"Health & Medical News"

Walking the line between appropriately prescribing controlled substances and unwittingly contributing to the increase in prescription drug abuse becomes less precarious when certain precautions are taken, say those familiar with the balancing act.

Prescription drug abuse is widespread and on the rise. Nearly 7 million Americans abused prescription drugs in 2005, compared with 3.8 million in 2000 — an 80% jump, says the Justice Dept.

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Washington — What if researchers develop an effective vaccine but nobody uses it? That’s the fear of some in public health as disappointing data emerged from a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey indicating low immunization rates for some adult vaccines, particularly herpes zoster, or shingles.

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Patients with a prescription to use marijuana for medical purposes can now get the drugs from vending machines in California, the BBC reported Jan. 28.

A handful of the vending machines have now been installed, including at a herbal nutrition store in Los Angeles. Medical-marijuana patients who have a prescription and agree to be fingerprinted and photographed are issued a special ID card that they can use to access the machines.

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Washington — With congressional debate on an upcoming 10.1% Medicare cut to physicians stretching into the final weeks of the year, physicians’ decisions on whether to participate in the program in 2008 took on added degrees of importance and complexity.

The year-end deadline for physicians to change their participation status is important because it likely will determine how doctors will be able to bill the program and receive payment for all of 2008. If physicians do not inform their Medicare carriers in writing of their intent to change their status before Jan. 1, they will be locked into their current choices for the next 12 months — possibly under a newly reduced fee schedule.

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Two years ago, Oregon enacted the toughest anti-methamphetamine laws in the country, resulting in the near elimination of local meth labs and meth toxic waste dumps. The supply of meth on Portland, Ore. streets, however, is greater than ever, because of the influx of meth from Mexican drug cartels, The WestLinn (Ore.) Tidings reported on Nov. 29.

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Washington — Hopes that a two-year Medicare physician payment increase would head to the White House on the back of a popular children’s health insurance measure were dashed late last month. Lawmakers decided to remove the Medicare language from the bill.

The House and the Senate in early August passed legislation that would reauthorize and expand the expiring State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Unlike the Senate bill, the House version also included provisions that would raise Medicare physician payments by 0.5% in both 2008 and 2009 to prevent annual cuts required by law.

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Jessica Biel admits that she’s dreading posing in the buff for her new movie, Powder Blue, because she is terrified of stripping off in front of the film crew. She stars the movie alongside Forest Whitaker and Ray Liotta. “I haven’t decided exactly about the nudity. It’s a tough one. I am considering it but it’s a very scary thing to do,” Contactmusic quoted her, as saying. “It definitely feels vulnerable to be naked in front of anybody let alone a film crew. And it’s scary because of the internet - you don’t know where it’s going to end up. It’s a moment that could be exploited.”

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Popularity: 4% [?]