Your week in health
Happy Friday. Here's your dog-days-of-summer weekly installment of health news. Enjoy.
+ Lawmakers may be on summer vacation, but there has been no end to the political maneuvering on health care reform. Yesterday, the pharmaceutical industry made a deal with the Obama administration to save the nation $80 billion over the next decade. Meanwhile, town halls on reform have become a free for all on both sides. And some say that the some of the reform rhetoric is trying to scare seniors by asking "will reform promote euthanasia?"
+ The American Psychological Association said that mental health professionals shouldn't tell gay clients they can change their sexual orientation through therapy. There's no evidence that such therapy works, the organization said.
+ Who is to blame when a diagnosis is missed? Some say doctors and patients both share responsibility.
+ The NYT takes an interesting look at another barrier at finding a cure to cancer: not enough people participating in clinical trials. Forty years since the government declared a "war on cancer," death rates have barely budged.
+ Stephanie blogged earlier about the phenomenon of donating a kidney to a stranger. Well, with a money-laundering scheme in the news involving kidneys, some are asking why not buy a kidney?
+ With an eye toward pandemic preparedness, Stanford's hospital and clinics are experimenting with a drive-thru emergency room. Being able to treat patients without having them leave their cars could help triage patients in the event of a pandemic emergency. Can we get fries with that? Doubtful.
And with that, have a happy and healthy weekend!
