"Health & Medical News"

Washington — An electronic medical records system connecting patients in New York is one step closer to reality after Gov. David A. Paterson awarded $105 million in grants on March 28 to 19 community-based health information technology projects.

The grants are part of a statewide effort to implement health IT and improve health care, said New York State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines, MD. “For the first time, thousands of patients in New York will have access to their own complete electronic medical records, and their doctors will be able to access medical information through a few clicks of a mouse,” he said.

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From:
Treatment Research Institute
600 Public Ledger Building, 150 S. Independence Mall West
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tel: (215) 399-0980
http://www.tresearch.org

Paying substance abuse treatment providers for results, not services, may lead to improved quality of care, according to the first published study of a novel performance-based contracting system implemented by the State of Delaware in 2002.

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By Bob Curley

Drug-prevention advocates and others are raising the alarm over President Bush’s FY2009 budget plan, which slashed $198 million from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and calls for elimination of the Recovery Community Support Programs and the STOP Underage Drinking program.

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A $10-million grant to the Canadian Center on Substance Abuse will support a national campaign to discourage illicit-drug use among 10- to 24-year-olds, the Canwest News Service? reported Jan. 31.

Canada’s new Drug Prevention Strategy for Youth (PDF) aims to reduce youth drug-use rates, delay the onset of use, reduce drug-use frequency, and cut the use of multiple substances among those who do take drugs. It is part of the conservative government’s National Anti-Drug Strategy released in the fall and will include a two-year media campaign.

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Alcohol, rich food, and increased levels of stress and excitement are a recipe for a potentially fatal holiday heart attack, according to researchers who studied spikes in coronary death rates around Christmas and New Year’s.

The Los Angeles Times reported Dec. 17 that researchers have studied the phenomena of the “Merry Christmas Coronary” and the “Happy New Year Heart Attack”: Dec. 25 and Jan. 1 are the two deadliest days of the year for heart attacks, and the heart-disease death rate is 33 percent higher in December and January than the rest of the year.

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After months of secret negotiations, the Bush administration announced that it will seek $500 million from Congress for a joint anti-drug campaign with the Mexican government, the Washington Post reported Oct. 23.

The money would be used to buy helicopters, communications gear and inspection equipment, and pay for training and canine units in Mexico as that country’s military and police battle powerful drug cartels. The funding request will be included in a $46-billion supplemental budget request for fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The total aid package to Mexico would total $1.4 billion over several years, if approved.

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