life insurance and financial service companies. About 422,000 new policies were written in 2010."
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Joe DeCapua
(Voice of America, January 20, 2012)
"The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is celebrating its 10th Anniversary. The fund says it has saved more than 7 and a half million lives by supporting prevention and treatment programs. However, in November, it announced it had cancelled its next funding round and that no new grants would be approved until 2014. An NGO [non-government organization] is warning of the consequences if donors don’t step forward. The global fund began collecting donations from governments and private foundations in January 2002. Since then, it has approved over $22 billion dollars for hundreds of programs in more than 150 countries. About 50 countries have contributed. The United States has been the biggest donor, providing 33-percent of the funds pledged each year. In 2010, it pledged more than one billion dollars. However, when the fund’s board met in Accra, Ghana, in November, officials decided to cancel the next funding round, round 11. Along with the global economic crisis came a sharp drop in donations. Officials now say most of the more than $8 billion in donations expected to arrive by the end of 2013 will be needed to renew existing grants. That leaves no money for round 11…The International HIV/AIDS Alliance...report examines the potential effects of the funding shortfall in 5 countries."
Related story:
Global Health Fund Receives $750M Cash Injection
(Voice of America, January 26, 2012)
Alan Travis
(The Guardian, London, January 24, 2012)
"The [new guidelines for drug offences from the U.K.’s] sentencing council…spells out…for the first time, that the medical use of cannabis for serious conditions should be recognised by the courts as a mitigating factor when sentencing offenders. The official guidance for the courts, which comes into force next month, also recommends a less draconian approach to the sentencing of 'drug mules'…[acknowledging] that mules are often…coerced or exploited by organised criminals…The first comprehensive guidelines, which reflect the current practice in the courts, recommend no change in sentencing for possession or supplying illegal drugs. A criminal who sells drugs in the street for a profit can expect to be sent to prison, with those dealing heroin or cocaine likely to get at least four and a half years. Those who sell drugs to anyone under 18 are to be treated more severely, and there are to be longer sentences for industrial levels of production…The guidelines retreat from prescribing precise amounts of each drug to gauge how serious an offence is. Instead, quantities of drugs are classified into four broad categories, with sentencing determined by whether the offender played a leading, significant or lesser role."
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Jim Salter
(The Associated Press, January 23, 2012)
"A crude new method of making methamphetamine [meth] poses a risk even to Americans who never get anywhere near the drug: It is filling hospitals with thousands of uninsured burn patients requiring millions of dollars in advanced treatment -- a burden so costly that it's contributing to the closure of some burn units. So-called shake-and-bake meth is produced by combining raw, unstable ingredients in a 2-liter soda bottle. But if the person mixing the noxious brew makes the slightest error, such as removing the cap too soon or accidentally perforating the plastic, the concoction can explode, searing flesh and causing permanent disfigurement, blindness or even death. An Associated Press survey of key hospitals in the nation's most active meth states showed that up to a third of patients in some burn units were hurt while making meth, and most were uninsured. The average treatment costs $6,000 per day. And the average meth patient's hospital stay costs $130,000 -- 60 percent more than other burn patients, according to a study by doctors at a burn center in Kalamazoo, Mich. The influx of patients is overwhelming hospitals and becoming a major factor in the closure of some burn wards."
Gosia Wozniacka and Tracie Conea
(The Associated Press, January 21, 2012)
"The Central Valley of California is a hub of the nation's methamphetamine [meth] distribution network, making extremely pure forms of the drug easily available locally. And law enforcement officials say widespread meth abuse is believed to be driving much of the crime in the vast farming region. Chronic use of the harsh chemical compound known as speed or crank can lead to psychosis…The stimulant effect of meth is up to 50 times longer than cocaine, experts say, so users stay awake for days on end, impairing cognitive function and contributing to extreme paranoia…experts say repeated abuse can alter brain chemistry and sometimes cause schizophrenia-like behavior…Most law enforcement agencies don't keep statistics on how many homicides, burglaries and thefts are meth-related, but those responding to the National Drug Intelligence Center's 2011 survey said the drug is the top contributor to violent crimes and thefts. 'It drives more crime than other drugs do. Meth is in its own category, because it's so much more addictive than other drugs,' said Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims."
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(IRIN, United Nations, January 25, 2012)
"A small fridge [refrigerator] in the corner of Juba Teaching Hospital’s laboratory is the only blood bank in South Sudan, the world’s newest nation with some of the worst health statistics in the world. Health workers say a lack of blood is the main cause of mortality at the country’s main but extremely under-resourced hospital…While the rest of the hospital is sometimes left for days without power...capacity to keep more blood is hampered by only having a small fridge in the laboratory -- the only room with a back-up generator…[often] the small amount of blood…cannot be [used] even in emergencies, as it has been donated for specific patients due for surgery…Cultural taboos and a lack of awareness about the risk-free benefits of giving blood also mean that getting relatives to give blood to save a life is often a struggle…Hospital staff say awareness campaigns and better medical education are needed, among the huge challenges facing a nation where only 16 percent are literate and very few have access to health facilities…The government is planning to build a national blood bank here this year…Meanwhile, doctors from the Harvard Initiative…have set up a 'virtual blood bank' to try to beat storage and power problems. The bank is made up of a database of pre-screened volunteer donors who are willing to come in and replace a unit of their blood type."
Judy Siegel-Itzkovich
(The Jerusalem Post, January 25, 2012)
"Aside from Mexico, Israel has the lowest rate of general hospital beds per population in the 28 Western OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] countries, according to a document prepared by the Knesset research and information center for the Labor, Social Affairs and Health Committee…There are only 1.98 hospital beds per 1,000 residents, compared to 8.2 in Japan and 5.7 in Germany, the report states. In Israel…beds are not distributed in an equitable way. In the Tel Aviv and Haifa districts, there are 2.5 beds per 1,000 residents, compared to just 1.5 beds in the northern and southern districts. The total number of beds in the general hospitals is 14,582, and no new public hospitals have been built in decades…internal medicine departments -- which treat the oldest and sickest patients -- are filled to 113 percent capacity. Two-thirds of all ventilated patients in general hospitals are being treated in ordinary wards rather than in intensive care units with special equipment, more nurses and more active supervision…Nearly half of all general hospital beds are in government-owned hospitals; the rest are in health fund hospitals or institutions owned by voluntary organizations."
Related story:
Per-Capita Hospital Beds Drop to Lowest in OECD
Judy Siegel-Itzkovich
(The Jerusalem Post, January 24, 2012)
Tresa Baldas
(Detroit Free Press, January 22, 2012)
"[H]uman trafficking has become the second-biggest and second-fastest-growing criminal industry in the world, behind drug trafficking. In recent years, the number of cases has skyrocketed -- from 300 in 2008 to 2,515 in 2010. And those are only the ones known. Too often, officials say, victims stay silent out of fear. That's why President Barack Obama declared January National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month…According to the U.S. Department of Justice, human trafficking has become the second-fastest-growing criminal industry…with children accounting for roughly half of all victims. Of the 2,515 cases under investigation in the U.S. in 2010, more than 1,000 involved children. The United Nations estimates it's a $32-billion industry, with half of the money coming from industrialized countries…But authorities say many human trafficking victims are afraid to speak out and stay in hiding."
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Opinion
Dr. Jesse M. Pines, director of the Center for Health Care Quality and associate professor of emergency medicine at George Washington University; and
Dr. Zachary F. Meisel, emergency physician and assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
(TIME, January 27, 2012)
"Health care access -- as measured by the ease and timeliness with which people obtain medical services -- is a key indicator of quality of care…having an insurance card or even a doctor doesn’t mean you have good access to health care. The elusive question for many people is how to get better access…The good news is that there are two health-care models that promise better access: concierge medicine and the patient-centered medical home…[but] they’re both expensive. Enhanced access and better coordination of care represent a higher level of service, so they cost more…In either case, if the patient ends up using less health care resources as a result, and is ultimately healthier, there are two winners: the insurer (or taxpayer) who ends up paying less in costs, and the patient who ends up healthier…Perhaps the most important difference, however, is that…medical homes are available for both the rich and the poor -- at least in theory…Ultimately, the key question is whether enhanced access and coordination of care is really worth it…the jury is still out on whether any of these models really make anyone healthier…What is clear, however, is that both models offer a greater focus on prevention and care coordination, which is potentially especially helpful for people with chronic medical problems…for whom close personalized management can reduce hospitalization rates."
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