Obesity rates have started to decline and level off for many adolescents, but continue to increase for certain racial and ethnic minorities, according to a new UCSF-led study. The evidence of increasing racial disparities for obesity underscores the need for more tailored intervention programs and policies that target high-risk groups, the authors conclude.

"What Does Health Reform Mean for You? A Detailed Summary” is a balanced consumer’s guide explaining the benefits and costs of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The research highlights the key points affecting Medicare, expanded coverage, fines and regulations, preventive care, and more. To educate patients, doctors and all those affected by the new health care law, the NCPA has also produced a shorter version of the guide in a summary pamphlet, also titled “What Does Health Care Reform Mean To You?”

One of the main advantages of open MRI over traditional MRIs lies in its sleek and compact design which has made it more spacious and least confining.This new diagnostic device is extremely beneficial to patients who may be large in size and those who are claustrophobic. Not only does it provide a more relaxed environment for patients but also makes it easy and convenient for them to undergo the scan.

ADVANCE has organized a virtual conference for nurses on September 15, 2010, from 11:30 AM - 7:30 PM ET. Best Practices in Patient Care 2010 will be free to attendees and focus on top ways for nurses to enhance how they provide care. . It will feature free continuing education sessions, prize drawings and much more. Session topics include: The Image of Nursing, Wound Assessment, Preventing and Controlling Diabetes in Early Stages of Diagnosis, EMR and the Healthcare Reform Bill, Infection Control, and Patient Safety.

Despite slowdowns in job creation, the media has continued to report that health care is a recession-proof industry. Now the dog has been wagged, as 27,000 new jobs were created in the U.S. in July. Also, companies have begun looking for new ways to save money that don't involve layoffs.

Recently published research from Markets and Markets, "Obama's Healthcare Reform Bill and its Impact on the U.S. Healthcare Market", is now available at Fast Market Research - According to World Health Organization, the U.S. healthcare system ranks 37th among the healthcare systems of 200 countries. The U.S. healthcare spending is considered as one of the highest in the world as healthcare expenditure in the country accounts to 17.5% of its GDP (2009) as compared to an average of 8% to 9% in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.

Survey of hiring managers and active job seekers compares and contrasts expectations in today’s hiring environment. TalentDrive, the creator of the leading online resume aggregation search engine, TalentFilter, today released the results from its “Job Market Perceptions” survey. The findings uncover a widening gap between current employers’ expectations and job seekers’ actual skill sets.

The goal of The Sanford Project is to find a cure for type 1 diabetes. “The objective of this clinical trial (research study) is to determine if the medications can rescue the few beta cells that remain soon after the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes; and whether new beta cells can even be regenerated,” commented Alex Rabinovitch, MD, Principal Investigator of the trial and Associate Director of The Sanford Project. “The investigational combinations of these medications could possibly allow patients to decrease or no longer need to inject insulin to keep their blood levels under proper control.”

Many people who experience stress literally feel it in the gut. A part of the nervous system known informally as the “brain-gut axis” is the reason, explains the August 2010 issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter. The brain interacts with the rest of the body through the nervous system, which has several major components. One of them is the enteric nervous system, which helps regulate digestion. In life-or-death situations, the brain triggers the “fight or flight” response.

From Medicare fraud to fake healthcare plans to phony claims, healthcare fraud and abuse is on the rise. The stories, cases, and facts are piling up, and they’re as real as they are horrifying. For example, a doctor at a radiology clinic in Beverly Hills, California, recently settled a case for nearly $650,000 based on allegations that his clinic filed numerous false claims with Medicare for radiological tests that were unnecessary. In addition, the nonprofit anti-healthcare fraud and abuse watchdog Coalition Against Insurance Fraud states that approximately 60 percent of state healthcare fraud bureaus reported an increase in fake or fraudulent health plans in 2009.