Weekly Dose of Health News July 14 – 18, 2014

Weekly Dose of Health News July 14 – 18, 2014

Learn how to train like a German soccer star or how cooler bedrooms enhance your sleep, or where stroke rates are dropping and health care spending has shrunk, plus find a list of the latest meetings, hearings and special events at the NYS Department of Health….all in your Weekly Dose!

Four years after St. Vincent’s Hospital closed, a freestanding emergency room has opened at the West Village site.

The United Hospital Fund’s Medicaid Institute has published a Medicaid update that describes the changes to New York’s program, including enrollment into managed care reaching 95% in the next few years and state savings due to enactment of a basic health plan, which will shift funding for some populations from New York to the federal government.

Global spending on health care has shrunk, including in the U.S.  The reasons include the recent economic downturn, governments reigning in costs, the reduction of care that doesn’t improve health outcomes, slowed development of new and expensive medical technologies and changes in how medicine is practiced.

An American advises on how to train like a German soccer star.

Cooler bedrooms can result in better sleep.

The Los Angeles Times writes that stroke rates have dropped in Europe, Japan, Australia and the U.S. and that fewer stroke victims are dying.  Racial disparities remain, although the decline is equal among blacks and whites.  These improvements are due to reduced smoking rates, better controlled high blood pressure, diabetes and atrial fibrillation.  In the U.S., stroke center designations have also contributed to the decline.

Check out the latest meetings, hearings and special events from the New York State Department of Health.

The New York State Office of Mental Health has released its Interim Report on the Statewide Comprehensive Plan that includes discussion on the integration of behavioral and physical health in Medicaid managed care.

Ebony writes on why minority populations should participate in biomedical research, including clinical trials.

This new report from the Medicare Rights Center examines New York’s Medicare Advantage Plans.

A new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that changed pill colors or shapes in generic drugs can reduce medication adherence by causing patient confusion.

This article discusses how little we know about the human placenta and why we should know more.

Governor Cuomo announced $105 million in funding for the New York State Genomic Medicine and Big Data Center, which is a partnership with the Buffalo and Niagara medical corridor.