MEwens
A new federal proposal to give all patients in the U.S. direct electronic access to their lab results could make it easier to track important health markers like cholesterol levels and the bodys response to blood thinners – with an iPhone.
The rules proposed by the Dept. of Health and Human Services are […]
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MEwens
The number of adult Americans who smoke is on the decline again after several years of little change, and those who smoke are puffing fewer cigarettes a day, new government stats show.
But smoking rates are still far higher than federal goals, U.S. health officials said.
An estimated 19.3% of U.S. adults (or 45.3 million […]
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MEwens
Cancer Among 9/11 Responders: Research published in the Lancet finds that firefighters who worked at Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks were 19% more likely to later develop cancer than firefighters who didnât work at the site, the WSJ reports. Still, experts and study authors said the study isnât definitive and that it […]
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MEwens
A few weeks back, the Institute of Medicine recommended that contraception and seven other women’s preventive health services be covered by insurers with no out-of-pocket costs.
Today the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services signed off on those recommendations, saying the requirements would apply to new plans starting starting on or after Aug. […]
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MEwens
It’s Merck’s Turn: Merck reported a second-quarter profit increase in line with analysts’ expectations, affirmed its revenue guidance for the full year and said it would cut as many as 13,000 additional jobs by the end of 2015, Dow Jones Newswires reports. Profit rose to $2.02 billion, or 65 cents a share, up […]
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MEwens
A smoking habit is so hard to break that it doesn’t seem possible that a series of simple encouraging text messages could help in any significant way.
But a study of wannabe quitters published by the Lancet suggests that those messages act like a little electronic Jiminy Cricket, doubling the quit rate compared to […]
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MEwens
The Supreme Court decided today that it’s unconstitutional for the state of California to bar minors from buying violent video games (here’s the WSJ story). The 2005 law, which never took effect, violates children and adolescents’ right to freedom of expression, the court ruled by a 7-2 margin.
But do video games actually provoke […]
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MEwens
Last fall the FDA proposed a host of new cigarette labels; today the agency announced its final selections, as the Wall Street Journal reports.
While some of the nine new labels — including the one to the right — offer graphic depictions of the consequences of smoking, others focus on the impact secondhand smoke […]
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MEwens
Waivers to End: After Sept. 22, employers won’t be able to apply for a waiver of the health-care overhaul law’s $750,000 minimum annual-benefit payout requirement, the WSJ reports. Health-benefit providers can be exempted from the requirement if it would mean a significant premium boost or benefits reduction; those receiving waivers so far have […]
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MEwens
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the advocacy arm of the ACS, says it knows the best three-pronged strategy for getting more people to quit smoking: increasing tobacco taxes, passing laws that ban smoking at bars, restaurants and in the workplace and funding state tobacco cessation and prevention programs.
Two new reports from […]
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