BREAKING NEWS: Health (2)

Magnesium Consumption Appears To Relieve Depression Symptoms

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 23:35:34 +0000

Studies have proven the therapeutic effects of magnesium on people diagnosed with depression.

Virologist Becomes First Indian Woman To Be Part Of Royal Society UK

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 23:19:18 +0000

Dr. Gagandeep Kang, who is the Executive Director of the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), has recently been named as Royal Society, London’s new fellow.

American Will Break Record For Longest Time In Space By A Woman

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 23:11:18 +0000

Christina Koch, who first boarded the ISS on March 14, now gets to set the record for the longest continuous stay by a woman in space.

Newly Discovered Ancient Carnivore Bigger Than A Polar Bear

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 23:00:36 +0000

After being stuck in the Nairobi Museum for decades, a handful of fossils are now revealed to belong to a newly discovered species of a giant carnivore.

Today's Youth Prefer Weed Over Alcohol, Study Reveals

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 22:53:36 +0000

A new study revealed that today's youth prefer to smoke weed than drink alcohol.

Science Corrects Genetic Flaw In Mice Fetuses

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 21:03:27 +0000

A group of researchers managed to edit a genetic flaw in unborn mice, fixing what could have been an inborn lung disease.

Prolonged Gadget Use Among Kids Leads To ADHD, Makes Children Naughty

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 20:52:31 +0000

A study suggests that kids with prolonged gadget use increase the risk of ADHD.

Medicare For All Linked To Delays In Cancer Treatment, Detection

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 20:44:30 +0000

Medicare for All has been linked to delays in health care services concerning cancer detection and treatments.

Military-backed Anti-Malaria Drug Causes Neurological and Psychiatric Side Effects Leading to Suicides and Homicides

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 19:41:11 +0000

by Paul Fassa
Health Impact News

Over the past two decades, many have suffered varying degrees of psychotic experiences, some unbearably horrific, from a brain-damaging neurotoxic drug that’s been commonly used for protecting against mosquito-borne malaria infections.

The side effects may linger long after one stops taking the drug, because the brain and central nervous system damage has been done. This neurotoxic drug’s physiological damage creates psychiatric traumas.

But the extreme dangers of mefloquine chloride-formulated Lariam were swept under the rug for most of those years, leaving many victims in medical treatment limbo since mefloquine toxicity data was denied or suppressed throughout most of those two decades.

Now the reality of mefloquine is established and better known. Many mefloquine neurologically-damaged victims are finally getting media attention, while more injury lawyers are getting what could become a mefloquine lawsuit feeding frenzy.

How Roche Established a Military and Peace Corp Monopoly for Lariam

Though considered effective for resisting malaria infections, Larium and generic mefloquine malaria prophylactic drugs have caused serious adverse neurological and psychiatric side effects that disrupt lives, often leading to suicides and sometimes homicides.

The U.S. Army had already been doing research on mefloquine’s efficacy for preventing malaria from mosquito bites. The Walter Reed Army Institute for Research gave its research papers to the Swiss-based drug company Hoffman LaRoche, commonly known as Roche. (Source)

This would eventually create the military as a government-sponsored customer with a large population if Roche could complete the research and get FDA approval for the USA, which it did in 1989.

Military personnel can be ordered to take it over four other CDC recommended malaria prophylactic drugs that could be considered as effective but safer, though none are ideal. The major selling points were Lariam (mefloquine) was less expensive and only needed to be taken once a week. (Source)

Peace Corps volunteers also became unwitting customers of mefloquine as the government-sponsored Peace Corps went along with the Army’s assessment of mefloquine being the most effective and less expensive malaria-resisting drug. They were not apprised of the drug’s dangers.

With lawsuits mounting against Roche, the company pulled Lariam out of the USA market circa 2009, although there are still generic versions of mefloquine in the marketplace.

Mefloquine Side Effects Are Often Not Temporary

Early side effect notices listed during the 1990s focused on milder side effects such as nausea, vomiting, severe headaches, and insomnia. Vestibular disturbances such as intense ringing or noises in the ears, dizziness, and vertigo were also listed.

But real life mefloquine or Lariam adverse neurological and psychiatric symptoms include: hallucinations, insomnia, frighteningly vivid nightmares, anxiety, confusion, paranoia, and aggression.

The more serious long term side effects often led to suicide or murder. Since reporting side effects to the FDA or CDC is rarely done by doctors or patients, it took quite some time for the bodies to pile up sufficiently for the FDA to take notice.

The FDA finally issued a black box warning in 2013 for Larium and other generic drug company spin-offs using mefloquine. When a warning on a prescription drug insert is enclosed with a black border, it’s called a black box warning.

Black box warnings are the most severe warning the FDA gives before demanding a drug’s removal from the market place.

The FDA’s black box warning for mefloquine states what earlier side effect warnings did not include:

Some of the psychiatric symptoms persisted for months to years after mefloquine was discontinued. (Source)

The Veteran’s Administration (VA) also warns that the negative neurotoxic side effects of Lariam or generic mefloquine drugs can last for “weeks, months, and even years,” after someone stops using it. (Source)

There were several instances of attempted suicides forced by suicidal thinking or ideation along with very frightening vivid nightmares, especially among military personnel forced to take mefloquine drugs. Many attempts were successful.

Retired Army Epidemiologist and Preventative Medicine Officer Dr. Remington Nevin wrote in HuffPost op-ed “Mefloquine: The Military’s Suicide Pill” that:

The public had its first glimpse of the mefloquine suicide problem over a decade ago in 2002, when a cluster of murder-suicides occurred among Ft. Bragg soldiers returning home from deployment. All three soldiers had been taking mefloquine, yet an official Army investigation later concluded mefloquine was “unlikely to be the cause of this clustering.” (Source)

The returning soldiers, four of them according to another source, murdered their wives and two of them killed themselves.

Roche’s denial continued despite the fact that suicide rates among active troops in Iraq dropped dramatically after they were no longer being given mefloquine.

Former associate clinical research director at Roche, Dr. Donald H. Marks, left Roche in 1991. He said in a UPI mefloquine investigation that there is “ample reason” to believe Lariam causes suicide adding that its neurotoxicity, which causes brain damage, “could lead to suicidal behavior well after no longer using it.”

Dr. Marks declared to UPI investigative journalists:

Roche has developed an attitude of not adjusting the information it supplies to physicians and patients about the performance and safety characteristics of their drugs. (Source)

The complete detailed UPI investigative report on mefloquine is available here.

Because mefloquine neurotoxicity is not properly acknowledged, many suffering from mefloquine are misdiagnosed as PTSD, brain-damaged, or malingering for seeking treatments.

Among the many homeless veterans and those whose suicides were attributed to PTSD, many may have actually been victims of mefloquine toxicity related brain damage.

Dr. Nevin says the establishment’s denial of mefloquine neurotoxicity is “the Agent Orange of this generation.” You can access a CBS Washington DC affiliate’s short video report on mefloquine here.

Canadian Veterans and Active Duty Individuals Damaged by Mefloquine Filing Lawsuits

What was perhaps initially started as a Canadian class-action lawsuit against mefloquine for around 1250 Canadian military veterans, active duty members, and a few Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) personnel was rearranged earlier this year, 2019.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys have decided to represent each plaintiff who wants to proceed with individual lawsuits. Paul Miller, a Toronto-based personal injury lawyer stated on the record:

Every individual who wants to commence an action will get their own lawsuit. This is a really emotional case for people. Their lives have been impacted so severely, and this gives them some real skin in the game, in that they are playing a part of it, whereas, in a class action, you don’t really have that same feel and control. (Source)

You can view a short clip of Canada’s CTV News mefloquine coverage here.

Homicide Appears to Be Another Mefloquine Side Effect

In addition to the Ft. Bragg murder-suicides referred to earlier in this article, a more glaring example of mefloquine-induced psychosis occurred in Afganistan when Staff Sgt. Robert Bales went on a homicidal rampage and killed 16 non-combatant civilians, including women and children.

He was convicted in the States to serve a life sentence. His lawyer, John Browne, testified with documented evidence that Bales was using mefloquine often, sometimes while consuming alcohol.

This was in 2012, a year before the FDA’s black box warning, which has given rise to more claims for financial compensation and legal defenses for actions committed while on mefloquine.

Medical professionals should learn of and discuss other options for malaria prophylaxis with those going into malaria contagion regions.

Appropriate authorities should demand medical practitioners to report all adverse side effect reports from mefloquine and enforce that demand.

Mefloquine’s neurotoxic issues have also been noticed outside of North America. The following video is from a Dutch TV channel’s coverage of individuals who have suffered from mefloquine’s neurotoxicity.

Arizona Judge Orders Lawmaker and Media Out of Courtroom in Case Where Police Kicked Down Door Because Feverish Child was not Taken to Hospital

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 19:39:39 +0000

Image Source.

Comments by Brian Shilhavy
Editor, Health Impact News

An Arizona Judge recently ordered state Representative Kelly Townsend and the local media to leave the courtroom during the trial of the Chandler Arizona family who lost all 3 of their children for failing to take one of them to the hospital regarding a fever. Police broke down their door at 1 a.m. in the morning and forcibly removed all three children.

See our previous coverage of this story:

Police Break Down Door of Arizona Family at 1 AM to Medically Kidnap 3 Children Because Parents Refused to Take Child to Emergency Room with Fever

Was Arizona Family that had Police Break Down Their Door at 1 A.M. Targeted by Medical Community Because They Don’t Vaccinate Their Children?

According to the Arizona Republic, Judge Timothy J. Ryan ordered one of their reporters and Rep. Townsend to “immediately” leave an April 10 pretrial hearing in the case.

The judge was apparently upset over the media coverage this trial was receiving. This is consistent with how Arizona judges have acted in cases involving the State of Arizona removing children from their homes unjustly, as Health Impact News has been ordered several times in the past few years to take down our stories representing the families and victims of such actions.

However, Health Impact News has never complied with such orders, as they violate the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.

The Arizona Republic reports about Representative Townsend:

Ryan also barred state lawmaker Rep. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, who has publicly criticized the state’s handling of the case and had helped craft legislation requiring DCS to obtain a warrant before removing a child from their parents.

When she entered the courtroom April 10, the judge told her to leave.

“He said according to the recent news articles, it was their opinion that I had violated the confidentiality of the previous court hearing,” she said. “I was stunned.”

Townsend said she asked the judge for the court’s reasons for removing an elected state lawmaker from a public court hearing, asking which statute or policy she violated.

“I said, ‘Could I have it in writing?’” she said. “He said it would be entered into the meeting (record).”

Townsend said she’s concerned about how she can determine what violation she is accused of, because court filings in the child-welfare hearings are often private.

Townsend stated that she was concerned about the parents being treated fairly, because they chose not to vaccinate their children:

Townsend had previously said she worried the parents in the Chandler case were unfairly targeted because they had not vaccinated their children. In Arizona, a parent may decline vaccinations for their child based on personal, religious or medical exemptions.

She called on DCS to “immediately return the children who are also being traumatized” and said the case was “a complete miscarriage of justice and a shame to the state of Arizona.”

Townsend said state lawmakers have required a presumption of open child-welfare court hearings “to protect everyone — children, parents, the entire process.”

Barring lawmakers from a courtroom doesn’t serve the public’s interest, she said.

The judge allowed other attendees to remain in the hearing. (Source.)

The Arizona Republic reports that state social services still have custody of the children, and they also interviewed the attorney representing the parents:

In a March 29 interview with The Republic, Nicholas Boca, a family-law attorney for the pregnant mother, said his client faced officers with guns drawn for refusing to take her feverish toddler to the hospital. He criticized DCS for removing the woman’s three children and claimed police are trying to justify the use of excessive force.

The attorney’s criticism followed police releasing edited video of the incident and recommending criminal child-abuse charges against the parents.

Boca believes the charges and edited police video are payback for the parents publicly criticizing police, DCS caseworkers and the child-welfare system.

“Chandler police … absolutely made a mistake by using well beyond reasonable force to enter these parents’ home,” Boca said on Friday. “And instead of doing the right thing, instead of standing up and saying, ‘We made a mistake, let’s get these kids back to their home’ … they’re going the opposite direction with it and recommending child-abuse charges.”

Read the full article at The Arizona Republic.

Comment on this article at MedicalKidnap.com.

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Health24.com | This sleeping position could be making your backache worse

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 19:20:03 +0000

Chronic backache can be debilitating, and a poor sleeping position could make it even worse.

'Superbugs' Hang Out on Hospital Patients

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 18:47:31 +0000

In the study, researchers tested 399 hospital patients and found that 14% had superbugs on their hands or nostrils right after admission. Superbugs were also found on items commonly touched by patients, such as the nurse call button, in nearly one-third of tests.

Heart Patients Pay the Price When Nearby Pharmacy Closes

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 18:43:52 +0000

Nearly 24% of patients whose pharmacies closed failed to refill their statin prescription during 12 months of follow-up, compared with nearly 13% of those whose pharmacies remained open, the findings showed.

Light-intensity physical activity associated with healthy brain aging

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 16:53:02 +0000

Incremental physical activity, even at light intensity, is associated with larger brain volume and healthy brain aging.

Why eating ‘right’ could cause you to stray from your diet

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 14:45:03 +0000

Recent research has shown that just a small amount of red and processed meat can cause cancer, but changing your diet is hard. So what’s the best way to lose weight and stick to a healthy diet?

Discovery may help explain why women get autoimmune diseases far more often than men

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 14:37:13 +0000

New evidence points to a key role for a molecular switch called VGLL3 in autoimmune diseases, and the major gap in incidence between women and men. Building on past research showing that women have more VGLL3 in their skin cells than men, a team studied it further in mice. They show that having too much VGLL3 in skin cells pushes the immune system into overdrive, leading to an autoimmune response and symptoms similar to lupus.

New method to detect off-target effects of CRISPR

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 14:36:57 +0000

Since the CRISPR genome editing technology was invented in 2012, it has shown great promise to treat a number of intractable diseases. However, scientists have struggled to identify potential off-target effects in therapeutically relevant cell types, which remains the main barrier to moving therapies to the clinic. Now, a group of scientists have developed a reliable method to do just that.

Morning exercise may burn more calories

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 14:14:04 +0000

Exercising in the morning rather than in the evening may be more beneficial to health, as research shows that morning exercise burns more carbohydrates.

Nominations invited for prestigious awards at Pittcon Conference & Expo 2020

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 14:05:00 +0000

Nominate a colleague for one of our prestigious awards.

Marijuana users weigh less, defying the munchies

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 13:40:26 +0000

New evidence suggests that those who smoke cannabis, or marijuana, weigh less compared to adults who don't. The findings are contrary to the belief that marijuana users who have a serious case of the munchies will ultimately gain more weight.

On-chip drug screening for identifying antibiotic interactions in eight hours

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 13:39:54 +0000

A research team developed a microfluidic-based drug screening chip that identifies synergistic interactions between two antibiotics in eight hours. This chip can be a cell-based drug screening platform for exploring critical pharmacological patterns of antibiotic interactions, along with potential applications in screening other cell-type agents and guidance for clinical therapies.

Health24.com | Why more patients are surviving an aneurysm

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 13:00:14 +0000

Aneurysms used to carry a high probability of death, but many can now be treated before they pose a serious threat.

Health24.com | Many cancer patients take alternative meds but don't tell their doctors

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 13:00:12 +0000

Physicians need to know if cancer patients are using herbal products because alternative medicines can alter traditional cancer treatments.

Health24.com | Could a male twin's foetal testosterone bring lasting harm to his sister?

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 13:00:03 +0000

A new long-term study, tracking sets of twins for more than 30 years, supports a theory that females in male-female twin pairs are exposed to more testosterone in the womb, and that this could affect their behaviour later in life.

Key research takeaways from ECCMID 2019

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 12:39:00 +0000

This article aims to provide a brief overview of the key themes of the 29th ECCMID conference and update readers on current research projects.

Health24.com | 'To my organ donor all the way in heaven, thank you for giving me a second chance at life'

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 11:21:39 +0000

After being reliant on dialysis for almost ten years, Cally Williams finally received the call that would change her life.

Pain Patients Get Relief from War on Opioids

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 10:45:00 +0000

U.S. agencies warn doctors not to abruptly cut off the medications for long-time users

-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com

Microfluidic-based drug screening chip identifies antibiotic interactions in eight hours

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 10:18:43 +0000

A KAIST research team developed a microfluidic-based drug screening chip that identifies synergistic interactions between two antibiotics in eight hours.

Liver illness strikes Latino children like a ‘silent tsunami’

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 10:13:51 +0000

Saira Diaz uses her fingers to count the establishments selling fast food and sweets near the South Los Angeles home she shares with her parents and 13-year-old son. “There’s one, two, three, four, five fast-food restaurants,” she says. “And a little mom and pop store that sells snacks and sodas and candy.”

Research sheds light on how hepatitis B virus establishes chronic infection

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 10:05:30 +0000

New research sheds light on how a hepatitis B viral protein stimulates the expansion of immune cells that impair antiviral responses, according to a study published April 18 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Haitao Guo of the Indiana University School of Medicine, Bin Wang and Jiming Zhang of Fudan University, and colleagues.

Researchers explore whether time of day can affect the body's response to physical exertion

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 10:04:12 +0000

Two papers appearing April 18 in the journal Cell Metabolism confirm that the circadian clock is an important factor in how the body responds to physical exertion.

New scoring system based on genetic markers predicts obesity risk at birth

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 10:03:11 +0000

Researchers have come up with a scoring system based on genetic markers that predicts an individual's inborn risk for obesity.

Health24.com | How safe is running a marathon? Heart doctors say it depends

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 09:44:36 +0000

In the run-up to the Boston Marathon, doctors are recommending that athletes everywhere keep close tabs on their heart health.

5 Tips For Millennials Who Want To Improve Mental Health

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 05:14:15 +0000

Today's fast-paced world demands so much that we readily get stressed out. Here are five ways to help you deal with it better.

Do Kids Really Need Vitamins?

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 05:03:50 +0000

Do kids really need vitamins and supplements? Here's the answer.

Health24.com | WATCH: Lithuanian woman gives birth to 'drunk' baby, faces charges

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 05:00:17 +0000

A Lithuanian woman is facing charges after giving birth to a "drunk" baby, after reportedly drinking at home before the child was born.

Health24.com | WATCH: Meet Iris, the 75-year old-bodybuilder proving it’s never too late to start training

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 05:00:16 +0000

Most people half her age would be jealous of this 75-year-old woman's perfectly toned bodybuilding frame.

Health24.com | When are your digestive issues actually colon cancer?

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 05:00:14 +0000

The age of people diagnosed with colon cancer is dropping, and the diagnosis often comes too late. Here is what you should know, and how you can reduce your risk.

Drug Companies Upset Physicians are not Prescribing More Cholesterol-lowering Statin Drugs

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 01:13:43 +0000

Cholesterol Managers Want to Double Statin Prescriptions

by Dr. Joseph Mercola

Cholesterol is found in nearly every cell in your body. This waxy substance is vital for optimal functioning of cell membranes, regulating protein pathways and supporting brain health, hormone levels and reducing your heart disease risk. Your body also uses cholesterol to manufacture vitamin D after being exposed to the sun.

As Zoe Harcombe, Ph.D., has noted,¹

“It is virtually impossible to explain how vital cholesterol is to the human body. If you had no cholesterol in your body you would be dead.”

The majority of the cholesterol in your body, approximately 80%, is manufactured in your liver,² suggesting your body cannot survive without it.

The remaining 20% is absorbed from the foods you eat but only at a rate of 20 to 60% of what’s in your food.

As Alice Lichtenstein, senior scientist and director of the cardiovascular nutrition laboratory at Tufts University, told Eating Well, the absorption rate depends on the individual,³ and if you consume less, your body compensates by making more.

In other words, there is a level at which your body attempts to maintain your cholesterol by manufacturing more or less in response to your dietary intake. Since animals use cholesterol in much the same way as humans, beef, pork and chicken have similar levels of cholesterol in the meat.

In the past decades cholesterol has been vilified as a primary culprit in heart disease. Merck brought the first statin drug, Lovastatin, aka Mevacor, to market in 1987.^4,⁵

Since then, statins have gone on to become the biggest selling class of pharmaceutical compounds of all time, with annual sales in excess of $19 billion in 2017 and projected to reach $24.4 by 2022.^6,⁷

Although the growth has been rapid, recent data demonstrate physicians are not prescribing statins to all eligible patients.⁸

Physicians Not Offering Statins to Eligible Patients

According to research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),⁹ 36.7% of U.S. adults over the age of 21 met the eligibility requirements in 2015 for cholesterol lowering treatment with statins as defined by the 2013 guidelines issued by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.

These guidelines define four groups said to benefit from statins,¹⁰ including those with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, diabetes and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels between 70 and 189 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). According to the CDC, 55% (43 million American adults)¹¹ who fit the criteria are currently taking statin medication.

Despite these extraordinary numbers, a new study¹² from Duke University Medical Center finds 26.5% of U.S. adults who fit the current criteria to use cholesterol-lowering drugs are not taking them. The study is suggesting this occurs since doctors do not offer the drugs to their patients or the patients express concern over the side effects.¹³

The guidelines were expanded by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force¹⁴ to include individuals who did not have a prior history of heart disease but who had concurrent health conditions that may place them at higher risk for heart attack in the future, such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and age.

According to the current survey, 59.2%¹⁵ who were not taking the drug said their physician had not offered them a prescription. This was most common among women, black people and uninsured patients.

In an email to Reuter’s, Dr. Ian Kronish, associate director of the Center for Behavioral Cardiovascular Health at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, commented on the findings, saying some physicians may not have been completely behind the changes to the guidelines published in 2013, particularly for patients who didn’t have extremely high cholesterol levels or a previous history of heart disease.¹⁶

How Do Statins Work?

Statins don’t stop your body from absorbing cholesterol from your food, but rather prevent your liver from making the cholesterol it was designed to produce by blocking an enzyme in the mevalonate pathway called HMG-CoA reductase, used to make cholesterol in the liver.

Essentially, this classification of drugs blocks the mevalonate pathway, which plays a key role in multiple cellular processes, not just the production of cholesterol. Although studied with regard to cholesterol synthesis, the extent of the impact of the mevalonate pathway is not fully understood.¹⁷

The drugs also deplete your body of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), which may in part account for many of its devastating long-term results. A black box warning was proposed to warn patient and physicians about this reduction in CoQ10,¹⁸ but in 2014 the FDA decided against it.¹⁹

CoQ10 is used in energy production by every cell in your body and is vital for optimal health and longevity. In its reduced form, ubiquinol, it’s a crucial component of cellular respiration and the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a coenzyme used as an energy carrier in every cell in your body. Since your heart is the most energy demanding organ, depleting this energy supply can have devastating consequences.

Former FDA Commissioner Had Strong Ties to Big Pharma

The featured study was performed at Duke University by scientists with a history of producing research supporting statin use and calling for a greater number of prescriptions in patients who may not have had a previous history of heart disease,^20,^21,^22,^23,²⁴ continuing a legacy of pharmaceutical support left by Dr. Robert Califf,²⁵ who served as U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner from February 2016 until January 2017.²⁶

In May 2014, Califf, a Duke cardiologist and study chairman, gave a presentation²⁷ to a group of experts, describing ways to increase the pace of innovation through the transformation of the research process. Specifically, his last slide called for a plan to simplify the regulatory systems governing research, believing it may have slowed biomedical innovation.

This was near the end of his association with Duke University, as he was soon to be nominated by then President Barack Obama as the FDA commissioner.²⁸

During his confirmation hearings he defended his position in accepting drug industry funding and promised to not lower the agency’s safety standards.

When questioned by senators, Califf attempted to disarm his previous statement that regulations governing research were too complicated and slowed innovation by saying,²⁹

“I’ve never been a proponent of lowering standards. If anything, I’ve argued for raising them.”

According to The New York Times,³⁰ Califf had been associated with scientific papers produced by pharmaceutical company researchers, he’d been paid by seven drug companies and a device maker for consulting services, and his university salary was partially supported by drug companies, including Merck, Novartis and Eli Lilly.

In a conflict of interest section at the end of one paper, he declared financial support from more than 20 companies and research entitites.³¹ Daniel Carpenter, a Harvard political science professor with an expertise in the FDA calls him the “ultimate industry insider.”³²

Califf also resigned from the board of directors at Portola Pharmaceuticals on January 26, 2015, just prior to his nomination as FDA commissioner, having received compensation of $259,623.³³

Recently, Duke Clinical Research Institute paid $112.5 million to settle claims that bogus research data³⁴ were submitted to the National Institutes of Health to acquire grant money for research.³⁵ Seven years of data were determined to be unreliable.

Risks Associated With Statins Supported by Science

Among those who were offered but declined statins in the featured study,³⁶ the most common reason stated was fear of side effects from the drugs.³⁷ Senior study author Dr. Ann Marie Navar from the Duke Clinical Research Institute³⁸ believes public perception of side effects is unrealistic. She commented:

“Although there are risks associated with statins, the public fear of side effects is out of proportion to the actual risks. Misconceptions about statins are everywhere and are fueled by false information on the internet.”

However, despite Navar’s attempt to downplay the side effects of statin medications, the risks are well-documented and supported by scientific evidence, so the fears are well-founded. According to the FDA:³⁹

There have been rare reports of serious liver problems. Patients should notify their health care professional right away if they have the following symptoms: feeling unusually tired or weak; loss of appetite; upper belly pain; dark colored urine; yellowing of the skin or the whites of the eyes.
Memory loss and confusion have been reported. The conditions are generally non-serious and reversible after stopping statin use.
Increases in blood sugar levels have been reported.
Before starting a statin, patients should inform their health care professional about all medicines that they are taking or plan to take. Some medicines may interact with statins, increasing the risk for side effects.

However, these are only the side effects acknowledged by the FDA and not the full scope of the effects supported by research. A reduction in CoQ10 triggered by this classification of drugs may increase your risk of acute heart failure⁴⁰ and atherosclerosis, as found in data published in Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology.⁴¹

The study addressed several physiological mechanisms, including how the drug inhibits the synthesis of vitamin K2, which is responsible for protecting your arteries from calcification. One of its biological roles is to move calcium out of your blood and into the proper areas of your body, such as your bones and teeth.

Since statins inhibit the function of vitamin K2,⁴² it may place you at risk of deficiency, which may contribute to osteoporosis, heart disease, brain disease and inappropriate calcification. The same enzyme used by your liver to produce cholesterol that is inhibited by statins is also involved in the production of ketone bodies.

The depletion of CoQ10 and the inhibition of vitamin K2 also increases your risk of other serious diseases including cancer. Long-term statin use more than doubles a woman’s risk of two types of breast cancer,⁴³ and significantly increases a man’s risk for prostate cancer.⁴⁴ Research has also associated statin use with an increased risk of diabetes,^45,^46,⁴⁷ neurodegenerative diseases,⁴⁸cataracts^49,⁵⁰ and musculoskeletal disorders.⁵¹

How to Evaluate Your Risk of Heart Attack

As you consider whether taking statins make sense for your health, it’s important to understand what your cholesterol numbers mean. Your total cholesterol is not a strong indicator of your risk of heart disease. Better indicators are:

The ratio of your high-density lipoprotein (HDL) to total cholesterol — To get this number, divide your HDL level by your total cholesterol and multiply by 100 to get the answer. Ideally, your HDL to cholesterol ratio would be 24% or above.
Your triglyceride to HDL ratio — Your triglyceride to HDL ratio should ideally be below 2.

Two tests that are even more important for assessing your cardiovascular disease risk are your serum ferritin and gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT). The GGT is used as a screening marker for excess free iron and a great indicator of your risk of sudden cardiac death. The recommended and ideal levels of ferritin and GGT are as follows. For more information about these tests, read my previous article, “Cholesterol Does Not Cause Heart Disease.”

• Ferritin — Adult men and non-menstruating women: 30 to 40 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) or 75 to 100 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L).

The most commonly used threshold for iron deficiency in clinical studies is 12 to 15 ng/mL (30 to 37 nmol/L). You do not want to be below 20 ng/mL (50 nmol/L) or above 80 ng/mL (200 nmol/L). High iron during pregnancy is also problematic; having a level of 60 or 70 ng/mL (150 or 175 nmol/L) is associated with greater odds of poor pregnancy outcomes.

• GGT — Below 16 units per liter (U/L) for men and below 9 U/L for women. Above 25 U/L for men and 18 U/L for women, your risk of chronic disease increases significantly.

Protect Your Heart and Lower Your Risk of Heart Disease

Here are a number of suggestions to help protect yourself against heart disease. For further discussion of how lifestyle factors impact your risk, see my previous article, “Nearly Half of American Adults Have Cardiovascular Disease.”

Avoid environmental pollutants and toxins, including smoking, vaping, heavy metals, herbicides and pesticides, especially glyphosate.
Minimize your exposure to electromagnetic fields and wireless radiation from cellphones, Wi-Fi, routers, smart meters and more, as this kind of radiation has been shown to cause serious free radical damage and mitochondrial dysfunction.
Eat an unprocessed whole food-based diet low in net carbs and high in healthy fats. A ketogenic diet — which is very low in net carbohydrates and high in healthy fats — is key for boosting mitochondrial function.
When your body is able to burn fat for fuel, your liver creates water-soluble fats called ketones that burn more efficiently than carbs, thereby creating fewer reactive oxygen species and secondary free radicals. Ketones also decrease inflammation and improve glucose metabolism.⁵²
Eat nitrate-rich foods to help normalize your blood pressure. Good sources include arugula, cilantro, rhubarb, butter leaf lettuce, mesclun mixed greens, beet greens, fresh beet juice, kvass (fermented beet juice) and fermented beet powder.
Get plenty of nonexercise movement each day; walk more and incorporate higher intensity exercise as your health allows.
Intermittently fast. After you’ve become accustomed to intermittently fasting for 16 to 18 hours, you may try a stricter fast once or twice a week, when you eat a 300- to 800-calorie meal loaded with detox supporting nutrients, followed by a 24-hour fast. So, in essence, you’re then only eating one 300- to 800-calorie meal in 42 hours.
If you have heart disease, consider enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP). To find a provider, see EECP.com.⁵³
If you have heart disease, you may also consider taking g-strophanthin, an adrenal hormone helping to create more parasympathetic nervous system neurotransmitters, thereby supporting your parasympathetic nervous system. It also helps flush out lactic acid. Strophanthus is the name of the plant, the active ingredient of which is called g-strophanthin in Europe, and ouabain in the U.S.
Get sensible sun exposure to optimize your vitamin D status and/or take an oral vitamin D3 supplement with magnesium and vitamin K2.
Implement heart-based wellness practices such as connecting with loved ones and practicing gratitude.

Read the full article at Mercola.com.

References

¹ ZoeHarcombe.com, We Have Got Cholesterol Completely Wrong

² Harvard Health Publishing, How It’s Made: Cholesterol Production in Your Body, February 2017

³ Eating Well, How Much Does the Cholesterol I Get Through Food Really Affect My Blood Cholesterol Level?

⁴ Chemical and Engineering News, 2009; 87(23)

⁵ News Medical Life Sciences, Statin History

⁶ Statin Nation, October 4, 2017

⁷

Lawmakers, Doctors, Attorneys and Oregon Public Oppose Secretive Bill to Force All Vaccines on Oregon Children

Thu, 18 Apr 2019 21:43:48 +0000

Comments by Brian Shilhavy
Editor, Health Impact News

Statistics clearly show that the vast majority of the American public vaccinates their children. And yet, efforts to force vaccinations on those few who don’t want them seem to be opposed by a majority of those on both sides of the vaccine debate.

Barbara Loe Fisher of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) recently wrote:

Since 2015, no state legislature has removed a vaccine exemption.

This year, while 11 states are proposing to restrict or eliminate vaccine exemptions, NVIC is supporting 61 bills that expand exemptions or protect vaccine informed consent rights (as of Mar.1, 2019), the largest number of bills we have ever supported in a legislative session.

This pushback against forced vaccination is being met with fury by doctors and lawyers inside and outside of government..

The majority of the American public has a healthy distrust of Government motives in forcing medical procedures upon those who do not want them. As Fisher states:

The signs are everywhere that people are trying to throw off the chains binding them to failed medical and public health policies that cost Americans more than three trillion dollars a year in health care costs.

Americans are beginning to understand that trusting blindly and saluting doctors smartly for the past 40 years has not prevented 1 child in 6 from becoming learning disabled, or 1 in 9 from suffering with asthma, or 1 in 10 from struggling with mental and behavior disorders or 1 in 40 from developing autism.

America now has the worst infant mortality rates, and worst maternal mortality rates, and worst life expectancy of all developed nations.

Highly vaccinated and medicated Americans are very sick, with millions of children and adults suffering with immune and brain dysfunction marked by chronic inflammation in their brains and bodies that confines too many of them to special education classrooms and frequent trips to doctors’ offices to try to deal with a lifetime of chronic illness and disability.

No public health official, professor or legislator in America can explain why millions and millions of children and more than 1 in 2 adults are chronically ill or disabled.

This is the real public health emergency that mothers and fathers want to talk about, but Congress and medical trade groups do not want to talk about.

This is the elephant in the room at every public hearing on bills proposing to take away or expand vaccine informed consent rights being held in state legislatures today. (Source.)

Oregon has now proposed a bill that would basically make Oregon into a Vaccine Police State, forcing all children to receive all vaccines as a condition for receiving education.

Lawmakers, doctors, attorneys and the Oregon public have responded in shock to this bill, most of which is reported to have been crafted in secrecy.

Oregon Bill HB 3063 proposes to exclude children from school if they are missing just one vaccination

Oregon bill HB 3063 strips Oregonians of religious and philosophical freedom when it comes to vaccines and abolishes all but the medical exemption (ME).

In Oregon most doctors are unwilling to write medical exemptions because they must be approved by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), and they have one of the most restrictive set of rules for MEs in the country.

“If you’re against discrimination, you are against HB 3063,” says science journalist and book author Jennifer Margulis, PhD, who describes herself as pro-vaccine and says she has vaccinated her children, albeit on a slower and more evidence-based schedule than the one recommended by the CDC.

“We are a pioneer state that values religious freedom and medical freedom. This bill is a gross government overreach.”

Dr. Margulis and several others, including Dr. James Lyons-Weiler, PhD, a biochemist who has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers, and Dr. Paul Thomas, MD, a pediatrician with over 15,000 children in his practice, will be gathering in Salem, Oregon at a “Rally for Rights” to oppose the bill on April 23, 2019.

Of particular concern, Margulis says, is an amendment that bars children who go to online school from being in public places if they are just missing one vaccine.

“I think it’s important to realize that this is not a debate about the safety and efficacy of vaccines,” Margulis says. “It’s a debate about whether we should be making medical decisions in the privacy of a doctor’s office or in the state legislature.”

Margulis says she has spoken to medical doctors across the state who oppose the bill. Many fear speaking up against it, however, as they don’t want to be categorized as “anti-vaccine.”

“Talking about vaccine safety and safe vaccination is not anti-vaccine,” Margulis insists.

“It’s time to start a new conversation about children’s health. We need to stop the name-calling and start looking at the science. The science, unfortunately, suggests that parental concerns about the safety of the current vaccination schedule are well founded.”

In particular, Margulis is concerned about the high level of aluminum in the hepatitis B vaccine, which is given to most American children just a few hours after birth. Aluminum is a known neurotoxin and giving it to newborns and infants may be a causative factor in the brain damage we are seeing among America’s children, Margulis says.

Many educated parents choose not to do the hepatitis B vaccine. But a child missing this vaccine, which is against a sexually transmitted disease, will be barred from school if HB 3063 passes.

Yet a child who is hepatitis B positive cannot be denied access to an education. The idea that we would deny children the right to go to school based on the choices of their parents is absurd. I’m very disappointed to see some otherwise very smart legislators supporting this bill.

Lawmakers Speak Out in Opposition

Oregon Senator Kim Thatcher (left) and Oregon Senator Dennis Linthicum (right)

Earlier this week, Oregon Senator Dennis Linthicum sent out this press release.

from the offices of

SENATOR
DENNIS LINTHICUM

Linthicum blasts secrecy around HB 3063

SALEM, Ore.—House Bill 3063 is hovering in the Ways and Means Committee and is being tinkered with behind the scene by a group of lawmakers attempting to abolish consent in medicine.

The bill is especially concerning given the connections of Big Pharma and the Oregon Health Authority, one of the most notorious agencies in the Brown administration.

Senate Republican Whip Dennis Linthicum, R-Klamath Falls, says the Senate Health Care Committee was inappropriately shut out of the legislative process on the bill with its designation to the Ways and Means Committee.

Linthicum also expressed support for a package of 29 amendments introduced by his colleague state Sen. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, that if signed into law mandates forcibly injecting members who vote “yes” on the bill, along with their family members, and the governor.

Linthicum released the following statement:

We must not tolerate the efforts to put unelected bureaucrats between you and your doctor.

Oregon legislators are not your doctor and OHA shouldn’t be made the security guards at your child’s school. Where there is a risk, there has to be free-choice.

The state must not mandate a pharmaceutical product where there is absolute liability protection for Big Pharma on one side, while stripping the rights of Oregon’s citizens on the other side. Our state’s legislative motto ought to reflect the Hippocratic Oath: First do no harm.

For follow-up commentary contact spokesman Jonathan Lockwood at 971-645-2099.

Here is Senator Kim Thatcher’s press release and proposed amendments.

from the offices of

SENATOR
KIM THATCHER

Thatcher requests 29 amendments to HB 3063

SALEM, Ore.—Opponents of House Bill 3063, an extreme proposal that would mandate forcible injections as a condition of entering public spaces, could find some relief in a package of amendments requested by state Sen. Kim Thatcher,R-Keizer.

Thatcher’s amendments highlight key problems with the proposal.

Thatcher released the following statement:

House Bill 3063 abolishes informed consent, undermines the Hippocratic Oath and puts the Oregon Health Authority in between children and their doctors.

Unelected bureaucrats and Pharma should not be making decisions that are best made by doctors and their patients.

The package of amendments I have requested be drafted dismantle the false narrative promoted by proponents of forcible injections and we are working with legislative counsel to draft these amendments.

Where there is a risk, there must be a choice—keep up the fight.

The following amendments were requested by Thatcher’s office:

Exempts private schools, private day care centers, and private preschools from any restrictions to vaccine exemptions.
Exempts charter schools from any restrictions to vaccine exemptions.
Exempts religious schools from any restrictions to vaccine exemptions.
Allows the philosophical or personal objection to vaccination provided that the parent or legal guardian of the child or any adult in loco parentis to the child speaks to a health care professional about vaccines and immunization.
Requires, prior to the administration of any vaccine required for school or day care attendance, the provider administering the vaccine to notify the child’s parent or guardian, or adult in loco parentis, of the option to consent to an antibody titer test to determine whether or not the individual has developed positive antibody titer.
Prohibits requiring a vaccine as a condition for school or day care attendance, unless the United States Food and Drug Administration has conducted a pivotal trial that evaluated the vaccine to capture potential autoimmune, neurological, and chronic health effects that arise after administration of the vaccine.
Prohibits requiring a vaccine as a condition for school or day care attendance, unless the United States Food and Drug Administration(FDA) has evaluated the safety of the vaccine using a pivotal trial against a control group that received a placebo or another vaccine or substance licensed by the FDA that was evaluated against a control group that received a placebo.
Prohibits requiring a vaccine as a condition for school or day care attendance, unless the vaccine has been evaluated for its potential to cause cancer.
Prohibits requiring a vaccine as a condition for school or day care attendance, unless the vaccine has been evaluated for its potential to mutate genes.
Specifies that a child with a family history of vaccine-injury qualifies for a medical exemption.
Prohibits requiring a vaccine as a condition for school or day care attendance, unless it is 100% free from any State of Oregon High Priority Chemicals of Concern for Children’s Health via the 2015 Toxic Free Kids Act (mercury, formaldehyde, phenol), and human fetal tissue or DNA.
Exempts a child from mandatory vaccine requirements if a parent, legal guardian, or adult in loco parentis signs and presents a written certification that the child has a biological parent, brother, or sister, with a documented history of immune system problems or a documented adverse reaction to a particular vaccine required by rule of OHA.
Exempts a child from the vaccination requirements for whom vaccination is not recommended under current guidance issued by the United States Food and Drug Administration or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Requires providers administering vaccines to record the health status of their patients prior to any vaccine administration and to report to the Vaccine Adverse Reporting System and record in provider records all adverse events that follow for three years, regardless of whether the administrator considers them vaccine-related.
Prohibits requiring a vaccine as a condition for school or day care attendance, unless OHA has publicly disclosed the injury rate of the vaccine when administered with other required vaccines.
Prohibits a vaccine product from being required if it is currently the subject of litigation concerning safety, efficacy, or fraud.
Requires Oregon to contract for a vaccinated vs. non-vaccinated study to be performed by researchers independent of the pharmaceutical industry.
Requires Oregon to assume financial responsibility for any injury or death resulting from the administration of any vaccine or combination of vaccines required by law.
Requires Oregon to assume financial responsibility for all costs for the special medical and educational needs of those injured by any vaccine or combination of vaccines required by law.
Requires OHA to receive legislative approval to add vaccines to the list of required immunizations.
Requires health care providers to provide written information concerning potential adverse reactions to vaccines to individuals or their parent or guardian before administering a vaccine.
OHA may only require immunization for communicable diseases.
Allows a child time to safely receive all required vaccinations while still being able to attend school or day care if the child has begun receiving required vaccinations.
Allows for a religious exemption to an MMR mandate.
No vaccine targeting sexually transmitted diseases shall be required for daycare or school attendance.
No vaccines targeting infections not communicable in a community setting shall be required for daycare or school attendance.
Vaccines that provide only personal protection from symptoms and that do not prevent person-to-person transmission of infection shall not be required.
Any lawmaker voting in support of HB 3063, or signing the bill into law, and their immediate family members shall have administered to them the bill’s mandated vaccines. Vaccination protocol shall begin within 30 days of the passage of the bill and adhere to the full schedule required for children under the bill.

(Emphasis and hyperlinks added.)

For follow-up commentary contact spokesman Jonathan Lockwood at 971-645- 2099.

Join the Oregonians For Medical Freedom Rapid Response Network today! Get emails and text messages for immediate call to actions. Use our new tool to quickly email, tweet and call your representatives. Simply send a text to 52886 with the word Oregonian. You’ll be asked 3 quick questions to get started!

Comment on this article at VaccineImpact.com.

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Home Health Physical Therapy Visits May Lower Re-Hospitalization Risk by 82%

Thu, 18 Apr 2019 21:29:03 +0000

Home health physical therapy sessions — set for major changes under the upcoming Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) — can drastically lower the risk of re-hospitalization among older adults following discharge.

That’s according to a new study published earlier this month in Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. Specifically, the study found, one to two weekly physical therapy sessions can help lower the chances of re-hospitalization among older adults by up to 82% in a 60-day period.

In the U.S., more than 3.3 million re-hospitalizations take place annually, and one-third of Medicare patients experience functional decline within 90 days of being released from the hospital.

Unlike similar efforts, the recently published study is noteworthy because it looks at the specific amount of home health care therapy services that are effective in preventing re-hospitalization, in particular, whereas previous research focused on how services can improve physical function and reduce health care costs.

“Every patient’s situation is different,” Jinjiao Wang, lead author and an assistant professor from the University of Rochester School of Nursing, told Home Health Care News. “Instead of giving everybody the same amount of service — or the maximum amount of service possible — what might be more effective is to do a very precise assessment of the patient in the beginning, and use that information to direct not just the type of service, but the amount of service.”

As part of the study, researchers analyzed OASIS data and Medicare-certified home health care administrative records from one statewide nonprofit home health agency to determine the impact of programs such as physical therapy, skilled nursing and occupational therapy on re-hospitalization among older patients.

The analysis utilized a sample size of more than 1,300 patients who were 65 or older and admitted into a home health program within 48 hours of being released from the hospital. Within that sample, 11.5% of the patients saw re-hospitalization within the 60-day period.

In addition to lowering the risk or re-hospitalization by 82% after receiving physical therapy services, risk was likewise lowered by 48% with two weekly skilled nursing visits.

“With the new reimbursement policy from CMS that is going to occur in the near future, the amount of [therapy] service one can receive will be even more restricted,” Wang said. “I think that instead of just limiting the amount of service for patients, a more sensible approach to improve the outcome of home health care services in the United States, specifically in the post-acute care setting, is to provide the service more precisely.”

The post Home Health Physical Therapy Visits May Lower Re-Hospitalization Risk by 82% appeared first on Home Health Care News.

Executive Care CEO Building Franchise ‘One Client at a Time,’ Sniffing Out SNF Partnerships

Thu, 18 Apr 2019 21:19:40 +0000

Since co-founding Executive Care with his wife Mila 15 years ago, CEO Lenny Verkholglaz has led the Hackensack, New Jersey-based home health care franchise toward consistent growth in an industry that is grappling with how to recruit and retain home care workers.

Today, the private-pay in-home care company has over 20 locations across more than 10 states, offering a plethora of services including companionship, homemaking, personal care, live-in care and skilled care.

Currently, Executive Care has 19 owners in its network and serves close to 1,000 clients.

Looking ahead, expansion remains top of mind for Verkholglaz, who has plans to open 10 new locations in cities such as Boston, Las Vegas and Denver by the end of the year.

Home Health Care News recently caught up with Verkholglaz to discuss Executive Care’s journey as a company, its partnership with Lyft and its goals for the remainder of 2019.

Highlights of that conversation are below, edited for length and clarity.

HHCN: Executive Care was founded in 2004. You celebrated your 15-year anniversary this year. How have you seen the company grow since its launch?

Verkholglaz: My wife and I took the approach of, “Let’s grow our company to the point where we feel comfortable with what we are doing.” Then we can franchise with a proven concept that works, that makes money and that others could believe in.

We grew our company for about nine years before we decided to franchise, but in the first nine years of our existence, we had a deliberate approach to growing our business. We are in a mature industry, and it takes time and money to grow the business into a multi-million dollar business, which Executive Care is today.

It’s like building a house, one brick at a time. We are building our business one client at a time.

What are some of the biggest differences in the delivery of home care from when the company first launched to now? For example, I know home care has really gained more recognition for its role in addressing social determinants of health.

When we started in 2004, the private-pay home care industry or in-home care was in its infancy. We saw that there were a lot of companies doing Medicare and Medicaid work, meaning being reimbursed by Medicare or Medicaid.

But when we started out it was somewhat easier back then compared to what it is today. We now have an enormous number of competitors. The barriers to entry are somewhat low or lower [in non-medical home care] than, say, getting into the Medicare or Medicaid business.

We’ve seen that a lot of people started recognizing that in-home care is needed more. A lot of people we have been dealing with didn’t know the service existed.

We see a lot more awareness of services, and that helped us grow.

From Executive Care’s perspective, what are some of the top industry challenges, and how has the company responding to these challenges?

The biggest challenge is the minimum wage raises because the government is pretty one-sided. They look at the employer-employee side of things without any regard to the consumer side. We are very careful and sensitive to raising prices on our clients. If a person is using us 24/7 around the clock, sometimes it can get pricey.

Another challenge is that with more seniors needing care, it’s sometimes a challenge to find the right caregiver for the client. We’ve never had issues finding caregivers, it’s just a little more work now than it was before. The pool of caregivers was readily more available 10 years ago versus now. It’s a little more work on our end, but we always find caregivers for the job.

I call it the law of attraction. If you build a good reputation as a company, you start attracting more caregivers.

One challenge that we have noticed across the industry is the recruitment and retention of home health care workers, which you just touched on. Besides building a good reputation as a company, how else is Executive Care addressing this point?

Recruitment is an ongoing process. The way that we approach recruitment is similar to the way that we treat new customers. Caregivers are the face of our company, so we want to make sure they are treated well, that they are given growth opportunities, that their assignments are explained properly and that they are paid well.

That’s what helps us recruit and retain caregivers. We are known for being a company with compassion towards both our caregivers and clients.

For us, recruiting has been a combination of multiple components, including recruiting through major sites like Indeed and ZipRecruiter. We employ software like Hireology. We run a local recruiting open house and we also offer referral bonuses.

But there is no magic bullet. It’s a lot of work. Some of our offices have dedicated recruiters whose only job is to bring on more home care workers.

What are some of Executive Care’s short-term goals for 2019?

In terms of brand growth, although we’ve been in business for 15 years, we are a younger brand compared to some of the other ones out there. We are working hard on expanding our brand and making it more known in franchising circles. We are hoping to add between five to 10 locations this year in different parts of the country. We are talking to several candidates who have expressed interest in our system and model.

In terms of providing care, my job as a CEO is to be at the forefront of my company, looking out for opportunities, looking for improvements, new technologies and better processes. For example, this year the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is going to be accessing penalties for readmissions, not only to hospitals but also skilled nursing facilities, so we are implementing new software that will track readmissions by clients and by conditions.

Having this data will help us work a lot closer with skilled nursing facilities and hospitals.

In 2017, Executive Care partnered with ride-hail company Lyft to allow arrange rides for clients and caregivers. Can you talk about this a little more and, perhaps, provide some insight on how the partnership has impacted your bottom line?

This is a great relationship. We approached Uber as well, but I haven’t heard from them. Well, too bad for Uber. Lyft embraced us. They have a special health care program for companies like ours. It’s almost like this lifted a weight off of our shoulders. It allows us to be very flexible with our clients and our caregivers. For example, if a caregiver’s car breaks down, we can dispatch a Lyft to pick them up and bring them to the case. If a client needs to go to a doctor’s visit, a caregiver can come along.

I can’t say that it helped our bottom line to a great extent, but it says to consumers that we have solutions for them. Transportation is one of the biggest issues with seniors. They need to get around, and Lyft solved that issue for us. I’m very happy with this partnership.

Is Executive Care working with any Medicare Advantage (MA) plans? If not, what are you doing to position your company to take advantage of those opportunities as they appear?

At this point in time, we are not working with Medicare Advantage, but I have my eyes and ears in that direction.

Based on what I hear and what I’ve been reading, MA could be good in a few years. I don’t think that, at this point in time, too many people know what it’s going to involve, what the benefits are, what the reimbursement rates are, what the billing procedure is. There are a lot of questions.

I don’t want to spend time and resources developing processes on something that has not been defined yet. I have a wait-and-see attitude until things become clearer.

The post Executive Care CEO Building Franchise ‘One Client at a Time,’ Sniffing Out SNF Partnerships appeared first on Home Health Care News.

[White Paper] A Survival Guide for PDGM Assessment & Implementation

Thu, 18 Apr 2019 20:56:45 +0000

The Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) is the biggest change to take place in home health in roughly two decades — and some industry experts have speculated that not all providers will survive its impact.

Providers must rethink their approaches from referrals to operations, therapy and other clinical services.

This white paper provides a survival guide with key points for assessment and implementation of the new model.

Read this white paper to learn:

How to conduct a PDGM financial impact assessment
Revenue cycle and billing management considerations under the new payment structure
Where clinical operations are likely to shift under PDGM
Red flags to watch out for and questions to ask internally
… and more!

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The post [White Paper] A Survival Guide for PDGM Assessment & Implementation appeared first on Home Health Care News.

Credit, Billing Staff Are Keys to a Smooth Financial Transition into PDGM

Thu, 18 Apr 2019 20:56:36 +0000

When the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) takes effect Jan. 1, home health care billing processes will become significantly more complicated. The new model revolutionizes the way agencies are reimbursed, cutting payment periods in half and requiring more detailed claims, among other changes.

As a result, PDGM will likely put financial strain on even the most prepared agencies in the early months of its implementation, during which cash flow is likely to dip. As such, it’s vital for agencies to establish credit lines and update their billing processes to stay afloat, financial experts caution.

“I don’t think there’s an option to not be prepared if one wants to stay in business and care for patients,” Misty Skinner, executive vice president of services for HEALTHCAREfirst, told Home Health Care News. “If everything goes perfectly as it should — and it won’t — there’s going to be financial pressure. Be ready for that.”

Springfield, Missouri-based HEALTHCAREfirst offers EMR and billing solutions to more than 1,200 home health care clients, in addition to about 1,500 hospice clients. The company was acquired by connected health firm ResMed (NYSE: RMD, ASX: RMD) in 2018.

Cash flow slowdowns

Among its most notable high-level changes, PDGM cuts the currently used 60-day episode of payment in half, meaning home health agencies will need to submit twice as many claims.

In the short term, that will mean less cash for agencies, specifically in January and February 2020, Skinner said.

“The first quarter of 2020 is going to be tough financially simply because [your] cash flow is going to take a pretty significant dip through the transition months,” she said.

While brief, the cash flow disruptions may even contribute to a rise in home health bankruptcy filings, particularly among agencies that have historically had trouble with making their receivables as clean as possible.

Melinda Gaboury — co-founder and CEO of Healthcare Provider Solutions Inc., a consulting firm serving the home health and hospice industries — shared similar sentiments earlier this year at the 2019 Illinois HomeCare & Hospice Council (IHHC) leadership conference.

“All things perfect, our expectation and calculation is a 12% to 15% reduction in cash flow in January, [more than 20%] in February, and [it will be] March before you see the light of day,” Gaboury said. “So if you are a cash-strapped agency already, there should be some specific cash flow planning before Jan. 1.”

Skinner advises home health agencies to make credit part of their PDGM preparation plans.

“Agencies need to be prepared by having some sort of credit instrument in place during that 60- to 90-day transition because reimbursements are slow anyway,” she said. “Now they’re going to be slower … and we know the amount [you’re] going to be billing out is going to be less.”

Protecting reimbursement

To file twice as many claims in 2020, home health care agencies will need to increase the manpower in their billing departments, Skinner said.

“[You’re] going to have to have more bandwidth in [your] agency to not only drop claims, but then to post payments that are going to be more complex than what we see with our current Prospective Payment System (PPS) system,” she said.

While hiring new employees is a must, educating your current workforce is equally important, especially when it comes to intake personnel.

PGDM ties reimbursement more closely to a patient’s clinical and functional groupings, using a number of new factors to determine payment. As such, a less detailed or incorrect intake record could mean a smaller or improper reimbursement.

In fact, some industry insiders have discussed how PDGM is as much a patient-classification model as it is a payment overhaul.

“It’s going to be critical to protect our reimbursement in a PDGM world to gather more detailed information at referral than what we do today,” Skinner said. “That information is going to drive how we’re reimbursed.”

Finally, agencies should review their order management processes, Skinner said.

“Agencies across the board struggle with getting orders signed from physicians and you cannot submit the final claim until you have signed orders,” she said. “Now [you’re] going to have an even narrower time frame to get those orders back signed.”

The post Credit, Billing Staff Are Keys to a Smooth Financial Transition into PDGM appeared first on Home Health Care News.

Girls' Online Sex Experience May Spur Risk Offline

Thu, 18 Apr 2019 20:50:14 +0000

In addition, girls who had been mistreated prior to the study were more likely to experience physical violence and HIV risk.