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Popular Articles

G8 Leaders Launch $20B Initiative To Help Farmers In Developing Countries
The Washington Post reports: "Leaders of the world"s major economies pledged Friday to raise $20 billion over the next three years for food and agricultural aid to the world"s most impoverished countries." According to Obama administration officials, "the U.S. will contribute at least $3.5 billion over the next three years to the worldwide effort," which in addition to the funding, "hopes to better coordinate global food aid efforts and work through initiatives already in place in poor countries around the world, rather than creating new plans," the Washington Post reports (Fletcher, 7/10).

Urologist And Allergist Explore Link Between Allergies And Interstitial Cystitis
Allergy testing and treatment may offer a new therapeutic option for many patients with interstitial cystitis (IC). IC is a severely painful bladder condition affecting as many as 8 million women and 1.5 million men in the United States. Patients and the providers who treat them have long noticed a correlation between allergies and IC. Recently, a urologist and allergist in Louisville, Kentucky, began to explore the link between these two chronic ailments to provide patients with more effective treatment. The story of their discoveries is featured in the ICA Update, the quarterly magazine of the Interstitial Cystitis Association (ICA).
News of the day
Need Something? Talk To My Right Ear!
We humans prefer to be addressed in our right ear and are more likely to perform a task when we receive the request in our right ear rather than our left. In a series of three studies, looking at ear preference in communication between humans, Dr. Luca Tommasi and Daniele Marzoli from the University "Gabriele d"Annunzio" in Chieti, Italy, show that a natural side bias, depending on hemispheric asymmetry in the brain, manifests itself in everyday human behavior. Their findings were just published online in Springer"s journal Naturwissenschaften.
Oncology

Study Finds Pay-For-Performance Doesn't Hurt Quality

A Veterans Affairs study found that people treated by doctors being compensated under pay-for-performance arrangements weren"t short-changed and received high-quality care. Health Day News reports that the study, which used data from both medical charts and patients" ratings of their care, "should reassure patients and the doctors who treat them." The study calms concerns that doctors might avoid patients who are very sick because their quality ratings and pay might suffer if they take the time to properly treat people with multiple conditions. "Surprisingly, the study findings showed just the opposite," Health Day News reports. "Among the 141,609 people treated for high blood pressure at eight Veterans Administration centers, the researchers found that those whose cases were complicated by other medical conditions were more likely to receive better care than those who only had high blood pressure." Doctors pointed out that the study reaffirms the importance of electronic medical records. Health Day News reports that the findings do not necessarily apply to all people treated in all medical centers and that the study may be more specific to VA hospitals, which it reports has quality electronic records and care systems (Edelson, 6/3). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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