Tag: healthcare

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Will We Cause our own Next Pandemic?

anthrx

With deadly viruses, bacteria and fungi already prevalent and mutating throughout the United States and world, the potential for a possible outbreak like the influenza pandemic of 1917 is always present. Plus, when you realize that certain diseases such as the MERS virus in the Middle East and the Ebola virus in Africa are already causing havoc in those regions, one must wonder if any of these known or potentially unknown deadly diseases could take hold in this country. Worse yet, there is something scarier to consider: could we accidentally release one of these deadly diseases into the USA?

Though it sounds like science fiction (in fact, it is the basis of my medical/political thriller The New Reality), this possibility may be closer to fact than fiction. A recent incident at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) near Atlanta piqued my concern. It is well known that the CDC stores, evaluates and experiments upon some of the most deadly diseases in the world. One of these diseases is Anthrax—and no, not the rock band. If infected with this bacteria, a person could have gastrointestinal, skin and pulmonary symptoms, ultimately leading to death in most cases.

While working with anthrax at the CDC, scientists thought they adequately inactivated the bacteria. However, after transporting it to a few other labs within the CDC, it was discovered that the bacteria was not only not dead, but it had also aerosolized its deadly spores. 75 scientists were potentially contaminated as a result and subsequently began treatment in case they were infected.

Fortunately, no one receiving this antibiotic treatment has yet to show any signs of infection. However, the threat of potential future human errors still remains.

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MERS cases Triple in Last Month and a Half

MERS

To quote a recent MedPage report by Michael Smith, the total number of cases of the Middle East coronavirus has nearly tripled in the past month and a half, according to the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC).

But those cases do not include new cases reported today from Saudi Arabia, which recorded another six patients and three deaths. That brings the nation’s own totals to 520 cases with 163 deaths, up nine and three respectively. Also, it does not include the Illinois hospital worker who contracted the virus without showing signs of infection.

Saudi Arabia is followed in number of cases — although not closely — by the United Arab Emirates, which has recorded 67 cases and nine deaths, according to the ECDC. Seven other countries in the region have a total of 24 cases and 12 deaths.

Other regions — Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas — have seen a total of 19 cases and seven deaths and all patients have had primary epidemiological links to the Middle East.

The exact number of cases is a moving target and has been dogged by delays in reporting. The World Health Organization, for instance, reported Thursday it had been officially informed of just 572 laboratory-confirmed cases, with 173 deaths.

While the virus continues to cause several cases a day in Saudi Arabia, the risk for people outside the Middle East is said to be extremely low. However, 22 U.S. airports are now displaying signs that warn of the virus.

Returning travelers, the agency says, should monitor their own health and see a doctor if they have respiratory symptoms within 2 weeks of coming home. Importantly, they should call first and mention the travel history so the doctor’s office can ensure that proper precautions are taken.

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Will the Entire US Healthcare system look like the current VA system in a few Years?

VA

Will the entire US healthcare system look like the current VA system in a few years? Unfortunately, the trend is going that way, and there is absolutely no indication that there is any signs of improvement.

The first, real question each American should ask is why would the US government try to institute a massive medical overhaul with Obamacare when its track record in healthcare delivery is deplorable? The VA system has always had problems, but now under the Obama administration the situation has turned critical.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is facing mounting evidence that some of the hospitals it runs have been keeping two sets of books to make it look as if they were reducing waiting times to see a doctor. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is facing mounting evidence that some of the hospitals it runs have been keeping two sets of books to make it look as if they were reducing waiting times to see a doctor. More damning, the department is investigating the claims of a whistleblower doctor in Arizona that dozens of patients at one hospital died while they were languishing on a hidden waiting list without ever being given an appointment.

Richard Griffin, the department’s acting inspector general, admitted on Thursday that its review could lead to criminal charges. In the first political casualty of the scandal, Robert Petzel, the department’s undersecretary for heath, resigned on Friday.

The budget for the VA has risen from $73.1bn in 2006 to $153.8bn this year. However, the number of outpatient visits at its facilities has increased from 46.5m in 2002 to 83.6m in 2012.

While there have been reports for several years that the new waiting line system was being abused, the subject really began to gather steam three weeks ago when CNN interviewed Sam Foote, who had recently retired as a doctor after working for 24 years for VA hospitals in Phoenix, Arizona.

He said that as many as 40 patients had died after being placed on a hidden waiting list that could last for up to a year, while officials at the hospital shredded documents and faked evidence to make it seem as if waiting times were under control.

Since then, whistleblowers have alleged similar practices at least seven other VA hospitals around the country and claimed that officials at the hospitals were sometimes paid bonuses for reducing declared waiting times.

This is what the US government delivers to the nation’s finest—long waits and insufficient care. Unfortunately, this is what awaits the rest of America under Obama.