Little change in Dutch euthanasia post-legality

The frequency of doctor-assisted euthanasia in the Netherlands has changed little since the longstanding practice was legalized in 2002, according to a new study.

A summary published Wednesday on The Lancet magazine's website said that "in 2010, of all deaths in the Netherlands, 2.8 percent were the result of euthanasia. This is higher than the 1.7 percent in 2005, but comparable with (levels seen) in 2001 and 1995."

Under Dutch law, a person who asks to die may be administered a lethal mixture of sedatives and muscle relaxants if two doctors agree he or she is suffering "unbearable" pain with no prospect for recovery. Most cases involve cancer victims.

The Lancet study used data from the country's death registry and sent confidential questionnaires to doctors, extrapolating results to represent a cross-section of deaths in different social, medical and geographical areas. Researchers used the same methodology as in previous studies in 1990, 1995, 2001 and 2005.

Dutch doctors are also required to report all euthanasia cases on a non-confidential basis to the country's Euthanasia Commission, but that yields numbers that are widely believed to underreport the total number of euthanasia cases in the country.

All cases sent to the Euthanasia Commission are reviewed by a panel of experts, and some cases each year lead to official sanctions for doctors who fail to follow the rules, or even criminal prosecutions in a handful of cases.

According to commission data, there were 3,136 euthanasia cases in 2010, out of 136,000 deaths countrywide recorded by the Central Bureau for Statistics. That suggests a euthanasia rate of about 2.3 percent, less than the 2.8 percent found in the Lancet study. The total Dutch population is around 16.3 million.

"In the Netherlands, the euthanasia law resulted in a relatively transparent practice," wrote the Lancet study's lead author Bregje Onwuteaka-Philipsen. "Although translating these results to other countries is not straightforward, they can inform the debate on legalization of assisted dying in other countries."

One other noteworthy finding of the Lancet study was that the number of cases of "palliative sedation"

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US denies name change for high-fructose corn syrup

"Corn grows in a field near West Union, Iowa in 2011. US regulators Wednesday denied a request to change the name of high-fructose corn syrup to merely "corn sugar," in a high-profile dispute between two industries. (AFP Photo/Scott Olson)" title

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Tide to change Pods lid over child safety concerns

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Chile to cover sex change operations

"A surgeon performs a sex change operation in 2009. Chile will soon cover sex change surgeries under its public health plan. (AFP Photo/CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT)" title

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BestMassage warehouse announces name change for two -cozy- powerLift Electric massage tables

BestMassage warehouse announces name change for two "cozy" powerLift Electric massage tablesShare: Tweet18
May
2012BestMassage warehouse announces name change for two "cozy" powerLift Electric massage tablesBestMassage, the international massage table and supplies warehouse, is implementing a name change for two of its popular PowerLift massage tables.

Chicago, IL (1888PressRelease) May 18, 2012 - Confusion surrounding the names of two PowerLift massage tables sold in the United States lead to a name change for both. The formerly named Cozy Liftback PowerLift massage table is now called the Spa Liftback PowerLift and the Cozy Spa Liftback PowerLift massage table will now be known as the Spa Versatile PowerLift. The word "Cozy" has been dropped from the US massage tables' names because it caused confusion with the Cozy line of PowerLift massage tables already being sold in Canada.

"We realized that the names of the US massage tables sounded too similar to the ones in Canada and we needed a change," revealed Peter Wang, Marketing Director for BestMassage. Since Canada had been selling the Cozy line (which includes the Cozy Flat PowerLift, the Cozy Deluxe PowerLift, and the Cozy Liftback PowerLift massage tables) for months now, Wang decided to make the change with US tables. "The US massage tables are indeed different from the Canadian ones, so their names had to reflect that," said Wang.

The newly named Spa Liftback PowerLift and Spa Versatile PowerLift both feature an electric motor which raises and lowers the massage tables by pressing on a pedal. The Spa Versalite PowerLift also showcases a manually adjustable head and leg section plus removable armrests.

"We are proud to be an international company for massage tables/equipment/product and we strive to have things as consistent as possible over all the locations. We have to ensure that our customers always know what they are getting when they order from us-whether they are ordering from Canada, the United States, Europe or Mexico," said Wang.

About BestMassage.com

BestMassage.com is proud to be a BBB (Better Business Bureau) accredited organization with a BBB Rating of A

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Boomers' love of pets could change as both age

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Try Quality Bariatric Protein Bars For Change

April 13, 2012 by adminWhen you are coping with the postoperative bariatric diet plans, you need to provide additional proteins, vitamins and minerals to your body that most often deficit due to reduced absorbing capacity of reduced stomach size and entirely new digestive system. Bariatric protein bars is one of the most convenient protein snack for such patients to recover most of the deficit proteins in the body. There are numerous supermarkets, health stores and consumer stores provide bariatric protein bars having different brands and different contents.  However, most of the high quality protein bars are targeted to provide high protein and low carbohydrate nutritional boost essentially required by the bariatric patients.

Typically, you find that all these commercial Bariatric protein bars contain whey, or soy protein along with some natural ingredients like peanuts, oats, milk, eggs and allowed organic colors and sweeteners. In addition, many of the protein bars manufacturers coat them in chocolate or yogurt to taste good and convenience to eat them on go. Most often the nutritional value of such protein bars depend on their contents and ingredients but most of them provide almost 10-25 grams of proteins in each bar. It should be noted that when they are providing protein rich content they are prepared in such manner that they are low in carbohydrates and total calorie count.

Eating Bariatric Protein Bars is often one of the most convenient ways to recover the deficient protein rather than using alternate methods of eating protein powder, liquid or tables. In addition they not only taste good but it provides mental satisfaction of having a chocolate or candy bar rather than having your regular protein meals. One thing that is important to understand about bariatric protein bars is they have high levels of refined sugars and saturated fats therefore it is better to avoid them as a definitive substitute to your regular meal.

Health

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Physicians Change Recommendations for Many Medical Tests

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Several physician specialty groups have provided lists of medical tests or treatments they have deemed unnecessary or used too frequently, as part of the ABIM Foundation's Choosing Wisely project. There's a range in recommendations, from refraining from imaging tests for uncomplicated headaches via the American College of Radiology to refraining from routine antibiotic treatment of acute sinusitis that has lasted less than 5 to 7 days via the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Forty-Five Tests Make List of Recommended Changes in Use

The lists were made available on Wednesday as part of a joint effort between the ABIM Foundation and Consumer Reports to lower overall health care costs that is due to medical testing of questionable value. Each of nine physician specialty groups provided a list of five medical tests or procedures in their field of expertise that require closer consideration by practicing physicians before using.

Why a Change in Typical Medical Care Is Needed

Christine K. Cassel, M.D. and James A Guest, J.D. explain the need for these and additional changes in health care in an April 4 article published in The Journal of the American Medical Association. The current system of health care in the United States continues to demonstrate rising costs with "high rates of poor-quality care."

Physicians have been burdened with the fear that if some tests/procedures/treatments are not ordered for patients, even if the ratio of need to potential outcome is low, they would open themselves to increased chances of medical malpractice suits.

Realizing that changes need to be made to the health care delivery system, the ABIM Foundation, the European Foundation of Internal Medicine and the American College of Physicians Foundation together established a charter that would ultimately lead to "Choosing Wisely" in an effort to ensure quality patient care, as explained in an article published in a 2002 Annals of Internal Medicine article.

Suggested Changes that Affect Baby Boomers Health Care Decisions

Many of the changes suggested in the "Choosing Wisely" lists affect people of all age groups, while others will affect certain age groups more than others.

The suggested "Five Things Physicians and Patients Should Question" list provided by the American College of Cardiology is most relevant for baby boomers and their seniors that includes not performing annual stress cardiac imaging on patients without symptoms of heart problems and only perform an echocardiogram for mild, native valve disease when symptoms are present.

The American College of Gastroenterology in its list of suggested changes recommends that in average-risk individuals, no colorectal cancer screening needs to be performed in intervals briefer than 10 years for those who have already had a colonoscopy with negative results.

These and other suggested changes due in the fall of this year from eight additional medical specialty societies will likely impact the state of health care and its associated costs in the United States for years to come.

Smack dab in the middle of the baby boomer generation, L.L. Woodard is a proud resident of "The Red Man" state. With what he hopes is an everyman's view of life's concerns both in his state and throughout the nation, Woodard presents facts and opinions based on common-sense solutions.

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