Study indicates consumers user Wikipedia as health resource, suggests doctors write entries

October 5th, 2009 President Obama continues health care push MondayWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama meets with doctors from across the country for a morning Rose Garden event on health care. The president will also deliver remarks on the need for health insurance reform.

October 1st, 2009 Report: Flu might fill up hospitals in 15 statesWASHINGTON — If a third of people wind up catching swine flu, 15 states could run out of hospital beds around the time the outbreak peaks, a new report warns Thursday. The nonprofit Trust for America's Health estimates the number of people hospitalized could range from a high of 168,000 in California to just under 2,500 in Wyoming.

September 25th, 2009 Health care issues: Overutilization of careA look at key issues in the nation's health care debate: THE ISSUE: Health care costs in the United States are far higher than in other countries without better outcomes, and most experts agree that's partly because of the excessive and often unnecessary use of expensive tests, surgeries and procedures. Will health overhaul legislation address this? THE POLITICS: Ezekiel Emanuel, an oncologist, White House adviser and brother of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, has written that there's a "perfect storm of overutilization" of health care in the United States that's the greatest contributor to high medical costs.

September 9th, 2009 Obama to look at medical malpractice changesWASHINGTON — In his appeal to Congress for health care reform, President Barack Obama isn't ignoring calls for changes in medical malpractice laws. Obama told lawmakers and a national TV audience Wednesday night that he wants to look at a "range of ideas" to "put patient safety first and let doctors focus on practicing medicine." Obama says some in Congress believe medical malpractice reform can help bring down health care costs.

September 3rd, 2009 UK doctors question treatment of terminally illLONDON — A group of senior British doctors expressed concern Thursday about the treatment of the terminally ill, saying some people are dying prematurely because of guidelines for dealing with patients in their final hours. In a letter to The Daily Telegraph newspaper, the six palliative care specialists criticized the "tick-box approach to the management of death" in guidelines used by hundreds of hospitals within Britain's universal health care system.

August 25th, 2009 Wikipedia testing new method to curb false infoNEW YORK — Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that has drawn some decidedly juvenile pranks, is looking to impose more discipline with new restrictions on the editing of articles. The latest changes come as Wikipedia tries to balance a need for credibility and a desire for openness.

August 24th, 2009 National Geographic announces photography contestWASHINGTON — Are you proud of your vacation photos, nature pictures or other images from your travels? Consider entering the 2009 National Geographic International Photography Contest. There are three categories — people, places and nature — and you can enter a total of six photographs.

August 21st, 2009 Wikipedia operator gets $500,000 foundation grantSAN FRANCISCO — The nonprofit organization that operates the popular online encyclopedia Wikipedia has received a $500,000 grant from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to expand its work bringing free educational content to people around the globe. The Hewlett Foundation says Wikipedia plays an important role in making information freely accessible.

July 29th, 2009 Study: Pregnant women with swine flu more at riskLONDON — Pregnant women who get swine flu are at least four times as likely to be hospitalized as other people with the virus, a new study says. While experts don't know if pregnant women are more susceptible to swine flu, they say once pregnant women are infected, they have a higher risk of complications.

July 23rd, 2009 Obama: Lots of agreement on health overhaulWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says lawmakers and he are in general agreement on important parts of a potential health care overhaul. Obama planned to say Wednesday night that the proposals would add stability to existing plans.

July 21st, 2009 Budget chief: Docs fees not paid for in Obama billWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's pledge to make sure health care legislation is fully paid for excludes $245 billion to raise fees for doctors treating Medicare patients, a senior administration official said Tuesday. Peter Orszag, the budget director, said the administration always had assumed the money would be spent to prevent a cut of more than 20 percent in doctor fees that is scheduled to take effect.

July 13th, 2009 Happy or hungry? Cat purrs send different messagesNEW YORK — A cat's purr normally says, "I'm happy." But a new study suggests some purrs send cat owners a much different message: "Feed me!" Researchers found that purrs of hungry cats included a higher-pitched sound, somewhat like a cry or meow. They played recordings of these purrs from 10 cats to 50 human volunteers.

June 19th, 2009 Report: Cover-up followed death in NYC hospitalNEW YORK — Staffers at a Brooklyn hospital falsified medical records and lied to authorities in an attempt to cover up the neglect of a patient who died on the waiting room floor, according to city investigators. The report by New York's Department of Investigation was released Friday exactly one year after the death of Esmin Green.

June 15th, 2009 FDA urges caution in weighing risks of ADHD drugsWASHINGTON — Federal health regulators are urging parents to keep their children on attention deficit drugs like Ritalin and Adderall, despite new evidence from a government-backed study that the stimulants can increase the risk of sudden death. Published Monday in the American Journal of Psychiatry, the study suggests a link between use of the stimulant drugs and sudden death in children and adolescents.

June 12th, 2009 Pediatricians take on bullies, dating violenceCHICAGO — The American Academy of Pediatrics wants doctors to take an active role in preventing bullying in schools and violence among dating teenagers. The academy gives doctors tips for doing that in an updated policy being published in the July issue of its journal, Pediatrics.