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HEALTHBEAT SHOW NOTES .... Episode #12 - Recorded September 30, 2005

Welcome to HealthBeat Podcast #12, recorded September 30, 2005.  HealthBeat is Chiropractic OnLine Today’s radio program, providing current news and commentary about Chiropractic and Health. 

Let’s begin with some In-House items….   First, a special thanks to Dr Chris M Wilkerson, who emailed us concerning Episode #11…. Keep those Emails coming Chris.  To send us your feedback, simply surf to our HealthBeat homepage, part of the Chiropractic OnLine Today’s web family, at www.ChiropracticRadio.com

We also would appreciate your vote at Podcastalley.com.  If you are enjoying these podcasts, please surf to our HealthBeat homepage at ChiropractiRadio.com and click on the Podcast Alley link.

Finally, we want to hear from you …. Please Open up your Skype client and typing in “healthbeat”, all in small letters.

                        And Now for some news ….

ACA TAKES ON ACN IN NEW YORK

According to a report from the New Jersey ANJC, The American Chiropractic Association, also known as the ACA, has sent a letter to the director of Managed Care Certification and Surveillance of the New York State Department of Health - challenging the American Chiropractic Network's (ACN) petition to manage the chiropractic benefit of Oxford Health Plans. The arrangement between ACN and Oxford must be approved before ACN can administer the plan.

In the letter, the ACA stated that numerous doctors throughout the country, particularly in New York , have justifiably complained about the practice and policies of ACN. To support this position, information forwarded included the analysis done by a number of reputable individuals on the methodology used by ACN in determining utilization policies.

Included was a statistical analysis prepared by Dr. Jeffrey Simonoff, a professor at New York University . According to the article, Dr. Simonoff mentioned that "The ACN's summary statistics certainly suggest that such cost and visit-limiting controls could be affecting practice by truncating the number of visits." This analysis supports the ACA's opinion that the services are artificially being reduced by ACN's statistical maneuvering. Consequently, benefits that have otherwise been promoted and paid for by employers, are being denied. It is felt that this maneuvering is a detriment to the patient's health and well being.

New York Chiropractic College (NYCC) also included their analysis stating, and I quote - the "If NYCC were to use the ACN material above as a cornerstone of our educational process, we would need to significantly alter our curriculum, protocols and practices and would expect to see a significant decline in positive patient outcomes."

To see a copy of the letter and attached analyses, visit http://www.acatoday.com/networks

Exercise and Healthy Diets

According to an article from Yahoo News, An active lifestyle and a healthy diet are not only good for your heart, they may also help tackle the memory loss associated with old age. 

As people live longer, finding ways of halting the decline in mental agility is becoming increasingly important.

There is very strong evidence, particularly in the over-50s, that the degree to which you maintain your mental faculties depends on a handful of quite simple environmental factors.  Those who remained

• physically fit

• avoided high stress levels and

• enjoyed a rich and varied social life

.... are better equipped to stay alert as they age.   Mental stimulation, learning new things and simply thinking young also help.

Research conducted by Trinity College Professor Marina Lynch showed healthy eating was another key requirement for staying on the ball.

Healthbeat recommends discussing Exercise and Nutrition with your Chiropractor or Qualified Healthcare provider to enhance your overall health and well being.

For more information, surf to http://news.Yahoo.com  and do a search for Exercise and Healthy Diet.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050908/hl_nm/ageing_dc;_ylt=Ah.19fYYzbrhwCfClPmbpG7VJRIF

Vaccine Effectiveness and Flu

According to an article in the September 21st NY Times, two new research papers published the British Medical journal, the Lancet, have found that Flu Vaccines are far less effective than previously thought.

One study analyzed all the data from patient studies on the flu vaccine performed worldwide in the past 37 years and discovered that vaccines showed at best a "modest" ability to prevent influenza or its complications in elderly people.

The research is alarming because it demonstrates how quickly and unexpectedly flu viruses can become impervious to medicines once they are put into common use, as they would be in the case of a pandemic. Also, at their best, antiviral medicines do not cure influenza. They cut down on transmission of the disease and reduce somewhat the symptoms and complications in those already infected, including the high rate of associated pneumonias.

As always, HealthBeat recommends discussing all medicines and vaccinations with a qualified healthcare provider.

For more information Surf to NYTimes.com for details about this article.
http://nytimes.com/2005/09/21/health/21cnd-bird.html?hp&ex=1127361600&en=9f3bf41a4cb8508e&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Pacemakers and Mobile Phones

Researchers in Turkey have recently reported that Under certain circumstances, mobile phones can have adverse effects on the function of pacemakers, but the devices usually start working properly again once the phones are moved away.

Patients must not get into a panic about this issue (because) modern pacemakers are devices protected from interference.  About half of the adverse effects occurred when the phone was 10 cm or closer to the pacemaker. The older the pacemaker, the more likely it was to be affected by the phones, according to investigators.

Researchers discovered that the most essential recommendation to patients is that mobile phones must be kept at least 20 cm away from pacemakers.  Further, researchers in the report stated that it is sufficient for patients not to use the ear on the side of the pacemaker while talking on the mobile phone and not to carry the mobile phone in the shirt pocket on the side of the pacemaker.  Patients who need to be most careful are those who are "without spontaneous cardiac rhythm and completely dependent on pacemakers, in whom pacemaker inhibition can lead to a drastic and fatal outcome.

Healthbeat recommends discussing this issue further with a qualified cardiologist or other qualified healthcare professional.  For more information, please see the August 2005 issue of the International Journal of Cardiology.

High-fiber diet may slow atherosclerosis

Researchers from Finland and the United States report evidence that diets high in cereal fiber and whole-grain products may slow the progression of atherosclerosis, referring to plaque build-up in the arteries, of postmenopausal women.

Several studies have linked increased dietary fiber, especially cereal fiber, with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and death, but most of them have been conducted in patients without coronary artery disease and have not directly assessed the effect of fiber intake on the progression of plaque build-up in the arteries of patients with established heart disease.

In this study however, researchers looked at the effects of whole grain consumption in 229 postmenopausal women with coronary blockages of at least 30 percent who were participating in the Estrogen Replacement and Atherosclerosis Trial.

Researchers in this study concluded that there are now good data that women with heart disease who reported consuming products made with whole grains have slower rates of progression of their disease. This conclusion is based on direct measures of (plaque) progression over a three-year period.

As always, COT and Healthbeat recommend discussing any Nutritional questions with a qualified healthcare professional.  For more information, see the July 2005 issue of the American Heart Journal.

HIPAA and Emergencies

In response to the emergent events produced by the recent Hurricane Katrina, Providers may receive information necessary to treat persons affected by Katrina and worry about certain privacy rule provisions later, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

The department has twice clarified privacy rule provisions for disclosing information in emergency situations.

In a bulletin, available at http://hhs.gov/ocr/hippa

 - the department’s Office for Civil Rights advises providers, health plans and others to share data they need to treat patients now and execute required business associate contracts when practical.

Aerobic Exercise Keeps Mind Fit

Researchers have recently discovered that aerobic exercise does more than mental exercise to keep your brain fit.  Exercise for the body helps new brain cells to sprout and make more connections, which in turn helps to preserve the frontal lobes, the area of the brain where ageing is most noticeable.

Researchers found evidence that good nutrition, education, and positive thinking all help to keep your brain young. But the most important factor is aerobics. Aerobic Exercise has remarkable beneficial effects on the structure and function of the brain.

Exercise helps your brain to make a chemical called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which creates brain cells and connections. New capillaries, which are a type of blood vessel, also grow with exercise, nourishing these cells and connections that would otherwise wither away under the pressure of ageing.

It is true, however, that mental exercise also helps the brain to stay sharp. Researchers recommend using your mind as much as possible and learning to link information to images or sounds in order to strengthen your memory.

Researchers will follow up by studying an optimum mixture of mental and physical exercises to keep minds sharp.

For more information, surf to Nature.com - http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050905/pf/050905-13_pf.html

As always, please surf to our Podcast Show Notes at ChiropractiRadio.com for a full listing of web references mentioned in today’s show.

Chiropractic Corner – In HealthBeat Episode #6, we discussed a news item concerning an upcoming seminar sponsored by The University of Bridgeport College of Chiropractic that will cover the development of the brain along with the genesis of neurobehavioral disorders.

Dr. Robert Melillo, a well known chiropractic neurologist will be presenting the course, starting in October 2005 and concluding in December 2005.  The location for both parts is Chicago , Illinois .

In this edition of HealthBeat’s Neurology Corner, we are joined by Dr. Melillo who will discuss his thoughts on this upcoming seminar along with other neurology pearls.

Thank you for listening…. As always, We Want to hear from you.  Please send us emails…. Simply surf to our Web Site at ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the Email link.

You can also leave us Voice Mail…. Simply open up your Skype and type in “healthbeat”, all in small letters.

If you have an idea for a Health Segment, please feel free to contact me directly via email …. The address is:

healthbeat@chiro-online.com

We also would appreciate your vote at Podcastalley.com.  If you are enjoying these podcasts, please surf to our HealthBeat homepage at Chiro-online.com and click on the Podcast Alley link.

Also, if you have a Web Site for your practice and you would like to add personalized HealthBeat segments to your site to attract more traffic, please send me an Email and I will forward information to you.

Finally, I leave you with the following quote:

"When we do the best that we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another."

- Helen Keller

For Chiropractic OnLine Today’s HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow.

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