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Stanford engineers develop ‘potalyzer’ test

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Stanford engineers develop ‘potalyzer’ test

Two initiatives to allow social consumption of marijuana may appear on Denver ballots this fall.

A “potalyzer” that can detect whether a driver is under the influence by marijuana is being perfected by Stanford University researchers.

Magnetic biosensors on the mobile device developed by materials science and engineering professor Shan Wang and her team can detect the presence of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, in saliva, according to a Stanford news release.

Like a breathalyzer is used in alcohol impairment cases, police would be able to use a cotton swab to collect a spit sample and results would be available on a smart phone or laptop in three minutes.

News of the Stanford team’s development comes as California voters prepare to decide in the November election whether to legalize recreational marijuana.

Marin hospital could be first in state to allow medical marijuana

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http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Marin-hospital-could-be-first-in-state-to-allow-9216208.php

Dr. Larry Bedard poses outside of the Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae, California on Wednesday, September 7, 2016. Photo: Gabriella Angotti-Jones, The Chronicle

If Dr. Larry Bedard has his way, Marin General Hospital would become the first acute-care medical center in California to allow patients to openly consume medical marijuana in the hospital.

Patients wouldn’t be allowed to smoke it, since smoking is prohibited. But Bedard, a retired emergency physician at Marin General who now serves on the Marin Healthcare District board, says he knows of no other legally prescribed drug that cannot openly be used by patients in a hospital.

“I know that it happens that it’s being used in the hospital, but it’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’” Bedard said. “It’s kind of wink-and-nod medicine.”

The doctor is taking steps toward bringing it out into the open by introducing a resolution at Tuesday’s board meeting for Marin Healthcare District, which governs Marin General. The resolution, if approved, would direct the hospital’s administrative and medical staff to review and research the clinical and legal implications of using medical marijuana in the hospital and report back to the board.

Bedard initially planned to introduce a resolution to allow patient use in the hospital but stepped back from that last month after the Drug Enforcement Agency declined to remove marijuana from its list of dangerous drugs, keeping it in the same category as such drugs as heroin and LSD.

$2 cigarette tax hike: Doctors and hospitals fight tobacco industry

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http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article101382077.html

Chart showing tobacco tax allocation

Doctors have long argued that low reimbursement rates are undermining the Medi-Cal system. While more Californians are seeking treatment, the state hasn’t done enough to increase funding to provide care, Corcoran said. Reimbursement rates are not up to par with the cost of practice, making it difficult for physicians to accept Medi-Cal patients, he said.

“It is a broken system,” Corcoran said. “Physicians want to be able to take care of patients. There’s not a lack of desire or a lack of willingness. It’s whether you can actually sustain a practice for all of your patients and provide that level of care that areas need and deserve.”

Medi-Cal is expected to balloon to 14.1 million patients in the current budget year, nearly double the number of Californians using the government-funded health care program four years ago, according to the state. Officials attribute the increase to the federal health care overhaul that expanded subsidized insurance. With a shortage of Medi-Cal doctors, advocates say patients in rural areas and other pockets of the state lack adequate access to care.

During budget talks, the Brown administration has pushed back against the need for rate increases. The administration pointed out that struggling providers can request reimbursement in full and questioned whether higher rates will result in better care.

HOW TO LEVERAGE YOUR MOST POWERFUL TOOL OF INFLUENCE TODAY

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https://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/2016/09/13/how-to-leverage-your-most-powerful-tool-of-influence-today/

a-caring-heart-is-permission-to-lead

 

Your most powerful tool of influence is a pair of caring ears.

Today’s leadership challenge is the daily practice of caring engaged silence.

Caring engaged silence:

A caring heart is permission to lead.

More than ever, leadership is about influence, not position. This is an opportunity for those without position and a threat to those with it.

One of the Biggest Challenges Workers Face While On the Job? Caregiving at Home

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http://altarum.org/health-policy-blog/one-of-the-biggest-challenges-workers-face-while-on-the-job-caregiving-at-home

CaregivingCaregiving

Two out of every five adults are the family caregiver of a loved one – that is tens of millions of family caregivers across the country. You probably know someone who is caring for an elderly mother with Alzheimer’s, or a child with autism, or a partner with cancer. You might be a family caregiver yourself.

What might surprise you, though, is that most of the people who are caring for someone at home are also working a full- or part-time job. In fact, most family caregivers (62%) are between the principal working ages of 25 and 54. Workers who are family caregivers are as common as workers with brown eyes.

They do not have it easy. Caregiving takes a toll on their jobs and their livelihoods. In fact, a majority of caregivers (52%) feel their career is negatively impacted by their caregiving situation. Studies show that this belief is justified – the impact of caregiving on the lives of caregivers is very real.

How the ACA’s Health Insurance Expansions Have Affected Out-of-Pocket Cost-Sharing and Spending on Premiums

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http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2016/sep/aca-expansions-and-out-of-pocket-spending?omnicid=EALERT1098015&mid=henrykotula@yahoo.com

Abstract

Issue: One important benefit gained by the millions of Americans with health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is protection from high out-of-pocket health spending. While Medicaid unambiguously reduces out-of-pocket premium and medical costs for low-income people, it is less certain that marketplace coverage and other types of insurance purchased to comply with the law’s individual mandate also protect from high health spending.

Goal: To compare out-of-pocket spending in 2014 to spending in 2013; assess how this spending changed in states where many people enrolled in the marketplaces relative to states where few people enrolled; and project the decline in the percentage of people paying high amounts out-of-pocket.

Methods: Linear regression models were used to estimate whether people under age 65 spent above certain thresholds.

Key findings and conclusions: The probability of incurring high out-of-pocket costs and premium expenses declined as marketplace enrollment increased. The percentage reductions were greatest among those with incomes between 250 percent and 399 percent of poverty, those who were eligible for premium subsidies, and those who previously were uninsured or had very limited nongroup coverage. These effects appear largely attributable to marketplace enrollment rather than to other ACA provisions or to economic trends.