Environmental Medicine News

The News Review:

- In Iraq, fewer killed, more are wounded
- Once a last resort, Houston now evacuees’ home | Chron.com -…
- Everyone Deserves the Chance to Nurture a Child
- In Iraq, Fewer Killed, More Are Wounded
- A bad plan for prescription drugs
- Contributors | Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal

In Iraq, fewer killed, more are wounded
Christian Science Monitor - Aug 29, 2006
Among the emerging details: The fatality rate is markedly less than in previous conflicts. But while all wars are different, the nature of combat in Iraq, plus advances in battlefield medicine, mean that the number of wounded remains relatively high. Enlisted ground troops are most at risk, but the young lieutenants who lead them on patrol are even more likely to be killed or wounded. Lessons learned and historical context are at stake here. But officials also want to make sure the casualty reporting procedures are accurate and adequate, especially for the families of those lost or wounded. The US Army acknowledged over the weekend that it is reexamining hundreds of casualty reports in response to criticisms of inaccuracies, such as instances initially attributed to enemy action that turned out to have been by friendly fire.

Once a last resort, Houston now evacuees’ home | Chron.com -…
Houston Chronicle - Aug 28, 2006
Among the 17,000 cases handled at the clinic were kidney patients in desperate need of dialysis and diabetics suffering from lack of insulin. “We’d have people say that they were heart patients and that they took a little blue pill or a little red pill,” said George Masi, the district’s chief operating officer. “We’d ask what the medicine was called, and they wouldn’t know. ”
As the city rolled up its sleeves - thousands volunteered, uncounted dollars in supplies were donated - White realized that finding evacuees housing and helping them find jobs were problems that needed to be solved and solved soon. The tiny staff of the mayor’s office of neighborhoods and housing grew to 600, said its director, John Walsh. By mid-September, evacuees filling the Astrodome and convention center had been moved to government-funded hotel rooms and apartments. By July, the city of Houston was administering a FEMA-funded program with more than 35,000 tenant families.

Everyone Deserves the Chance to Nurture a Child
Scoop.co.nz - Scoop.co.nz (press release) - Aug 28, 2006
“The private nature of theseproblems means they’re easily over looked when it comes topublic funding allocations. This is evidenced by the factthat of the 13 population health objectives outlined in NewZealand’s Health Strategy none specifically relates toreproductive health. ”An additional $750 million wasallocated to the health sector in this year’s budget, butthe lions share is earmarked for addressing the obesityepidemic. Cindy says, “While we can appreciate the focuson lifestyle diseases such as obesity, it’s frustrating toresearchers in women’s health to see no new initiativesthat will lead to improvements in fertility, reproduction,or pregnancy outcomes. ”“It’s well known that theincidence of infertility, miscarriage and pregnancycomplications will only increase in the coming decade… Since retirement he has served terms asChairman of the Scientific Committee of the Cancer Societyof New Zealand and as President of the InternationalPaediatric Pathology Association. He has maintained closeassociations with the department of Obstetrics andGynaecology of the University of Auckland and with researchprojects in perinatal and infant health and pathology of theplacenta. In 2001 he was appointed ONZM for services tomedicine. Cynthia Farquhar MBChB, MD, DipObst, MRCOG,FRANZCOG, CREI, MPH, MNZMCindy is the PostgraduateProfessor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University ofAuckland. Her research interests include infertility,menstrual disorders, and the long term effects ofhysterectomy. Cindy is the co-ordinating editor of theCochrane Menstrual Disorders and Subfertility Group, whichwas established in 1996. She is also the Chairman of thePerinatal and Maternal Mortality Review Committee and DeputyChairman of the New Zealand Guidelines Group.

In Iraq, Fewer Killed, More Are Wounded
AINA - Aug 28, 2006
Among the emerging details: The fatality rate is markedly less than in previous conflicts. But while all wars are different, the nature of combat in Iraq, plus advances in battlefield medicine, mean that the number of wounded remains relatively high. Enlisted ground troops are most at risk, but the young lieutenants who lead them on patrol are even more likely to be killed or wounded. Lessons learned and historical context are at stake here. But officials also want to make sure the casualty reporting procedures are accurate and adequate, especially for the families of those lost or wounded. The US Army acknowledged over the weekend that it is reexamining hundreds of casualty reports in response to criticisms of inaccuracies, such as instances initially attributed to enemy action that turned out to have been by friendly fire.

A bad plan for prescription drugs
San Diego Union Tribune - Aug 28, 2006
Government on the other hand does not have “customers. ” Instead, it has interest groups and voters; and if the drug that a given voter needs is unavailable in the formulary negotiated by the government, advice to “write a letter to your assemblyman” falls rather flat. And that is why government by its very nature does not “negotiate” prices; it imposes them. That is the reality for drug prices under various current federal programs: Medicaid, Veterans Affairs drug programs, Medicare Part B, and the Public Health Service Act. There is the further matter – as Schwarzenegger understood in January – that government price controls on medicines are inconsistent with the research and development process yielding new and improved drugs over time, that is, with the future alleviation of human suffering. The cost of bringing a new medicine to the market is over $1 billion; because the period of patent protection is limited, threats to remove given drugs from the MediCal formulary, apart from the adverse medical consequences for poor patients, threaten to wreak havoc with pricing strategies designed to recoup those huge costs. Pharmaceutical producers must satisfy investors seeking to do well rather than good… That is the reality for drug prices under various current federal programs: Medicaid, Veterans Affairs drug programs, Medicare Part B, and the Public Health Service Act. There is the further matter – as Schwarzenegger understood in January – that government price controls on medicines are inconsistent with the research and development process yielding new and improved drugs over time, that is, with the future alleviation of human suffering. The cost of bringing a new medicine to the market is over $1 billion; because the period of patent protection is limited, threats to remove given drugs from the MediCal formulary, apart from the adverse medical consequences for poor patients, threaten to wreak havoc with pricing strategies designed to recoup those huge costs. Pharmaceutical producers must satisfy investors seeking to do well rather than good. If price controls reduce profitability, as is inevitable, the flow of new medicines will be reduced or eliminated. There is a far more straightforward solution for patients with moderate incomes. Drug companies should be allowed to offer discounts to those patients without being forced to offer the same discounts to federal and state programs.

Contributors | Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal
Providence Journal - Providence Journal (subscription) - Aug 28, 2006
SOMERSET MAUGHAM (1874-1965) was a licensed physician before he changed his profession to become Britain’s most illustrious novelist. Looking back over his career, years later, Maugham reflected: “I do not know a better training for a writer than to spend some years in the medical profession. I suppose that you can learn a good deal about human nature in a solicitor’s office; but there, on the whole, you have to deal with men in full control of themselves. If an extraterrestrial visitor desired to witness the essence and reality of human life, he might ask where all of humanity’s passions and afflictions are readily on display. And the question would probably be answered by a visit to a large hospital emergency room; for here he would see the beginnings of life, its final moments, and all of the raw events that intervene. He would also observe the wondrous sight of physicians and nurses working desperately — and often successfully — in retrieving the lives of total strangers. Emergency rooms (ERs) before World War II fulfilled a more narrow purpose: management of catastrophes such as auto accidents and care of indigents.