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Hispanics In Massachusetts Less Likely To Visit Physicians, Survey Finds
Hispanics in Massachusetts are less likely than whites to have visited a physician in the last year, according to a survey that was funded by the Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, the Commonwealth Fund and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Springfield Republican reports. The survey also found that Hispanics were about twice as likely as whites to visit an emergency department for a nonemergency condition. The survey, which was conducted last fall, included 4,041 adults ages 18 to 64 in Massachusetts. Overall, the survey found that people living in western Massachusetts had more difficulty accessing health services than people living in other areas of the state, in part because of a shortage of primary care physicians. While the survey found that nearly all state residents have health insurance, more than 25% of residents in four western counties reported that providers either would not accept their insurance or were not accepting new patients. The survey did not find significant differences across the state in the ability of residents to pay medical bills. In addition, the survey did not find any evidence that health care costs are more of a burden to Hispanics and blacks than to whites (McAuliffe, Springfield Republican, 5/28).

Ewing's Sarcoma: New Direction For Drug Discovery Highlighted By GUMC Discovery
In a discovery that rebuffs conventional scientific thinking, researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) have discovered a novel way to block the activity of the fusion protein responsible for Ewing"s sarcoma, a rare cancer found in children and young adults.
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Low Vitamin D Levels In Blacks Could Contribute To Higher Rates Of Cancer, Other Diseases, Researcher Says
Low vitamin D levels in blacks could contribute to health gaps between white and black U.S. residents, Michael Holick, a professor at Boston University and a vitamin D researcher, said recently, the GNS/Chicago Sun-Times reports. According to Holick, blacks have lower levels of vitamin D than whites in part because the higher amount of pigment in their skin makes it harder for their body to absorb the nutrient, which is produced in response to sun exposure. Although scientists are debating optimum vitamin D levels, some scientists have said that vitamin D can reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses. Holick added that some scientists believe blacks are more likely to have prostate cancer, breast cancer and colon cancer and have more aggressive forms of the cancer because they have lower levels of vitamin D. John Flack, principal investigator at the Center for Urban and African American Health at Wayne State University, said lower vitamin D levels among blacks is "potentially a very important explanation for some of the differences, from hypertension to cancer to heart failure," adding, "The actual proof is not there, but it"s plausible." Flack added that many factors -- including decreased access to health care and differences in income and education -- contribute to the overall poorer health among blacks. The Institute of Medicine next year is expected to release new guidelines on recommended daily intake for vitamin D. "All Americans, but particularly people with darker skin, should pay attention" to the new guidelines, according to Adit Ginde, a researcher at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine who led a recent study that found vitamin D levels are decreasing in all racial groups and are particularly low in blacks (Painter, GNS/Chicago Sun-Times, 5/28).
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Immigration Changes Will Deprive UK Of Doctors, Says BMA Leader

Dr Hamish Meldrum, Chairman of BMA Council, has written to the Secretary of State for Health, Alan Johnson, to request that he intervenes to ensure that the UK does not lose further doctors as a result of recent changes to the immigration system. The changes restrict international medical students, who are studying in the UK, from continuing with their medical training beyond the two-year postgraduate Foundation Programme. On 31st March 2009, the Home Office changed the academic requirement for the Tier 1 immigration category1. Doctors applying to Tier 1 now need the minimum of a Master"s degree to be accepted onto it. A medical degree is classified as a Bachelor"s degree and as a result many medical students and junior doctors who have been studying in the UK for up to seven years2 could be lost to the NHS. The NHS is already facing understaffed workforce rotas in a range of medical specialties; a problem which the Department of Health has acknowledged was caused, in part, by previous changes to the immigration system.3 In August 2009, the European Working Time Directive will be fully implemented, reducing the working week of junior doctors to 48 hours, placing further pressure on staffing. In the letter to Alan Johnson, Dr Hamish Meldrum says: "The change to the Tier 1 requirements will seriously restrict international students, who have completed their undergraduate studies at UK medical schools, from continuing with their postgraduate medical education beyond the Foundation Programme. These individuals have been included in workforce planning statistics and restricting their ability to progress with their postgraduate medical training contradicts the Government"s previously stated aim of maximising training opportunities for UK-trained doctors. "The full implementation of the European Working Time Directive and its impact on junior doctors" training hours, coupled with a situation in which a proportion of prospective trainees can no longer continue with their training due to ever-tightening immigration rules, is likely to exacerbate rota gaps, putting patient safety at greater risk. "Restricting their career options to such an extent represents a huge waste of taxpayers" money and may lead to affected doctors leaving the UK permanently." He adds: "The BMA is requesting that the Department of Health intervenes to ensure that the changes to Tier 1 are prospective and do not impact upon either those individuals who are recent graduates of UK medical schools or existing international medical students who began their studies prior to the increased Tier 1 requirements of 31 March 2009." Notes 1. The Government has overhauled the immigration system within the UK with the introduction of a five-tiered immigration system. The system is points-based and individuals must score a minimum number of points within a given Tier to be given leave to enter or remain in the UK. Tier 1 is the highly skilled worker category. 2. Doctor training in the UK typically involves five years of undergraduate study followed by a two year postgraduate Foundation Programme. 3. In March 2006 permit-free training for doctors ceased although international graduates of UK medical schools remained able to continue with their training via the Postgraduate Doctor and Dentist Visa and the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) immigration routes. When Tier 1 replaced the HSMP in February 2008 certain doctors were restricted from working as a doctor-in-training. The introduction of tighter immigration requirements for doctors has led to a reduction in the numbers of overseas doctors coming to the UK. One result of this has been that trusts are finding it harder to find locum doctors to fill rota gaps. British Medical Association


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