MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'gov'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:04:34 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4911458&cid=t_160992_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQxVIGCRKwPA%2F By Walter OlsonLast week First Lady Michelle Obama and the U.S. Department of Agriculture unveiled “ChooseMyPlate.gov,” an updating of the federal government’s ongoing efforts to lecture us on how to eat. While the idea of nutrition recommendations from Washington, D.C. isn’t itself new, the past couple of years have seen a lurch toward a more coercive approach, especially under the Obama administration, under pressure from a burgeoning “food policy” movement, as I explain in a new Daily Caller op-ed: All sorts of nannyish and coercive ideas are emerging from that [movement] nowadays: proposals at the FDA to limit salt content in processed foods; mandatory calorie labeling, which poses a significant burden on many smaller food vendors and restaurants; ne... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4911458 Tue, 07 Jun 2011 20:50:54 +0100 4911458 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841581&cid=t_160992_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F05%2F19%2Fmuzzling-doctors-who-ask-questions-about-gun-safety%2F Imagine that your 16-year-old daughter has been bullied mercilessly in school, but hasn’t talked to you about it, or spoken about her suicidal impulses. One day, she is brought by ambulance to your local hospital emergency room, having made superficial cuts on her arms while in school. The emergency room physician tries to call you at work, but your cell phone isn’t picking up. The doctor begins her evaluation of your daughter, including an assessment of all relevant risk factors for suicide. Now imagine that the doctor believes she is forbidden by law from asking your daughter whether there are guns in your home — despite the fact that firearms in the home markedly increase the risk of gun-related suicide.1 You needn’t use much imagination. In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott is expec... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841581 Thu, 19 May 2011 10:38:43 +0100 4841581 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4433102&cid=t_160992_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Faccountable-care-act-unconstitutional-the-fate-of-americans-health%2F2011.02.03 A Florida’s judge’s ruling that the Accountable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional doesn’t resolve the underlying constitutional issue (which will ultimately have to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court) but it has introduced new uncertainty for the $2.3 trillion health care industry, and emboldened the law’s critics to push even harder for repeal (not that they weren’t trying already). The Wall Street Journal’s (WSJ) health blog reports that “states and companies that are supposed to be implementing the law trying to figure out what to do next. The WSJ reports that the 26 states that are parties to the suit are considering whether to ask the Supreme Court to take up the case now, before it has fully wended its way through the legal system. The New York Times (NYT) quotes the... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4433102 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 20:00:00 +0100 4433102 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4241722&cid=t_160992_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fcreate-a-public-health-app-and-win-some-cash%2F2010.12.08 Healthy People 2020, a continuation of Healthy People 2010, was started by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. It’s a nationwide health promotion and disease prevention plan that sets public health goals — with the deadline being 2020 in the latest iteration of the program. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is now launching a challenge for developers and researchers to make wellness applications for the Healthy People 2020 campaign — they are providing rich research data sets for free, some that can be found here, giving developers and researchers ample data to write applications with. They are also providing a list of topics for potential apps from a variety of categories, ranging from apps related to cancer to substance abuse. (more…) ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4241722 Wed, 08 Dec 2010 19:00:52 +0100 4241722 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4183296&cid=t_160992_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhow-bad-the-government-is-at-selling-insurance-or-is-it%2F2010.11.19 Did you know there is actually a “public option” in the health care reform law?  It’s true — it’s called the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP), and it’s designed to cover people who who have been unable to get insurance because of a pre-existing condition. To hear the stories about how big of a problem this is in America, you’d think a product like this would be a big hit. Except it’s been a big flop. How big of a flop? Well, according to the Washington Post, they missed their sales targets by 98 percent: Government economists had projected that people turned down by private insurers would flock to the new Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, with 375,000 expected to sign up this year. But as of this week, a little more than 8,000 had enrolled, officials... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4183296 Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:00:49 +0100 4183296 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3913122&cid=t_160992_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhealing-the-spirit-more-profitable-than-healing-the-body%2F2010.08.28 Yes, it’s true – most doctors may soon be government employees. No, not the Lasik surgeons, the plastic surgeons, or the dentists — they were clearly more focused on career day. But is it necessarily a bad thing if all of your income comes from federal, state, or local governments? If your business is caring for the medical needs of the less fortunate, a Medicaid doctor or a VA doctor perhaps, then your luxury box may be something more Thoreau-like, maybe some nice lawn furniture in the backyard. On the other hand, if your business model involves caring for recently-released prisoners or drug addicts, then you are in the financial sweet spot. (more…) *This blog post was originally published at Dr John M* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3913122 Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:00:00 +0100 3913122 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3816758&cid=t_160992_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FmShjsSO3yyM%2F A new study finds that clinical trials funded by the pharmaceutical industry are more likely to report a positive outcome, but less likely to be published shortly after completion than trials funded by other sources, such as the federal government, non-profit groups or academia. Unlike previous studies on this topic, the researchers say their study broadens the debate because they made a point of examining 546 trials that were registered on ClinicalTrials.gov and involved five widely used classes of meds for treating depression, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heartburn and schizophrenia. All of the trials occurred between 2000 and 2006. The study, which was published in The Annals of Internal Medicine, found 346 trials, or 63 percent, were primarily funded by industry, 74 or 14 per... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3816758 Tue, 03 Aug 2010 14:50:41 +0100 3816758 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3816390&cid=t_160992_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F28ndgD5nM_s%2F By Jim HarperWhen I first began tracking the results of President Obama’s Sunlight Before Signing promise to post bills coming from Congress online for five days before signing them, I quickly noticed that the White House was holding many bills for five days in the natural course of business, but not posting them, denying itself easy successes. Followers of this blog and that issue may recall seeing columns in my Sunlight Before Signing tables titled “Five Days?” That was to say, “Hey, White House! These are easy wins for you!” Well, as I reported in my last update, the White House has now made a practice of posting all bills on a special section of the Whitehouse.gov web site. And they are posting all the bills they receive. We no longer need to highlight tho... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3816390 Tue, 03 Aug 2010 11:58:31 +0100 3816390 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3761419&cid=t_160992_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F4_V9raxlpTU%2F By Jim HarperI wrote the other day that it was poor implementation of President Obama’s Sunlight Before Signing promise to post bills for public review before Congress has sent them to the president. (The ideal time to start the Sunlight Before Signing five-day clock is “presentment,” the formal step when Congress sends a bill to the president.) Today, three bills that have not been presented to the president are posted on Whitehouse.gov as if they are ready for him to sign. (One of them, S. 1508, has been cleared for the president, but not presented. The other two haven’t seen final votes in Congress.) (Update: Later this morning, a fourth bill was added. H.R. 5502 has been passed by the House and Senate and cleared for the White House, but not presented, accordin... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3761419 Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:11:04 +0100 3761419 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3753805&cid=t_160992_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FljEkFnXd_eg%2F By Jim HarperEarly this month, I reported on President Obama’s recent moves to implement Sunlight Before Signing and improvements in his Sunlight Before Signing average. The news is good, though we’ll pause here to highlight a small quibble with White House practice. The essence of the president’s promise to post bills online for five days was to give the public a chance to review the legislation coming to him from Congress for a decent interval before he signs it. If Whitehouse.gov consistently posts all bills Congress passes, as promised, the public will develop a consistent practice of taking a last look before it becomes law. One day, the national crowdsourcing effort may turn up an error or a late-coming provision that causes the president to send a bill back t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3753805 Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:03:34 +0100 3753805 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3721756&cid=t_160992_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3gNWYI8yWJQ%2F By Jim HarperI have written here once or twice before—well, 26 times, but who‘s counting?—about “Sunlight Before Signing“—President Obama’s campaign promise to post bills he receives from Congress online for five days before signing them. It was his first broken campaign promise, but a presidential term lasts four years, and a pledge like this is redeemable. So I have been delighted to see moves over the past few weeks to implement President Obama’s simple, but important transparency promise. First, Whitehouse.gov began posting all legislation that comes to the president’s desk from Congress. An early decision to exclude “insignificant” legislation such as bills to rename post offices needlessly drove down the White Ho... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3721756 Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:57:25 +0100 3721756 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3718364&cid=t_160992_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fgovernment-healthcare-site-launches%2F Today a new government site launched, Healthcare.gov, aiming to inform the public about what their best (and cheapest) options for insurance are, and what changes will take place under the new healthcare bill. Sounds like a good idea to us. It might piss off insurance companies, but it seems like a step in the right direction for the American public. Not only does it make information more accessible, but you can even follow the site on Twitter @HealthCareGov for up-to-date information about insurance and health care. We doubt their tweets will make you LOL as much as some Twitter buds, but they’ll probably help save you money and get better health care. Post from: BlissTree Government Healthcare Site Launches (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3) Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3718364 Thu, 01 Jul 2010 22:36:22 +0100 3718364 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3508164&cid=t_160992_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBGZX403jhO8%2F By Jim HarperThe potential of streaming video from the House of Representatives is so great that my first impression of the House’s new video offering, HouseLive.gov, has been disappointment. There is much room to improve HouseLive.gov, and I hope it will improve. At first, I couldn’t find any video that was actually live. (That would inject a bit of irony into the name, eh?) But there is live video: On the homepage, scroll down to the top of the “Most Recent Sessions” chart. If the top of the list has an item called “In Progress,” the House is in session. Clicking the video link will get you live video from the House floor. (Don’t be fooled by the “Subscribe to Live Feeds” box. Those are RSS feeds, which are “live”—as... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3508164 Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:15:04 +0100 3508164 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3494269&cid=t_160992_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Ffeel%2Fearth-week-video-of-the-day-president-obama-marks-40th-anniversary-of-earth-day%2F Happy Earth Day! President Barack Obama on the environmental policy in the United States, and on what you can do to take action for Earth Day’s 40th anniversary. Visit “A New Foundation for Energy and the Environment” at WhiteHouse.gov for more info. Post from: BlissTree Earth Week Video of the Day: President Obama Marks 40th Anniversary of Earth Day (Source: Healthbolt) Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3494269 Thu, 22 Apr 2010 11:32:23 +0100 3494269 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3246872&cid=t_160992_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FyR1bHaf3_Hc%2F By Jim HarperI wrote here a few weeks ago about the “high-value data sets” — three per agency — that the federal government would soon be releasing at Data.gov. They were released on January 22nd, and we’ve been poring over them ever since. More on that below. Tomorrow, agencies are supposed to have their “open government” sites put up — sites where they make their data feeds available and easily findable for the public. There are a couple of different sites monitoring when those sites are going up.   Data, data, data — that means more direct oversight of the government by more people. We talked about all this at our December 2008 policy forum, Just Give Us the Data! When I wrote recently about the release of agencies’ high-va... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3246872 Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:27:15 +0100 3246872 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3208690&cid=t_160992_150_f&fid=38374&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FePharmaSummit%2F%7E3%2FxoaJBTSCs2k%2Fny-governor-patterson-pushes-for-pharma.html (Source: ePharma Summit) ePharma Summit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3208690 Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:54:00 +0100 3208690 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3104989&cid=t_160992_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOkzhva1ZFq0%2F By Jim HarperAs I noted on Monday, the White House has begun posting the bills Congress sends down Pennsylvania Avenue so they can get a final public review. This was a promise President Obama made on the campaign trail. The posting of bills actually began some time ago. I mistakenly believed that a promise administration officials made to the New York Timeshad been broken. But with no link trail leading from the Whitehouse.gov homepage to the posted bills, there was no way to find them. This was only technical sunlight, not the actual warming, disinfecting rays the president promised. So, sadly, we can’t put the many bills that got posted this way in the “win” column. With a link on the homepage pointing to bills awaiting the president’s signature, a new era in Sun... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3104989 Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:56:23 +0100 3104989 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3092651&cid=t_160992_86_f&fid=38272&url=http%3A%2F%2Flaikaspoetnik.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F12%2F16%2Fnot-one-rct-on-swine-flu-or-h1n1-outrageous%2F Last week doctorblogs (Annabel Bentley) tweeted: “Outrageous- there isn’t ONE randomised trial on swine flu or #H1N1“ Annabel referred to an article at Trust the Evidence, the excellent blog of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM) in Oxford, UK. In the article “Is swine flu the most over-published and over-hyped disease ever?” Carl Heneghan first showed [...] (Source: Laika's MedLibLog) Laika's MedLibLog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3092651 Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:46:49 +0100 3092651 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3084762&cid=t_160992_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FevTGGPed-3M%2F By Jim HarperThe White House’s web site, Whitehouse.gov, has begun posting the bills Congress sends down Pennsylvania Avenue so they can get a final public review. This actually began some time ago, but a link from the home page now directs visitors (and search engines) to the bills that await the president’s signature. This is an important step toward fulfilling President Obama’s campaign promise to post the bills he receives from Congress online for five days before he signs them. I’ve written about it several times, most recently here. Take a look for yourself: On the Whitehouse.gov home page, a link at the bottom of the “Featured Legislation” column says “Comment on Pending Legislation.” Currently, four bills are listed there, arranged in... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3084762 Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:38:13 +0100 3084762 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2984986&cid=t_160992_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F11%2F11%2Fnationwide-registry-to-match-study-volunteers-with-researchers%2F Individuals who want to participate in research studies can connect online with researchers nationwide through the first disease-neutral, volunteer recruitment registry.  ResearchMatch.org is a not-for-profit secure Web site, designed to provide people who are interested in participating in research the opportunity to be matched with studies that may be the right fit for them. NIH Announces [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2984986 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:32:15 +0100 2984986 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2924805&cid=t_160992_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FAjokq2GsjlU%2F There was some buzz earlier this year when the White House used the free, open-source Drupal content management platform for Recovery.gov. Now the administration’s marquis Web site Whitehouse.gov will be using it. The AP story linked just above does a good job of recounting the benefits of open source in this application: chiefly, low cost and high security. Arnold Kling wrote recently on the Library of Economics and Liberty blog relating the work Elinor Ostrom did to win the Nobel prize in economics to how the Internet enables private provision of public goods—no regulation, little to no centralized authority at all. Open source is nothing if not an example of that, and it’s good to see this use of open source joining many others across the big, beautiful Internet. (Sour... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2924805 Sun, 25 Oct 2009 04:29:35 +0100 2924805 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2865648&cid=t_160992_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOU8VBlIASEw%2F Did you know that the average American family spends $1,000 each year on the U.S. Department of Agriculture, whether or not it consumes that agency’s services?  Or that the federal government annually spends $1,500 per household on net interest costs alone? In an ongoing effort to shed light on runaway government spending and expose wasteful government programs, Cato launched a new Web site today that examines the federal budget department-by-department to see which agencies can be reformed or terminated. DownsizingGovernment.org describes which programs are wasteful, damaging and obsolete in an era of trillion-dollar deficits. The research exposes that many public outlays—though vigorously defended by the politicians who created them and the constituencies they purport to help... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2865648 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:59:26 +0100 2865648 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2820201&cid=t_160992_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FD9w1gr1WBjE%2F An editorial in the New York Times the other day reminded me that it’s a good time for another look at the Obama administration’s record on transparency. The editorial lauded a new policy of disclosure for the Secret Service’s logs of White House visits, naming the visitor, who set up the meeting, where it was held, and how long it lasted. The Times gushed: “[T]he administration is well on course to be the most open in modern times, with such earlier initiatives as the online Data.gov to allow citizen access to huge amounts of federal agency information.” These things are good—and the White House certainly means well—but I’m a little less enthusiastic, and I think the Times set the bar at the wrong height: A ham sandwich is more transparent than... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2820201 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:51:33 +0100 2820201 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2800363&cid=t_160992_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUUQ4IyLMCw8%2F Page one of today’s Washington Times—above the fold—has a fascinating story indicting the White House for failing to disclose that it will collect and retain material posted by visitors to its pages on social networking sites like Facebook and YouTube. The story is fascinating because so much attention is being paid to it. (It was first reported, as an aside at least, by Major Garrett on Fox News a month ago.) The question here is not over the niceties of the Presidential Records Act, which may or may not require collection and storage of the data. It’s over people’s expectations when they use the Internet. Marc Rotenberg, president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said the White House signaled that it would insist on open dealings with Internet u... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2800363 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:02:00 +0100 2800363 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2796537&cid=t_160992_113_f&fid=34898&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbillkosloskymd.typepad.com%2Fwirelessdoc%2F2009%2F09%2Fmedical-device-makers-clamber-to-avert-new-fees-in-health-bill---wsjcom.html .The $100 billion medical-device industry is scrambling to reverse billions of dollars in fees proposed by the Senate Finance Committee, but it faces trouble because its reluctance to offer concessions alienated some lawmakers.The draft of the bill in the Finance Committee realting to health care would have device makers paying $40 billion over the next ten years.The article goes on to say that this spring as the health-related industries went to the White House to volunteer financial concessions, the device makers suggested that the gov't levy taxes on hospital-purchasing groups.In June the pharm industry offered $80 billion in savings, and then a few weeks later the hospitals offered $155 billion.The bill is slated to be made public today. (Source: Wireless Doc) Wireless Doc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2796537 Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:25:59 +0100 2796537 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2630175&cid=t_160992_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F07%2F22%2Foops-did-i-have-those-cho-records%2F You may remember the Virginia Tech tragedy more than two years ago, when a student at the university, Seung-Hui Cho, opened fire one day on his classmates, killing 32 people and himself on April 16, 2007. What you may not have known is that Cho’s mental health records from when he was seen at the university’s counseling center went missing and were never located. Until now. Mental health records for Virginia Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho that were missing for more than two years have been discovered in the home of the university clinic’s former director, according to a state memo shared with victims’ family members. Cho killed 32 people on April 16, 2007, then committed suicide as police closed in. His mental health treatment has been a major issue in the vast investig... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2630175 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:50:19 +0100 2630175 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2588179&cid=t_160992_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FkEEeYnE3sl8%2F A company called Smartronix will get $18,000,000 to redesign Recovery.gov, the federal Web site intended to track where federal Recovery Act spending goes. The government purchased technology for a similar site (with a somewhat smaller scope), USASpending.gov, from the non-profit group OMB Watch for only $600,000. A private company already provides information on Recovery Act spending to the public for free. I wrote here enthusiastically about the plans of the Sunlight Foundation to go after this contract, saying “[T]he contract award will now be subject to public scrutiny. Value-for-dollar to the taxpayer will be easily discernible, and that will raise the political risks of awarding the contract based on cronyism or go-with-whatchya-knowism. Transparency in all things.” Sunli... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2588179 Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:08:55 +0100 2588179 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2512725&cid=t_160992_135_f&fid=35247&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmyjourneywithaids.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F06%2F24%2Fyou-say-appalachia-i-say-argentina%2F Mark Sanford, it turns out, did not get his hiking boots dusty along the Appalachian Trail – as his staff had been telling the media while he was AWOL. He was doing the dirty down in South America. Hiking? Yes, hiking a skirt. The Republicans and their ‘family values’ have another poster boy [...] (Source: My journey with AIDS) My journey with AIDS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2512725 Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:22:21 +0100 2512725 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2654071&cid=t_160992_167_f&fid=37833&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnutrition.edublogs.org%2F2009%2F05%2F11%2Fthe-woman-challenge%2F The Woman Challenge is a new a program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health (OWH) also known as WomensHealth.gov. Woman Challenge is a part of the Office on Women’s Health year-long Woman Activity Tracker program. The challenge runs from May 10 through July 4, 2009. It is a way to get women involved, thinking about their health. The Challenge kicks off the 10th annual National Women’s Health Week (May 10-16, 2009). Goals of The Woman Challenge – 8 Weeks for Better Health The Woman Challenge encourages women to Get at least 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity each week. Including muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days of each week. What Does the Women Challenge Include? Ac... Nutrition and Wellness Biology 50 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2654071 Mon, 11 May 2009 17:56:10 +0100 2654071 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2406286&cid=t_160992_167_f&fid=37833&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnutrition.edublogs.org%2F2009%2F05%2F11%2Fthe-woman-challenge%2F The Woman Challenge is a new a program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health (OWH) also known as WomensHealth.gov. Woman Challenge is a part of the Office on Women’s Health year-long Woman Activity Tracker program. The challenge runs from May 10 through July 4, 2009. It is a way to get women involved, thinking about their health. The Challenge kicks off the 10th annual National Women’s Health Week (May 10-16, 2009). Goals of The Woman Challenge - 8 Weeks for Better Health The Woman Challenge encourages women to Get at least 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity each week. Including muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days of each week. What Does the Women Challenge Include? Accordin... Nutrition and Wellness Biology 50 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2406286 Mon, 11 May 2009 17:56:10 +0100 2406286 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2326621&cid=t_160992_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F04%2F01%2Fphrma-report-shows-record-number-of-development-drugs-to-treat-cancer-63-ovarian-cancer-203-solid-tumor-drugs-listed%2F “Responding to President Obama’s call for ‘a cure for cancer in our time,’ the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) delivered a new report today on medicines in the research pipeline for cancer. The report shows that America’s pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies are testing a record 861 new cancer medicines and vaccines. The [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2326621 Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:06:11 +0100 2326621 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2258281&cid=t_160992_113_f&fid=38130&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tempdev.net%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D678 Discussions to talk about how to reform health care in America”. These are intended to be local gatherings, in people’s homes or community centers, to foster a dialogue on how we can improve our health care system. I have to admit that this effort looks like window dressing. A group of citizens batting back and forth ideas before hurrying home to catch “Dancing with the Stars” isn’t going to solve our health care issues. However, the openness to foster a dialogue is refreshing. As our newest contributor to this blog, John, has been pointing out, there’s some very concrete steps that can be taken towards improving our health care system. But I have to point out… almost $20 billion will be distributed in less than 2 years, but the word HITECH doesn&#... Implementing EMRs blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2258281 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 04:27:13 +0100 2258281 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2074415&cid=t_160992_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2008%2F12%2F30%2Ffan-effin-tabulous%2F Just when Blago couldn’t stoop much lower…he did. Yee-haw, looks like we got us a token prospective senate nominee.  *update* Not just any typical Illinois politician. This guy had ambition-so much so that he was willing to send an innocent man to death row, just to appear to be tough on crime.  Little details, such as [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2074415 Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:56:17 +0100 2074415 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2027260&cid=t_160992_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2008%2F12%2F09%2Fstupid-arrogant-does-not-equal-insane%2F I deleted it late last night (the post from yesterday) where I was asking if our esteemed Gov. was insane. (due to his reasoning on forcing banks to keep up the bad loan giving). Evidently thug politics won. I took it down because….well. *hangs head in shame* It appears he is not nuts, just stupid.  Pathologically stupid. Funny [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2027260 Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:26:15 +0100 2027260 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1970835&cid=t_160992_167_f&fid=37833&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnutrition.edublogs.org%2F2008%2F11%2F17%2Fmypyramidgov-now-for-preschoolers%2F In Fall 2008, the U.S. Department of Agriculture launched the My Pyramid for Preschoolers Website just for Preschoolers, children aged 2-5. The site encourages parents and caregivers to Use MyPyramid to help your preschooler eat well, be active, and be healthy. Customized MyPyramid for Your Preschooler Visitors to the My Pyramid for Preschoolers Web site can “get a customized MyPyramid Plan for your preschooler” by entering the child’s first name, age, gender, and typical amount of daily activity. The site then generates a plan tailored to that child. At the My Pyramid for Preschoolers website parents and caregivers can explore ways to help preschoolers: Grow up healthy. Complete a growth chart especially for your child to find out more about normal development. ... Nutrition and Wellness Biology 50 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1970835 Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:21:15 +0100 1970835 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1847863&cid=t_160992_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F10%2Farnold-schwarzenegger-kowtowing-to-big.html I have a piece in today's San Francisco Chronicle lambasting California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for "Kowtowing to Big Biotech"(the paper's headline that isn't in the online version.) I have had a burr in my behind about my governor ever since he endorsed Proposition 71 two weeks before the 2004 election. At that time, he was popular and believed to be a strict fiscal conservative. (What a joke that turned out to be!) Prior to the endorsement, the measure showed 71 leading but polling under 50%, meaning it was beatable. After the endorsement, the deal was done and the initiative passed easily--adding $6 billion to California's backbreaking bond obligations at a time when CA was (we still are) arterially bleeding red ink.Bad Arnold. But that isn't all he has done wrong in this regard. Fro... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1847863 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:33:00 +0100 1847863 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1841984&cid=t_160992_167_f&fid=37833&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnutrition.edublogs.org%2F2008%2F09%2F30%2Fgovenor-signs-menu-labeling-bil%2F On September 30, 2008 Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 1420 into law. With this law passing, California will be the first state in the nation to require calories to be posted on menus and menu boards. The bill was sponsored by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy and the American Cancer Society. The law written by Senator Alex Padilla requires restaurant chains with 20 or more locations statewide to post calorie information on menus and indoor menu boards for consumers. Carol Jackson, the California Division Chair of the Board of the American Cancer Society had this to say about the passage of the bill “We are so excited that the Governor signed menu labeling this year. It is a trendsetting bill that will set the standard for the nation by increasing the ... Nutrition and Wellness Biology 50 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1841984 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:48:15 +0100 1841984 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1802936&cid=t_160992_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F394244811%2F Less than 20 percent of registered clinical trials of cancer meds are eventually published in medical journals, according to a reviewy published online today by the The Oncologist medical journal. A search of the National Institutes of Health’s ClinicalTrials.gov web site identified 2,028 registered research studies of cancer treatments. Major medical journals, you may recall, require all studies considered for publication be registered at ClinicalTrials.gov or another publicly accessible database. And a subsequent search of the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed database showed that just 17.6 percent of the trials were eventually published in peer-reviewed medical journals. The publication rate was particularly low for “industry-sponsored” studies, such as tho... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1802936 Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:26:15 +0100 1802936 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1720553&cid=t_160992_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F370003556%2F Since the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors began requiring clinical trials to be registered in a public trial registry at their outset as a condition of publication, ClinicalTrials.gov has become a useful repository of interesting data, Nature Reviews notes. And so a report examined all “industry-sponsored” Phase II through Phase IV studies on November 1, 2007, including trials that were first registered between October 2005 and September 2007. And what do we learn? Most registered trials were in oncology, followed by central nervous system disorders, cardiology, infectious diseases, endocrinology, and respiratory diseases. These six therapeutic areas accounted for 68 percent of 3,515l protocols and 74 percent of 94,135 sites. The number of registered trials ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1720553 Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:12:36 +0100 1720553 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1715300&cid=t_160992_167_f&fid=37833&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnutrition.edublogs.org%2F2008%2F04%2F20%2Fnew-public-service-announcement-from-mypyramidgov%2F A new campaign with a Public Service Announcement (PSA) featuring characters from the Disney Classic, the Jungle Book was launched by the USDA, Food Nutrition and Consumer Services. This Public Service Announcement highlights the importance of balancing good nutrition and physical activity by emphasizing the “Bare Necessities” of healthy living and healthy eating. One reason for the PSA is to encourage children to be eating more fruits and vegetables. Another is to encourage Moms to be encouraging healthy foods and being active. The main purpose of the PSA is to send a message to families that leading a healthy lifestyle can help you be the best at everything you love to do. The Reason for the Ad Council Public Service Announcement Less than 25% of adolescents eat the daily recommended... Nutrition and Wellness Biology 50 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1715300 Sun, 20 Apr 2008 08:52:29 +0100 1715300 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1207383&cid=t_160992_113_f&fid=34898&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbillkosloskymd.typepad.com%2Fwirelessdoc%2F2008%2F02%2Fmccain-receives.html In honor of this being Super Tuesday, I thought I'd post what I found to be the most interesting story so far. In addition to his endorsement by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger whose universal healthcare plan for California faced a recent setback, John McCain also came up with a nod from obstetrician Tom Coburn, MD, a Republican Senator from Oklahoma, and a fiscal conservative. Coburn's plan for healthcare reform, "Universal Health Care Choice and Access Act" is a free market solution that doesn't require mandatory participation. Based on these endorsements. what would McCain do to reform health care should he be elected? McCain's view of healthcare reform from the WSJ:Mr. McCain takes a false regulatory lunge when he says he wants prescription drug re-importation, which cou... Wireless Doc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1207383 Tue, 05 Feb 2008 18:47:36 +0100 1207383 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1097214&cid=t_160992_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2007%2F12%2F15%2Fvirginia-to-bolster-mental-health-funding-after-cho%2F After watching Seung Hui Cho, a man with a supposed history of psychiatric problems, kill 32 people at Virginia Tech earlier this year, the governor of Virginia decided to start helping to fix his state’s terrible mental health system. Gov. Tmothy M. Kaine proposed spending $42 million for mental health over the next 2 years, to hire more counselors, more psychiatrists, and also to lower the threshold needed to legally commit someone for mental health treatment. Kaine’s proposal would change that standard to a “substantial likelihood that in the near future” a mentally ill person will cause “serious physical harm to himself or another person.” But some mental health advocates were skeptical of the proposed change. “They’re going down thi... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1097214 Sat, 15 Dec 2007 20:20:09 +0100 1097214 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=551384&cid=t_160992_133_f&fid=35452&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.graphictruth.com%2F2007%2F04%2Fre-jim-gibbons-ref-we-told-you-so.html TPMmuckraker March 30, 2007 09:51 AMMore Trouble for GibbonsBy Paul Kiel - March 30, 2007, 9:51 AMThe Wall Street Journal continues (sub. req.) to make life miserable for Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons. The paper first reported a month ago that Gibbons was under federal investigation for improper gifts (possible bribes) from a defense contractor.Now the paper reports that Gibbons' business as a legislator was intertwined with a second defense contractor:The wife of Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons was hired as a consultant to a defense contractor at the same time that her husband, who was then a member of Congress, helped the company get funding for a no-bid federal contract. Dawn Gibbons got about $35,000 in consulting fees in 2004 from Sierra Nevada Corp., of Sparks, Nev., the company said. Mr. Gibbons... Graphictruth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=551384 Tue, 03 Apr 2007 04:00:00 +0100 551384 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=397037&cid=t_160992_86_f&fid=34466&url=http%3A%2F%2Fclinicalevidence.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F01%2Fclinical-trial-registration.html In an editorial by Drazen and Zarin in this week's NEJM, "Salvation by Registration," there's a brief tale about an author who submitted a paper to the journal, and the reported trial was incorrectly entered into clinicaltrials.gov - the paper was initially refused due to this issue, and it turned out that the trial's sponser was responsible for the incomplete record in the database. One of the co-authors inadvertently worked around this issue by creating a new, complete and accurate record, and the paper is included in this week's issue.The editorial points out the importance of a complete trial protocol submission to a public registry in compliance with the ICMJE initiative; they also point to the ineffectiveness of duplicate efforts on the part of the study sponsor and the study investi... Clinical Evidence, Searching Tidbits, and Other Minutiae blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=397037 Thu, 11 Jan 2007 22:18:00 +0100 397037