Study: Lack of Health Insurance increases risk of Stroke

BOSTON - The lack of health insurance prompts people to forego routine physical exams and have a reduced awareness of cardiovascular risk factors and is associated with increased rates of stroke and death, researchers have concluded.

A recent study in the Journal of the Society of General Internal Medicine found people without health insurance are more likely to forego routine physical exams and had a higher risk of being unaware of a personal diagnosis of high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol levels – all risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

California nurses association joins ranks of AFL-CIO

WASHINGTON - 75,000 RNs became the newest members of the AFL-CIO as the California Nurses Association and its national arm, the National Nurses Organizing Committee, joined the 10 million-member Federation. 

The AFL-CIO is the nation's umbrella organization for labor unions.  With the addition of the CNA/NNOC, the AFL-CIO brings its total number of nurses to over 325,000, joining nurses currently represented by 9 other labor unions.

physicians tighter than ever with drug industry

BOSTON - Despite the potential for conflict of interest, virtually all practicing physicians in the U.S. have some form of relationship with pharmaceutical manufacturers but the nature and extent of those relationships vary, depending on the kind of practice, medical specialty, patient mix, and professional activities, reports a study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

In the first national survey to gauge the predictors and depth of relationships between industry and practicing physicians, 94 percent of doctors report that they have at least one type of relationship with the drug industry, mostly in the form of receiving food in the workplace or prescription samples.

2007 medical cost for "Family of four" is $14,500

SEATTLE - According to Milliman, Inc, a global consulting and actuarial firm, the average total medical spending for its "typical American family of four" reached $14,500 in 2007, an increase of $1,118 over the preceding year. 

The finding is contained in the third annual Milliman Medical Index (MMI). The MMI tracks the changes in average yearly healthcare costs when the family of four is covered by an employer-sponsored Preferred Provider Organization (PPO).

Study Bolsters Case for Increasing RN Staffing in Hospitals

CANTON - A new study to be published in the June issue of the journal Medical Care finds that hospitals that have better staffing and less overtime for registered nurses are safer for elderly intensive care unit (ICU) patients.

The study is yet another piece of scientific evidence that bolsters the case for increasing RN staffing in hospitals, prohibiting mandatory overtime and limiting the number of patients assigned to a nurse, as proposed in the Patient Safety Act (H.2059), legislation currently before the Massachusetts legislature.