UnitedHealth unveils patient info service for MDs

UnitedHealth Group's Optum business is launching a service that allows doctors to share information about patients over the Internet, as health care companies continue their push to improve care with better coordination. 1329231941

Trimming super-size with half-orders, plate colors

Call it the alter-ego of super-sizing.
WHO calls for final push against leprosy

The World Health Organization warned Monday that the battle against the age-old scourge of leprosy is not yet over, with more than 5,000 new cases reported yearly in the Western Pacific, where the disease was declared eliminated in 1991.
Injured boomers beware: Know when to see doctor

It happened to nurse Jane Byron years after an in-line skating fall, business owner Haralee Weintraub while doing "men's" push-ups, and avid cyclist Gene Wilberg while lifting a heavy box.
U. Mich.: Child porn case spurs outside review

University of Michigan officials said Friday they have ordered an outside review of campus security in the wake of a botched response to child pornography found on a medical resident's computer flash drive.
Q&A: Obama and the birth control controversy

What birth control debate? A half-century after the introduction of the pill, acceptance of birth control by American women is virtually universal.
Hungarian home birth advocate looses appeal

A Hungarian obstetrician known for promoting home births lost an appeal Friday against her two-year prison sentence for malpractice.
Russians alarmed by rash of teenage suicides

A rash of teenage suicides in Russia has set off alarm bells and experts are urging the government to take immediate action.
For pregnant women with cancer, chemo possible

Researchers have encouraging news for women who find themselves in a very frightening situation: having cancer while pregnant. Studies suggest that these women can be treated almost the same as other cancer patients are, with minimal risk to the fetus.
For pregnant women with cancer, chemo possible

Researchers have encouraging news for women who find themselves in a very frightening situation: having cancer while pregnant. Studies suggest that these women can be treated almost the same as other cancer patients are, with minimal risk to the fetus.
Under fire, Obama adjusts his birth control policy

Under fierce election-year fire, President Barack Obama on Friday abruptly abandoned his stand that religious organizations must pay for free birth control for workers, scrambling to end a furor raging from the Catholic Church to Congress to his re-election foes. He demanded that insurance companies step in to provide the coverage instead.
Lawyer: 6 Austrians were injected with malaria

The number of people claiming they were injected with the parasite causing malaria at a Vienna psychiatric ward while teenagers grew to seven Thursday, with the lawyer representing six of them saying their accounts, given separately, are credible because they are similar.
Doctors telling more adults: Get out and exercise

More and more U.S. adults are being told by their doctor to get out and exercise, according to government survey released Thursday.
India's global pharmacy role threatened by EU pact

Efforts by India and the European Union to strengthen trade are threatening India's ability to deliver lifesaving medicines to the world's poorest, analysts say as the two sides push through protracted negotiations on a free-trade pact.
Hold the mystery meat: Military food gets upgrade

Hold the mystery meat: Military mess halls soon will be serving more fruits, vegetables and low-fat dishes under the first program in 20 years to improve nutrition standards across the armed services.
Study: Tai chi helps ease symptoms of Parkinson's

The ancient Chinese exercise of tai chi improved balance and lowered the risk of falls in a study of people with Parkinson's disease.
Study: Electric boost helps brain to learn better

People learned better when a key part of their brains got mild zaps of electricity, a finding that may someday help Alzheimer's patients keep more of their memories.
Study finds MDs not always honest with patients

Trust your doctor? A survey finds that some doctors aren't always completely honest with their patients.
CDC: Fewer smokers go to the dentist

Smokers not only have more problems with their teeth than non-smokers, they also go to the dentist less often.
Vienna mayor promises redress for malaria victims

Vienna's mayor on Tuesday promised compensation for anyone injected with the parasite that causes malaria after two former foster home children claimed to have been given such shots in the 1960s.