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Los Angeles Times Examines Increase In Caesarean Births, Related Rise In Risk, Cost
Caesarean sections -- which are performed in 31% of births, up from 4.5% in 1965 -- often are considered an unnecessary risk and "an example of how the intensive and expensive U.S. brand of medicine has failed to deliver better results and may, in fact, be doing more harm than good," the Los Angeles Times reports. According to the Times, c-sections can increase a woman"s risk of complications, such as infection, blood clots and premature delivery. Even without complication, c-sections typically result in longer hospital stays and increased costs. Expenses related to c-section births account for 45% of the more than $79 billion in annual hospital charges that childbirth incurs in the U.S. annually. The average uncomplicated c-section costs about $4,500, which is about twice the cost for vaginal births. C-sections cost about $13,000 for privately insured patients. According to a 2008 report by Childbirth Connection, "The financial toll of maternity care on private (insurers)/employers and Medicaid/taxpayers is especially large." It also said, "Maternity care thus plays a considerable role in escalating health care costs, which increasingly threaten the financial stability of families, employers, and federal and state budgets." Addressing the Increase
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Discarded Fallopian Tubes Could Be Rich Of Stem Cells, Study
Fallopian tubes normally discarded after hysterectomies and other procedures could become rich potential s for mesenchymal stem cells
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Opinion: World Must Work Together To Stop Human Trafficking
"To some, human trafficking may seem like a problem limited to other parts of the world," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton writes in a Washington Post opinion piece, but "it occurs in every country, including the U.S., and we have a responsibility to fight it just as others do." According to Clinton, trafficking can produce "destructive effects" on "all of us," because it "weakens legitimate economies, breaks up families, fuels violence, threatens public health and safety, and shreds the social fabric that is necessary for progress." She writes that the problem is "particularly urgent now, as local economies around the world reel from the global financial crisis."
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Doctor Shortage To Worsen As One Third Of GPs Retire Early, Australia

A third of Western Australian GPs aged 45-65 years plan to retire early, potentially deepening Australia"s medical workforce shortage, according to research published in this year"s General Practice edition of the Medical Journal of Australia. Associate Professor Tom Brett, Director of General Practice and Primary Health Care Research at the University of Notre Dame, Fremantle, and his co-authors surveyed 178 Western Australian GPs aged 45-65 years. Assoc Prof Brett said 63 of the respondents planned to retire before the age of 65. "Of those GPs planing to retire early, 46% said this was because of the pressure of work, exhaustion and burnout," he said. "Almost two thirds of survey participants said increasing bureaucracy, poor job satisfaction and disillusionment with the medical system or Medicare were obstacles to working in general practice." Assoc Prof Brett said the early retirement of large numbers of GPs would contribute to the growing shortage of doctors in Australia. "A shortage of doctors in general practice will have repercussions at all levels of the health system. It will inevitably put more pressure on hospitals and slow the discharge of patients back into their communities," he said. Survey respondents said the most enticing incentives to continue working until the standard retirement age would be better remuneration, better staffing levels and more general support or access to flexible working hours or a lighter workload. More female (75%) than male (59%) doctors intended to continue working at least until the age of 65. Assoc Prof Brett said this might be because female doctors were more satisfied with their work - which was often conducted on a part-time basis. GP Week runs from 20-26 July. The Medical Journal of Australia is a publication of the Australian Medical Association. Australian Medical Association


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