Clinical Psychiatry News articles from July 2004

Clinical Psychiatry News archives from July 2004

Anxiety disorders underdiagnosed.(News)
July 1, 2004... PHOENIX, ARIZ. -- Psychiatrists may be dramatically underdiagnosing anxiety disorders, Joshua E. Wilk, Ph.D., reported at a meeting of the New Clinical Drug Evaluation Unit sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health. ...

Coverage requirements for mental health insurance benefits, as of June 2003.(Vital Signs)
July 1, 2004... Coverage Requirements for Mental Health Insurance Benefits, as of June 2003 Source: AARP

Prescribing law in Louisiana rankles psychiatrists: APA warns that move to grant rights to psychologists will threaten patient safety.(News)
July 1, 2004... Psychiatry is still reeling from the latest blow in the battle over psychologist prescribing privileges. Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco has signed into law House Bill 1426, which grants prescribing privileges to specially trained...

Panel backs vagal nerve stimulator for depression: device deemed safe for recalcitrant cases.(News)
July 1, 2004... GAITHERSBURG, MD. -- Patients with treatment-resistant depression may soon have another option: implantation of a pace-maker-like device that intermittently stimulates the vagal nerve. At a meeting last month, the Food and Drug...

NAMI weighs in on treatment of kids.(News)(National Alliance for the Mentally Ill)
July 1, 2004... WASHINGTON -- Doing nothing may be the greatest risk of all when it comes to psychiatric care for children. Dr. Kenneth Duckworth said at a press briefing sponsored by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. The findings came from a...

Full pediatric data available for paroxetine.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... GlaxoSmithKline is providing full study data on the safety and efficacy of paroxetine for adolescent and pediatric patients on its Web site. The company has made summaries and full results for nine placebo-controlled trials on paroxetine...

FDA panel backs SSRI lable change for pregnancy.(News)(selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors )
July 1, 2004... ROCKVILLE, MD. -- A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel supported the addition of information to the professional label and patient package insert of serotonin reuptake inhibitors concerning neonatal withdrawal syndrome and toxicity...

Wyeth fails to sway FDA on venlafaxine, kids.(News)
July 1, 2004... ROCKVILLE, MD. -- Pediatric studies submitted by the manufacturer of venlafaxine are not sufficient to warrant approval of the antidepressant in pediatric patients, according to the Food and Drug Administration. In 2003, the FDA issued a...

Counteracting gang violence.(Fink! Still at Large)
July 1, 2004... The recent machete wounding of a 16-year-old gang member in suburban Washington points to a disturbing reality: In many of our nation's cities, violence between rival gangs is reaching frightening proportions. What can the community do to...

HIV drugs and dementia.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... I read with great interest the report on the link between use of antiviral agents and development of cognitive impairment ("HIV Drugs Change Cognitive Impairment Risk," May 2004, p. 42). This has been my clinical impression and a point of...

Prevent Frivolous lawsuits.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... Protecting physicians against "frivolous" lawsuits, a new service offered by the Medical Justice Corp., is a good idea ("Company Offers Plan to Prevent Frivolous Suits," May 1, 2004, p. 104). I wonder, however, why malpractice insurance...

How to survive a Medicare audit.(Guest Editorial)
July 1, 2004... Mention of a government audit usually raises the specter of the Internal Revenue Service. But physicians who treat Medicare beneficiaries--which is most of us--need to know about a far more likely audit source: the Centers for Medicare and...

Searching for community.(Reel Life)(Our House)(Movie Review)
July 1, 2004... For years I lived a block from a community residential group home for adults with developmental disabilities, people who typically had spent years in institutions beforehand. Some stayed at home all day, and others worked at sheltered...

Depression and suicide.(Practical Psychopharmacology)
July 1, 2004... The recent Food and Drug Administration warning about suicidality and selective serotonergic antidepressants brought renewed attention to a broader issue that clinicians ignore at their patients' peril: the association between suicide and...

Hospitalist programs can be improved.(Guest Editorial)(Editorial)
July 1, 2004... The current hospitalist model has shown the potential to improve quality of care, increase efficiency, and improve patient satisfaction. With the demand for hospitalists estimated to reach 19,000 by 2008, I have little doubt that every hospital...

A personal look at brain injury.(Guest Editorial)(Editorial)
July 1, 2004... I am a forensic psychiatrist who often examines and treats patients who have suffered traumatic brain injury. As such, I'm often called upon to use quality of life measurements to quantify the extent of a patient's disability for litigation and...

Pain relievers.(Opinion)
July 1, 2004... JOSEPH FARRIS

'The Passion': powerful but disturbing.(Guest Editorial)(Movie Review)
July 1, 2004... Is there anything left to be said about Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ?" Much has already been written, and the critics are bitterly polarized. Writing in The New Republic, Leon Wieseltier denounced the small-minded Gibson and his...

Novel treatments show promise in depression.(Adult Psychiatry)
July 1, 2004... NEW YORK -- Two psychotropic drugs approved for other purposes appear to have promise as monotherapy or augmentation therapy in depression, according to poster presentations at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. ...

Personality disorders common in outpatients.(Adult Psychiatry)
July 1, 2004... NEW YORK -- Personality disorders are frequent in psychiatric outpatients and can be more readily diagnosed using semistructured interviews than other methods, Dr. Mark Zimmerman said at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric...

The art of Peta Wright.(Visionary Art)
July 1, 2004... Several names are used to describe innovative works of art created by artists outside of the cultural mainstream--including outsider art, art brut, raw art, or the more encompassing term, intuitive art. In Australia and New Zealand, such works...

Top five antipsychotics, 2003.(Data Watch)(Illustration)
July 1, 2004... Top Five Antipsychotics, 2003 Risperdal 7.8 Zyprexa 7.1 Seroquel 5.9 Haloperidol 1.22 Abilify 1.16 Note: Total antipsychotic market is 26.9 million prescriptions. Source: Verispan Note: Table made from...

Depot atypical antipsychotic maintains remission in some.(Adult Psychiatry)
July 1, 2004... NEW YORK -- Patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder stabilized on other regimens may improve further when they switch to long-acting risperidone, the first depot formulation of an atypical antipsychotic, Dr. John Kane said in a...

Borderline personality disorder patients at increased suicide risk.(Adult Psychiatry)
July 1, 2004... NEW YORK -- Patients with borderline personality disorder, regardless of a comorbid diagnosis of major depressive disorder, are more likely to attempt suicide than are patients with major depression alone. Moreover, patients with...

Benzodiazepines and the risk of abuse.(Evidence-based Psychiatric Medicine)
July 1, 2004... The Patient You have a patient diagnosed with a severe and persistent mental disorder as well as polysubstance dependence. The polysubstance use is in remission. He is prescribed various psychotropics, including a benzodiazepine. Your best...

'Borderline' label needs a new name.(The Psychiatrist's Toolbox)
July 1, 2004... Borderline personality disorder: Where did it come from, and what does it mean? What kind of word is "borderline"? The term borderline, which our profession started using more than 120 years ago, originally described a mental illness that...

Minority patients express depression differently.(Adult Psychiatry)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... WASHINGTON -- Ever hear a patient say that he or she is "feeling evil" and let the remark go by without any comment? If so, an opportunity might have been missed to diagnose depression, Dr. Annelle Primm said at a meeting sponsored by the...

Antidepressant efficacy trials: questions raised.(Adult Psychiatry)
July 1, 2004... NEW YORK -- Participants in antidepressant efficacy trials are not representative of patients in clinical practice, Dr. Mark Zimmerman said in a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. Individuals...

Nefazodone for PTSD.(Clinical Capsules)(posttraumatic stress disorder)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Nefazodone appears to be more effective than placebo in the treatment of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder, based on the results of a randomized, double-blind, pilot study. Of 19 nefazodone patients who completed at least 4 weeks of...

Depression and metabolism.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... A history of a depressive episode is associated with the metabolic syndrome in women but not in men, an analysis of data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey suggests. The positive association between a history of...

CBT May reduce recidivism.(Clinical Capsules)(cognitive behavioral treatment )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Cognitive-behavioral programs have the potential to reduce the rate of recidivism in some inpatients with major mental illness and a history of recidivistic aggression, crime, or both, reported Dr. Michael Kunz of the Huntington (W.Va.)...

Schizophrenia therapies.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Group cognitive-behavioral therapy significantly reduces the hospital readmission rate for schizophrenia patients, compared with group psychoeducation, reported Dr. Andreas Bechdolf and colleagues at the University of Cologne (Germany). In...

Amisulpride vs. olanzapine.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The atypical antipsychotics amisulpride and olanzapine have similar efficacy but a different side effect profile in the treatment of schizophrenia, according to the results of a randomized, double-blind trial. In patients who had at least...

Retardation and ADHD.(Clinical Capsules)(Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Children with ADHD and mental retardation showed significant improvement in tasks involving sustained attention, selective attention, and inhibition/impulsivity when taking methylphenidate, reported Deborah A. Pearson, Ph.D., of the University...

Citalopram for depression.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Both children and adolescents who took approximately 24 mg daily of citalopram showed improvement in their depressive symptoms, compared with those in a placebo group, said Dr. Karen Dineen Wagner of the University of Texas, Galveston, and her...

Food coloring and ADHD.(Clinical Capsules)(Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Significant reductions in hyperactivity occurred in a group of 277 children aged 3 years old when artificial food coloring and sodium benzoate were removed from their diets, reported B. Bateman and colleagues at the University of Southampton,...

Mental disorders in obese.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Consider a psychiatric component when treating obese children, said Dr. Gilbert Vila of Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital, Paris, and associates. In a study of 155 obese children aged 5-17 years, 88 (57%) had a DSM-IV diagnosis. At least one...

Effects of pubertal timing.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Late-maturing teens, both males and females, reported significantly lower self-esteem and elevated depressive symptoms, compared with on-time maturers, said Julia A. Graber, Ph.D., of the University of Florida, Gainesville, and her colleagues....

Teenagers' naivete raises risk of acquiring an STD.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
July 1, 2004... ST. LOUIS -- Adolescents have very little grasp of whether or not their sexual partners have concurrent sexual relationships, a misunderstanding that could leave them at an increased risk for contracting a sexually transmitted disease. ...

High prenatal stress slows toddler development: a 1998 ice storm provided an opportunity to study the effect of external stress during pregnancy.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
July 1, 2004... WASHINGTON -- Two-year-olds whose mothers experienced moderate to high levels of stress during the second trimester of pregnancy had significantly lower IQ scores than did children whose mothers experienced less prenatal stress, Suzanne King,...

Survey shows that adolescents support discrimination against the mentally Ill.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
July 1, 2004... NEW YORK -- A majority of high school students surveyed at five Midwestern schools supported discrimination against persons with mental illness, Dr. Stephanie A. Riolo said in a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the American...

For teens, smoking equals weight loss.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
July 1, 2004... ST. LOUIS -- Adolescents who want to lose weight may be at a significantly increased risk of initiating smoking, Dr. Eric Chesley reported in a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the Society for Adolescent Medicine. Dr. Chesley...

Memantine improves cognition in Alzheimer's.(Geriatric Psychiatry)
July 1, 2004... PHOENIX, ARIZ. -- Memantine improved cognitive performance in a 24-week, placebo-controlled trial in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease, Dr. Nunzio Pomara said a poster presentation at a meeting of the New Clinical Drug...

Rivastigmine may slow Alzheimer's progression.(Geriatric Psychiatry)
July 1, 2004... NEW YORK -- The cholinesterase inhibitor rivastigmine appeared to slow the cognitive decline of Alzheimer's disease for up to 5 years, in a study reported in a poster presentation by Mary Sano, Ph.D., at the annual meeting of the American...

Memantine also effective in mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.(Geriatric Psychiatry)
July 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- Memantine is a beneficial therapy across the full spectrum of Alzheimer's disease severity, Dr. Steven G. Potkin said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology. The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor agonist...

Use extra caution in prescribing benzodiazepines for the elderly.(Geriatric Psychiatry)
July 1, 2004... NEW ORLEANS -- Benzodiazepines should be prescribed for the elderly only when absolutely necessary, and in small, short-term doses. Dr. Olivera J. Bogunovic said in a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the American Academy of...

Psychosis and dementia commonly coexist: hallucinations are associated with depression, and delusions are seen in more advanced dementia.(Geriatric Psychiatry)
July 1, 2004... SAN DIEGO -- Delusions and hallucinations are relatively common among people with dementia, according to Dr. Constantine Lyketsos. Often, they can be managed through a combination of accurate diagnosis, adjustment of precipitating factors,...

For some Alzheimer's patients, donepezil is best.(Geriatric Psychiatry)
July 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- Donepezil offers important practical advantages over other cholinesterase inhibitors in treating Alzheimer's disease in real-world nursing home settings, Sharon B. Dybicz, Pharm.D., said at the annual meeting of the American...

Three inexpensive tests could help detect risk of stroke.(Geriatric Psychiatry)
July 1, 2004... SAN DIEGO -- Treatment guided by the results of a 4-minute screening protocol could prevent more than 200,000 strokes and 30,000 deaths, each year in the population of 40 million Medicare recipients, Dr. George Lavenson Jr. declared in a poster...

Use your influence to help patients quit smoking.(Addiction Psychiatry)
July 1, 2004... NEW ORLEANS -- Yes, you can get your patients to quit smoking. Physicians "really do have the tools to get people to quit smoking. We need to give patients a clear and unambiguous message," Dr. William C. Bailey said at the annual meeting...

Suicide for some is an escape from 'the self'.(Community Psychiatry)
July 1, 2004... MIAMI -- Suicide for some people is a means to escape "the self," a process with six steps that ultimately leads someone to attempt to kill himself or herself. The theory of self is very prominent in social psychology. The self tries to...

Gay men at increased risk of developing depression, distress.(Community Psychiatry)
July 1, 2004... Gay men are significantly more likely than adult U.S. men in general to be clinically depressed or distressed, reported Dr. Thomas C. Mills and his colleagues at the University of California, San Francisco. Based on an analysis of...

Strategy can help people cope with suicide: four principles may enable patients to express grief and participate in life after the loss of a loved one.(Community Psychiatry)
July 1, 2004... MIAMI -- There are four principles that can help clinicians guide patients through the grieving process after the loss of a loved one to suicide, according to a presentation at the annual conference of the American Association of Suicidology....

Eszopiclone consistently effective for insomnia: investigational nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic received 'approvable' letter from the FDA earlier this year.(Neuropsychiatric Medicine)
July 1, 2004... NEW YORK -- Eszopiclone provides consistent improvements in both sleep and daytime functioning over time in elderly and nonelderly patients with insomnia, according to data presented during a poster session at the annual meeting of the American...

Indiplon improves sleep quality without next-day sedation.(Neuropsychiatric Medicine)(nonbenzodiazepine drug )
July 1, 2004... NEW YORK -- Indiplon, an investigational therapy, is effective in helping improve the quality and length of sleep without residual next-day sedation in patients with insomnia, according to data from three studies presented in a poster session...

Seizure drug useful in primary insomnia patients.(Neuropsychiatric Medicine)
July 1, 2004... NEW YORK -- The anticonvulsant tiagabine is effective in maintaining and enhancing deep sleep in adults with primary insomnia, Dr. Thomas Roth, Ph.D., reported during a poster session at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric...

Migraine prevention: tailor choice to patient.(Pain Medicine)
July 1, 2004... CANCUN, MEXICO -- So many medications are available for migraine prevention that choosing the right one requires persistence by the physician as well as the patient, Dr. Todd D. Rozen said at a symposium sponsored by the American Headache...

Closure of patent foramen ovale may counter migraine.(Pain Medicine)
July 1, 2004... VIENNA -- Percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale might constitute a novel treatment for migraine, Dr. Stephan Windecker said at the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology. Transcranial Doppler studies indicate that up...

Sun could be a potent painkiller.(Pain Medicine)
July 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Sunshine on your patients' shoulders may help take away their pain, Dr. Jeffrey M. Walch reported in a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society. In a randomized prospective study of...

Marijuana, codeine may be equal as analgesics.(Pain Medicine)
July 1, 2004... VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Marijuana is an effective analgesic that probably can be equated with codeine in its potency, Dr. David Boyd said at the annual meeting of the American Pain Society. Cannabinoids are difficult to study in a...

Most physicians uncomfortable with opioids.(Pain Medicine)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Many physicians are not comfortable prescribing opioid medications, and that's because they feel they don't have proper training in how to prescribe them, said Dr. Sanjay Gupta at the annual meeting of the American Academy of...

Fibromyalgia, mood disorders share common link.(Pain Medicine)
July 1, 2004... SAN DIEGO -- New data support the possibility that a common heritable factor puts people at risk for both major mood disorder and fibromyalgia, Dr. Lesley M. Arnold said at a psychopharmacology congress sponsored by the Neuroscience Education...

Migraine with aura appears to increase stroke risk in women.(Pain Medicine)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- Women with a history of migraine with aura are at subsequent increased risk of stroke, according to new data from the landmark prospective Women's Health Study. Migraine without aura, however, didn't confer increased stroke...

'Pain matrix' of the brain activated by empathy.(Pain Medicine)
July 1, 2004... Recent brain imaging studies provide a neural foundation for the saying. "I feel your pain. Many of the areas of the brain activated by pain are also triggered when a person empathizes with someone else's pain, according to a neuroimaging...

Risk factors identified for relapse in bulimia.(Psychosomatic Medicine)
July 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- A combination of severe symptoms, extensive family involvement, and a concomitant Axis II diagnosis was a predictor of relapse and readmission among bulimia nervosa patients in a recent study. Typically, about 30% of...

Genetics contribute to binge eating: unique environmental factors also play a role in development of bingeing behaviors.(Psychosomatic Medicine)
July 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Studies increasingly suggest that binge eating disorder runs in families, and researchers are slowly unraveling the extent to which genetics and environment each contribute to the disease, Cynthia Bulik, Ph.D., said at an...

Emerging binge eating disorder Tx being studied for obesity, vice versa.(Psychosomatic Medicine)
July 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Emerging data highlight the link between binge eating disorder and obesity, Dr. Timothy Walsh said at an international conference sponsored by the Academy for Eating Disorders. Psychological approaches such as...

BED: psychiatric disorder or gluttony?(Psychosomatic Medicine)(binge eating disorder)
July 1, 2004... COLORADO SPRINGS -- Binge eating is believed to be the most common of all the eating disorders, affecting 2%-5% of the general population, said Dawn M. laconis at a symposium on addictive disorders sponsored by Psychotherapy Associates. ...

Maternal obesity, depression predict outcomes in bulimia.(Psychosomatic Medicine)
July 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Maternal obesity and depression play a significant role in the long-term recovery of patients with bulimia nervosa, Aimee J. Arikian reported at an international conference sponsored by the Academy for Eating Disorders. In...

Exercise compulsion in men poses challenge.(Psychosomatic Medicine)
July 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Anorexia nervosa in males is often accompanied by compulsive exercising, which tends to be driven more by a desire for muscularity than a desire to lose weight, Dr. Theodore Weltzin said at an international conference sponsored...

Binge eating tops the list of eating disorders among patients with anxiety.(Psychosomatic Medicine)
July 1, 2004... MIAMI -- Binge eating was the most common eating disorder in a study of primary care patients screened for anxiety, Jennifer L. Francis, Ph.D., said at the annual conference of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America. "There is a high...

Mortality up with post-MI depression.(Psychosomatic Medicine)(myocardial infraction)
July 1, 2004... NEW ORLEANS -- Depression occurring after an MI was associated with a 2.5-fold increased cardiac mortality during the subsequent year in a new metaanalysis of 21 prospective studies, Dr. Joost P. van Melle reported at the annual meeting of the...

Weight loss is a toss up between low carb, low fat: at 1-year follow-up, low-carbohydrate group reduced carbs by 52%; low-fat dieters lowered average caloric intake to 1,822.(Across Specialties)
July 1, 2004... New data show that after 1 year, low-carbohydrate dieters don't maintain the greater weight losses that they have at 6 months, compared with conventional low-fat, low-calorie dieters. Results from a 1-year follow-up study by Dr. Linda Stern...

Statins may cut brain inflammation in MS.(Across Specialties)(multiple sclerosis)
July 1, 2004... Statin drugs may inhibit the inflammatory components of multiple sclerosis that lead to neurologic disability, according to the results of a multicenter, open-label study. Studies in mouse models have suggested that statins may influence...

Risk management program for IBS drug on track: alosetron was reintroduced to the market in 2002 with a few caveats, including a narrower indication.(Across Specialties)
July 1, 2004... ROCKVILLE, MD. -- Several members of a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel agreed that the risk management program in place for the irritable bowel syndrome drug alosetron appears to be working and should not be modified for...

People who eat more in the morning eat less overall.(Across Specialties)
July 1, 2004... Your mother was right: Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, at least as far as reducing total food intake goes. People who eat a higher proportion of their total daily food during the morning hours have a significantly...

J curve confirmed for diastolic BP, heart risks.(Across Specialties)
July 1, 2004... NEW ORLEANS -- The J-shaped curve for diastolic blood pressure is real, Dr. Franz H. Messerli said at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology, based on data collected from more than 22,000 patients in a major hypertension...

Women who smoke have higher lung ca risk: possible reasons might include differences in lung capacity between men and women, cellular repair mechanisms.(Across Specialties)
July 1, 2004... CHICAGO -- Women who smoke are twice as likely to develop lung cancer from tobacco as their male counterparts, according to results from the 10-year Early Lung Cancer Action Project. A total of 77 lung cancers were diagnosed in baseline...

Cancer survival worse in African Americans.(Across Specialties)
July 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- African Americans with breast or prostate cancer had significantly worse survival rates than patients of other races in several of the major phase III-treatment trials done in the United States. "The difference in survival...

Will tracking meds go wireless?(Practice Trends)
July 1, 2004... FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. -- Bar code technology has been a big step forward in patient safety, but it's not a natural part of workflow and is easily bypassed, Alex Wilson said at a meeting sponsored by the Medical Records Institute. ...

Mental health care in ER.(Policy & Practice)(emergency medical services)
July 1, 2004... Emergency departments are seeing a dramatic increase in patients with mental illness seeking care, and the situation is "taking a significant toll" on hospital resources nationwide, according to a new survey. The online survey of 353 emergency...

Outpatient treatment costs.(Policy & Practice)
July 1, 2004... The average cost for treatment of alcohol or drug abuse in outpatient facilities in 2002 was $1,433 per course, according to a study released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The report, "Alcohol and...

Smoking and disease link.(Policy & Practice)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Physicians have new reasons to encourage their patients to kick the habit. A report from Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona showed that smoking causes diseases in nearly every organ in the body. In addition, the report says that smoking is...

Plans address racial disparities.(Policy & Practice)
July 1, 2004... Health plans are becoming more proactive in collecting data on the race and ethnicity of their patients, according to a study sponsored by America's Health Insurance Plans and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The study was sent to 302 plans...