MASSDEVICE ON CALL —The GOP is capitalizing on the recent IRS scandal in its campaign against healthcare reform with a new advertising strategy launched last week. The campaign took off with a 1-day mobile billboard blitz in blue districts claiming the Democratic party wants to "put the IRS in charge of your healthcare."
The Washington Post reported that these ads went out in blue districts seen as the easier wins in the 2014 midterm, including districts represented by Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz..), Ron Barber (D-Ariz.), John Barrow (D-Ga.) and Collin Peterson (D-Minn.). The GOP campaign committee plans to continue to the districts of Jim Matheson (D-Utah), Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.) and Nick Rahall II (D-W.Va.).
Republicans are riding the coattails of the disastrous IRS scandal that targeted right wing organizations. Much of the party’s campaign platform this election season rests on the IRS scandal and on the Affordable Care Act as doomed attempt at reform, according to the reported.
Hypertension diagnoses miss the mark, leading to over-treatment
Too many Americans are being diagnosed with hypertension, possibly because of the "White Coat" effect, in which 20% of patients actually have higher blood pressure while in the doctor’s office than in their everyday lives.
The traditional blood pressure monitoring cuff, originally developed in 1881, is no longer the best way to obtain an honest blood pressure reading. Ambulatory blood pressure monitors are much more reliable, according the The Washington Post.
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Doctors fall behind ACA expectations on electronic medical record keeping
By the end of last year only 10% of U.S. doctors were up to "meaningful standards" of electronic medical record keeping and more than half were still operating on a completely ink-and-paper basis. This data, collected in an Annals of Internal Medicine survey of 1,820 primary care and specialty physicians, points to a long uphill battle in total electronic medical record keeping.
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10 years behind bars for the perpetrator of Troy Medical Center’s security breech
Rhashema Deramus, a former Troy Medical Center employee, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after she stole 881 patient identities 2 years ago. Deramus and her co-conspirators used the identifying information to file false tax returns, raking in $1.1 million in fraudulent returns before being caught.
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New electronic body patch works as an ECG, EMG or EEG
A new electronic body patch about the size of a silver dollar can transmit different body metric measurements when placed in different locations on the skin. Designed by engineers at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, the "Bio-patch" can transmit ECG signals if placed over the heart, EMG signals when placed over muscle or EEG signals if placed on the scalp.
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