| " No controversy in medicine, it seems, is too big or too small for the American Medical Association to express its opinion." " This week, the nation's largest doctors group is weighing in on everything from whether gays should be allowed to donate blood (maybe) to whether hospitals should have different color wristbands (no)." " The AMA's annual meeting concludes today at the Chicago Hilton and Towers. Here's a sampling:" " Exposure to sounds louder than 85 decibels can cause hearing loss. But many portable musical devices are louder than 100 decibels. (A circular saw is roughly 100 decibels.) The AMA today will consider asking the government to impose noise limits on the devices." " People who go overboard on video games typically play online with other players. They also tend to be socially awkward loners, who do better socially "in the virtual reality realm than in relationships," an AMA report found." " The AMA today will vote on whether video game addiction should be officially recognized as a mental disorder. But an influential committee concluded it's "premature" to make that determination." " Studies have found that lesbians have just as high a risk of getting gonorrhea, syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases as straight women, and a higher risk of breast cancer." " The AMA plans to educate lesbians and their doctors about the need to screen for cancer and STDs." " Emergency contraception pills can prevent pregnancy when taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse. The pills now are available over-the-counter, but a few pharmacists have refused to stock them due to moral objections." " The AMA is urging pharmacies to state on their Web sites whether they stock morning-after pills -- and if not, where consumers can get them." " Health insurers typically limit prescriptions to one- or three-month supplies, and define a month as 30 days." " But since some months have 31 days, and since pills can get lost, patients sometimes are caught short. The AMA is urging insurers to redefine a one-month supply to be at least 31 days, and a three-month supply at least 93 days." " Gay men are not allowed to donate blood because of the chance they are infected
... read the whole article |