OMNI Postings of 10/24/08
On this date in 1901, Anna Taylor was the 1st woman to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel. That’s what happens when you divorce your husband and want the house and Fido.
But I digress…
1) This report focuses on a new study that the suicide rate in the US is rising for the first time in ten years and the steepest rise appears to be among white middle aged women. Firearms is still the most commonly used method, but their use has gone down over the period, while suicide by hanging or suffocation climbed significantly by 6.3 per cent a year among men and 2.3 per cent among women to account for 22 per cent of all suicides in 2005 and overtaking poisoning at 18 per cent.
2) There is a movement afoot that seeks to create a patient ID # for every American in the good old USA. Why? It’s hoped that it would facilitate a reduction in medical errors, simplify the use of electronic medical records, increase overall efficiency and help protect patient privacy, according to a new RAND Corporation study. “I’m not Joe the Plumber. I’m # 264997583, The Pipeline Maintenance Unit.”
3) The NY Times in its never-ending quest to bring about socialized medicine presents another report on how the economy is forcing Americans to forego their medicines in order to pay for food.
4) How good is bedside US in detecting foreign bodies in the soft tissue? Not very, according to this study on cadavers (or were they Ralph Nader clones?) published in the J of Emerg Med.
5) There’s a recall of Harry & David’s Moose Munch because of unlisted pecans. Could be a problem for people with a “nut” allergy. And a major headache for Harry. David doesn’t care much. He’s in Bermuda with Mai-Tais and Harry’s wife.
Paul R.
