The U.S. government released its annual census figures today, and to no one’s surprise they showed an increase in the number of uninsured in America. Some 46.6 million people, the majority of them working, lacked health insurance in 2005. The following is a statement by Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the nation’s largest health care union:
“These numbers are a stain on this country, reminding us once again that the political leadership continues to fail the America people on the life-and- death issue of health care. If we’re going to fix our broken system, it will take business and labor working together to forge a solution outside of Washington, and then demanding that Congress take action.
“That’s why, on behalf of the 1.8 million members of SEIU — over half of whom work as nurses, front-line caregivers and in hospital settings — I issued a challenge to America’s CEOs to find the courage and step into the political arena to help build a new health care system that works in the 21st century.
“We need employers to enter the debate and call on Congress for real reform so that our businesses are not forced to add skyrocketing costs to the price of their products, and Americans no longer have to make a choice between paying the mortgage or their medical bills.  See link at http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp;jsessionid=65609259545CB7F6A7007DE7250418A0.tomcat1?resourceid=3281958&access=EH

Sixteen percent of women who underwent chemotherapy for breast cancer experienced serious adverse effects requiring emergency care or hospitalization, according to a new study supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Most of the adverse events were related to serious complications caused by the toxicity of the drugs. These complications, which included anemia, dehydration, and reduced production of white blood cells, also augmented the costs of care.

The odds of experiencing a serious adverse effect increased by 20 percent per month for each additional month of chemotherapy administered to women after their initial breast cancer diagnosis.

Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr., adopted a somewhat different tone from that of President Bush in his first major speech about the economy, delivered early this month.“Many aren’t seeing significant increases in their take-home pay,” Mr. Paulson said. “Their increases in wages are being eaten up by high energy prices and rising health care costs, among others.”

In a New York Times article, the authors, state:  “With the economy beginning to slow, the current expansion has a chance to become the first sustained period of economic growth since World War II that fails to offer a prolonged increase in real wages for most workers.”

Š

CardiacAssist has been named by the Pittsburgh Business Times as the fastest growing manufacturing company in Pittsburgh. CardiacAssist develops, manufactures and markets cardiac assist devices, including the TandemHeart(R) PTVA(R) System (www.cardiacassist.com), which is used in 17 of the top 20 heart and heart surgery hospitals in the U.S. and 11 of the nation’s top 14 hospitals overall.
The Pittsburgh Business Times’ annual Pittsburgh 100 rankings were announced last night at the 10th annual Pittsburgh 100 ceremony, which honors the fastest-growing, privately held companies in the region. The award measures a company’s revenue growth over the previous three years. CardiacAssist ranked first in the manufacturing category and 7th overall among Pittsburgh area companies.

A majority of states are taking critical steps to drive improvements in the quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare through information technology. An issue brief released today by the independent, non-profit eHealth Initiative (eHI) notes that 38 state legislatures have introduced 121 bills during 2005 and 2006 that specifically call for the use of health information technology (HIT) to improve patient care — over half of which were introduced in the first seven months of 2006. Thirty-six bills passed in 24 states and were signed into law during 2005 and 2006. The eHI report also indicates that 10 executive orders were issued by U.S. governors across the nation, calling for the development of strategies, plans and recommendations for using HIT and health information exchange to improve health and healthcare.
The issue brief, “States Getting Connected: State Policy Makers Drive Improvements in Healthcare Quality and Safety Through Information Technology,” traces a significant increase in engagement among key state leaders in the arena of health information technology and quality. The report is available at http://www.ehealthinitiative.org/.

Sixteen percent of women who underwent chemotherapy for breast cancer experienced serious adverse effects requiring emergency care or hospitalization, according to a new study supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Most of the adverse events were related to serious complications caused by the toxicity of the drugs. These complications, which included anemia, dehydration, and reduced production of white blood cells, also augmented the costs of care.

The odds of experiencing a serious adverse effect increased by 20 percent per month for each additional month of chemotherapy administered to women after their initial breast cancer diagnosis.

“The study highlights the importance of studying how drugs affect people in everyday medical care,” said AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D. “It is important to know the impact of interventions such as chemotherapy so that patients can make informed decisions about the risks and benefits of their treatment options.”

For press release about the study, go to:http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2006/chemopr.htm 

Alastair J.J. Wood, M.D. creates a proposal for radical changes in the drug approval process: In this New England Journal of Medicine article, the author says the changes proposed would use incentives to encourage the development of drugs to treat and prevent diseases for which we have no current therapeutic options and to develop new, more effective, and safer drugs for current therapies.

Here is the full text of the article: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/355/6/618

Research evidence shows that facility design, specifically that which affects the transmission of infection through air, surface, water — can help in reducing hospital-acquired, or nosocomial, infections — a leading cause of death in the U.S.
This issue is explored in a 16-page paper recently released by The Center for Health Design (CHD) titled “The Impact of the Environment on Infections in Healthcare Facilities.” The paper is available for free download at http://www.healthdesign.org/ .
“Hospital-acquired infections kill more Americans each year than AIDS, breast cancer, or automobile accidents,” says Anjali Joseph, Ph.D., CHD’s Director of Research and author of the paper. In 1995 alone, she reports that nosocomial infections contributed to more than 88,000 deaths — one death every six minutes — and cost $4.5 billion. The total number of nosocomial infections a year is estimated to be 2 million, equating to roughly $16 billion in additional healthcare spending.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) first responded to the health-care consumerism and transparency movement more than two years ago with the launch of Healthcare Facts ( http://www.healthcarefacts.org/ ), a quick, easy-to-understand “nutrition label” resource to help consumers compare hospitals. Effective immediately, Healthcare Facts is expanding to primary clinics in Minnesota, with the ability for Blue Cross members to compare specific prices of common doctor visits and procedures, as well as quality, accessibility and other service attributes.
“Price transparency is generating a significant amount of attention within health care these days,” said MaryAnn Stump, a former critical care nurse who created Healthcare Facts and serves as chief innovation officer for Blue Cross and president of Consumer Aware, a Blue Cross affiliate company. “Blue Cross has taken a broader approach with Healthcare Facts, working with consumers and providers to offer ‘value’ transparency — that is, health care information from the consumer’s perspective that includes information on quality, safety, accessibility and cost. We’re working to help consumers reach their own conclusions about the ‘best fit’ for them when it comes to their health care choices.”

In an article about the state of our nation’s healthcare system, Senator John Kerry made the following comments regarding the need for healthcare coverage for all Americans. 

“FIRST – Every American, and I mean everybody, must have health coverage by 2012.

SECOND – To get there, we start with kids first. They’re born; they’re enrolled in health care. They go to child care, they’re enrolled. They go to school, they’re enrolled. No “ifs,” “ands,” or “buts,” every child gets health care – automatically, immediately, every child in America gets health care now.

THIRD – We must and will control the skyrocketing premiums, co-pays, and exclusions that make a mockery of the insurance hard-working families pay for month after month. No longer will families be pushed into bankruptcy by medical bills they can’t pay — no longer will sons and daughters have to choose between paying for a doctor’s bill for one child or college tuition for another — it is time to finally guarantee that as health care costs are held down, Americans get the health care they need and deserve.

FOURTH – and finally, instead of telling tens of millions to wait until they are sick enough to go to an emergency room, we must and will assure high quality and preventive care for every American.

I think any of us who are progressives have some big tests right now – what are we doing to deal with the mess in Iraq? What are we doing to prevent global catastrophe threatened by climate change? And what are we doing to make our country fair again? Add one to the list: what are you willing to fight for to make health care work for everyone? ”

 For more on this story, see http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-kerry/standing-for-something_b_26187.html