A survey of 452 New York City men who had had sex with other men within the past year found that 39 percent had not disclosed their sexual orientation to their doctors, a problem particularly acute among black, Hispanic and Asian men, the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced on Wednesday.

Health officials said the survey results had troubling implications for H.I.V. prevention. The survey found, for example, that men who disclosed their sexual activity with other men were twice as likely as men who did not to have been tested for H.I.V. (63 percent versus 36 percent).
(more…)

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
Monday, July 21, 2008; 12:00 AM

MONDAY, July 21 (HealthDay News) — Starting next year, doctors can earn additional money from Medicare if they use electronic prescribing systems, U.S. health officials said Monday.

The bonus program, which will continue for four years, is designed to streamline the prescription process and cut down on errors. In 2009 and 2010, Medicare will give doctors an additional 2 percent bonus on top of their fee for “e-prescribing.” In 2011 and 2012, the bonus will drop to 1 percent, and in 2013, the bonus will drop again to 0.5 percent, officials said.

“There are terrific human and financial costs to illegible prescriptions,” Mike Leavitt, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said during a Monday afternoon teleconference.

According to the Institute of Medicine, 1.5 million Americans are injured every year by drug errors, Leavitt said. Another study found that each year pharmacists make more than 150 million phone calls to doctors to clarify what was written on the prescription, he added.
ad_icon
(more…)

Statement attributable to: J. James Rohack, M.D.
President-elect, American Medical Association

“Today the American Medical Association celebrates that the Senate heard the voices of patients and physicians and voted to stop Medicare physician payment cuts that would have hurt seniors’ access to care by a bipartisan, veto-proof majority of 69 to 30. We especially appreciate the heroic efforts of Sen. Edward Kennedy, who made this critical vote his first after his surgery. We also applaud those senators who put patients first and voted yes even though they had concerns about the process or some of the bill’s provisions.

“Now we – along with seniors, the disabled, and military families – call on President Bush to sign this bill into law to protect access to health care for so many deserving Americans.

“On July 1, a Medicare physician payment cut of 10.6 percent went into effect, putting access to health care for seniors, the disabled and military families at risk. In the first week of July, tens of thousands of patients and physicians contacted their senators and urged them to vote for HR 6331. Those voices were heard and heeded.

“Just two weeks ago, the same bill – HR 6331 – passed the House of Representatives by an overwhelming, bipartisan, veto-proof majority of 355 to 59.

“Now we urge President Bush to hear and heed the voices of seniors, the disabled and military families – and sign the bill into law for the health of America.”