Scientists who mapped the human genome have been waiting a dozen years to do something with their findings. That is why many health care practitioners cheered when they heard President Barack Obama mention "precision medicine" among the goals for his administration during his State of the Union Address. Health care overall did not receive much a spotlight during the speech, but personalized medicine did. Details about the plan emerged during a White House event Friday morning. "It comes at a critical moment in time when we have huge opportunities before us," Dr. Margaret Hamburg, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, said Thursday in a call with reporters.
Jessica Taylor's computer knew her patient was in trouble before she did. Even the patient, a Bangor-area man with chronic illness, was in the dark. In all likelihood, he was about to wind up in the emergency room. Taylor, a nurse care manager at St. Joseph Internal Medicine, spotted the warning signs with help from new technology believed to be the first of its kind in the country. By combing through the electronic medical records of nearly all of Maine's 1.3 million residents and applying sophisticated modeling software, the computerized tool predicts which patients are most likely to land in the ER.
A new bill introduced in the California Senate would fine hospitals for having severely intoxicated patients arrested instead of treating them in emergency rooms. SB 145, sponsored by Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, claims a subgroup of hospitals are calling law enforcement to have drunk patients taken into custody before making sure they are medically stabilized. "(It will) insure that the hospitals are held accountable that patients are truly stable before they leave the emergency room," Pan said. The California Hospital Association said it hasn't yet taken a position on the bill, but does have concerns.
Like many retirees, one couple from upstate New York visit doctors in their winter getaway in Florida. But on a recent routine checkup of a pacemaker, a cardiologist there insisted on scheduling several expensive tests even though the 91-year-old husband had no symptoms. "You walk in the door, and they just start doing things," said Sally Spencer, 70, who canceled the tests after her husband's longtime doctor advised her by phone that none of them were needed. The couple's experience reflects a trend that has prompted some doctors up north to warn their older patients before they depart for Florida and other winter getaways to check in before agreeing to undergo exams and procedures.
Last year, thirsty people in the northern Minnesota town of Fosston bought 2,539 bottles of sugary drinks from the local hospital's pop machines. Those sales went flat on Jan. 1 when Essentia Health-Fosston joined the small but growing trend of medical centers eliminating the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages. "We're trying to make a small step to improve the health of everyone in this area," said Kevin Gish, the hospital's administrator. Hospitals have become another arena for public health advocates who previously pushed to reduce or eliminate sugary drinks from schools and other workplaces.
Would you put a doctor's visit on your grocery list? Whole Foods Market Inc. Co-CEO John Mackey told Bloomberg Business that his company is exploring the idea of adding health clinics to its grocery stores. The plans aren't yet fully formed, and a Whole Foods spokesperson impressed upon Bloomberg that Mackey's idea is still a far-off brainstorm. But Mackey sees the addition of health clinics to grocery stores as a weapon in the fight for a better American health care system, one driven by entrepreneurship.