Medical Matters, Dr. Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader Launching MedicalMatters.ORG: MWSearch is lauding Dr. Frist's effort in launching a medical blog site, www.medicalmatters.org. As the world's very first medical blog site, www.mwsearch.com, existed since 1995, we do understand the value of a medical site devoted to medical issues. We welcome Dr. Frist bringing his and his colleagues' perspectives on medical matters to the public in a direct and interactive manner. We urge our members to voice your political opinions on medical issues that concern you.

The Manhattan Project for the 21st Century: Senator Bill Frist has delivered the title speech at the Harvard Medical School which MWSearch would like to share with our readers. Below are a few excerpts and a handful of the legislative priorities (which have the dual purpose of fighting both bioterrorism and natural pandemics). Senator Frist is committed to working with his colleagues in the 109th Congress to bolster America's preparedness against bioterrorism and infectious diseases. The full speech is linked following the excerpts:  
"No intelligence agency, no matter how astute, and no military, no matter how powerful and dedicated, can assure that a few technicians of middling skill using a few thousand dollars worth of readily available equipment in a small and apparently innocuous setting cannot mount a first-order biological attack ... Never have we had to fight such a battle, to
protect so many people against so many threats that are so silent and so lethal."
"I propose an unprecedented effort -- a "Manhattan Project for the 21st Century" -- not with the goal of creating a destructive new weapon, but to defend against destruction wreaked by infectious disease and biological weapons ... I speak of action, without excuses, without exceptions; with the goal of protecting every American and the capability
to help protect the people of the world."
"For some years to come, this should be a chief work of the nation, for the good reason that failing to make it so could risk the life of the nation and other nations the world over."
The full speech in pdf file       

Presidential Statement on US Health Care: President Bush and Senator Kerry both want to provide adequate healthcare for people in USA, but they differ in philosophy, strategy and approach. Their statements on the healthcare issues have been discussed here in the MWSearch Voices. The discussion can serve as a reminder for President Bush and his staff in dealing with healthcare issues; hence it is archived as an hyperlinked page. 

Mad Cow Disease: When Mad Cow Disease was discovered elsewhere: US has taken precautionary steps to protect the public. Now that we have discovered the Mad Cow disease in Washington State, are we acting rationally and fairly to protect the public? Are we influenced by the farm industry lobbying forces or even the Wall Street's voices over the stock market reactions? We suggest that don't read everything in print at its face value. Do some comparison and then take action if needed such as write to your congressman or the FDA. We list a few publications below, some controversial, for you to build up your knowledge on Mad Cow Disease.

Know Your Treatment Code: Health insurance and clinics use procedure codes to determine insurance coverage and reimbursements. For instance, CDT4 code system is used for dental. You would do yourself a big favor to be familiar with these codes. Both dental professionals and patients need to know the codes so you can get the maximum reimbursement benefits from health insurance benefits. Take a look of Dr. Bunn's (dentist) web site where you get a good background information on dentistry and CDT4 codes. Also take a look at the UT Houston Dentistry procedure cost table which can serve as a reference. Of course not all procedures will be charged the same fee at different dental services, but the more you know the better for you, at least before you have a treatment.  

Does Fat Tax Make Sense? Experts on obesity proposes we should tax consumers on consuming fatty foods. Some disagree. Some say we should tax TV-Watching instead since that is taking away people's exercises. One British headline on fat tax says: "Like fat creeping up on a person's thighs, a tax on junk food and soda would be little-noticed at first but have long-term impact." Dose it make sense?
If Kyoto protocol induces New Zealand to propose tax on her 45M sheep and 10M cattle owners for their livestock's dung and urine which releases 40% of flatulence in New Zealand, perhaps the fat tax does make sense.

Stories for Patients and Doctors: Amye Leong, an internationally-recognized motivational speaker, is president of Healthy Motivation, a health education and advocacy consulting firm. Diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at age 18 (along with Sjogren's syndrome and osteoporosis later) and wheelchair-bound within 8 years, Amye drew on her own personal advocacy skills and determination to rebuild her body and take control of her life. After 16 surgeries, including 12 joint replacements, she now travels the globe working with organizations and governments as spokesperson for the United Nations-endorsed Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010. She was honored at the White House by President G.W. Bush with the 2001 President's Service Award, the highest honor bestowed on an American for community service. The Arthritis Foundation named Amye Leong one of its America's Fifty Heroes and gave her its highest honor, the Harding Award. As a community hero, Ms Leong carried the Olympic torch for the 1996 Olympic Games. She was appointed advisor to the U.S. National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases and was chair of the U.S. Surgeon General's National Council on Self-Help and Public Health under C. Everett Koop. She developed coalitions and advocacy projects that, for example, resulted in Congressional proclamation of Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Week that today is an annual national Arthritis Foundation media and education event. Ms Leong, who founded the nation's first and largest network of young adults with arthritis, and developed the nation's first young adult arthritis education programs, continues to provide extensive peer counseling to those affected by arthritis and other rheumatic diseases, and their families. Her book, GET A GRIP: A Take Charge Approach to Living with Arthritis (Penguin Putnam, 2002), continues to receive wide acclaim. 

www.boneandjointdecade.org/ news/images/geneve2.jpg 

MWSearch Expresses Deepest Sympathy and Condolences to Families of Columbia Shuttle Crew  (See NASA's Starscapes Slides)