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Boston health officials investigating severe infections from "medical tourism" - 1 views
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Boston health officials are investigating some reports of severe infections in patients who took a trip to the Dominican Republic for cosmetic surgery.
Mycobacterium abscessus, a bacteria that is not easily battled with antibiotics, and can take months of treatment to vanquish was believed to infect at least two patients in Boston, and another in Worcester.
The patients were part of a group that went to the Dominican Republic during the summer for surgeries and started having health problems, including abscesses and drainage from their surgery sites, earlier this fall, said Dr. Anita Barry, director of the infectious disease bureau at the Boston Public Health Commission.
Other patients in the group who live in Maryland, Connecticut, and New York have also been infected, she said.
Health officials are anxious for the reason that so-called "medical tourism" has become a major industry in many Latin American countries. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approximation that 750,000 people from the United States travel abroad every year seeking low cost medical care.
"We became aware because one of the out-of-state people knew someone in the Worcester area, who was having similar post-op problems," Barry said. "That person knew someone in Boston who was having the same problems, and that person told us about a second Boston case."
The germ can be spread by means of contaminated medical equipment, medical supplies, or poor surgical techniques. Severe pain and swelling are the effects of the infection, and frequently does not show up until some weeks after surgery.
The infection is not contagious to other people, but is serious and needs to be treated, Barry said.
"We're trying to get the word out that if you are going overseas for surgery, you have to find out how many infections this place has had, and also find out how many people have died having medical procedures in this place," Barry said.
The commission suggests that patients thinking about surgery in another country talk with their primary care provider regarding the procedure at least four to six weeks before going trough traveling, and secure copies of all medical records associated to the surgery and medical care provided abroad prior to going back home.
Boston health officials investigating severe infections from "medical tourism" - 1 views
-
Boston health officials are investigating some reports of severe infections in patients who took a trip to the Dominican Republic for cosmetic surgery.
Mycobacterium abscessus, a bacteria that is not easily battled with antibiotics, and can take months of treatment to vanquish was believed to infect at least two patients in Boston, and another in Worcester.
The patients were part of a group that went to the Dominican Republic during the summer for surgeries and started having health problems, including abscesses and drainage from their surgery sites, earlier this fall, said Dr. Anita Barry, director of the infectious disease bureau at the Boston Public Health Commission.
Other patients in the group who live in Maryland, Connecticut, and New York have also been infected, she said.
Health officials are anxious for the reason that so-called "medical tourism" has become a major industry in many Latin American countries. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approximation that 750,000 people from the United States travel abroad every year seeking low cost medical care.
"We became aware because one of the out-of-state people knew someone in the Worcester area, who was having similar post-op problems," Barry said. "That person knew someone in Boston who was having the same problems, and that person told us about a second Boston case."
The germ can be spread by means of contaminated medical equipment, medical supplies, or poor surgical techniques. Severe pain and swelling are the effects of the infection, and frequently does not show up until some weeks after surgery.
The infection is not contagious to other people, but is serious and needs to be treated, Barry said.
"We're trying to get the word out that if you are going overseas for surgery, you have to find out how many infections this place has had, and also find out how many people have died having medical procedures in this place," Barry said.
The commission suggests that patients thinking about surgery in another country talk with their primary care provider regarding the procedure at least four to six weeks before going trough traveling, and secure copies of all medical records associated to the surgery and medical care provided abroad prior to going back home.
Exercise 'can be as good as pills' - 1 views
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A study has found that exercise can be as good a medicine as pills for people with conditions such as heart disease.
British Medical Journal or BMJ's work looked at hundreds of trials linking almost 340,000 patients to assess the merits of exercise and drugs in avoiding death. Physical activity challenged some heart drugs and proved that it is better than stroke medicine. According to the researchers, the findings suggest exercise should be added to prescriptions.
Experts emphasized that patients should not ditch their drugs for exercise - but, they should use both in tandem. Lesser and lesser adults at present get enough exercise. No more than a third of people in England do the suggested at least 2.5 hours or more of moderate-intensity activity, like cycling or fast walking, every week.
In contrary, while that is happening, prescription drug rates continue to rise. In 2010, there were averages of 17.7 prescriptions for every person in England while 11.2 in 2000.
For the study, scientists based at the London School of Economics, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute at Harvard Medical School and Stanford University School of Medicine trawled medical literature to find any research that compared exercise with pills as a therapy. They recognized 305 trials to incorporate in their analysis. Such trials looked at managing conditions like existing heart disease, stroke rehabilitation, heart failure and pre-diabetes. They found exercise and drugs were comparable in terms of death rates when they studied the data as a total.
Although there were two exceptions, drugs called diuretics were the clear winner for heart failure patients, while exercise was best for stroke patients in terms of life expectancy. Amy Thompson, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said that although an active lifestyle brings many health benefits, there is not enough evidence to draw any firm conclusions about the merit of exercise above and beyond drugs.
"Medicines are an extremely important part of the treatment of many heart conditions and people on prescribed drugs should keep taking their vital meds. If you have a heart condition or have been told you're at high risk of heart disease, talk to your doctor about the role that exercise can play in your treatment."
Dr Peter Coleman of the Stroke Association said exercise alongside drugs had a vital role that merited more research. "We would like to see more research into the long-term benefits of exercise for stroke patients. "By taking important steps, such as regular exercise, eating a balanced diet and stopping smoking, people can significantly reduce their risk of stroke." "Moderate physical activity, for example, can reduce the risk of stroke by up to 27%.
$63 Million Medicare Fraud Sentenced to Former Office Manager for Health Care Solutions... - 1 views
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To serve 68 months in prison for her role in a fraud scheme that resulted in more than $63 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare and Florida Medicaid, A former office manager at the defunct health care provider Health Care Solutions Network Inc. (HCSN) was sentenced today in Miami.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department's Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Steinbach of the FBI's Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Christopher B. Dennis of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Office of Investigations, Miami office, made the announcement.
Forty five year old Lisset Palmero of Miami was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga in the Southern District of Florida. Palmero was also added prison term of three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $17.4 million.
Palmero was employed as a receptionist and office manager at HCSN of a mental health facility that purported to provide Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) services during the course of the conspiracy. A PHP is a form of intensive treatment for severe mental illness.
HCSN of Florida (HCSN-FL) operated community mental health centers at two locations. According to court documents, Palmero was aware that HCSN-FL paid illegal kickbacks to owners and operators of Miami-Dade County Assisted Living Facilities (ALF) in exchange for patient referral information to be used to submit false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid. Palmero also knew that many of the ALF referral patients were ineligible for PHP services because they suffered from mental retardation, dementia, or Alzheimer's disease.
Court documents expose that Palmero was aware that HCSN-FL personnel were fabricating patient medical records. Many of these medical records were formed weeks or months after the patients were admitted to HCSN-FL for purported PHP treatment. Palmero was also aware that medical records were fabricated for "ghost patients" who were never admitted to the HCSN-FL PHP. During her employment at HCSN-FL, Palmero actively concealed the production of medical records by preparing, and causing others to prepare, documentation that was later used to support false and fraudulent billing to government-sponsored health care benefit programs, counting the Medicare and Florida Medicaid.
According to court documents, from 2004 through 2011, HCSN billed Medicare and the Florida Medicaid program approximately $63 million for purported HCSN-FL mental health services.
The FBI and HHS-OIG and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under supervision of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida are investigating this case. Trial Attorney Allan J. Medina and former Special Trial Attorney William J. Parente prosecuted the case.
The Medicare Fraud Strike Force is now working in nine cities in the country, have charged more than 1,500 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $5 billion since its inception in March 2007. And also, HHS's Centers for Medicare & Medic aid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
Women Smokers is More Risk from Colon Cancer - 1 views
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http://springhillmedgroup.com/2013/05/women-smokers-is-more-risk-from-colon-cancer/
It is now well-established that cancer is well-linked to smoking. And now according to researchers, cigarettes increase the odds for developing colon cancer, especially for women.
According to the new study, published April 30 in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, women who've ever smoked have an almost 20 percent increased risk for colon cancer, compared with women who never smoked.
"Women who smoke even 10 or fewer cigarettes a day increase their risks for colon cancer," said lead researcher Dr. Inger Gram, a professor in the department of community medicine at the University of Tromso in Norway.
"Because colon cancer is such a common disease, even these moderate smoking accounts for many new cases," she said. "A lot of colon cancer can be prevented if people don't smoke -- especially women."
More than 600,000 men and women ages 19 to 67 are involved in the study whereas they were surveyed by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Participants answered questions concerning their smoking habits, physical activity and other lifestyle factors.
Over 14 years of follow-up nearly 4,000 people developed colon cancer, and the odds were greatest for smokers, women in particular according to Gram's team. The risk for colon cancer increased 19 percent among women who smoked and 8 percent for men who smoked, they added.
The researchers said, the more years a woman smoked, the earlier she started smoking, and the more packs of cigarettes smoked a year, the greater her risk of developing colon cancer. Women who smoked for 40 years or more increased their risk for colon cancer almost 50 percent, they added.
Gram noted, their risk was especially high for developing proximal, or right-sided, colon cancer, with a type of tumor specifically related to smoking.
Gram said she was surprised the link between smoking and colon cancer was so much greater for women, and said the reasons aren't clear.
Although this study shows an association between smoking and colon cancer, it does not establish a cause-and-effect relationship. However, the link between smoking and colon cancer is more than a coincidence, Gram pointed out.
"Colon cancer is a smoking-related cancer," she said. "That has recently been established by the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization." Based on a review of prior research, the WHO says long-term smoking appears to double the risk of colon cancer. It also increases risk for bladder and pancreatic cancer, according to the agency.
One expert, Dr. Stephanie Bernik, chief of surgical oncology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, doesn't believe the heightened risk for colon cancer among women is solely related to smoking. Alcohol use, diet and lack of exercise may also play a role, Bernik said.
"Usually, smoking goes along with other bad health habits," Bernik said. "However, this adds to the growing data that cigarette smoking contributes to the increased risk of colon cancer."
Another expert offered some advice. "If you smoke, you should quit," said Dan Jacobsen, from the Center for Tobacco Control at North Shore-LIJ Health System in Great Neck, N.Y. "There are a lot of good methods, programs and resources out there if you want to try to quit smoking," he added.
"Smoking is just toxic to our bodies," said Jacobsen. "It's the number one preventable cause of death and disease."
Boston Bombing Aftermath - 0 views
Live music may boost health in premature babies - 0 views
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"A new study has claimed that listening to live music may boost the health of premature babies who are being treated in the neonatal intensive care unit."
According to the research, when the premature babies in intensive care listened to live music, they showed measurable improvements in heart rate, sucking behavior, sleep patterns and calorie intake. Adding up, MyHealthNewsDaily reported, music helped parents and babies bond, and relieved the stress of parents. The US study at 11 hospitals was composed of 272 premature infants in neonatal intensive care units, or NICUs. The infants had health issues from breathing problems, bacterial bloodstream infections or down to were small for their age. The researchers examined at preemies` reactions to three types of music therapy. One is an instrument involved a Remo ocean disc that produces a soothing "whoosh" sound. Another one is an intervention involved a gato box, which is a drumlike wooden box that is played softly with the fingers.
"According to the researchers, the ocean disc imitates the sound of the in utero environment and in effect it could have a soothing, sleep-enhancing consequence, whereas the gato box would sound akin to a mother`s heartbeat."
While in the third intervention, parents sang a lullaby to their baby, what researchers call a "song of kin", that had a cultural, childhood or religious meaning. But they sang the default tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" if the parents didn`t have a song of kin.For 10 minutes three times a week for two weeks each baby was exposed to each intervention. Results demonstrated that each music intervention had special various health benefits. In some case, preemies whose parents sang to them had the furthermost boost in activity or alertness.
The whooshing sound of the Remo ocean disc was connected with the utmost development in sleep patterns, and the sounds produced by the gato box amplified babies` sucking behavior, that consequently helped with swallowing and breathing. Comparing both babies who listened to song of kin and "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", babies who heard a song of kin consumed more calories than babies who listened to "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." Conversely, babies who heard "Twinkle, Twinkle" had to some extent higher levels of oxygen in their blood. Parents who sang to their babies reported feeling much less stress.
"The findings mean musical therapies could be tailored to the specific needs of a preemie," said study researcher Joanne Loewy, director of the Louis Armstrong Center for Music & Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. "Live sounds are the key. When a music therapist teaches parents to entrain with the baby`s vital signs, it can have a therapeutic effect," Loewy said. The sounds researchers utilized during the study varied from 55 to 65 decibels, alike to the volume of a moderate rainfall or a conversation.
http://springhillmedgroup.com/2013/04/live-music-may-boost-health-in-premature-babies/
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President Obama's new immigration actions are an important first step toward providing security for hardworking parents and their children. We commend the President on his decision, which will allow nearly five million people nationwide to no longer live in fear. And just this week, a California leader, State Senator Ricardo Lara, reintroduced a Health for All bill (SB 4) that would allow those who remain uninsured in California, even after the President's Executive Action, to obtain health coverage. With federal and state policies working together, we are closer than we have ever been to making sure that all Californians can receive health coverage.
While Obama's Executive Action won't make people newly eligible for Obamacare, we do expect an increase in health coverage for children who are eligible for Medicaid but not enrolled. Parents who were once afraid to approach the government for fear of identifying themselves for possible deportation are more likely to enroll their citizen children now that they are granted a legal status.
Over time, this may be especially true in California, the state with the largest number of undocumented immigrants. One in six children in California has an undocumented parent and as many as 80 percent of those children are estimated to be citizens-yet they likely do not have health coverage. Studies have found that children of undocumented immigrants are twice as likely to lack health insurance as children born to citizens.
The President's action will provide needed relief from these issues, but a significant percentage of those living in California will still not have access to health insurance. Senator Lara's new bill will close that gap, and reflects the fact that across the state, more than ever, Californians are in favor of expanding health care access to undocumented immigrants. By more than two-to-one, voters say helping undocumented immigrants with health care is the "right thing to do." And there is no disputing that undocumented Californians are a vital part of the state's population and economy; the estimated annual tax contribution of undocumented immigrants in California was $2.2 billion in 2010. These are parents and children who attend school and work, study in the library, play in public parks, and contribute to our community. But, unlike their neighbors, they lack access to health coverage.
The fact of the matter is there are children and youth in California that lack health insurance due to immigration status and, thus, are denied preventive and other necessary health care. Indeed, 74 percent of immigrant youth report they rely on public safety-net programs, such as emergency Medi-Cal, public hospitals, and community or county health clinics. This leads to costly consequences as California spends an estimated $1.3 billion each year providing health care services to the state's uninsured. Children with health coverage, on the other hand, get regular care that can help avoid costly and often unnecessary hospitalizations. A study of local Children's Health Initiatives programs estimated that 6,324 childhood hospitalizations were prevented over a five-year period, resulting in approximately $6.7 million in savings to the health care system. All the more reason that Senator Lara's legislation should be a top priority for the California legislature in 2015.
California has benefited tremendously from the hard work of immigrants. And it is continuing to lead the rest of the nation in improving access to health care and coverage in all communities, including families who are undocumented. With public opinion greatly in favor and policy lined up, let's finish the job and bring health coverage to all Californians.