Monthly Archive for July, 2010

Member Health Partnerships has changed to better accommodate members with chronic conditions

Published on July 27, 2010 in BCBSNC and Health and Wellness. 2 Comments

Since July 1, BCBSNC has made some changes so that it is easier for members to enroll and participate in the Member Health Partnerships (MHP) program. Earlier, sign up was done by completing a mail-in survey only. Now, there are new options such as enrolling by phone and beginning in September, members will have the ease of being able to join online. They are no longer using the paper surveys. Members can easily join by calling 1-800-218-5295 and press 1.

Also the educational materials have been updated. Numerous books are no longer accessible, but have been replaced with exceptional substitutes. Members can sign up using email or phone to get great tips concerning weight management or smoking cessation. The pregnancy program even has an optional text-messaging feature. All members signed up for the program will acquire a Chronic Care Guide.

The outreach efforts are now concentrated on members at the highest risk level. Members who are considered “most impacted” will be called by specially trained nurses who will invite them to engage in health coaching and to join the MHP program. The hope is to reach more of the members who will benefit the most from the program.

The Pregnancy program has been changed to self-refer only, because it is sometimes very hard to identify members early in their pregnancy. Claims will be monitored for high-risk pregnancies and these members will be referred to a case manager.

All members’ claims will be constantly monitored for status changes, and the outreach will be adjusted accordingly. The “most impacted” members will receive a phone call from  a health coach, who will work with them whether or not they choose to enroll in the MHP program.

The members who are identified for the program but not considered “most impacted” will get a mailed invitation. The members who do enroll in the Member Health Partnerships program will receive  an annual mailing.

Some things will remain the same. Members who join our programs will still continue to receive targeted information and services, which will help them take care of their particular health care needs. Customized benefits, like nutritional counseling and discounts are also available to members. Members currently in the MHP program will not have to do anything to remain in the updated program; they will automatically be enrolled.

Discovery of antibodies may prevent HIV infection

Published on July 21, 2010 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments

On July 8, the National Institutes of Health reported that two antibodies have been pinpointed by government scientists that could possibly prevent 90 percent of the currently known HIV strains from infecting cells.

The agency claims that NIH scientists are confident that the two antibodies can be utilized to make more powerful HIV vaccines or more improved treatments for the ominous condition.

Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which performed the research, said that “The discovery of these exceptionally broadly neutralizing antibodies to HIV and the structural analysis that explains how they work are exciting advances that will accelerate our efforts to find a preventive HIV vaccine for global use.” Details were published in the online edition of the Journal Science.

Numerous Americans mistakenly think they are lactose intolerant

Published on July 21, 2010 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Recently a committee from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that many people in the U.S. think they are lactose intolerant – not able to digest milk or dairy products – when they actually are not. Due to this, these people are avoiding all dairy products, which causes them to be deficient in calcium, vitamin D and other crucial nutrients necessary for well-being and bone health especially.

Some symptoms of lactose intolerance are stomach cramps, bloating, excessive gas and diarrhea. What’s confusing to many is that these symptoms are common to other types of conditions. Also, some people who are lactose intolerant may only need to eat smaller portions of dairy products to avoid these irritating symptoms. About one or two cups of milk each day is usually safe for most people in this category, particularly when eaten with other foods, as specified by the committee.

If you or a loved one think that you might be lactose intolerant, you may want to get your doctor to validate it with a blood, stool or breath test. If it turns out to be true, decrease your intake of dairy foods. Try to get the suggested amounts of vitamin D and calcium from other sources, like sardines, tofu, kale, salmon, fortified cereals and supplements.

Three new weight loss drugs to be reviewed by FDA

Published on July 12, 2010 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

We are all holding our breath that maybe one or all three of these new weight loss drugs will help many be successful in losing weight without those unwelcome, and sometimes dangerous side effects. Doctors, investors and dieters will be allowed to take in their first observation of the new drugs this week.

These are the first new prescription drugs to come out in more than ten years. Since U.S. obesity rates are close to 35 percent of the adult population, the anticipation is very high. Even a drug that is somewhat effective is very exciting.

However, not one of the three drugs seems to be on the brink of a major success in research. Not much success has come from the makers of drugs when it comes to comprehending and treating the triggers of overeating. With two of the drugs presented for approval, drugs that are already out there were joined together – an anticonvulsant and an amphetamine – but not without troubling side effects. The third drug is a safer medication but seems to be less effective.

Safety issues have always been a problem for decades in the never-ending search for a successful breakthrough weight loss drug. Perhaps the most memorable one was the Wyeth’s diet pill drug combination fen-phen. It was taken off the market in 1997 due to its connection with heart valve damage and lung problems.

The review of Vivus Inc.’s pill Qnexa will be posted by the FDA July 12 and they will hold a public meeting July 14 to review the data. Orexigen Therapeutics Inc.’s Contrave is to be reviewed in October and Aren Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s lorcaserin is to be reviewed in December.

In clinical trials, Qnexa was the winner with the best weight loss results in clinical trials. In this trial, patients lost between 13 and 15 percent of their body weight. On the down side, this drug had the most amount of patients quitting due to undesirable side effects, which included memory and concentration problems.

N.C. is ranked as the 10th-fattest state

Published on July 9, 2010 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

According to an annual report released on June 29 by the advocacy group Trust for America’s Health, North Carolina is weighs in at 10th place for it’s amount of people who are obese or overweight. South Carolina was just under N.C. in the 9th place.

This year’s report revealed that twenty-nine percent of people in North Carolina are obese, which means that one has a body-mass index of 30 or more; 29.9 percent of South Carolinians are considered obese.

Embarrassing to us southerners, all but one of the 10 fattest states are in the South, with Michigan as the only exception. It tied with North Carolina for 10th place. Also of great concern is the fact that almost 19 percent of N.C. children and 15 percent of S.C. children are obese. Obesity rates have risen in 27 states, including North Carolina. It seems to be more common in poor people, blacks Hispanics and women.

At least 20 diseases are caused or aided by obesity. The two main diseases induced by obesity are diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Scientists are concerned about possible risks for infants from soy

Published on July 9, 2010 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Not too long ago there was research that caused many to worry about some plastic containers, because chemicals were found in them that acted like hormones and could cause harm to infants. Now there is a new cause for concern from a food that is often sought after by the health conscious – soy.

Some animal studies have shown that natural contents in soy contain the same hormone-imitating traits as some plastic additives. Currently scientists are deliberating about how to deal with this threat.

Last month a scientific report was issued by researchers at the National Toxicology Program, based in Research Triangle Park, which concluded that the risk of soy formula is of “minimal concern” for infant health.

On a five-level scale, this increased the level of concern from a 1 to a 2. The group established its decision on recent animal studies and said more human studies that indicate health risks are necessary before raising any additional alarm.

For decades, soy formula has been used as a substitute to milk formula for children who happen to be lactose intolerant or for families wanting to stay within a vegan diet.

In the last few years though, studies done on animals in laboratories have discovered a connection between estrogen-like substances in soy, which are natural compounds called isoflavones, and developmental damage in offspring.

These animal studies demonstrate that fetal or newborn exposure to genistein, a dominate isoflavone in soy formula, could cause early puberty and other possible problems later in life. Biologist Heather Patisaul, of N.C. State University, said “brief exposure to genistein can produce long-lasting effects in rats.

The RTP-based National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and The National Toxicology Program, assembled a panel of 14 scientists to check out the safety of soy infant formula.

These animal studies showed potential harm at blood levels similar to what is seen is seen in babies, according to pediatrician and panel chair Gail McCarver of the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. This said, the group maintained that an increased amount of concern is not justified at this time because of inadequate data from human studies.

Panel member Emilie Rissman, a biologist at the University of Virginia, said that the majority of the animal studies have been performed on single isoflavones evaluated one at a time, even though soy formula is made of more than one type of isoflavone and other elements that could interact with each other.

There are some scientists who disagree with the group’s conclusions. Patisaul exclaims, “Why worry about bisphenol A and not soy?” She claims that there are many more effects from soy than from bisphenol A, a hormone-imitating compound found in plastic that spiked recent controversy worldwide.

The conclusions from the panel was summarized and posted March 16 at http://cerhr.niehs.nih.gov/.