December 20, 2011
The demographics of late-term abortion
Only about 10 percent of pregnancy terminations happen after 13 weeks, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Those procedures, however, are by far the most controversial. (Washington Post)
Monthly Archives: December 2011
December 20, 2011
Selective abortion of girls increases in Armenia: UN
The percentage of male children born in Armenia has risen significantly due to an increase in female foeticide, the United Nations Population Fund said on Monday. (AFP)
December 20, 2011
Many surgeons don’t discuss end-of-life care: study
Many U.S. surgeons fail to discuss their patients’ wishes in case a risky operation goes awry, and even more would not operate if patients limited what could be done to keep them alive, a survey found. (Reuters)
December 19, 2011
High Court to Hear Health-Care Case in March
Supreme Court arguments over President Barack Obama’s health-care overhaul will stretch over three days, beginning March 26, the court said Monday. (Wall Street Journal)
December 19, 2011
Health Care Law Will Let States Tailor Benefits
In a major surprise on the politically charged new health care law, the Obama administration said Friday that it would not define a single uniform set of “essential health benefits†that must be provided by insurers for tens of millions … Read More
December 19, 2011
Digital Data on Patients Raises Risk of Breaches
One afternoon last spring, Micky Tripathi received a panicked call from an employee. Someone had broken into his car and stolen his briefcase and company laptop along with it. (NY Times)
December 19, 2011
FDA issues warning to sperm donor who meets mothers on Internet, gives sperm away for free
A man from the San Francisco Bay area has fathered 14 children in the last five years through free sperm donations to women he meets through his website — and is now in trouble with the federal government. (Washington Post)
December 19, 2011
Hockey Hits Can Lead to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury
Hits and checks have long been accepted as inherent to the game of hockey, but a decision by the NHL’s biggest star to sit out of the game indefinitely represents only the latest professional athlete to suffer lasting injuries to … Read More
December 16, 2011
DNA death predictors: What do they really tell you?
MY PATERNAL grandfather lived until he was 89; his brother outdid him by a decade. My grandmothers made it to 85 and 93. My parents are both alive and kicking at 73 and 82. The only people to die young … Read More
December 16, 2011
Hospitals Cut Doses Amid Drug Shortage
Hospitals are grappling with a shortage of nutrition drugs and disinfectant products that has led doctors to cut doses and ration supplies, prompting patients at a handful of facilities to get sick. (Wall Street Journal)
December 16, 2011
US to adopt strict new limits on chimp research
Days in the laboratory are numbered for chimpanzees, humans’ closest relative. (AP)
December 16, 2011
US bioethics panel urges stronger protections for human subjects
A panel advising US President Barack Obama on bioethical matters says that although human subjects in US government-funded research are generally protected by existing rules and regulations, their safety and well-being could be enhanced with stronger measures, including increased public … Read More
December 16, 2011
A medical miracle poses ethical dilemma
Only 24 weeks into her pregnancy, Haydee Ibarra’s doctors told her that her baby wasn’t getting the blood and oxygen she needed to survive. (LA Times)
December 15, 2011
The Ethics of Altering Memory Get a Bit Ahead of the Science, but Just a Bit
Lawyers and philosophers have already begun debating the ethical implications of an incipient future in which a memory is simply overwritten as if it were a digital file destined for the trash icon on your desktop. (Scientific American)
December 15, 2011
Medicare may penalize hospitals that readmit too many patients
It’s a return trip nobody wants to take: You are discharged from the hospital, only to find yourself readmitted a few days later. (Washington Post)
December 15, 2011
Disability-Benefits System Faces Review
The Social Security Administration has commissioned an independent review of the federal disability system amid concerns it awards benefits to those who don’t deserve them and denies benefits to those who do. (Wall Street Journal)
December 15, 2011
Bill Would Require More Monitoring of Implants
Amid growing problems with artificial hips and other medical implants, bipartisan legislation was introduced in the Senate on Wednesday that would force manufacturers to track the performance of such products after they were approved for sale. (NY Times)
December 15, 2011
As Doctors Use More Devices, Potential for Distraction Grows
Hospitals and doctors’ offices, hoping to curb medical error, have invested heavily to put computers, smartphones and other devices into the hands of medical staff for instant access to patient data, drug information and case studies. (NY Times)
December 15, 2011
CDC: Health reform extends coverage to young Americans
About 2.5 million young people have received health insurance coverage as a result of health care reform measures that President Barack Obama signed into law last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday. (CNN)
December 14, 2011
Ibuprofen at 50: The love affair with painkillers
It is 50 years since ibuprofen was discovered. It has joined aspirin and paracetamol in the special trinity of medicines that people keep close at hand, even when they’re well. But have we come to rely on it too much? … Read More
December 14, 2011
New Transplant Technique Breathes Life Into Lungs
Nancy Bloch, 60, of Westchester, N.Y., was physically fit and had no history of medical problems, but a routine checkup that involved a quick listen to her chest detected something she recalled her physician’s assistant saying, “didn’t sound right.” (ABC … Read More
December 14, 2011
At-home Robots Monitor Kids After Surgery
It sounds like a plot straight out of the futuristic sitcom “The Jetsons†- robots that tend  to and monitor patients recovering from surgery. But such a scenario is no longer science fiction. (ABC News)
December 14, 2011
U.S. Stillbirths Still Prevalent, Often Unexplained
Infant mortality has continued to drop in the U.S. during the past several decades. But stillbirths—when a fetus dies after 20 or more weeks of gestation—have remained relatively steady—and account for almost as many deaths as those of babies who … Read More
December 14, 2011
Customer ratings website for care homes to be created
The public will be able to rate care homes for elderly people on a new website under plans to be set out in a white paper on social care, due to be published in the spring. (Guardian)
December 14, 2011
Medical Disinformation On The Internet
Spam advertising of pharmaceutical products is leading patients to seek out information about prescription drugs online, according to a report to be published in the International Journal Business and Systems Research (Medical News Today)
