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The Obama Administration Ramps Up Push For Health Care Reform
The Obama administration ramps up efforts to promote health care reform and reacts to a sobering announcement by the Congressional Budget Office about the scoring of a health care bill.
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N.C. Bill Gives Students 'Vital Access' To Accurate Sex Education Instruction, Editorial States
A bill (S. 221) approved by the North Carolina Legislature that would require a public school sex education curriculum covering abstinence, contraception and sexually transmitted infections "will be the most comprehensive and science-based approach the state has used" for sex education, a Charlotte Observer editorial states, adding that Gov. Bev Perdue (D) "should sign it." The bill would require all public school districts in the state to teach a curriculum that focuses on abstinence but also includes information on preventing pregnancy and STIs. Parents would be able to have their children removed from the comprehensive portions of instruction. According to the editorial, the measure "still gives parents a choice in deciding what kind of sex education their children will receive." The editorial adds, "It also finally provides a curriculum that gives N.C. students vital access to age-appropriate, science-based information critical to their health, safety and well-being," which is "the kind of information that can help them make smart choices in serious situations."Parents are "often the best people for kids to turn to for advice and information" on sex, but "not all children have parents who can provide it, or are even willing to," and "not all children [who] go to their parents adhere to their advice," the editorial states. It continues, "The schools provide another avenue to get this critical advice and information -- and state lawmakers are right to make it available." According to the Observer, North Carolina has the ninth-highest teenage pregnancy rate in the U.S., and about "20,000 teenagers will get pregnant in North Carolina this year." A "comprehensive, science-based education program can help reduce the number of unintended teen pregnancies" and help reduce the spread of STIs, the editorial says. It concludes, "By reaching agreement on this matter, state lawmakers have given the children of this state vital tools to safeguard their health and welfare. ... Perdue should sign this bill and make it law" (Charlotte Observer, 6/26).
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MicroPhage Results On Rapid S. Aureus/MRSA Blood Culture Test Published
The performance of a new diagnostic test platform that rapidly identifies Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus, "staph") bacteremia and determines antibiotic resistance or susceptibility in as little as five hours was presented at the 109th General Meeting of the American Society of Microbiology in Philadelphia, PA this week.
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MPS Advises Doctors On Email Consultations

MPS, a leading medical protection organisation, is advising doctors on the issues they should be aware of when consulting with patients via email. Email consultations can provide patients with a useful means of accessing their GP, however, doctors are advised to follow best practice tips. Dr Richard Stacey, MPS medicolegal adviser, said: "Email is an attractive way for patients to communicate with practices and the demand for such a service could increase over time. In some circumstances providing online advice may be essential for patients, particularly those who live in remote locations. "Whilst there is no reason why GPs should not embrace this form of communication, safeguards are required in order to preserve patient confidentiality." Doctors who are providing continuing care to patients" via email should: - ensure that patients are content to communicate in this way. - save all email exchanges in a patient"s medical records. - not be tempted to use email to respond to complicated or difficult problems; if it is felt that a consultation would be more appropriate, make the necessary arrangements to see the patient - make sure there are robust procedures in place to follow up any matters that arise from email exchange. Dr Richard Stacey continues: "Communicating by email does not allow a doctor to pick on the important nuances and non-verbal cues that are apparent in face-to-face consultations - this must be borne in mind when deciding how best to assess or manage a problem." "The corollary to this is that the doctor must be assiduous in establishing the history and remember that the email exchange will form a part of the medical record, upon which they may be judged if there is an adverse outcome." Dr Richard Stacey adds: "Doctors will need to make patients aware of the limitations of email consultations and must be prepared to justify any advice given online." Notes 1. The dos and don"ts of emailing patients can be found in Your Practice magazine, an MPS publication, and is available here. Medical Protection Society


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