Three-quarters of middle schools have vending machines where snacks and sugared drinks are sold, a new study finds. The research demonstrates that there are vending machines in most middle schools, and “that those vending machines don’t always have the healthiest choices,” said study author Amy Virus, a registered dietitian with the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University in Philadelphia.

My Take?

Go online to find cheaper contact lenses? Use a dental school for anything you need done to your teeth? Negotiate with doctors and hospitals if the bill is too high? These are just a few of six great ideas on how to save money on drugs and doctors.

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WebMD Health News is reporting that mMore Americans are getting flu shots – but still far too few, the CDC reports. So, when are you planning to get yours? And, if not, why not?

My Take?

Four Christian Medical Association members testified on September 12 before the President’s Council on Bioethics on the issue of conscience rights in healthcare. These testimonies are, to me, very convincing and hopefully will help more and more of us support a healthcare professional’s right to exercise his or her conscience when it comes to deeply-held religious or moral beliefs.

Excerpts below:

Here is a thought-provoking Op-Ed by Admiral Joxel Garcia, MD, the assistant secretary for health with the Department of Health and Human Services, published in The Washington Times.  He begins, “There is no more sacred right than the right of conscience – the right to be guided by one’s own cherished beliefs and morall convictions. In certain professional fields, like health care, questions of conscience are particularly likely to emerge.

More of the editorial:

The National Post is reporting that the regulating body for Ontario physicians has backed off a controversial proposal that would have forced doctors to put aside their religious views when dealing with patients. Protests from the Ontario Medical Association and numerous religious groups appear to have tempered the thinking of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. Hopefully the US will do the same.

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is seeking comments on its proposed regulations to further protect the moral and religious rights of pro-life medical workers. You can help protect your doctor’s “Freedom of Conscience.” 

Here’s how:

Reuters News is reporting that doctors who perform colonoscopies should not be worried that they may lose business to so-called virtual colonoscopies, despite reports that both approaches work equally well at detecting colon cancer.

My Take?

There’s an excellent opinion piece in the LA Times titled, “The Fundamental Right to Refuse.” It’s by a ‘pro-choice atheist,’ who articulates that the present battle over conscience rights in healthcare is not only a fight for faith freedoms, but also a fight to preserve some of the most cherished unalienable rights on which western civilization and our republic was founded.

My Take?

LifeSiteNews.com reported that last Friday was marked the deadline for public comment on the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeon’s draft policy that seeks to prohibit medical professionals from obeying their consciences. In light of this, several prominent parties have made concerted efforts to condemn the proposed policy that, if put into effect, will force medical professionals to “set aside their personal beliefs” and take part in grievous anti-life practices.

My Take?

Lots of youngsters on your street? Watch out: Flu may strike your community sooner and harder than it hits the hip singles neighborhood down the road. Flu-shot season begins this month, and for the first time vaccination is being pushed for virtually all children — not just those under 5.

My Take?

Fox News is commenting on a study published in the August 27 issue of JAMA in which medical researchers say that one-fifth of Ayurvedic herbal medicines sold on the Internet contain dangerously high levels of lead, arsenic and mercury. How’s a consumer to protect themselves?

My Take?