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How To Get Medicare To Cover A Spa Trip

Good news for doctors who think their patients need a trip to the spa: Medicare will reimburse, with only two catches.

FDA Warns of Cancer Risk With Laparoscopic Device

WASHINGTON -- Hysterectomy and procedures to remove uterine fibroids should avoid use of laparoscopic power morcellation, according to a safety advisory from the Food and Drug Administration.

White Boys More Likely to Be Color Blind

Color blindness is not colorblind, as it appears to afflict Caucasian boys at three times the rate of African-American boys, according to a new study.

How to Replace IV Nitroglycerin in the Shortage

What are the alternatives for IV nitroglycerin in the emergency setting as the shortage saps reserves? Several experts share their thoughts.

Small, Frequent Meals Don't Rev Metabolism

Dieters are often told to eat small, frequent meals instead of two or three bigger meals a day to shed extra pounds, but eating this way does not boost metabolism and may increase cardiovascular disease risk, researchers found.

Higher BMI May Be Better for Older Adults

Adults over 65 at the high end of the healthy body mass index range were at lower risk of mortality, and those at the low end were at highest risk, according to a recent meta-analysis.

What You Need To Know About New .health Domains

Should doctors grab a shiny new .health domain?

Environmental Factors Tied to Autism Clusters

An analysis of an insurance claims database of 100 million patients has found clustering of autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability in counties across the U.S.

ICD-10 Follies: Watch Where You're Walking

Yes, there's a code for that. To mark the forthcoming move to the ICD-10 coding system, 番茄社区 is spotlighting some of those thousands of new codes that might just be getting a bit too granular.

5 Ways Doctors Can Use Data Analytics

Data analytics takes claims data, a providers' electronic health record, and any of piece of information available to help physicians become more aware of the patients they're treating. Here are five ways the technology can help meet payers' demands for higher-quality, higher-value care.

CT Appears Safe in Patients With Pacemakers, ICDs

Patients with cardiac rhythm management devices showed no clinically significant major or minor events related to computed tomography imaging over a 10-year period at two large-volume care centers, researchers reported.

ER Briefs: DIY Laptop to AED Kit -- Good Idea?

Inventors aim to resurrect laptops and tablets as AEDs. We asked Clifton Callaway, MD, PhD, an emergency medicine doctor who heads up EM research at the University of Pittsburgh, to weigh in.

Tamoxifen Found in Bodybuilding Supplement

British researchers have found tamoxifen in supplements used by bodybuilders -- an active ingredient that isn't clearly labeled on the bottle.

Can You Get Paid For Prescribing Exercise?

How do doctors get reimbursed when they prescribe exercise? We asked Jordan Metzl, MD, author of the new book, "Exercise Cure."

5 Problems With Mobile Health App Security

No federal agency has the power to properly regulate the fast-growing world of mobile health applications and telehealth systems, researchers noted while outlining several security risks and privacy threats.

CardioBuzz: More Money Needed for Heart Research?

The NIH dedicates a lot of money for research into heart disease and stroke, but it still might not be enough, a new study suggested.

Bodybuilders Bulk Up Using ... Cancer Drugs?

While steroids are all-stars among performance-enhancing drugs, breast cancer drugs are a lesser-known staple of doping regimens, as are some investigational agents that aren't available on any regulated market.

11 Endocrinology Apps for Docs' Toolboxes

Even if endocrinologists aren't already suggesting smartphone apps to their patients, they've likely been asked to offer up recommendations. Here's a list of 11 apps you should know about.

10 Questions: Rep. Phil Gingrey, MD (R-Ga.)

If you could change one thing about the healthcare system, what would it be? Eliminate Obamacare, says Rep. Phil Gingrey, MD (R-Ga.). That's his answer to just one of the 10 Questions the 番茄社区 staff is asking leading clinicians, researchers, and leaders in their community to get their personal views on their chosen profession. In this series we share their uncensored responses.

Testosterone Level Affects Flu Shot Response

Men with high testosterone and a certain genetic cluster may not experience an antibody response after a flu shot, researchers suggested -- a finding that could affect men taking prescription testosterone.

Bone Density Higher in Blacks, Vitamin D Lower

Black Americans had lower levels of total 25-hydroxyvitamin D and vitamin D-binding protein than whites, but similar levels of bioavailable 25-hydroxyvitamin D, and higher bone density.

Fast-Acting AMA Group Hopes to Fix SGR

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- A large coalition of American Medical Association members met in seclusion Sunday morning here at the interim meeting of the House of Delegates and rapidly found consensus on a proposed resolution for the repeal of Medicare's sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula.

Rape Laws Offer Little Protection

BOSTON -- The world over, laws to protect rape victims are paper tigers, often enacted but rarely enforced, a researcher said here.

Studies 'Validate' CDC HCV Testing Advice

WASINGTON -- Thousands of people in the U.S. -- including an estimated 50,000 veterans -- are infected with the hepatitis C virus, and don't know it, researchers reported here.

Morning Break: Addictive Oreos and Sperm-Slaying Bacon

Health news and commentary from around the Web, gathered by the 番茄社区 staff.

MERS Knowledge Gaps Troubling to Many

SAN FRANCISCO -- Although much is known about the Middle East coronavirus (MERS-CoV), "unfortunately some issues are still unresolved," according to the man in charge of battling the outbreak.

ACP Hedges in Debate on Scope of Practice

The American College of Physicians took a nuanced position on the role advanced nurse practitioners play in clinical care teams in a position paper published Monday.

Lab Notes: Meth May Worsen Fungal Infection

Mice injected with methamphetamine and exposed to Cryptococcus fungi showed more extensive and hard-to-eradicate infections. Also this week: an organic pesticide fights parasitic worms.

FDA Goes After Fake Diabetes Therapies

The FDA has sent letters to 15 companies warning them to stop marketing products that falsely claim to treat diabetes, the agency announced.

Itching: No Big Deal in Most Cases But ...

Summer usually brings with it plenty of causes for itching, most of which are annoying but not indicative of serious health problems.

Sun Damage: Darker Not Better for Sunglasses

Seeking some new shades? There is whole lot more than style at stake, experts say.

Honey, Cola May Disrupt Heart

A detailed history of patients with arrhythmia or syncope might need to include their cola intake or the origin of the honey they consume, two case studies suggest.

AMA House Votes Against Council, Calls Obesity a Disease

CHICAGO -- Obesity should be called a disease and not simply a condition, the American Medical Association's policy-making House of Delegates voted on Tuesday, ignoring a recommendation by one of its own councils.

Obesity Not a Disease, AMA Council Says

CHICAGO -- Obesity is hard to define and diagnose, and partly because of that is not a disease, an American Medical Association council said in a report issued here Monday.

Public Citizen's Wolfe Still Needling FDA

Sidney Wolfe, MD, founder of Public Citizen's Health Research Group, sat down this week with 番茄社区 in his Washington office to discuss his 40 years of work as a leading voice in consumer health advocacy.

CDC: Cut Back on Doxycycline Use

A continuing shortage of doxycycline means the drug should be used only for conditions that have no alternative treatments, the CDC advised this week.

Withdrawal Not a Problem with Phentermine

Patients taking phentermine long-term to treat obesity don't have to worry about withdrawal when they come off it, researchers found.

FDA Allows Opana Generics

The original formulation of extended-release oxymorphone (Opana ER) that lacked abuse-resistant mechanisms was not pulled from the market for safety reasons, and therefore generics based on that recipe are permissible, the FDA said.

CHIP Faces Uncertain Future

锘縒ASHINGTON -- The final implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could be bad news for re-authorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a congressional staffer said.

Gun Control: Docs Told to Speak Up

WASHINGTON -- Physicians need to do a better job at promoting the data that supports stronger gun-control laws, experts here said.

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