Paramedics and the emergency room people who back them up are the ones who see what's going on inside a patient's home, and take the vital signs and health care histories. The document calls for all players in the health care industry to work together at the federal, state and particularly local level to design ways to better integrate EMS into care management, while maintaining medics ability to respond effectively to car wrecks, gunshots and heart attacks. In Red River, N.M., for instance, where the nearest hospital is 40 miles away, several local EMS workers received 350 hours of advanced training to take on a clinical role of binding up wounds and treating minor illnesses, including dispensing prescription drugs, on their own without transporting patients. Tens of thousands of Americans, many of them in the military, were given nasal radium treatments years ago, a treatment that may increase their risk of developing cancer and other medical problems today. One scientist's quest to bring this to light has finally led to government promises to investigate and help those affected.
Anxiety disorders can wreak havoc with family life, but help is available.
Molecular biologists at the University of Colorado have developed the first map of human chromosome 18, including genes associated with several forms of cancer. There's new evidence about the harm of second-hand smoke. In the near future, stitches for most wounds could be a thing of the past. Doctors find an adhesive closes wounds more quickly and helps them heal as well. Researchers identify a defect in heart cells that may explain why the muscle loses its ability to pump blood in people suffering from hypertension and perhaps other types of heart failure.