Health Risk: Cell Phone Danger Exposed At Last

UPDATE:18 October 

Several years ago I was working with a fellow who had been in the construction industry and was an early-on cell phone user. He developed a parotid tumour on the side of his face that was exposed to his cell phone.

He treated this tumour with radiation.

When I met him it was some years after this event and he had developed other cancer, this time in his lungs.  He came to me seeking help and support for a more natural therapy approach.

I had an depth discussion with him about the cell phone exposure and its link to the parotid tumour.  About two years after he died a research study specifically linked the two.

Now a new admission of parotid tumour and cell phone use comes from natural health author Ann Louise Gittleman.

Do YOU hear me now?
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Hidden health risk in mobiles: Phone giants accused of burying warnings in small print
By Sean Poulter
10 October 2010

Health risk: Mobile phone firms have been accused of concealing warnings about their handsets

Mobile phone firms have been accused of concealing warnings about the health risks of using their handsets.
A warning that Apple’s popular iPhone should be kept at least 15mm away from the body is buried deep inside the manual.
BlackBerry goes even further, saying customers should use their devices hands-free or keep them an inch from the body ‘including the abdomen of pregnant women and the lower abdomen of teenagers’. Again, this advice is hidden in the instruction booklet.
All other manufacturers, including Nokia and HTC, carry similar small-print warnings despite insisting that holding mobiles against the ear and head is harmless.
Health campaigners and politicians on both sides of the Atlantic are calling for clear warnings to be put on handset boxes.
They are also demanding a public education campaign, starting in schools, to advise on the safe use of the devices.
Alasdair Philips, of Powerwatch, an independent group which investigates the safety of mobile phones, said: ‘Most people have no idea about these warnings.
‘The safety advice should be included on the boxes and far more prominently in the “getting started” section of user guides and not just in the detail at the back that hardly anyone reads.
‘This should be only part of a much wider public education campaign that begins in the schools.’
The safety advice in manuals is designed to limit so-called Radio Frequency exposure. This is said to heat body tissue and some – inconclusive – research suggests it is linked to tumours in the brain.

THE SMALL PRINT

Blackberry torch: Use hands-free operation if it is available and keep at least 0.98in (25mm) from your body when turned on and connected to the wireless network. Reduce call time. 
Apple iPhone: When using near your body for voice calls or for wireless network data, keep iPhone at least 15mm (5/8in) away from the body and only use accessories that do not have metal parts. Again maintain at least 15mm separation from the body.
Nokia C6: Maintain a normal use position at the ear at least 15mm (5/8in) away from the body. Any accessory should not contain metal and should position the device the above-stated distance from the body.

Most RF exposure comes from the antenna and it can increase when a phone is kept in a pocket because phones increase their power output when a network signal weakens.
Men who carry handsets on their belt or in their pockets with the keypad facing outward will suffer higher exposure because the antenna, which is always at the back, is close to the body.
SAR – Specific Absorption Rate – is the standard industry measurement for the amount of RF energy the body absorbs.
Mr Philips said: ‘When a phone has to power up, it sends high SAR power into the trunk and towards the kidneys and liver. It can be the testicles if in a trouser pocket.
‘Some girls carry them in chest bags which hang just below their breasts. Breasts, eyes and testicles absorb external RF energy the most. Blood-rich organs, such as the liver, kidneys and heart are among the top energy absorbers.

Advice: Campaigners say pregnant women should keep their handset away from the foetus in the first six months

‘The ovaries and foetus are relatively well protected by the trunk, but it obviously makes sense to keep the handset away from those areas, especially the foetus in the first six months. Many later-life causes of ill health are increasingly being recognised as having their roots in foetal exposure to chemicals, hormones, radiation of various sorts.’
He said most handsets also put out pulsed ELF magnetic fields which travel further into the body than RF signals. These are associated with childhood leukaemia and some adult cancers.
Caroline Lucas, Green Party leader and MP, said: ‘Greens have never said don’t use mobile phones, but we have always said that as with any other technology, we need to make people aware of any potential risks and give clear guidance regarding the safest possible use, so we can get the maximum benefit from the technology with the least possible risk.’
Mobile phone firms are legally required to advise customers on how to minimise RF exposure and use their manuals to do so.
Michael Milligan of the Mobile Manufacturers Forum said: ‘A mobile phone can always be used up against the head without the need for this separation, because phones are designed to have the antenna far enough away from the head when making a call.
‘Every mobile phone model is tested to make sure they meet national and international exposure limits for exposure to Radio Frequency emissions, before they can be sold in the UK or elsewhere.’
However, many new phones are so slim, antennas will be closer to the head than distances recommended by many manufacturers. SOURCE

top 4 of 30+ cell phone articles from Natural Health News

Natural Health News: Your Eyes and Cell Phone Damage

Jun 26, 2010

VADODARA/ANAND: While scientists across the globe are still debating whether usage of cell phones results in heart diseases, a new study carried out by scientists at Charotar University of Science and Technology (CHARUSAT) has revealed ...

Natural Health News: Could Your Cell Phone Be Hacked?

Aug 03, 2010

and Could Your Cell Phone Be Hacked? At a recent conference, a hacker revealed a cheap, homemade device that has the potential to intercept calls from a variety of cell phones. How to tell if you're at risk.

Natural Health News: Cell Phones, Other EMF Exposure and Your Health

May 01, 2010

The FCC's latest set of guidelines represents a huge shift, and for the first time acknowledges that there could be a health danger in using a cell phone. Apart from using an earpiece or headset, it recommends that users should keep ...

Dirtiest Find in the Hospital: Cell Phones

Aug 02, 2010

EMF generated by cell phones and other similar EMF producing appliances creates a static charge that draws bacteria to these units. As the doctors go from patient room to patient room they collect and transport ever more dirt! ...

GOT Arthritis?

I read something on this issue last week and haven't had time to get it up on Natural Health News or get my comments posted either.

What is of interest to me is the high percentage of people reporting increases in the signs and symptoms of arthritis, 22%.


In the early 90s a rise in arthritis was being reported too.  Back then the concerns were included in the reporting.


Some of the concerns about 20 years ago included water fluoridation; lack of exercise; poor diet and poor nutrition; not eating meat, move to use of PUFAs (polyunsaturated oils); continuing focus on low fat and non fat diet schemes; over use of artificial sweeteners; reliance on drugs that offered more side effects, even death, than relief; over use of NSAIDS leaving many with serious side effects and in some cases kidney and liver failure or death.

I am sure I am leaving some things out, but I do not want to exclude this important item:

As more and more processed and convenience type food, microwave cooking, and anti-nutrition methods began to take over modern food preparation, making broth fell by the wayside.  Making broth from bones is a very easy process and the end product is filled with nutrients that protect joint function.

Eating meat is also fallen by the wayside, and because of this, people take in less natural CLA, cetyl myristoleate, and health promoting saturated fat.  


Changes in this pattern also may be related to increasing fertility problems, as well as obesity concerns and other health problems now not being able to be diagnosed.

This won't be halted by a drug.


from AP

A surprising jump in the number of Americans hobbled by arthritis may be due to obesity, health experts said Thursday.

About 22 percent of U.S. adults have been told by a doctor that they have arthritis, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. The statistic comes from national telephone polling of tens of thousands of adults in 2007 through 2009.

That translates to nearly 50 million people with the joint disease. It's also roughly the same percentage with arthritis as reported in a 2003-2005 study.

But there was a significant jump in adults who said their joint pain or other arthritis symptoms limited their usual activities, to 9.4 percent from 8.3 percent. That means more than 21 million adults have trouble climbing stairs, dressing, gardening or doing other things, up from less than 19 million only a few years before, the CDC researchers estimated.

That jump was "more than we would have expected," said Dr. John Klippel, president of the Atlanta-based Arthritis Foundation.

Klippel said the increase probably was due mainly to baby boomers, who are at an age when they are more likely to suffer osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis. It breaks down cartilage and causes pain and joint stiffness.

He added that a complicating factor is high rates of baby boomers who are overweight and obese. Extra weight puts more pressure on arthritic joints, making the problem worse, he said.

The percentage of people who were hobbled was more than twice as high in obese people as those who were normal weight or were underweight, the CDC researchers found. Obesity can lead to or worsen osteoarthritis in the knees, the researchers wrote.

The study is published in a CDC publication, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. SOURCE

And in case you do not follow health history, here is a review from 2004 -

February 2004 - Mother was right about cod liver oil
At a press conference held at the Royal College of Surgeons in London on February 12 2004 , researchers from Cardiff University in Wales announced the results of a study which found for the first time in humans that cod liver oil really is effective in slowing the progression of osteoarthritis. The team, led by Professor Bruce Caterson and Professor John Harwood of Cardiff University, and Professor Colin Dent, of the University of Wales College of Medicine, provided two extra strength cod liver oil capsules per day to arthritis patients ten to twelve weeks before knee replacement surgery and found that 86 percent of the participants experienced a partial or complete reduction in the enzymes that cause cartilage damage, compared to 26 percent of a placebo group. Enzymes that cause joint pain were also reduced in the cod liver oil group.
Professor Caterson commented, "This breakthrough is hugely significant because it demonstrates the efficacy of a dietary intake of cod liver oil in patients with osteoarthritis taken prior to their joint replacement surgery. The data suggests that cod liver oil has a dual mode of action, potentially slowing down the cartilage degeneration inherent in osteoarthritis and also reducing factors that cause pain and inflammation. What these findings suggest is that by taking cod liver oil, people are more likely to delay the onset of osteoarthritis and less likely to require multiple joint replacements later in life.”
Professor Dent added, “Patients resort to joint replacement surgery when the symptoms and pain of their arthritis becomes unbearable. Cod liver oil can counteract these symptoms and if you can switch off the cartilage destruction and pain then surgery may not be necessary. We're very excited by this latest trial."

It is nice to recall that I learned in the 60s just how useful cod liver oil is for the "itis" category.  Wouldn't it be nice if this is what you had been reading instead of all about the dangerous drugs prescribed, pushed by Big PhRMA? 

Just BE Happy

Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard claims you can practice your way to happiness, and he should know: After MRI scans showed that he experienced extreme levels of positive emotions and few negative ones, he became known as "the happiest man in the world." Trained as a cell biologist in France, Ricard moved to the Himalayas in 1972 to study Buddhism. He's now a translator, a photographer and the Dalai Lama's French interpreter. His books -- the proceeds of which go to 41 humanitarian projects in the remote Himalayas [http://karuna-shechen.org/] -- include "The Monk and the Philosopher" (a dialogue with his father, a famed philosopher), "Happiness: a Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill," and, most recently, "Why Meditate?" AOL Health spoke with Ricard about the cultivation of happiness, the benefits of altruism and how 30 silent minutes a day can change your life.

Do you think you're the happiest man in the world?
It's better than the unhappiest person in the world. It was a cover line on a Buddhist independent journal. Of course it's cute, but it doesn't rest on scientific evidence. I took part in some ongoing studies on compassion. It's a jump to say my results mean that.

What is happiness?
Happiness is a way of being rather than an endless search for experiences. Pleasure is fine but depends on things that are subject to change: people, places, things. Something tastes good; fire warms you when you're cold. But then this experience turns neutral or averse: Even the most beautiful music is unpleasant after 24 straight hours. But happiness is a more durable state. It's a cluster of basic human qualities that nurture a state of fulfillment, flourishing, of appreciating your life. It's inner freedom, inner strength, inner peace. These are the resources to deal with the struggles of life. The more you experience happiness, the deeper and more stable it becomes.

You link meditation with happiness. Why?
Meditation is not an exotic eastern practice but is actually mind training. We all have a mind and can work with it.

So the basis of happiness is mind training?
In the sense that mind training means harnessing the potential we have for less vulnerability to provocation from outside. Meditation helps you cultivate a better emotional balance and inner freedom so you are not a slave of impulses like anger and craving.

And you do this by sitting for 30 minutes a day?
There are different types of meditation, and I tried to gather all these exercises into a small manual for a Western audience ["Why Meditation?"]. But in clinical trials that study the effects of meditation in the West, 30 minutes a day has been the foundation. We always see that after three months, meditation has had a significant effect in reducing stress and the tendency toward depression. It reinforces the immune system and positive emotions. It's been studied for 10 years in the West. Sitting for that precious 30 minutes modifies the quality of the other 23 hours and 30 minutes.

So happiness is a skill?
Pleasure cannot be cultivated -- only renewed. But you can cultivate inner peace, strength, freedom -- the qualities that create genuine happiness. We start with different baselines: For instance, everyone will not become a champion of tennis, but within a few months or a few years of training, even a beginner can become a decent player and enjoy it.

Do negative emotions, like anger, have a purpose?
If you witness someone beating a child or an injustice, anger can motivate you to do something. But all the studies have shown that people who systematically vent their anger just reinforce their tendency to be angry. You don't just want to suppress it or you'll be like a time bomb. Instead, you look at your anger and let it vanish. When you cease to fuel a fire, it slowly dies out.

You're not talking about being a pushover.
A mother who gets angry and aggressive is taken over by nerves. A mother can be loving but still firm, straight and a bit severe. You can extend that attitude of the mother to others.

What about sadness?
Sadness is not incompatible with happiness because happiness is not just a pleasant sensation. Sadness can help you feel compassion. Even when you are sad, you can continue to do wonderful things.

What is the relationship between happiness and ambition?
Ambition for wealth, fame or power puts our hopes and fears outside ourselves. It's individualistic, self-centered and egocentric. But ambition in terms of becoming a better person, preserving the environment or finding inner peace can motivate you.

The search for material goods seems to become a cycle for people -- the emptier they feel, the more money and stuff they seek to fill the void.
Yes, they feel empty so they go for a shopping spree or get a younger wife. You get addicted to selfishness.

Is it a lost cause with some people?
Sometimes people say, "I can't sleep." I say, "We have a clinic next door -- go help, and I bet after two weeks, you will be able to sleep." They come back with a more humane perspective and find satisfaction and fulfillment.

So to snap out of it, help other people?
I've seen many successful people who feel empty. They start helping underprivileged kids and find such meaning in life. Everything is different.

People assume altruism may make them unhappy.
Your primary motive is to help others, but it's also the best way to be happy yourself. Ayn Rand said that you should be selfish and should not sacrifice any part of yourself. She didn't get the point. Altruism is the best way to make yourself happy. If you look at living beings and see how your actions can contribute to a more compassionate society, you flourish.


SOURCE

Supplement Suppresses Breast Cancer Cells

For so very long all you have hears is that the only way to treat breast cancer is to screen with cancer causing x-ray (mammogram) and treat with more cancer causing radiation and cancer causing chemo therapy drugs.

No one wanted you to learn that there are safer screening methods (thermography) and safer therapy approaches that include nutrition, herbs, vitamins, and other natural therapies ( ex: JBNI herbal formulas all tested at Dana Farber), all well documented  over time.

Here is a new look at the use of supplements with similar positive results. 

Suppression of Proliferation and Invasive Behavior of Human Metastatic Breast Cancer Cells by Dietary Supplement BreastDefend

Read commentary from Ralph Moss

Investigators:

1. Jiahua Jiang
   1. Methodist Research Institute

1. Rachael Wojnowski
   1. Methodist Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine

1. Andrej Jedinak
   1. Methodist Research Institute

1. Daniel Sliva
   1. Methodist Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine

Abstract

Aim. The study was to evaluate the effect of the dietary supplement BreastDefend (BD) on the proliferation and invasive behavior of highly metastatic human breast cancer cells in vitro. Methods. Cell proliferation and cytotoxicity of BD was evaluated in MDA-MB-231 cells treated with BD (0-40 μg/mL) by MTT assay and trypan blue staining, respectively. Expression of cell cycle regulatory genes were determined by DNA-microarray analysis. Effect of BD on invasiveness was assessed by cellular adhesion, migration, and invasion assays. Results. BD treatment of cells MDA-MB-231 resulted in the cytostatic inhibition of cell proliferation with IC₅₀ 22.2, 19.1, and 17.5 μg/mL for 24, 48, and 72 hours, respectively. The inhibition of proliferation was mediated by the upregulation expression of CCNG1, CHEK1, CDKN1C, GADD45A, and E2F2, whereas BD downregulated expression of CCNA1 and CDK6 genes. The induction of expression of GADD45A and inhibition of expression of cyclin A1 (gene CCNA1) by BD was also confirmed on the protein level. BD treatment suppressed the invasive behavior of MDA-MB-231 cells by the inhibition of cellular adhesion, migration, and invasion. This inhibition of invasiveness was mediated by the suppression of secretion of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA), and by the downregulation of expression of CXCR4 in breast cancer cells treated with BD. Conclusion: BD inhibits proliferation and invasive behavior of the highly metastatic human breast cancer cells in vitro. BD may have a therapeutic potential for prevention or treatment of highly metastatic breast cancers.

• © 2010 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Articles and issues of interest

11 October 2010 - Omega3 Comment
The concern regarding conversion of plant based omega3 (EPA-DHA) has long been an issue we have addressed in our work, and a reason why we have not endorsed the soy and canola based "plant sterol" products.  This quote from Dr. Newport is very much the same as we have written many times.  It is a reason too why I am a firm supporter of spirulina.

"While flax oil, walnuts and other vegetable sources of omega-3 are beneficial, they may not be converted efficiently in the body, especially in older people, to DHA and EPA, the two forms of omega-3 that are extremely important to brain function. It is therefore important to take a marine source of omega-3; for most of us this is fish oil. This would be a problem for vegans. I have recently learned that there is a high DHA oil available that is from algae rather than fish or other animal marine life. The supplements suggested for pregnant women are often made from this. Specifically, schizochytrium oil, is available over the counter at health food stores and pharmacies."

Original post date April 2006

Well the media spin of course will now tell you that Omega3s are unhealthy. This comment might make you more interested in having skepticism about mass media reports, at least I hope so,
herbalYODA

24th March: Fish oil may not be so healthy after all says the British Medical Journal

According to a study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), researchers analysed 89 studies to assess the effects of Omega-3 fats on death rates, heart disease, cancer and strokes. Their findings (which we vigorously contest): no strong evidence that Omega-3 fats had any benefits! It's important to realise that this is not a new study, but rather a study of studies (a meta-analysis). The conclusions drawn by the authors are, in our view, deeply misleading. They ignore the very large body of evidence that shows great benefits of Omega-3 (especially marine-derived, long chain Omega-3 fatty acids [EPA and DHA] that are known to be free of mercury and PCB contamination) with respect to reduced risk of heart disease and stroke, as well as for proper immune system function. Lee Hooper (lead author) and colleagues omitted numerous important studies, they selected studies mainly involving diseased subjects (whose conditions were likely to have been triggered well before they started supplementing in the trials), they included great ranges in dosages (meaning that direct comparisons between studies are of little value) and they masked the benefits of marine oils by diluting the high quality studies in with weaker studies assessing affects of non-marine sources of short-chain Omega-3 fatty acids (e.g., as found in some margarines).

Of interest is the recent release by Norwegian scientists (30th March), who are developing a chewable Omega-3 candy, stating that Omega-3-containing products have experienced massive growth in recent years backed up by scientific research that has linked the fish oils to a range of health benefits.

Drugs Causing Other Diseases

This is the Black Box warning for VIDEX

PANCREATITIS, LACTIC ACIDOSIS and HEPATOMEGALY with STEATOSIS

Fatal and nonfatal pancreatitis has occurred during therapy with VIDEX used alone or in combination regimens in both treatment-naive and treatment-experienced patients, regardless of degree of immunosuppression. VIDEX should be suspended in patients with suspected pancreatitis and discontinued in patients with confirmed pancreatitis [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS].

Lactic acidosis and severe hepatomegaly with steatosis, including fatal cases, have been reported with the use of nucleoside analogues alone or in combination, including didanosine and other antiretrovirals. Fatal lactic acidosis has been reported in pregnant women who received the combination of didanosine and stavudine with other antiretroviral agents. The combination of didanosine and stavudine should be used with caution during pregnancy and is recommended only if the potential benefit clearly outweighs the potential risk [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS].

In January of this year the FDA announced its concern about the problems caused by this drug, discovered only from a review of adverse reaction reports in post marketing data.

from MedPage Today

FDA Revises HIV Drug Label for Liver Complication By Cole Petrochko, Staff Writer, MedPage Today Published: January 31, 2010 WASHINGTON -- The FDA has updated labels of the HIV drug didanosine (Videx and Videx EC) to include warnings for potentially serious liver damage. Although these cases are rare, the drug may cause noncirrhotic hypertension in patients, a potentially fatal complication which the FDA discovered through 42 postmarket, adverse event reports. Of those patients, three required liver transplant and four died. Two deaths were caused by esophageal hemorrhage, while two more were caused by progressive liver failure. One patient suffered multiorgan failure, cerebral hemorrhage, sepsis, and lactic acidosis. The FDA said in a statement that it chose not to recall the drug because it believes its benefits outweigh potential risks, but advised that treatment decisions be made on an individual basis between healthcare professionals and patients. The agency added that causal association is difficult to determine in postmarket reports, but that alternative causes of the hypertension were ruled out in well-documented cases. Healthcare professionals who determine didanosine is effective in treating a patient should monitor that patient for the development of portal hypertension and esophageal varices, the agency said. Didanosine is used in combination with other HIV medications to help maintain CD4 cells in patients. The drug already has a black box warning for lactic acidosis and hepatomegaly with steatosis. Like the antiretroviral agents hydroxyurea and ribavirin, didanosine has been associated with the development of liver toxicity.

US Health Care Continues to Rank Last

October 2010 - U.S. Life Expectancy Continues to Lag Behind Other Nations

Another non-surprise! Flaws in the nation's health-care system are the main culprit. 

"For example, 15-year survival rates for men and women ages 45 and 65 in the U.S. have fallen relative to the other 12 countries over the past 30 years. Forty-five-year-old U.S. white women fared worst. By 2005 their 15-year survival rates were lower than that of all the other countries."

and the article continues -  "Dr. David J. Ores, a general practitioner on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, said that the American health-care system is designed around profit, and aims to make a few people extremely wealthy.

"The system works flawlessly," he told AOL Health. "The same is true for our centralized national food supply system with fats and meats heavily taxed as well as ubiquitous toxic, high volume fatty foods. That's why we see chips, soda, cakes and toxic fast foods every 10 feet. Even schools have candy vending machines. All the focus is on profit, bottom line, how much money can we make? None of the focus is on wellness, healthy balanced diets or what is best for the health and wellness of the population.

"All that toxic, fatty food with little or no access to doctors adds up to a lot of tragic sickness, suffering and death," he continued. "All because the 'mission statement' of the American Corporate Machine is profit, profit, profit over all else in every sector. The system works exactly as designed. Too bad for us." Read complete article

June 2010 - This is no surprise to me as this trend has been continuing for years.  We have moved from a common sense approach to health to one ruled by pharmaceuticals and insurance.  Your health care provider really has little say in your care, and you have even less.

Also consider that while the pharma cartel keeps trying to take over all your supplements, and the ignorati in government tell you that vitamins are worthless, it is proven again and again - vitamins and minerals help your health.  You can't get enough from food. 

D. Mail 22.6.10 "EASE ASTHMA WITH A SIMPLE SUPPLEMENT"
Magnesium supplements may help reduce asthma symptoms. Trial results show patients given oral supplements daily for six & a half months needed fewer asthma medications. Although previous studies found a link between low magnesium levels & more frequent & worse asthma attacks, there has been little research into taking supplements. In the US study men & women with mild to moderate asthma were given 340mg of magnesium citrate daily or a placebo. Those on magnesium had improved lung function & improved quality of life. It's thought that low magnesium increases histamine levels which is released by the body's immune system
& is responsible for asthma symptoms.-

D. Mail 22.6.10 "HOW VITAMIN PILLS COULD SAVE YOU FROM A HEART ATTACK" By Jerome Burne.
Researchers recently found that bad cholesterol has a twin called lipoprotein (a) which can raise heart attack risks. Lead research by Dr. Robert Clarke of Clinical Trial Service Unit at Oxford Uni. The good news is that that LP(a) responds to vitamins such as the B vitamin niacin. "Niacin is a fantastic all-round treatment for protecting hearts" says Dr. Sarah Jarvis of Royal College of GPs. "It brings down both LDL & Lp(a) & pushes up HLD." 2 grams of niacin a day are given, more than could be received from food. Some clinicians say Lp(a) also responds to other supplements such as vitamin C.

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U.S. ranks last in study on healthcare

• United States ranked last and had a healthcare per capita cost of $7,290 
• For any category, the highest the United States ranked was fourth.

NEW YORK, June 24 (UPI) -- Despite paying almost double for healthcare compared to any other country, the United States ranked last in a study of seven developed nations, a survey says. 

The non-profit group, the Commonwealth Fund, used data from the 2007 International Health Policy Survey, conducted by telephone in Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States; the 2008 International Health Policy Survey of Sicker Adults and the Commonwealth Fund 2009 International Health Policy Survey of Primary Care Physicians. 

The United States ranked last for access to healthcare -- 54 percent of U.S. adults with chronic conditions reported not getting a recommended test, treatment or follow-up care because of cost. 

U.S. patients are most likely to report being given the wrong medication or the wrong dose of their medication -- a preventable medical error, the study found. 

In measuring efficiency, the U.S ranked last due to high administrative costs, lack of use of information technology, re-hospitalization rates of patients and duplicative medical testing. U.S. patients were three times as likely as those in Germany or the Netherlands to visit an emergency department for something a regular doctor could have treated. 

For any category, the highest the United States ranked was fourth. 

The Netherlands ranked first and has a per capita cost of healthcare of $3,837, the United States ranked last and had a healthcare per capita cost of $7,290.  © 2010 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Related article : No Public Option, High Cost and Poor Results Continue in US Healthcare

and http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65M0SU20100623