Olive Oil Protects Against Stroke. Consuming copious amounts of olive oil may dramatically reduce stroke risk for older adults, according to a population-based study.

New Study Adds to Confusing Debate over Cell Phones and Cancer. A new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that cell phone radiation generally cannot reach the cells where most brain tumors are located (Pizaazz will comment on this study this Wednesday).

HHS Announces Initiative to Stimulate Adoption of EHRs in Minority Communities. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health and Quest Diagnostics have announced a program in which Quest will donate electronic health record  software and services to physicians in small practices serving minority populations in Houston.

US Births Fall Again on Weak Economy. The United States birth rate apparently fell for a third year in a row, but the declines may have hit bottom, the CDC said.

Restrict Imaging Studies, MedPAC Says. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has called on Congress to place restrictions on doctors who order substantially more diagnostic imaging services than their peers.

Facebook Adds Facial Recognition. Without telling its users, Facebook has launched a facial recognition feature designed to make it easier for users to tag photos. As it has in the past, the social networking giant set ‘opt-in’ as the default privacy setting for the new feature.

Sleep Pattern Affects Major League Hitters. A major league baseball player who prefers rising with the larks may hit better in day games than night games and vice versa, a researcher suggested.

Pesticide Residues Taint Apples. The apple industry faces a potential public-relations headache in the wake of USDA testing that revealed pesticide residues in 98% of America’s second-most-popular fresh fruit.

NQF Adds New Serious Reportable Events. The National Quality Forum has expanded its list of serious reportable events to 29. The 4 new ones are patient death or serious injury resulting from failure to communicate test results, and death or serious injury of a newborn baby associated with labor or delivery in a low-risk pregnancy.

Physicians Leaving Practices for Health System Employment. By 2013, less than a third of physicians will be in private practice, electing instead for employment with larger health systems, according to a new report by Accenture.

Uncertainty About Autism Prevalence Persists. Findings from a recent study that more than doubled the estimated prevalence of autism may represent a true increase, an expansion of what is considered a disorder, or both.

Lancet Study Focuses on Readiness for Flu Pandemic. The study reviews recent developments in vaccine research, and distribution. It finds some reasons for optimism and makes some sobering observations as well.

Pfizer To Cut Another $1 Billion in Annual Spending.  Pfizer plans to slash an additional $1 billion in expenses, beyond the billions of dollars in previously announced cuts to research and development.

Proteus Biomedical Teams with Avery Dennison on Patch-Based Wearable Sensors. Avery Dennison, known for its self-adhering labels, is partnering with digital health startup Proteus Biomedical to make patch-based wearable sensors that can monitor vital signs.

Grand Rounds Has Been Posted! This week’s edition was authored by David Williams of Health Business Blog. The edition features a post from Pizaazz on the lack of female CEOs in Health IT.

HIV Cases Fall by 25% between 2001-1009. The data comes from a press release by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. Researchers attribute the drop to safer sex behaviors in men and women, in part because of increased awareness and prevention campaigns.

Twitter Limited as a Tornado Warning Tool. Twitter has limitations as a means for notifying the public about imminent tornado danger, says Crisis Commons, an organization dedicated to developing innovations in crisis management through open data and volunteer technology communities.

Bomb Blast Damage Found in Brain Scans of GIs. Neuron damage in explosion-related “mild” traumatic brain injuries can be more extensive than previously thought and is not necessarily related to the severity of clinical symptoms, researchers said.

CBO Says Advertising Moratorium on New Drugs Will Have Little Effect. The Congressional Budget Office examined the consequences of proposals to place a moratorium on consumer advertising of newly approved drugs during their first two years and concluded such a measure would have little effect.

Rule Would Give Patients Access to Privacy-Related Data. Under HIPAA law, providers, health plans and other healthcare organizations must track electronic access to protected health information, but they are not required to share this information with patients. A rule proposed by CMS would require providers to inform patients that they can request this information.

Retraction Sought, Refused on XMRV-CFS Study. Authors of the original paper linking a mouse retrovirus to chronic fatigue syndrome have refused a request from the journal’s editor to retract it, in the face of growing evidence suggesting their findings were caused by lab contamination.

Cellphone Use Possibly Carcinogenic. Cellphones are “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” according to experts working on behalf of the World Health Organization. 

BCBS of Florida Releases App for iPhone, Android. Known as Florida Blue, the mobile app provides general health information, health management tools and benefit information for members.

Egyptian General Admits ‘Virginity Checks’ Conducted on Protesters. A senior Egyptian general admits that “virginity checks” were performed on women that were arrested at a demonstration this spring, the first such admission after previous denials by military authorities

Proposed Bill Would To Expand Telehealth Services for Service Members. The “Telemedicine and E-Health Portability Act” has bipartisan support. It is designed primarily for mental health services but it can be extended to other services as well.

Data mining, EHRs Help Target Dangerous Drug Combo. Data mining and electronic health records helped researchers at some of the country’s most prestigious universities discover a dangerous side effect of a common drug combination.

FDA Signals Intent To Regulate Medical Apps. The agency’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health plans to issue guidance on mobile medical applications later this year.

HIV/AIDS Pandemic Hits 30-Year Mark. Thirty years ago this week, scientists were finalizing a landmark article for the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The report was the first dispatch from the front lines in a new war against a previously unknown virus.

CMS Aligns eRX Incentive with Meaningful Use. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has issued a proposed rule that would alter the Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program so as to be consistent with the HITECH incentive program.

GE, Thomson Reuters Develop Clinical Analytics Tool Using EHR, Claims Data. The joint initiative will let providers and researchers review and analyze de-identified data from electronic health records along with claims data to help determine the impact of various medical treatments.

Testing for Sports Genes Sparks Controversy. At least 2 companies have begun selling tests that claim to help match youngsters with the sports they are genetically programmed to play best.

iPads Help Reduce Pain, Anxiety for Kids in the ER. Nurses in the emergency departments of New York City hospitals are pioneering techniques — including the use of iPads — to improve the patient experience by eliminating or minimizing pain.

Pharmacy CDS Systems Miss Potentially Dangerous Interactions. Only 28% of pharmacies’ clinical decision support software systems correctly identified potentially dangerous drug-drug interactions, according to a new study.

Cockroaches May Help Explain Asthma Outbreaks. A new study shows that children in high-asthma neighborhoods have been more exposed to cockroaches than those in adjacent low-asthma neighborhoods.

NIST Event to Tackle EHR Usability. The National Institute of Standards and Technology will host a workshop on June 7 on measuring, evaluating and improving the usability of electronic health records.

iPad Used To Track Progress of Spinal Surgery Patients. An online health tracker that requires patients to use the iPad to record and track surgical recovery metrics was launched last week in a trial for spinal surgery patients at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (UK).

Sleepy-Time Snack Draws Fire. Public health officials and politicians are debating the safety of a new snack on the market. Sold as Lazy Cakes, Kush Cakes and Lulla Pies, they are essentially brownies laced with melatonin, a sleep aid.

Telemedicine in ICU Cuts Mortality, Hospital Says. The program replaced bedside monitor alarms with remote alerts to physiological trends and abnormal laboratory values, as well as a review of the response to alerts and off-site team rounds.

Physician Feedback about Lab Testing Cuts Unnecessary Utilization. Simply making hospital-based physicians aware of the cost of chemistry panel and complete blood count tests cut the daily bill for the tests by 27%.

Healthcare IT Spending To Reach $40 Billion. The US market for healthcare IT hardware, software, and services is expected to grow 24% annually for several years, driven in part by mandatory use of EHRs.

Drug Shortages Imperil Patient Care. US providers had to contend with shortages of 211 medicines last year, according to a report by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices. Cytarabine, which is used to treat leukemia and lymphoma, was particularly hard to find. Shortages of antibiotics like amikacin and acyclovir directly contributed to patient deaths, the report found.

Former NFL Player’s Brain Full of CTE Plaques. Former Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), researchers said. Duerson committed suicide after leaving a note saying he wanted his brain to be studied.

Diabetes Testing Plummets Among Poor, Minorities, Inner-City Residents. Testing of blood sugar, eyes and feet among poor adults with diabetes dropped from 39% to 23% between 2002 and 2007, according to the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality.

Social Networks May Accelerate Diabetes Research. Scientists found that members of a provider-organized social network for diabetes were quite willing to share confidential health information that supported a public health study involving glycemic control

Final Rule Simplifies Telemedicine Credentialing and Privileging. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued a final rule designed to make the process less cumbersome for small hospitals and critical access hospitals, and provide more timely care.  

Smallpox killed between 300–500 million people during the 20th century. As recently as 1967, 15 million people were infected and 2 million died from smallpox. Amazingly however, a massive, global vaccine-based effort to eradicate the disease was declared a complete success in 1979. That feat stands among the greatest achievements in the history of medicine. In fact to this day, smallpox remains the only human disease to have been completely eliminated from the face of the earth.

End of story, right?

Well, not exactly. Today, officials believe that the only samples of the virus in existence are stored in refrigerators at the CDC and in a Russian government lab in Siberia. At these tightly guarded facilities, scientists use the specimens to develop treatments which would be used in the event that very bad people somehow found a way to release the virus into a world containing billions of unvaccinated people.

For this to happen, bioterrorists would have to secure unsanctioned samples of the virus (none of which are known to exist), steal it from the above-mentioned facilities, or genetically engineer it (a task believed to be extremely difficult using current technology, since the virus’ genome is long and complex). It’s also possible that the above-mentioned facilities could release the virus accidentally.

The probability that any of these events will happen is exceedingly small, so public officials have debated for decades whether the known, remaining samples of smallpox virus should be destroyed.

The debate now appears headed for a resolution. Representatives of 34 countries including the US and Russia are meeting to decide the matter. The group will make recommendations to a governing body, the World Health Assembly, in March. The Assembly plans to decide the matter in May. (more…)