- Author: Health Informer
- Filed under: Health News
- Date: Apr 30,2010
CDC Report Shows Increase in Seasonal Flu Vaccinations, Greatest Increase among Children
More Americans were vaccinated against seasonal flu during the 2009-10 season (40 percent of eligible population) than during the previous flu season (33 percent of eligible population), according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The greatest gain in vaccination rates was in children 6 months to 17 years. About 40 percent of children were vaccinated for seasonal flu last season, representing a 16 percentage point jump from the 2008-09 season.
There also was an increase in the percentage of healthy adults (people without a chronic health condition such as asthma or diabetes), aged 18-49 years old who were vaccinated against seasonal flu. Coverage in this group increased from approximately 22 percent in 2008-09 to approximately 28 percent for the 2009-10 season. Coverage remained stable among adults 18-49 years of age with chronic health conditions, all adults 50-64 years, and those 65 years and older.
“These results are encouraging,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “It’s now important that we build on this success next fall and winter. We want people, especially parents, to make getting a flu vaccination each year a regular habit” Read the rest of this entry »
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
- Author: Health Informer
- Filed under: Health News
- Date: Apr 29,2010
The View’s Sherri Shepherd, child development pioneer Dr. T. Berry Brazelton join SAMHSA to celebrate fifth anniversary of National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day in D.C.
Joined by more than 70 public and private collaborating organizations and over 1,000 communities around the country, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will celebrate the fifth annual National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day — an annual observance of the importance of caring for every child’s mental health — on May 6, 2010, in Washington, D.C.
This year’s events — the “Awareness Day Turns 5″ Celebration and the Awareness Day Early Childhood Forum — will share strategies to integrate mental health supports and services in environments where young children and families of young children spend time, such as homes; schools; health and child care facilities; and community and recreational centers. Research in cost-effectiveness of early interventions indicates that providing appropriate and effective mental health services and supports to young children can result in positive outcomes in areas such as educational attainment, delinquency and crime, and earnings(1). Speaking as a parent, celebrity Sherri Shepherd from ABC’s “The View” will join SAMHSA and notable early childhood mental health experts to discuss the importance of positive social-emotional development in children as early as birth and need for identifying mental health challenges early in their development. At the event, SAMHSA will honor pediatrician and Harvard Medical School professor emeritus Dr. T. Berry Brazelton with a SAMHSA Special Recognition Award for his ground-breaking work over the past six decades in pediatrics and child development. Read the rest of this entry »
- Author: Health Informer
- Filed under: Health News
- Date: Apr 28,2010
Americans’ confidence in their ability to access and pay for healthcare continued to decline last month, according to a new consumer sentiment index from Thomson Reuters.
“Strikingly, Americans expect the situation to worsen significantly in the next three months,” said Gary Pickens, chief research officer at Thomson Reuters.
The Consumer Healthcare Sentiment Index found that confidence waned three points from a baseline index of 100 in December to 97 in March. The index is based on the Thomson Reuters PULSE(TM) Healthcare Survey.
The index has two parts. A retrospective component gauges respondents’ experiences during the past three months. A prospective component gauges their expectations for the coming three months.
In February, when the index dipped to 98, a statistically significant number of people reported that they had delayed filling or failed to fill a prescription in the past three months and expected to delay or cancel a diagnostic test in the next three months. Read the rest of this entry »
- Author: Health Informer
- Filed under: Health News
- Date: Apr 27,2010
Practice Fusion surveys patients, highlights the inefficiency of paper records and the need for electronic medical records in the US.
American patients have seen an average of 18.7 different doctors during their lives, according to a survey conducted by GfK Roper for Practice Fusion, the free, web-based Electronic Health Record (EHR) company. For patients over 65 years of age, the average increases to 28.4 individual doctors, including primary care, specialists, hospital and urgent care providers.
With the vast majority of medical records in the US still on paper and the average appointment taking 13 pages to document, this study reveals that the average patient’s health is dependent on at least 200 pieces of paper in almost 19 different locations.
“Paper medical records are an absurd way to practice modern medicine,” said Ryan Howard, CEO of Practice Fusion. “The average person has over a dozen charts of medical history scattered around the country. This is data that – if accessible – could save you from duplicate procedures, could improve the quality of care you receive or could save your life. There are almost 200,000 deaths a year from preventable medical errors, partly because this information is not readily available to specialists and emergency rooms.” Read the rest of this entry »