FDA, HMOs to Analyze Medication Effects on 1 Million U.S. Births By Daniel J. DeNoon WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MD Dec. 31, 2009 — How do common medications affect pregnancy? To the chagrin of women trying to decide whether they must forego helpful medicines during pregnancy, nobody really knows. Now — at long last — the FDA and a consortium of HMOs have launched a huge set of studies to find out. “These data will guide regulatory policy and influence medical practice,” FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, MD, says in a news release. Read More…

California becomes the first state in the country to ban restaurants, bakeries and other retail food establishments from using oil, margarine and shortening containing trans fats. Schwarzenegger, a former bodybuilder who regularly talks about healthy eating and exercise, signed the legislation by Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia, in 2008. It did not take effect until 2010 to give outlets time to convert their cooking processes. The law affects oil, shortening and margarine used in spreads or for frying. Read More…

Women’s Day’s Amy Brightfield Has Tips On How To Avoid Failed Resolutions (CBS) We’re only hours into 2010, and somewhere, someone’s New Year’s resolutions are already toast. Resolutions are a great idea, but experts say many of us aim too high and end up quickly giving up. Woman’s Day Health Director Amy Brightfield shares some tips with “The Early Show Saturday Edition” on how to turn potential failures into success. Failed Resolution: Exercise Regularly An easy way to avoid failure is to create a habit gradually, perhaps starting with a five-minute...

4. Nurse Practitioner Top 50 rank: 4 Sector: Healthcare What they do: In addition to performing routine caretaking tasks, nurse practitioners have the advanced medical training to diagnose and treat a wide range of ailments. They can also prescribe medication without consulting an MD. Read More…

By David Paine NHS bosses in Worcestershire paid an agency nurse £122 an hour, it has been revealed. The amount Worcestershire Primary Care Trust splashed out on the registered nurse to cover a bank holiday shift was equivalent to an annual salary of £214,936. Nurses can usually expect to be paid at a rate equivalent to earning between £20,000 and £26,000 a year. Read More…

Happy New Year from Medcare Provider

Submitted by Anjali Singh Weight loss is the most common resolution for many for New Year’s but the resolution fizzles out even before winter is over. Here is what you can do to achieve your goal this year. “If you don’t dedicate yourself entirely to it, you’re going to see the results come slower and slower and eventually you will want to drop out,” said certified fitness trainer Nathan York of Gold’s Gym in York. Read More…

Telemedicine can let patients benefit from the experience of specialists that would otherwise be unavailable to treat them. But studies of telemedicine in intensive care units are producing mixed results. By John Timmer Electronic medical records aren’t the only high-tech solution that many hope will revolutionize medicine. Telemedicine has been promoted as a way of letting patients receive care from specialists they might otherwise not have access to, and some studies have produced data suggesting it can live up to its promise, at least in some contexts. The latest specialty to go under...

Doctors Perform C-Section on ‘Dead’ Mother Who Recovers After Birth, Baby Revived By LEE FERRAN and MONICA ESCOBEDO The so-called miracle mother and baby are “doing good” after doctors believed both had died during labor only to come back to life minutes later, the woman said today. “Oh, we’re doing good. I’m ready to show the world,” Tracey Hermanstorfer told “Good Morning America” in an exclusive interview as she sat alongside husband Mike and held their healthy baby boy, Coltyn. Read More…

A revolutionary new operation which could effectively cure high blood pressure has been developed by scientists, offering hope to hundreds of thousands of sufferers. By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor In what is being hailed as the most exciting development in the field for 50 years, doctors can treat the condition with a simple procedure in under an hour. It could allow some sufferers to come off medication completely and offer hope for those for whom existing treatments have no effect. Read More…