Monthly Archive for February 2008
« January 2008 | | March 2008 »
February 28, 2008
Access to Transplantation
Newswise is reporting that two upcoming articles in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology will address how race and insurance status affect access to kidney transplantation and the treatment of kidney disease.
The first study found that minorities and Medicare patients were placed on transplant lists prior to starting dialysis at a lower rate than whites and those privately insured.
The second study reports that black patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) received the same care as white patients with CKD in the Department of Defense (DOD) medical system.
It is interesting to note that since DOD patients have universal access to care this may provide evidence that universal health care could eliminate racial disparities in health care.
You can find the complete story at the Newswise Medical News website and check the March issue of Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology for the complete articles.
Posted by: Staff on February 28, 2008
Category: Health Disparities
February 27, 2008
Health Disparities Not Inevitable
From the Harvard School of Public Health:
...researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) found that, as overall health improved (as measured by a decline in mortality rates), inequities in health both shrank and widened between 1960 and 2002. The study demonstrates that the recent trend of growing U.S. disparities in health status is not inevitable.
The study reports that disparities in premature mortality rates declined from 1960 to 1980 while overall premature mortality rates shrank. This shows that health inequities can decline while overall health improves.
However, gaps in premature mortality rates widened from 1980 to 2002 while overall premature mortality rates continued to decline.
From the discussion section of the article:
What our results newly underscore is that contemporary US inequities are not immutable. Comparing the results for 1966–1980 versus 1981–2002, the trends in the former timeframe give grounds for hope; the latter augur poorly for the Healthy People 2010 objective of eliminating US socioeconomic and racial/ethnic health disparities.
The full study can be found free and online at PLoS Medicine.
Posted by: Staff on February 27, 2008
Category: Health Disparities
February 26, 2008
Market Based Health Care
AlterNet has an interesting article on market based health care.
A 2007 paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research looked at retired California public employees on Medicare, and its findings contradict some of the basic assumptions of the consumerist movement.
The study's authors -- from Harvard, MIT, and the University of Oregon -- found that chronically ill patients who are asked to shoulder more of their health care costs deferred, neglected, or opted-out of doctor's visits and drugs when the price got too high. This short-term cost reduction led to long-term catastrophe, as their hospitalization rates were significantly higher than other patients suffering from chronic diseases. Immediate savings ultimately led to a greater -- and otherwise preventable -- use of more expensive care. Oops.
Posted by: Staff on February 26, 2008
Category: Health Care
February 25, 2008
$9 Million Fine for Cancelled Insurance
From Reuters:
A California arbitrator ordered Health Net Inc to pay $9.4 million in damages and expenses for what he described as "reprehensible" conduct in canceling the policy of a cancer patient after she fell ill, according to documents made public on Friday.
The award to Patsy Bates, 51, included $8 million in punitive damages and raised concerns about the company's practice of retroactively canceling policies of individuals who make large claims and paying bonuses to underwriters for meeting cancellation targets.
Posted by: Staff on February 25, 2008
Category: Healthcare
February 21, 2008
New Initiative to fight Racial Disparities in Healthcare
From The Commonwealth Fund:
The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Minority Health and the National Business Group on Health on Monday announced a two-year, $300,000 initiative that would aim to combat racial and ethnic disparities among minorities receiving employer-sponsored health care.
EXTRA
If you're reading this blog you might be what is considered a 'web worker.' Live Smarter has a list of simple exercises you can do while at your desk.
Posted by: Staff on February 21, 2008
Category: Health Disparities
February 19, 2008
Cleveland.com offers new Health Pages
Cleveland.com is now publishing several new health related pages.
The main site is cleveland.com/medical and is updated several times per day.
Scalpel is a medical gossip blog that posts about the comings and goings at local hosptials.
They even podcast a medical news roundup every two week or so.
Sadly, it seems they've overlooked the Health Disparities Blog in their links section. Hopefully that's just an oversight ;-)
Posted by: Staff on February 19, 2008
Category: Health Care
February 18, 2008
Uninsured more likely to have advanced cancer
From Reuters:
Uninsured Americans and those in a government health program for the poor are far more likely to have advanced diseases when diagnosed with cancer than those with private coverage, researchers said on Sunday.
The complete study can be found in the Lancet.
Posted by: Staff on February 18, 2008
Category: Health Disparities; Uninsured
February 15, 2008
And now for something completely different
Usually here at the Health Disparities Blog we post information about current news and research in the area of health disparities. But from time to time it might be refreshing to look at a few health related news stories that may have gone unnoticed.
The NY Daily News provides this case study in poor customer service:
A Staten Island woman being rushed from her doctor's office to the hospital after a heart attack was hounded for a $5 insurance co-pay while lying on a gurney and breathing through tubes.
Wired.com is reporting that in the near future there will be mommy, daddy and the other one:
British scientists have created an embryo with three parents.
And finally, according to Reuters.com the most important fringe benefit for elderly caregivers in the future might be oil changes.
Household robots may help human carers look after the growing number of elderly Norwegians in years to come, enabling them to live longer and more comfortably in their own homes, a project leader told Reuters on Thursday.
Posted by: Staff on February 15, 2008
Category:
February 13, 2008
Cancer Screening Rates and Low-income and Minority Women
KaiserNetwork.org has an audio interview posted with Patricia Isabel Documét, MD, DrPH.
The discussion is around a new article that looks at low-income and minority women and the screening rates for cervical and breast cancer. The authors focus on African American, Amish, Appalachian and Latina Women.
You can hear the audio interview at the Kaiser Network or read the entire study in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved.
Posted by: Staff on February 13, 2008
Category: Health Disparities; Screening Rates; Socioeconomic Status
Who wants an epidural?
Researchers have noted a disparity in the likelihood of a patient wanting an epidural.
From Reuters:
Of the nearly 1,200 surgery candidates researchers questioned, black patients were about 40 percent less likely than white patients to say they would accept an epidural. Similarly, patients with annual incomes above $50,000 were more likely to want an epidural than lower-income patients were.
The Reuters article goes on to say that epidurals are effective in treating pain after surgery and high levels of pain can lead to chronic pain.
The full study can be found in Anesthesia and Analgesia.
Posted by: Staff on February 13, 2008
Category: Health Disparities
February 06, 2008
Black Men Most at Risk for Kidney Disease Complications
A new study reports on the disparity in blood pressure control among Americans with both kidney disease and hypertension.
From HealthDay:
Among Americans diagnosed with kidney disease and high blood pressure, black men are least likely to have their blood pressure under control, which puts them at risk of life-threatening complications, a new study says.
Among people in the later stages of kidney disease, both black men and women were less likely than white men and women to have their blood pressure under control.
The full study can be found in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.
Posted by: Staff on February 06, 2008
Category: Health Disparities
February 05, 2008
Very Premature Babies Don't Get Follow-Up Care
From HealthDay:
A groundbreaking study reports that most very low birth-weight babies born to low-income women failed to get critical follow-up care within their first two years of life.
The study illustrates how these premature infants, who are vulnerable to vision, hearing and speech impairments, are falling through the cracks of the U.S. health-care system, the researchers said.
Only 20 percent of the babies with hearing problems returned for specialized care within their first six months of life, while fewer than one in four underwent recommended vision tests between 1 and 2 years of age.
The complete study can be found in the journal Pediatrics.
Posted by: Staff on February 05, 2008
Category: Health Disparities
February 04, 2008
Racial Disparity in Sepsis Rates
From Reuters:
Blacks get severe sepsis -- a rampant infection of the bloodstream that causes organ failure -- at nearly twice the rate of whites, and they are far more likely to die from it, U.S. researchers said on Friday.
The full study can be found in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Posted by: Staff on February 04, 2008
Category: Health Disparities