A University of Alberta study utilized the Edmonton Obesity Staging System (EOSS)  and BMI studied 8,143 people who participate in two nutrition surveys conducted in the United States. Reseachers found that individuals classified as Stage 1 or 2 had a substantially lower risk of dying 20 years post survey than those classified as Stage 3 or greater. EOSS describes risk factors (blood pressure, lipid levels, blood glucose) in five stages for obese individuals.  Stage 0 indicates the patient is…See More

Controversy continues regarding the impact of prevention on health care costs.  I understand that prevention was not properly quantified by the budget analysts assigned to score the health reform measure.  Thankfully, in Canada we do not have to condend with as much  skepticism.  So I was rather taken aback by an article from the Kaiser group.  Two (non-physicians of course) were making the case for prevention as a means of addressing health care costs.  It is a good try, but the authors do not…See More

The UK's Association of Public Health Observatories has developed a new tool, The Wellbeing and Resilience Measure (WARM),  to quantify assets and vulnerabilities at the  community well-being and resilience.  The process does not differ a great deal from a number of community profiling tools; however, it is designed to capture a range of social fabric elements that support good health.What is WARM and who is it for?The Wellbeing and Resilience Measure (WARM) is a framework to measurewellbeing…See More

My friends in Maine have been trying to help me understand how many Americans, who are against health reform, do not understand that they are against a law that they can benefit from in the short run.  This is the latest try at 'Educating Leona'.I think this is from the Kaiser Health News Service  See More

 Conversations with my American colleague's this week have been about the difficult road to increasing access to medical services.  Although accountable care organization (ACO) regulations are not yet availalbe, there seems to be a cottage industry in providing information concerning their administration, components, and financing.  Although care coordination is at the heart of the ACO concept, I've seen very little ink dedicated to the topic until now.  One of your health quality agencies has…See More

Patients are snowed under with health information.  At the physician's office, diagnostic center, drug store, the gym-health information is everywhere.  This makes me wonder why health publications continue to flood the print and cyber marketplace.  Raising capital under these market conditions should be difficult, but not an established publication can take a few risks. Time magazine has a rather entertaining approach to delivering health information.  Time has also taken the risk of including…See More