Policy & practice.(Practice Trends)

ACADEMIC SALARIES High-demand specialists such as ob.gyns. may be starting to make more money in academic settings to better compete with the private sector, according to a new report from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA). Median total compensation for ob.gyns. in an academic setting increased 9.4% between 2002 and 2003 to $181,613 annually. Overall, the median total compensation for specialist physicians in academic medicine rose 3.2%. "Increases in physician compensation for academic medical practices tend to mirror high-demand specialties," said Kathryn A. Mahaffey, chair of the MGMA survey advisory committee. "For academic practices to remain competitive and attract adequate levels of specialists, some medical schools may have to raise compensation to more closely match our private-sector counterparts."

TOP 10 RANKING The United States ranked 10th on the Save the Children's "Mother's Index," which compares the well-being of mothers and children in 119 countries. The index compares countries based on the lifetime risk of maternal mortality, use of modern contraception, births attended by trained personnel, prevalence of anemia among pregnant women, female literacy, and participation of women in national government. The index compares the well-being of children, using as benchmarks infant mortality, nutritional status, primary school enrollment, and access to safe water. Sweden, Denmark, and Finland topped the rankings this year. Mali. Burkina Faso, and Niger were at the bottom.

STEM CELL EXPANSION More than 200 members of Congress from both parties are calling on President Bush to expand the administration's policy on research using embryonic stem cells. In August 2001. President Bush established a policy allowing the use of federal funds for research on embryonic stem cell lines that existed as of Aug. 9, 2001, and which met certain criteria. There are 19 embryonic stem cell lines available to researchers under the policy, according to the ...