Author: healthprofessionalradio

Overview

• Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington died by suicide last week at the age of 41. The tragedy has shaken the music industry, which Help Musicians has stated is going through a ‘mental health crisis’. The charity has launched the Music Minds Matter campaign and are hoping to raise enough money for the first dedicated twenty four seven mental health service for those in the music industry.
• There has been an increase across the UK of men and boys suffering from eating disorders, according to research by BBC Panorama. Eating disorders have the highest death rate of any mental health illness and are estimated to affect 1.6 million people in the UK, including approximately four hundred thousand 400,000 men and boys.
• Almost 63,000 people in England will die over the next 5 years from liver problems linked to heavy drinking unless ministers tackle the scourge of cheap alcohol, doctors are warning. Analysis by Sheffield University’s influential Alcohol Research Group predicts that 32,475 of the deaths – the equivalent of 35 a day – will be the result of liver cancer and another twenty two thousand five hundred nineteen from alcoholic liver disease.

Overview

• Amazon is showing interest in health care, and it’s making industry players ‘nervous,’ says investors. Amazon has also been selling medical supplies online for some time. CNBC reported in May that the company was on the hunt for a general manager to lead a new pharmacy unit.
• Just a 5% decline in measles vaccination rates could triple the number of young children who get infected with the virus in the U.S., according to a study highlighting the risks of parents refusing to vaccinate their kids. If this vaccination rate dropped to 80%, it could result in 150 additional measles cases a year and cost government health programs $2.1 million dollars, not counting hospital bills, researchers estimate.
• From 2005 to 2012, the rate of calls to poison control centers about dietary supplements increased by almost 50%, and most of the exposures were in children younger than 6 years old, according to a study published in the Journal of Medical Toxicology. Henry Spiller, study author and director of Central Ohio Poison Control, said parents still need to be extremely cautious about leaving these products within access of children.

Overview

• The UK’s viral This Girl Can campaign that encouraged women to become more active and told them “I jiggle therefore I am” is about to launch an Australian spin-off. The original 2015 video attracted more than 16 million views on YouTube and Facebook and featured women of all ages and sizes jogging, jumping, sweating and playing sport.
• The idea that social media has negative impacts on our mental health is nothing new.  Interestingly, science has found a very weak link between the rise in the use of social media and mental health problems.
• Female general practitioners outnumbered their male colleagues for the first time in Australia. Medical Board of Australia data confirmed women now outflanked men in general practice, with 973 more registered female GPs than males as of March 2017.

Overview

• According to a survey, most women do not know how much they should be eating while pregnant. The National Charity Partnership found only a third of the expectant mothers questioned got the correct answer.
• The parents of critically ill baby Charlie Gard have dropped their legal bid to send him to the United States for an experimental treatment after new medical tests showed that the window of opportunity to help him had closed.
• Blood donation rules for sex workers and gay men are being relaxed in England and Scotland after improvements in the accuracy of testing procedures. Men who have sex with men can now give blood 3 months after their last sexual activity instead of 12. And sex workers, who were previously barred from donating, now can, subject to the same 3-month rule.

Overview

• Thousands of American nuns led by Sister Simone Campbell have signed a letter to senators asking them to reject the Republican plan to bring up a health care bill this week. The letter, organized by NETWORK, a Catholic social justice lobby and signed by more than seven thousand U.S. sisters, asks senators to vote against any motion to bring up “any bill that would repeal the ACA and cut Medicaid.”
• Trouble began early last year when executives at a small hospital an hour north of Spokane, Washington, started using a company called EmCare to staff and run their emergency room. After EmCare arrived, nearly 28% of patients got the highest-level billing code. On top of that, the hospital, Newport Hospital and Health Services, was getting calls from confused patients who had received surprisingly large bills from the emergency room doctors.
• Madalyn Parker, a Michigan web developer at live-chat platform Olark, who suffers from depression and anxiety, sent an email to her team saying she’d be off for two days to focus on her mental health. Her boss thank her for the candor.  She shared the exchange on social media in late June, and it’s now been retweeted nearly fifteen thousand times.

Overview

• Little Kids Shredz, a food for toddlers marketed as being made almost entirely from fruit and vegetables contains so much sugar it should be deemed confectionery by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
• The Mater Hospital in Queensland has put its name to an advertising campaign by New Hope Group calling for the state government to approve its New Acland stage three mine, despite its landmark rejection by Queensland’s land court.  
• According to new research, 7 out of 10 packaged foods contain added sugar that is not clearly identified by nutrition labels. Experts found foods with low nutritional value such as cakes, pies, ice cream, pastries, processed meats, potato chips and soft drinks contained on average almost four times more added sugar than foods such as cheese, milk, bread, yogurts or plain cereals like oats.

Overview

• A decision not to vaccinate boys against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) has attracted fierce criticism. Critics said vaccinating boys could help reduce the risk even further.
• Information Governance matters. Health and care workers are allowed to discuss named patients amongst themselves, but confidential data must not be shared elsewhere, unless the data is anonymised or permitted by the patient to be shared.
• Department of Health has published the Tobacco Control Plan for England, aiming to create a “smoke free generation” by reducing smoking rates through prevention and helping smokers to quit.

Overview

• As Republican senators have no clue what is happening with Obamacare repeal next week. Senators are unsure about the status of a health care vote. Lawmakers wondered whether there would be a vote and what exactly they would be voting on.
• U.S. drug distributor Cardinal Health has put its China business up for sale after the so-called “two-invoice” procurement system was introduced for drug distribution.
• Millions of Americans got health insurance through the expansion of Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act. Though efforts in Congress to overhaul the law collapsed, Republicans including President Trump, say they haven’t given up on repealing the law.

Overview

• Korongee Village is a place specifically built for people with living dementia, allowing patients to move in a familiar environment with safe access to a supermarket, cinema, cafes, beauty salon and gardens.
• AIDS treatment has won as deaths almost halved since 2005 and more than half of people infected with HIV now getting treatment, according to a UN report.
• Cancer patients face financial stress, often affecting their treatment decisions. Out-of-pocket expenses plus their inability to work adds up to their financial burdens.