In the News

Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan to President Obama: "If you think that the American People want a government takeover of healthcare, then I respectfully submit that you're not listening to them."

In a speech on healthcare reform to both houses of congress, his cabinet, and the American people, President Obama outlined the key features of his health care plan. All of his points were articulate and heartfelt, and yet old news. All, that is, except one. President Obama acknowledged the role that malpractice reform may have in addressing rising healthcare costs.

Patients admitted to UK casualty departments (emergency departments in the US) due to problems related to alcohol use and abuse have increased from 337,549 in 2004/5 to 448,813 in 2007/8, according to the Telegraph. That's an an increase of 33%. Alcohol consumption is considered to be the direct cause of death for 31,000 people in the year 2005 in the UK, and cost the National Health Service 3 billion pounds in that year.

HealthLeaders-InterStudy, a leading provider of managed care market intelligence, reports that hospitals in the Los Angeles market are struggling to recruit physicians, particularly subspecialists, to be on-call to provide emergency care. According to the recent *Los Angeles Market Overview*, this physician shortage has resulted in hospitals paying high rates to physicians, ranging from $250 to $4,000 a day, to provide care if needed. This payment is in addition to the pay physicians receive if they treat a patient.

High autism rates have been found in Somali imigrants living in Sweden and in Minnesota. What does Sweden have in common with Minnesota, besides wolves and snow? They are both at high lattitudes and get low sunlight, especially in the winter. Swedish researchers have proposed that vitamin D deficiency may play a role in the high incidence of autism found among Somali immigrant children. Vitamin D is made in the skin from sunlight.

According to a report in the news source The Times, South African doctors are quitting the health system 'in droves' due to inadequate pay and poor working conditions. Loss of physician talent, or Brain Drain, from the third world to the first world is not uncommon.

Two labor unions, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, and the Service Employees International Union, have withdrawn from a health care reform coalition, the New York Times reports.

John White, the financial controller of Australia's Greater Western Area Health Service has taken extended leave, from which he is not expected to return, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

At an annual ophthalmology meeting I attended several years ago, a lecturer discussed his use of a specific steroid eye drop, and then, a few hours later, the same lecturer, in a different lecture hall, explain his preference for a different steroid eye drop for the same indication.

Before reading this, run up and down the stairs ten times, call your friend, eat some sardines, and give thanks for your good memory. Maintaining a supportive network of friends, regular exercise, and healthy diet will most likely preserve your memory as you age.