Category: Vital Signs Blog

Report Details Sabotage of Birth Control

Men who abuse women physically and emotionally may also sabotage their partners birth control, pressuring them to become pregnant against their will, new reports suggest. Read full report from New York Times.

Monitor alarms can lead to unnecessary deaths

More than 200 Americans died between January 2005 and June 2010 because of problems with monitoring devices. Many times, though, this was not a malfunctioning device, but the result of a hospital staff worn down or distracted by the constant alarms, ignoring or silencing them without providing the proper care, the Boston Globe investigates.

McDonald’s Medicine: Too impatient to wait for care?

Doctor asks, Why did you come to the ERtoday? This question emphasizingtoday is common practice in emergency departments helps us figure out how urgent a patients illness might be. But its a loaded question. Rephrased, it could easily mean, Do youreally believe you are seriously ill, or is it just that you couldnt wait to see a regular doctor? Read the full report from Time.

Budget fun: play a game and understand why Colorado’s billion dollar shortfall will hit health hard

Want a fun diversion? Play the budget game. Zachary Barr of Colorado Public Radio makes it simple to understand why Colorados health programs and higher ed will take big hits as lawmakers slice and dice to balance the budget this year.

Five years in prison for medical marijuana grower

Christopher Bartkowicz, a Highlands Ranch man who ran a medical-marijuana-growing operation from the basement of his home, was sentenced this morning to five years in federal prison. Read the full report in the Denver Post.

“Lie of the year” debate rages on

Just call me liar of the year Reprinted with permission from Kaiser Health News ByMichael F. Cannon, Director of Health Policy Studies at the Cato Institute Tomorrow night, President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address to a chamber that just voted overwhelmingly to repeal his health care law. Before you believe anything I might have to say about that, however, theres something you should know: I am a liar. Just before the holidays, the fact-checking journalists at PolitiFact.com gave their Lie of the Year award to the claim that ObamaCare is a government takeover of health care.Backed…

Medicare official doubts health care law savings

Two of the central promises of President Barack Obamas health care overhaul law are unlikely to be fulfilled, Medicares independent economic expert told Congress on Wednesday.The landmark legislation probably wont hold costs down, and it wont let everybody keep their current health insurance if they like it, Chief Actuary Richard Foster told the House Budget Committee. Read the Associated Press story.

New health exchanges a huge challenge for states

Governors have deep differences over national health-care reform, but when it comes to insurance exchangesa centerpiece of the sprawling new federal law intended to make it easier for individuals and small businesses to shop for comparable coveragenearly every state is moving ahead with implementation. They are working under crushing deadlines, often with staffs thinned by layoffs. Read the report from Stateline.

Record level of stress found in college freshmen

The emotional health of college freshmen who feel buffeted by the recession and stressed by the pressures of high school has declined to the lowest level since an annual survey of incoming students started collecting data 25 years ago. Read the New York Times report.

Breast implants linked to rare lymphoma

Federal health officials announced Wednesday that they were investigating a possible association between saline and silicone gel-filled breast implants and very rare form of cancer known as anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). Read the Washington Post report.