QuickHealth To Open No-Insurance Health Clinic in San Francisco

QuickHealth, Burlingame-based, is opening open another "retail health care store" -- a clinic that does not accept appointments or health insurance -- in San Francisco. The company opened a similar clinic in San Mateo in August 2005. QuickHealth tells the uninsured upfront the cost of different medical exams, procedures and treatments. QuickHealth officials say the retail clinic model reduces costs to the patient by eliminating overhead costs associated with billing, and by investing in electronic medical records technology and in-store diagnostic equipment. Doctors at the clinic treat "routine family medical problems," such as ear aches, fevers, sore throats and rashes, as well as providing immunizations and physicals.

FDA Approves First Inhalable Insulin

FDA on Friday (January 27, 2006) approved Exubera, the first inhalable form of insulin, for use in diabetes patients. Pfizer developed Exubera, which is delivered in powder form through a small dispenser, with Sanofi Aventis and Nektar Therapeutics. Pfizer said that Exubera should become available by the middle of 2006.

FDA approved Exubera to stabilize blood sugar levels near mealtimes among adult patients who have type 1 or type 2 diabetes and do not smoke. FDA also said that diabetes patients who quit smoking within the previous six months or who have lung diseases such as emphysema, bronchitis or asthma should not use Exubera. Exubera will not replace the need for some diabetes patients to inject insulin in the morning or at night, FDA said and that diabetes patients should have their lungs examined before they begin to use Exubera and at six- and 12-month intervals subsequently.

New Scholarly Journal Devoted to Plagiarism

A new refereed, online journal began publication in January entitled Plagiary: Cross-Disciplinary Studies in Plagiarism, Fabrication, and Falsification. More information can be found on their website http://www.plagiary.org/.

Health Care Disparities Increase Among Latinos

The annual National Healthcare Disparities Report and the National Healthcare Quality Report were released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. AHRQ finds that 59% of disparity measures were widening for Latinos, while 41% were decreasing. These reports used data mostly from 2002 and 2003 that examined disparities in 46 different health care measures, along with six categories of access to care. AHRQ reported that in five out of six categories of access to care, disparities increased for Latinos. Those disparities narrowed in all categories for blacks, Asians and American Indians.

Both reports are available online, National Healthcare Disparities Report at http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhdr05/nhdr05.pdf and National Healthcare Quality Report at http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhqr05/nhqr05.pdf

27% Increase in Job Openings for Speech Pathologists between 2002 and 2012

According to the California Department of Education, the number of autistic children enrolled in public schools increased to 21,950 students during the 2003-2004 school year, compared with about 4,394 students in 1995. Autistic children account for more than one-third of the special education population. Public schools are required to provide special education services. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has predicted a 27% increase in job openings for speech pathologists between 2002 and 2012.

"Autism up; schools stressed Schools scrambling to fill special needs" By Sue Doyle, Staff Writer 1/9/06
http://www2.dailynews.com/santaclarita/ci_3383639 ("Articles are only guaranteed to remain in our system for 14 days. Older articles can be found using the Advanced Search feature on the site.")

Down Syndrome More Prevalent in U.S.

Down syndrome is more common in the U.S. than health officials previously thought, according to updated data on prevalence rates of 18 types of birth defects published in the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.


"Improved National Prevalence Estimates for 18 Selected Major Birth Defects --- United States, 1999--2001." MMWR January 6, 2006; vol. 54(51&52);1301-1305. Available online at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5451a2.htm