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Popular Articles

Health Warning After Lancashire Workers Catch Legionnaires' Disease, UK
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned companies in Lancashire to ensure they carry out regular, simple checks to protect employees from Legionnaires" disease.

Massive Medicare Fraud Case Highlights Miami's Increased Enforcement
Eight defendants were indicted in a massive Florida Medicare fraud case. The Associated Press reports: "It may be the center for Medicare fraud, but even Miami officials said Tuesday they were surprised by the breadth of a ring they say spanned five states, used 29 fake storefronts and attempted to steal $100 million from Medicare and Medicare Advantage. Eight defendants were charged in the elaborate scam authorities say billed Medicare for bogus HIV and cancer infusion drugs using dozens of storefronts in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana, authorities said. Two of the defendants and about $30 million are still missing." The AP notes: "It shows Miami"s stepped up health care fraud task force is working. They"ve prosecuted $1.5 billion in health care fraud cases in the past three years. Miami alone has had 146 convictions since 2007 in these cases. The fact that the suspects had to move to other states and other avenues of Medicare - in this case, Medicare Advantage - signals an understanding on the streets that officials are on to their old tricks."
News of the day
ACCP Position Paper On Genetic Tests Advertised Directly To The Consumer
Genetic testing services have recently begun to be advertised directly to the patient, and the results of the consumers" response can affect public health, as well as the future adoption of pharmacogenetic/genomic testing, according to a position paper from the American College of Clinical Pharmacology (ACCP) to be published in the August 2009 issue of the Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. The journal is published on behalf of the ACCP by SAGE.
Endocrinology

Daily Trust/allAfrica.com, GlobalPost Examine Agricultural Production, Food Insecurity In Nigeria, Iraq

The Daily Trust/allAfrica.com examines food security in Nigeria. Despite its agricultural potential, the "food crisis" in Nigeria "poses a big question as to what is responsible for the insecurity in food production, preservation and storage," according to the newspaper. A government committee recently toured the country in an effort to address some of the problems involved with agricultural production and food insecurity. The article includes information about the situation in six states: Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe. Abandoned projects, underutilized res and bureaucratic challenges are some of the reasons why agricultural projects in different parts of the country are not reaching their potential output, according to the Daily Trust/allAfrica.com. "Nigerians are eagerly waiting for the report of the senate ad-hoc committee," writes the Daily Trust/allAfrica.com (Hassan, 7/15). GlobalPost examines why, despite its reputation as the "breadbasket of the Middle East," Iraq has become a "net importer of food for the first time in recent history." According to the Web site, "decades of war, sanctions and ineffective government policy" are some of the reasons why the country is not producing enough food. "Agriculture experts say that with time and sufficient res, Iraq"s farms can overcome substantial technical problems. But creating an effective government policy for the nation"s agricultural industry may prove a bigger hurdle," writes the GlobalPost. "A USAID study predicts that Iraq will face a major food crisis within a generation unless the government undertakes a significant reallocation of oil revenue to fund imports and food production," according to the GlobalPost, which writes that although the "decline in the sector began under ineffective socialist farming practices implemented by Saddam Hussein, the real problems came shortly after the first Gulf War." GlobalPost writes that there might be a "glimmer of hope," Iraqi farmers could find "success by focusing on niche markets, such as organic food. With limited access to pesticides and chemical fertilizers, many Iraqi date and pomegranate farmers are already producing produce that can easily be certified as organic," according to Russell Williams, a senior agricultural adviser for the U.S. State Department"s provisional reconstruction team in Diyala Province (Peter, 7/15). This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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