Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

National Disability Rights Group: Study Finds Medical System Violates Civil Rights of Disabled People

Excerpt from Not Dead Yet: (click for entire article)

I apologize for being a little late getting this news out from the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN).  There are two important issues affecting people with disabilities.  One, as the headline of the press release states, is the violation of people's basic rights by surgical and other modifications on people's bodies without any judicial review.  Second, and not mentioned in the title, are the alarming number of cases in which disabled people have been denied even basic medical treatment and care while ill - with the intent of causing their deaths.  (look for highlighted quotes from NDRN ex. dir. Curt Decker below)  More after the end of the press release.

Plastic Surgeon Sues Patient For Defamation After Negative Online Reviews

Patti's Comments:  I knew this was only a matter of time.

Excerpt from The Consumerist: (click for entire article)

Online rating sites are a great tool for consumers researching services their peers have already experienced. So in the case of getting cosmetic surgery, a bad review is akin to a huge spitball thrown at a business, which is why an Orlando plastic surgeon is suing one of his former patients for defaming him online.

The Orlando Sentinel says the surgeon claims the patient's comments on RateMDs.com aren't opinions that are protected by the First Amendment, but a "malicious campaign of unlawfully defaming and spreading lies" about the doctor and his business.

The unnamed patient's lawyer says if this lawsuit is successful, it'll put a freeze on the usefulness of such rating sites like RateMDs.com, Yelp, Angie's List and others that review services.

Confirmed. Medical Marijuana Helps MS Spasticity

Excerpt from About.com: (click for entire article)

I'll admit, I found it a little weird to see this all over the news of the multiple sclerosis world. I kind of thought we already pretty much knew that marijuana helped with certain MS symptoms.

I guess the big news here is that this was a well-run, rigorous (albeit small) study. In this study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers used a crossover design - 30 people smoked either a marijuana cigarette (joint) or a placebo (that looked, tasted and smelled just like the real deal, but lacked active ingredients) once a day for 3 days in a row. Then they switched to the other (marijuana or placebo) for 3 days. It should be noted that these 30 participants were people who had MS-related spasticity and had failed to respond to other treatments.

Here is what researchers found:

    Participants saw a 30 percent improvement in measures of spasticity after smoking the marijuana, but not after the placebo.
    Smoking marijuana significantly reduced pain scores (by 5.28 points on a visual analog scale) over placebo.
    Smoking the marijuana caused fatigue and dizziness and slowed down cognitive function soon after smoking.

HHS launches national campaign to educate older adults on registering as organ donors

Excerpt from HHS.gov: (click for entire article)

An effort to educate adults 50 and older about the importance of registering to be organ, eye, and tissue donors was launched today in observance of Older Americans Month.  The campaign was developed by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), in partnership with the Administration for Community Living’s Administration on Aging and the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging.

More than 114,000 people are on the national transplant waiting list for an organ, and more than 100 of them die each week waiting for an organ that never comes. In 2011, people 50 and older accounted for 32 percent of donors but 60 percent of the total number of transplants.

“It’s important for everyone to know any age can be the right age to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor,” said Howard K. Koh, M.D., M.P.H., assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Imagine how many more lives we could save if the majority of the more than 99 million Americans 50 years old, or older signed up to give the gift of life.”

Poll: Many Sick Americans Experience Significant Financial Problems And Report Their Care Is Not Well-Managed

Excerpt from Harvard School of Public Health: (click for entire article)

Many Americans who have experienced a serious illness or injury within the past 12 months are concerned about the financial costs of medical care, and struggle to ensure that their care is appropriate,  according to a new poll released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), NPR and Harvard School of Public Health. RWJF commissioned the poll to better understand Americans’ experiences and attitudes related to cost and quality of U.S. medical care.

A large majority of the general public (87%) thinks the cost of care is a serious problem for the country. In addition, about two-thirds of the general public (65%) believes the cost of care has gotten worse over the last five years.

In addition to surveying the general public, this poll also examined sick Americans’ experiences with and perceptions of the costs and quality of medical care over the last year. “Sick Americans” (27% of adults surveyed) are defined as those who said they had a serious illness, medical condition, injury, or disability requiring a lot of medical care or who had been hospitalized overnight in the past 12 months.

SVSU celebrates contributions of registered nurses

Excerpt from Midland Daily News: (click for entire article)

Saginaw Valley State University recently celebrated the contributions of registered nurses in the Great Lakes Bay Region when it presented the second annual Nursing Excellence awards.

Established by SVSU’s Department of Nursing, the honor recognizes the dedication, quality service and front-line leadership exhibited by nurses in clinical practice, education, leadership and community service. Awards were presented in the categories of acute care, nurse educator, long-term care/rehabilitation and nursing in the community.

The 2012 recipients include:

• Denae Case, a nurse in the surgical intensive care unit at Covenant Healthcare, received an Acute Care Nursing Award . In 24 years of critical care nursing, she has led a number of important change projects, including a recent effort to implement new patient-centered visitation guidelines for critical care family members.

• Scott Miller of McLaren-Bay Region received an Acute Care Nursing Award. An operating room specialist, he has arranged for staff education on kidney disease and dialysis, even though it does not fall within the realm of his normal clinical practice.

Families Don't Seek Help for Autism from Pediatricians

Excerpt from Education Week: (click for entire article)

Although early detection and intervention of disabilities can often make a dramatic difference in a child's life, parents of children with autism say they don't put their faith in the people on the front lines of treating and caring for their children.

A small new study discussed at the International Meeting for Autism Research in Toronto last week found that parents didn't expect their pediatricians to provide autism-specific treatment, and many pediatricians don't view autism treatment as within the scope of their work.

The study involving families and doctors in Philadelphia, also found that even doctors who want to help families manage their children's diagnoses lack the training to do so.

"This study validates what previous studies and parents have told us: Many pediatricians are not prepared to provide the kind of advice and information that parents need after receiving a diagnosis of autism for their child," Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer for Autism Speaks, told HealthDay News.

For cognitively impaired, care poses a challenge

Excerpt from Delaware Online: (click for entire article)

Going to the dentist isn’t likely to top the list of fun ways to spend your time. But for people with cognitive, developmental and physical disabilities, the experience can be downright frightening, from the dental tools to the unfamiliar faces to the fingers poking around their mouth.

But with a little practice, a seat in the dentist’s chair doesn’t have to be a scary event. That’s the goal at Practice Without Pressure, a nonprofit organization in Bear that helps patients with disabilities and their families prepare for medical procedures.

Through practice sessions that introduce and explain the various equipment, procedures and participants involved in a dental visit, patients are better prepared, more cooperative and less likely to need sedation or restraints, which can be traumatic, said Karen Bashkow, senior director of programming at Practice Without Pressure.

US Labor Department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy signs alliance agreement with National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities

Excerpt from U.S. Department of Labor: (click for entire article)

Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy Kathleen Martinez and National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities President Beth Marks have signed an alliance agreement during National Nurses Week to promote the employment of individuals with disabilities in the health care industry.

"Today's alliance is an outcome of ODEP's Health Care Summit held in Chicago last year. Through this partnership, we will be able to develop strategies for increasing employment and educational opportunities in the health care sector for those of us with disabilities," Martinez said.

ODEP's Alliance Initiative, begun in 2006, enables organizations to work with the agency to develop and implement model policies and initiatives that increase the recruitment, hiring, retention, and career advancement of employees with disabilities. The National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities is an open membership, cross-disability, public education and advocacy organization that works to promote the full inclusion and acceptance of people with disabilities and chronic health conditions into nursing careers.

Medicaid payments to primary care doctors will rise under new regulation

Excerpt from The Washington Post: (click for entire article)

Primary care doctors could get a pay raise next year for treating Medicaid patients, under a rule announced by the Obama administration Wednesday.

The proposed regulation implements a two-year pay increase included in the 2010 health-care law. The increase, effective in 2013 and 2014, brings primary care fees for Medicaid, which covers indigent patients, in line with those for Medicare, which insures the elderly and some disabled patients.

Although Medicaid is jointly funded by states and the federal government, the pay boost would be covered entirely with federal dollars totaling more than $11 billion over the two years it would be in effect.