Nursing News

(Picture; Quechee, Vermont. November, 2007. By me.)

Medicare Rule Will Affect Nurses
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rule eliminating reimbursement for certain hospital-acquired conditions starting Oct. 1, 2008, will have a significant impact on nurses, according to a new paper released by researchers at George Washington University and the American Academy of Nursing.
The new rule eliminates payments for in-patient pressure ulcers, certain injuries (such as fractures), catheter-associated urinary tract infections, vascular catheter-associated infections, certain surgical site infections, objects left in surgery, air embolism, and blood incompatibility.

This next one is a mind-blower. And it's from the Wall Street Journal, no less ;

The Heparin Trail
China's Role In Supply
Of Drug Is Under Fire
February 21, 2008
YUANLOU, China -- In a small, damp factory here, blood-smeared men wring pulp from pig intestines, then heat it in concrete vats.
The activity at Yuan Intestine & Casing Factory is the first step in the poorly regulated process of making raw heparin, the main ingredient in a type of blood-thinning medicine that in recent days has come under suspicion in the deaths of four Americans.

Investors run for cover, trial lawyers drool in anticipation ;

China quality problems may make Baxter (BAX) the next Mattel (MAT)
The debacle is not unlike the one that plagued Mattel (NYSE: MAT) last year when it was importing toys from China that contained high levels of lead. In Baxter's case, however, it appears that people have lost lives.

Vacuuming Blood Clots Better Heart Attack Treatment
A Dutch study published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that if blood clots blocking an artery are vacuumed out instead of being pushed aside, the chances of heart patients surviving major heart attacks increase drastically. The clot removal also leaves them with fewer problems.

Social support impacts blood pressure
Older adults who lack support from family and friends may be at heightened risk of abnormal blood pressure regulation, new research suggests.

Drug Information Portal from the National Library of Medicine (NLM)
Includes prescription and non-prescription drugs, dietary supplements, drugs of abuse, and investigational drugs. "We cover over 12,000 drugs from the time that they are in clinical trials, through their FDA approval, and then on to the marketplace. The coverage includes: Resources hosted by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) such as MedlinePlus, ClinicalTrials.gov, DailyMed, and Dietary Supplements Label Database, and HSDB and LactMed as well as outside resources such as Drugs@FDA and AIDSinfo."