Epidemiologist John P.A. loannidis dedicates his time, energy, intelligence, and money to change the world of medical research.  He says the contradictory reports floating around about drugs, medical devices, treatments, etc are mostly inaccurate and cost a lot of money to conduct.  What’s worse is that most of the time authors of studies are paid by the manufacturers with a salary, royalties, or other compensation.  Loannidis is in the midst of training a new generation of researchers to remedy the fatally flawed research and the code of conduct of those involved.  Check out the article below for more information: http://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/magazine/article/?article_id=53345

Federal authorities arrested 107 doctors, nurses, and other licensed health care professionals yesterday in the largest Medicare Fraud Strike Force takedown in history for their involvement in Medicare fraud schemes. The charges involve false billings for medical services and false claims through other health care centers which total approximately $452 million. The Medicare Fraud Strike Force began their investigation in seven U.S. cities, and are continuing to follow leads throughout the U.S.. Check out the article below for more information:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-02/u-s-charges-seven-in-226-million-medicare-fraud.html

After facing criminal fines for illegally marketing Vioxx, a painkiller that doubles patients’ chances of suffering from a heart attack or stroke, Merck & Co. will finally pay out, or pay off, the charges.  The nearly one billion dollars the company must pay is hardly anything compared to the 12 billion dollars that the product generated.  Merck is also not being held responsible for any of the harm done to those who took Vioxx nor are they being held criminally liable for illegally marketing the product.   This highlights just another way pharmaceutical companies spend their money…check out the article below for more information: http://www.naturalnews.com/035690_Merck_Vioxx_marketing.html

Researchers in the U.K and Canada discovered that breast cancer stems from 10 genetic subtypes, not four. These findings, which specify the make-up of the tumor, will eventually help doctors treat each patient and her or his disease more appropriately. It will be five years or so before the tests to diagnose these subtypes are routinely used. Check out the article below for more information:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-18/doctors-redefine-breast-cancer-into-10-subtypes-in-study.html

The trend of expanding hospitals in to affluent, rural areas has another component; emergency rooms built only for older patients. Features include private rooms, natural lighting, more volunteers, soothing music and Tempur-pedic mattresses, to name a few.  While they seem very accommodating, especially for the aging baby boomer population, these facilities have not seen any more benefits in quality of care.  With health care costs already at the forefront of American’s minds, we might think twice about investing in one area at the expense of other aspects of emergency care.  Check out the article below for more information: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/kind-emergency-room-elderly/story?id=16132826

Hospitals throughout the country are buying or building new facilities and expanding their presence into suburban areas. These new and more affluent geographic markets could put independent primary care practices out of business. The new, fancier facilities may even raise healthcare costs and reduce access and quality of care in poorer neighborhoods. Check out the article below for more information: www.medscape.com/viewarticle/761790

Doctors and experts who helped publish the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, better known as the bible of mental-health, might have other interests in mind.  70% of the committee has financial interests in pharmaceutical companies, which coincides with the rising percentage of disorders with recommended prescription drug treatment.  They even say grief after the loss of a loved one and temper tantrums in kids would constitute psychiatric disorders which call for medication. Check out the article for more information: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/dsm-fire-financial-conflicts/story?id=15909673

For years, articles have been published stating that the death rate in hospitals due to preventable medical mistakes is painstakingly high.  As many as 100,000 Americans die each year from such errors, and surgeons operate on the wrong person or body part as many as 40 times per week.  These numbers are startling and unfortunately true.  Please read the article below for more information and tips on how to keep yourself and your loved ones safe in the hospital: double check, double check, double check: http://www.aarp.org/health/doctors-hospitals/info-03-2012/protect-yourself-from-hospital-errors.html

Four years ago the Natural Resources Defense Council requested that the FDA ban the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in products manufactured in the U.S.. Finally, after 41 months of silence, the FDA responded to a lawsuit filed last December; an effort by the NRDC to get some form of action. With all of the research and evidence that BPA can cause birth defects, harm to the central nervous system, cancer, and metabolic changes which can lead to diabetes, the FDA rejected the petition. Regardless, a lot of companies have taken and are taking steps to remove the toxic chemical from their products. Check out the article below for more information: http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/30/health/bpa-ban-denial/index.html?hpt=he_c2

Patients with new health insurance plans and policies beginning on or after September 23, 2010 will benefit from improved access to affordable healthcare, improved quality of care provided, lowered costs of care, and new protections for consumers.  The Act’s focus on preventative medicine with the elimination of copays, deductibles, and other cost sharing includes the following features:

o   New prescription drug benefits – 50% discount on brand name drugs and 7% discount on generic drugs – this provisions has already saved Medicare seniors nearly $1 billion

o   Free annual wellness visits to set up a personalized prevention plan

o   Includes preventative tests for certain cancer screenings, diabetes, HIV, cholesterol, and some vaccinations.

o   Possible soon-to-be-included preventative services include alcohol misuse screening, depression screening, cardiovascular disease and obesity screenings

o   Young adults can stay on their parents’ healthcare plan until the age of 26 – this provision does not increase health insurance premiums because this age group is inexpensive to insure

o   A new program that protects adults who retire before they become eligible for Medicare; called the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program

o   The new Patient’s Bill of Rights details a set of protections that apply to health coverage, including prohibiting insurers from rescinding coverage for individuals or groups of people and includes the Preexisting Condition Insurance Plan; the PCIP Will help those who have been uninsured for at least six months due to a preexisting condition.  Starting in 2014 it will be unlawful for insurance companies to discriminate against persons with preexisting conditions

o   The Appeals Provision which applies to all healthcare plans in effect on or after March 23, 2010 – and allows patients to appeal denied claims and other policy implications

o   Annual and lifetime limits are banned from insurance policies beginning in 2014

o   New rules assure that increases in rates will be thoroughly analyzed before permitted and companies will be required to spend 80%-85% of premium dollars on direct medical costs and healthcare quality improvement, rather than on executive salaries, overhead, and marketing

Check out for more information about your options for health insurance.