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Unexpected Bacterial Diversity Found On Human Skin
The health of our skin - one of the body"s first lines of defense against illness and injury - depends upon the delicate balance between our own cells and the millions of bacteria and other one-celled microbes that live on its surface. To better understand this balance, National Institutes of Health researchers have set out to explore the skin"s microbiome, which is all of the DNA, or genomes, of all of the microbes that inhabit human skin. Their initial analysis, published in the journal Science, reveals that our skin is home to a much wider array of bacteria than previously thought.

High Cancer Levels In Wildlife Should Concern Humans, Says WCS
While cancer touches the lives of many humans, it is also a major threat to wild animal populations as well, according to a recent study by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
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A Selection Of Recent Studies And Surveys
UCLA Health Policy Research Brief: Health Coverage in the Safety Net: How California"s Coverage Initiative Is Providing A Medical Home to Low-Income Uninsured Adults in Ten Counties, Interim Findings -- As medical homes continue to gain attention for being used as "a potential remedy to access system-wide problems of high health care costs and limited access," a team of UCLA researchers "present interim findings on the efforts of ten California counties to explore the medical home model as part of the state"s Health Care Coverage Initiative (HCCI), a three-year program to expand health care coverage for eligible low-income, uninsured individuals not otherwise covered by Medi-Cal" in a policy brief. "Among the innovations described are efforts to create electronic health and medical records, modify e-referrals to two-way communication between primary care physicians and other providers and standardize chronic disease registries" (6/09).
Public Health

With Health Reform Uncertain, Maryland Hospitals Consolidate

"Facing difficult economic times and the uncertainties of national health care reform, some Maryland hospitals are choosing to be swallowed up by larger medical systems, with an unusual string of mergers over the past 16 months and more likely on the way," The Baltimore Sun reports. The consolidations could offer benefits to all those involved. Small hospitals gain "the hope of safe harbor from whatever financial storms are on the horizon, hospital chains "get footholds in new areas, where they can build market share and increase the number of patients they serve," and patients may "gain access to large networks of top-notch doctors, even if the patients live many miles from a major medical institution." The Sun notes that "In Maryland, where nearly all hospitals are not-for-profit, mergers require no money to change hands. The parent company simply takes over the debts - and assets - of its new affiliate." Smaller hospitals often benefit from extra money for "building and expansion projects" and the "cost savings that come when doing business as a bigger organization." But "not everyone is convinced that mergers are good news for patients." The concern is that the mergers, for example, could "upend" patients" "relationships with their longtime physicians, particularly if the new owner eliminates services at their local hospital." In addition, "local jobs can be lost when redundant services are eliminated in order to save money after institutions merge." A 2007 survey by the American Hospital Association found that "56 percent of the nearly 5,000 hospitals in the United States were part of systems, large or small" (Desmon, 5/31). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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