The wheels of justice may turn slowly, but for Anne Mitchell, the Texas nurse who was prosecuted for complaining about the unethical conduct of a doctor, justice is proceeding. The doctor in question, Rolando Arafiles, is about to be formally disciplined. (For background on this story, see Whistle blowing: Nurse Anne Mitchell vs. Dr. Arafiles.)… Read more
Category Archives: Health & Medicine
The Economist reviews Kaiser Permanente health care
The “newspaper” The Economist originates in London, but it has a wide circulation, with almost half of its subscribers in the US. A recent issue contained a lengthy opinion of the health care provider Kaiser Permanente (KP). Europeans tend to regard American health care with distain. French President Nicolas Sarkozy commented, after the passage of… Read more
Novartis gender discrimination verdict: Guilty as charged
The Novartis gender discrimination trial has concluded, and damages have been awarded to the plaintiffs. Novartis must pay $3.4 million in compensatory damages and $250 million in punitive damages. Highlights of the trial’s testimony included the behavior of one manager, Brian Aiello, who asked female sales reps to sit on his lap while he showed… Read more
Links of interest: Sleep
Data Underload #18 – Sleep Schedule (Flowing Data) A picture worth a thousand words. Diagram of the hours of the day showing when we’re asleep and awake throughout the lifespan. Sleeping (or Not) by the Wrong Clock (The New York Times) When your sleep schedule is out of sync with the rest of the world,… Read more
Genetic testing: Walgreens says it will, and then it won’t
On Monday, news broke that Walgreens was about to announce a genetic test kit, available in stores starting on Friday. The kits would allow consumers to test for such things as how you respond to statins or blood-thinners; whether you carry genes for Tay-Sachs disease or cystic fibrosis; whether you have an increased risk for… Read more
Links of interest: Organic food
Organic Foods Slideshow: To Buy or Not to Buy Organic (WebMD) A slide show with advice on when to buy organic and when it’s OK to use conventionally grown fruits and vegetables. Peaches, apples, peppers, strawberries, pears, grapes, broccoli, and more.. Organic: What it means on different products (Los Angeles Times) Is the extra dollar… Read more
The new Chinese middle class and syphilis
In his recent book on the financial crisis, John Lanchester mentions China’s unprecedented economic growth, which has created a “hugely expanding, highly consuming new middle class.” China’s [middle class] went from 174 million to 806 million, arguably the greatest economic achievement anywhere on Earth, ever. Chinese personal income grew by 6.6 percent a year from… Read more
Antibiotic resistance genes in soil microbes
We’ve known for years that antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) are increasingly a problem in hospital settings. As the recently published (and excellent) book Superbug describes, ARB are also increasingly common in the community – in sports teams, prisons, and on pig farms, for example. A recent study finds that antibiotic resistance is on the increase… Read more
Is it OK to eat and drink during labor?
Sometimes childbirth – the hours spent in labor – can last a long time. You can get thirsty. Or hungry. Is it OK to eat and drink during labor? If not, why not? In any childbirth scenario there’s always the possibility that surgery – and general anesthesia — will be necessary. Under anesthesia there’s a… Read more
Are married people happier? Are parents?
These research findings, of course, fly in the face of our cultural dogma that proclaims it impossible for people to achieve an emotionally fulfilling and healthy life unless they become parents. And that’s a problem, because the vast majority of American men and women eventually have children, yet conditions in our society make it nearly impossible for them to reap all the emotional benefits of doing so.
Scientists confront political attacks on climate change
There’s a wonderful letter (PDF) in Science signed by 255 members of the National Academy of Sciences. It’s titled “Climate Change and the Integrity of Science,” and it’s not simply about climate change. It argues that politically motivated attacks on climate change threaten the very integrity of science. As the lead signer points out, since… Read more
Do children really need chocolate baby formula?
Should parents use chocolate milk to bribe toddlers to eat their vegetables? Mead Johnson’s chocolate-flavored “Toddler Formula” has received a decidedly mixed reaction from blogging moms, ranging from outrage to gratitude. Read more
Do houseflies spread antibiotic resistance?
There was a one-day Congressional hearing last week on antibiotic resistance and industrial agriculture. Members of congress were looking for evidence that would link agricultural use of antibiotics to human illness. One Republican specifically asked for research done in the US, implying European studies would not be good enough. Medical experts from the CDC and… Read more
Are you distracting a driver?
Are you ever just a little bit nervous when someone calls you while they’re driving? Maybe you should be. Distracted driving takes two. These public service ads are from Bangalore, India. Without the text (“Don’t talk while he drives”), they simply seem shocking. But they certainly accomplish their intent of getting your attention and making… Read more
Babies are individuals: Don’t fret the milestones
Nice post on Slate about how developmental milestones can be meaningless and create needless worry. A little less than a century ago, Arnold Gesell, a developmental scientist at Yale, proposed that motor skills were related to the maturing of the brain. This led to the pronouncement that all infants would pass through the same steps… Read more
Jack Abramoff and healthcare lobbying
Alex Gibney is probably best known as the director of Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. He also produced the documentary Money-Driven Medicine, based on Maggie Mahar’s book of the same name. Gibney’s latest work is Casino Jack and the United States of Money, a documentary about the lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The video excerpt… Read more
Links of interest: Funerals, cremations, wakes
[A]s a society, Americans are no longer sure what to do with our dead. … Today … our death rituals have become downsized, inwardly directed, static and, as a result, spiritually and culturally impoverished. … At upbeat, open-mike “celebrations of life,” former coaches, neighbors and relatives amuse us with stories and naïvely declare that the dead, who are usually nowhere to be seen and have nowhere to go, will nevertheless live always in our memories. Funerals, which once made confident public pilgrimage through town to the graveyard, now tread lightly across the tiny tableau of our psyches.
The financial crisis: Blame it on the collapse of Communism
Why did the global economy collapse so suddenly, seemingly without warning? Economic experts and political analysts continue to offer explanations, but sometimes an outsider’s viewpoint can be especially illuminating. John Lanchester is a British novelist (The Debt to Pleasure) who stumbled on his insights into the financial collapse while researching a novel. The result is… Read more
Tony Judt and the Move for ALS bike ride
Saul Goldberg, a student of Tony Judt, will be cycling across the country this month to raise money for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and to increase awareness of this devastating disease. Goldberg will travel from Astoria, Oregon to Brighton Beach, New York, leaving on May 25th and arriving on July 25th. Those who would like… Read more
Can one communicate in a world of truthiness?
Anonymous Liberal captures the frustration of the current political scene in a post called “An Army of Trumans.” In this Bubble World, it is an accepted truth that our President is a bumbling ignoramus who can only string together a coherent sentence if he uses a teleprompter (which, apparently, other politicians don’t use). I can… Read more
Pig dignity: Animal welfare in Europe
The European Parliament, the governing body of the EU (European Union), met last week to consider (among many other things) a new animal welfare action plan. Last December animal welfare became a core value for the EU, right up there with opposing discrimination, promoting gender equality, and protecting human health and welfare. The new animal… Read more
Padded bikini bras for seven-year-olds
Source: Fox News A UK clothing chain, popular discount retailer Primark, reacted swiftly to criticism of its padded bikini bras designed for girls as young as seven. The product has been withdrawn, and Primark announced it would donate any profits from the inappropriately sexualizing items to a children’s charity. The bikinis were selling for £4… Read more
Why we passed health care: WellPoint and breast cancer
Source: People’s World Reuters has a terrific investigative piece on WellPoint’s practice of canceling health insurance, a practice known as rescission. When a woman develops breast cancer, WellPoint immediately flags her for investigation to see if there’s some reason her policy can be canceled. Grounds for cancellation can be anything on the original insurance application… Read more
Too much sitting? Try the adjustable-height desk
SOURCE: GeekDesk Sitting at a desk all day is hard on the body, especially the back. What the body needs is variety and the ability to move. One solution is an adjustable-height desk – one that allows you to alternate throughout the day between sitting and standing. Farhad Manjoo describes his experience with one such… Read more
Evidence of successful aging
A personals ad from a recent New York Review of Books:
WOMAN, 79 (LOOKS 78), Upper West Side pseudo-intellectual, Europe 4 years, wants man’s company occasionally for chamber concerts, lectures, meals. Platonic.
I’d love to meet this woman. I imagine her life as a Henry James novel written by Oscar Wilde. Read more
Climate change: A few signs of legislative hope
Source: U.S. News The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, the House bill sponsored by Rep. Henry Waxman, was passed by the House last June. The Senate bill, called The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, sponsored by Sen. John Kerry, has been languishing in the Senate since its introduction last September.… Read more
The health care battle isn't over
Source: About.com Now that health care legislation has passed, special interest groups — insurance and pharmaceutical companies, seniors, businesses, abortion rights opponents – are gearing up to influence the way specific provisions are implemented. Agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services need to draft regulations that govern implementation. This is where lobbyists… Read more
Andrew Sullivan on the Tea Party
Nice summation of what makes sense and what doesn’t about the Tea Party from Andrew Sullivan at The Daily Dish. His conclusion: In my view, this confluence of feelings can work in shifting the public mood, as seems to have happened. When there is no internal pushback against crafted FNC [Fox News] propaganda, and when… Read more
Obesity: Moving beyond willpower vs. the food-industrial complex
Source: The Pilver Marc Ambinder has written a terrific article on obesity for The Atlantic. It’s comprehensive and insightful, both objective and personal. Ambinder himself suffered from obesity until a year ago, when he went from 235 to 150 pounds following bariatric surgery. The operation immediately improved his severe diabetes, and within months it relieved… Read more