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Terminally Ill Patients And Their Physicians Delay Conversations About End-of-Life Choices, Study Finds
About half of terminally ill patients do not have discussions with their physicians regarding end-of-life choices, according to a Harvard Medical School study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the Boston Globe reports.The study, funded by the National Cancer Institute, examined files on 1,517 patients in California, Iowa and Alabama with metastasized lung cancer. According to the Globe, a majority of patients diagnosed with metastasized lung cancer do not survive two years. Researchers asked the patients whether a physician or other health care provider had recommended hospice care or discussed end-of-life care preferences with them. According to the study, about 49% of blacks and 43% of Hispanics had discussed end-of-life care preferences with a physician or health care provider within four to seven months of their diagnosis, compared with 53% of whites and 57% of Asians. Lead study author Haiden Huskamp, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, said, "Patients who had unrealistic expectations about how long they had to live were much less likely to talk about hospice with their doctor." Huskamp theorized that patients who said they did not discuss end-of-life options with providers might not have completely understood their prognosis or chose to believe in a better outcome. Huskamp also said physicians typically are not well-trained to handle some delicate conversations (Lazar, Boston Globe, 5/26).
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Sessions Announced For AHIP's Medicare & Medicaid Conferences Early And Team Registrations Available
Join America"s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) September 13 - 17, 2009, along with senior health insurance plan executives, policymakers, and federal and state representatives for updates, analyses, and discussion on the leading issues for health insurance plans participating in Medicare and Medicaid. Whatever is of special interest to you, AHIP"s Medicare & Medicaid Conferences offer sound public policy analyses and access to best practices and insights to help you strengthen your work serving Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
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Don't Let The Credit Crunch Squeeze Your Vision!
As the credit crunch keeps on crunching and finances are squeezed ever tighter it is tempting to put off that visit to the optometrist and to carry on with your old specs for another few months. If your vision is good then it is even less likely that you will make an appointment for a sight test - after all you can "see" that nothing is wrong!
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The European Experience: The Pluses And Minuses Of Government-Run Health Care

As President Barack Obama pushes to overhaul health care, many look to Europe for examples of government-run health care. The Seattle Times/Associated Press reports: "The concept has been enshrined in Europe for generations. Health systems are built so inclusive that even illegal immigrants are entitled to free treatment beyond just emergency care. Europeans have some of the world"s best hospitals and have made great strides in fighting problems like obesity and heart disease. But the system is far from perfect." The AP notes: "In Britain, France, Switzerland and elsewhere, public health systems have become political punching bags for opposition parties, costs have skyrocketed and in some cases, patients have needlessly suffered and died." The AP reports: "Obama has pointedly said he does not want to bring European-style health care to the U.S. and that he intends to introduce a government-run plan to compete with private insurance, not replace it. Critics fear Obama"s reforms will lead to more government control over health care and cite problems faced by European health systems as examples of what not to do. Other experts say Americans could learn from countries like Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, especially in the debate on how to reorganize health insurance. ... Private health care is also available in Europe, creating in some instances a two-tier system that critics say defeats the egalitarian impulse on which national systems were built." Critics also complain about the high cost of European health care and that policies are often driven by politics more than science. They also complain that government influence can stifle innovation and bureaucracies are slow to adopt new medical technologies (Cheng, 7/5). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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