From the folks that brought you the credit score system in all it’s glory, here’s MedFICO! It’s a new business project underway with the goal of assessing patient’s ability to pay their medical bills. The system would gather patient’s bill payment history from hospitals around the country and then assign patients a score similar to a credit score. Critics are worried if the same problems with people getting erroneous information in their credit report and then having an insanely difficult time cleaning it up would also affect MedFICO. They also worry whether hospitals would use MedFICO to determine the level of care offered, like whether the person gets a hospital stay or not. FICO scores are now being used by some employers to screen out potential employees, would they use MedFICO to see who might take a bigger chunk out of the health benefits?
health
Doctor Forces Rectal Exam, Patient Punches Doctor, Police Arrest Patient, Patient Sues
A 38-year-old construction worker who suffered a head injury on the job was sedated and given a rectal exam against his will, says the New York Times.
Interview Your Surgeon
For most people, when you’re at a point in life where you need surgery, you’re not feeling exactly empowered or willing to grill your doctor on his or her exact qualifications. But you should, says—of all groups—the American College of Surgeons. Thomas Russell, the organization’s executive director and a surgeon, says, “Patients should feel free to ask their surgeon anything they want answered about the operation or the surgeon’s competency to perform it. There are no questions that should be off the table.”
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The FDA’s announcement today that cloned beef and dairy is safe was met with criticism by several consumer groups, which isn’t surprising, and the US Department of Agriculture, which is—they say that food producers should continue to honor a “voluntary moratorium” for the indefinite future…
Make Money At Home Stuffing Supplement Capsules—No Anything Required
This personal testimony about health supplements from winstonthorne on today’s earlier post is too good—and disturbing—to leave buried in comments:One of my friends actually stuffs capsules for a living for a company making an herbal “sexual stimulant” – she literally sits there on her…
Eat Cloned Animals, FDA Says
According to a soon-to-be released FDA report on cloned animals, the government says it’s safe for you to eat Dolly, Dolly, Dolly and even Dolly. On every single measure of animal healthiness, the FDA analysis of cloned animals found virtually no difference between clones and animals reproduced by normal means.
Hormone-Filled Dietary Supplement Caused Cancer In Two Men, Say Doctors
A new article published today in Clinical Cancer Research says that two men “developed aggressive and incurable prostate cancer within months of taking the same supplement.” The doctors examined the supplement and discovered it contained testosterone and estradiol, and “when they tested it on tumor cells in the lab, they found it fueled the growth of prostate cancer cells more potently than testosterone alone.” Either don’t take herbal/hormonal dietary supplements, they urge, or make sure you fully disclose to your doctor what you’re taking.
Vegetarian Complains About Chicken Fat In Rice-A-Roni. Response? Sent Free Recipe For "Prize-Winning Meatloaf"
Jordan writes:
Recently, I discovered that many of Rice-a-roni’s products, even the one’s I assumed to be vegetarian friendly, had meat byproducts in them. Granted, I can expect “Chicken and Broccoli” to have meat byproducts, but I’ve come to discover almost all of them do. Nearly all contain Chicken Fat. I wrote Rice-A-Roni a complaint, which can be found below, with there extremely helpful response! I was very pleased with their Customer Relations department for the time being. They wrote they’d send me a few coupons and such to try out their Kosher line, which can be vegetarian friendly. I just received the coupons in the mail. I opened the enveloped, with three coupons for Quaker Oats products. Here’s the irony. They decided it’d be friendly of them to send a recipe that I could try out with their products. What recipe is sent, do you ask. A recipe for Quaker Oats “Prize-Winning Meatloaf.”
Joining Lucille Roberts Gym Is Like Joining The Mafia
My work out experience was fine, as I didn’t mind the bad smell, chipping paint, or inattentive staff. The problem came when I tried to cancel my membership. I moved to London in April 2007 (less than 2 months after joining), but they refused to cancel my membership and continued to charge my credit card each month. Under my two year contract is a section entitling me to a no fee cancellation if I move outside of the Lucille Roberts catchments area. They demanded proof of my move, which I supplied. Apparently, 3,000 miles away isn’t far enough to be considered outside the catchment area!
Taco Bell "Fresco" Bowl: 13g Of Fat or 8g? 350 Calories or 430?
I ordered the Zesty Chicken Border Bowl Fresco style without dressing. On the menu at the store, it reads under 9 grams of fat but on online, it reads 13 grams of fat. Please compare your special nutrition page for Fresco menu items to the Nutrition Calculator on the Taco Bell site. I made sure that I chose “Fresco Style” on the calculator and to be advertising something as under 9 grams of fat, but really having 13 is very misleading and wrong.
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Target’s in-house brand, Archer Farms, is going trans-fat free this year, announced the company today. The private label has over 2,000 products and “will be the first national store brand to eliminate added trans fats from its entire product line.”
Don't Chew 15 Sticks Of Sorbitol-Sweetened Gum Per Day
Here’s some news you can use, especially if you work in an office and really can’t run to the bathroom every fifteen minutes without someone noticing. “Many sugar-free chewing gums contain a sweetener called sorbitol. Sorbitol is a laxative which is poorly absorbed by the small intestine.” Normally, this doesn’t matter, but if you’re one of those crazy people who takes something wayyy too far, and you tend to chew over a pack a day, you might want to switch to a different gum brand.
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McDonald’s UK CEO said “video games” should take the blame for the obesity epidemic, not fast food. [MCV via BoingBoing]
Need Help Finding A Laser Eye Surgeon In New York City
I’m thinking about shooting lasers into my eyes. I know, I know, usually people want to shoot lasers out of one’s eyes, but I’ve always been a contrarian. No really, I want to get laser eye surgery, any suggestions for doctors in New York City? So far the only lead I have to go on are the fine doctors associated with the New York Eye and Ear Hospital, reputed to be a great place with great doctors. When I called a bunch of the doctors’ offices, the price ranged from $4,000 to $6,000, which includes zapping both eyes, all drops, medication and followup visits. I can afford that but it seems a smidge high.
Former Amgen Sales Reps Say They Were Encouraged To Illegally Access Patient Records
Two former sales reps for the pharmaceutical company Amgen are suing “for lost wages and other compensation after refusing to participate in improper promotion of the company’s blockbuster psoriasis drug Enbrel.” They claim that Amgen encouraged them to “illegally access patient records to induce insurance carriers to pay for the pricey drug,” according to their attorney. Amgen promptly responded that the suits were without merit, and then handed out blister packets of popular drugs, branded desk calendars, and free t-shirts, so everything’s cool.
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RECALLS: Kash N’ Gold Tinker Bell Novelty Lamps (lead), A.O. Smith Exhaust Fan Electric Motors (fire), Shims Bargain Pacifiers (choking), TJ Promotions Coin Banks (lead), Lowe’s Torchiere Lamps (fire), Honda ATVs (loss of speed control), Intermatic Digital Timers (shock), Pacific Cycle Children’s Trailer Bicycles (can detach from adult bicycle), Canondale Scalpel Mountain Bikes (crashing), Mark’s Quality Meats Beef (E.coli), New Era Mexican-Style Beans (botulism), Raw Oysters Harvested from the West Karako Bay Section of Growing Area 3 in Louisiana (norovirus), Shangai Chaojimengnan (actually Viagra).
Study: People Who Buy Contacts Online More Likely To Take Poorer Care Of Their Eyes
The FDA has a set of specifications on proper eye care, and apparently people who buy their contact lenses online are less likely to follow those rules, reports a new study. The gap comes from having less trained, in-person medical attention and up-to-date prescriptions, and not poorer cleaning habits (although we wouldn’t recommend using dollar store saline solution just to save a few bucks).
48% Of Doctors Admit To Prescribing Placebos Just To Shut You Up
According to a survey by the University of Chicago, 48% of doctors said “they have given at least one treatment when there was no evidence it would work.”
