Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles

A Selection Of Thursday's Editorials And Opinions
The GOP Can Stop ObamaCare Wall Street Journal

Antiabortion-Rights Groups To Reintroduce Colorado Personhood Initiative
Colorado Right to Life and Personhood USA are proposing a 2010 state ballot initiative with a different version of 2008"s defeated "personhood" amendment to the state constitution, the Colorado Springs Gazette reports. The groups intend to submit their proposal to the Colorado Legislative Council this week. In the November 2008 election, 73% of state voters opposed the previous version, known as Amendment 48, which was sponsored by Colorado for Equal Rights.The new version includes modified language that its supporters say will clarify its intent. Rather than defining a person as "any human being from the moment of fertilization," the new version would establish personhood as "every human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being." The initiative"s sponsors also said that they will be better funded and articulate a clearer message than in 2008, when a college student launched the campaign.According to the Gazette, abortion-rights supporters "weren"t overly concerned" about the new initiative. Jacy Montoya, head of the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights, said that the 2008 vote demonstrated that Colorado residents are "uncomfortable with the government and strangers making personal decision for families." Lynn Paltrow, executive director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women, said that the new attempt "gives us another opportunity to explain how personhood amendments threaten all pregnant women, including those going to term" (Barna,Colorado Springs Gazette, 6/29).
News of the day
Waits To See Specialists In Boston Increased To Average Of 50 Days, Study Finds
The average time patients in Boston wait for an appointment to see a specialist has increased over the last five years to an average of 50 days and can be up to one year, despite the fact that the city has an "abundance" of specialists, according to a recent study, the Boston Globe reports. For the study, Merritt, Hawkins & Associates, a Texas-based consulting and physician recruiting firm, surveyed 1,162 physician offices in 15 metropolitan areas to try to re-create the situation of a new patient seeking a nonurgent appointment in five specialty areas -- cardiology, dermatology, family medicine, obstetrics-gynecology and orthopedic surgery. The average wait time in Boston is more than three weeks longer than any other city included in the study. The study determined that while Boston patients had the longest wait times for appointments to see dermatologists, ob-gyns and family practitioners, Dallas had the longest wait times to see orthopedic surgeons, followed by Boston. Miami, Minneapolis and San Diego all had longer wait times to see cardiologists than Boston.According to the study, while Boston patients have long faced delays, the problem may have been exacerbated by an increase in patients seeking care following the implementation of the 2006 Massachusetts health insurance law. While the study did not pinpoint a cause for longer wait times in Boston, the study"s authors wrote that the city"s experience "may signal what could happen nationally in the event that access to health care is expanded through health care reform."Brian Rossman, research director for Health Care for All, said the reason for long wait times also is because many specialists in Boston work for academic medical centers and do not see patients full time (Kowalczyk, Boston Globe, 5/15).
Medical Devices

Diabetes UK Reaches Twitter Milestone

Diabetes UK has just reached the 1,000 follower mark on Twitter, the social networking and micro-blogging site that allows its users to send and receive each other"s updates, or "tweets". The charity, present on Twitter since October 2008, is finding that the service is proving to be an invaluable way of communicating directly with people with diabetes and of raising the awareness of the condition and its complications. A mix of news and informal tweets Initially, the charity used Twitter as a method of sharing Diabetes UK news releases, but recently took a more hands-on approach and in addition to regular news updates, now posts more informal tweets on a daily basis. Visit the Twitter website to follow Diabetes UK. Screenshot of Diabetes UK"s page on Twitter Varied topics The topics discussed can vary - from posting links to interesting diabetes or health articles, to alerting people about upcoming events and activities. Listening and answering questions An equally important aspect of Twitter is the opportunity for Diabetes UK to listen to what people with the condition and their families are saying about their diabetes and the issues they face. People can also post questions on Twitter which the charity will then answer. Our followers Diabetes UK"s followers range from supporters in the UK, to other charities who are keen to share information and help promote common objectives, or simply people who have an interest in its work. Followers come from all over the world and are of a variety of ages, allowing for a real mix of opinions and perspectives to be voiced. "We are delighted that our presence on Twitter has proved so successful," explained Amanda Neylon, Diabetes UK"s Digital Media Manager. "It is an increasingly popular communication tool and allows us to reach and help new people and our existing supporters. Especially now that people get their information from such diverse s. "Used alongside our presence on other online communities such as Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Youtube, Flickr and Second Life, we are able to get our awareness, campaigning and health messages across to a wider audience - both to people in the UK as well as internationally." Building on this success, Diabetes UK has also recently launched a Twitter page for our young blogger with Type 1 diabetes, currently travelling the world - http://twitter.com/DiabetesUK. More about Twitter Twitter was developed in 2006 and now has millions of users worldwide. In the UK it has also become popular with celebrities such as Stephen Fry, Jonathan Ross, and Diabetes UK supporters Philip Schofield and Rosemary Conley, who all use Twitter to communicate with their fans. Diabetes UK


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009