Health Highlights: Aug.16, 2011 - Health Nutrition and Fitness

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments,
compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Early Elective Deliveries Banned at Some
Oregon Hospitals

As part of what proponents hope will become a growing trend across the
United States, some hospitals in Oregon will no longer offer elective
early delivery to pregnant women.

All nine birthing hospitals in the Portland area and eight other
hospitals in the state will refuse to do elective, non-medically necessary
inductions and cesarean sections before 39 weeks of pregnancy, as of Sept.
1, msnbc.com reported.

The agreement between the March of Dimes Oregon chapter and the
hospitals covers about half of the deliveries in the state.

The objective of this ?hard stop? on the elective procedures is to give
babies more time for important development in the womb and to reduce
complications after birth, msnbc.com reported.

Bans on early elective deliveries have been adopted by six or seven
hospitals in California, Illinois, New York and Texas, according to the
March of Dimes. And the policy has been in effect for the last decade at
Intermountain Healthcare, which has 23 hospitals in Idaho and Utah.

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Pesticides Linked to Tourist Deaths: Thailand
Officials

Pesticides may have caused the deaths of four foreign tourists and a
local tour guide in northern Thailand earlier this year, authorities said
Tuesday.

An investigation was launched after the five mysterious deaths and
illnesses of three others in the city of Chiang Mai in January and
February. It concluded that two of the tourists and the tour guide ?likely
died of exposure to pesticides,? Agence France-Presse reported.

The deaths of two other tourists may also have been caused by
pesticides but officials could not establish a direct link.

Investigators could not pinpoint the exact agents involved or where
they came from, AFP reported.

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Addiction a Brain Disease: New
Defintion

Addiction is a chronic brain disease and not just a matter of
willpower, says a new policy statement published on the Web site of the
American Society for Addiction Medicine.

The new definition is meant to help families and primary care doctors
better understand the challenges of treating addiction, the Associated
Press reported.

?Addiction is about a lot more than people behaving badly,? said ASAM
past-president Dr. Michael M. Miller, who oversaw development of the new
definition.

Like other chronic conditions such as diabetes or heart disease,
treating addiction and preventing relapse is a long-term effort, according
to the ASAM, the AP reported.

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Medicaid Gets Bigger Drug Discounts Than
Medicare: Report

Federal rules are one reason why many prescription drug discounts are
much deeper for Medicaid than Medicare, according to a report released
Monday by the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human
Services.

The discounts are in the form of rebates paid by drug companies when
their products are dispensed to people enrolled in Medicaid and
Medicare.

The inspector general found that the rebates reduced spending on 100
widely used brand name prescription drugs by 45 percent in Medicaid and by
19 percent in Medicare, The New York Times reported.

Part of the reason for this difference is the fact that Medicaid
discounts are set by law while Medicare prices are negotiated by drug
makers and private insurers, the inspector general said.

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Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/health-highlights-aug-16-2011-160603894.html

Source: http://health-nutrition-fitness.net/medical-and-health-news/health-highlights-aug-16-2011/

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