Posts Tagged ‘Kathleen Sebelius’

Earlier this month the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an independent panel of respected experts in primary care and prevention, caused an uproar when they presented evidence that routine mammogram screening for breast cancer should not begin until the age of 50. The group based their recommendation on evidence showing that the “additional benefit gained by starting screening at age 40 years rather than at age 50 years is small, and that moderate harms from screening remain at any age”.  Essentially, the number of women we need to screen in order to extend one woman’s life is far higher for the group between the ages of 40 to 49 than for the group aged 50 to 59. However, current US Health and Human Services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, issued a statement yesterday stating that there will not be any changes to government policy on mammography: screening mammograms should continue to start at the age of 40. [via Medical News Today]

Additional USPSTF recommendations include:

• Regular biennial screening mammography for women aged 50 to 74.
• No teaching of breast self-examination (BSE).
• There is not enough evidence to assess whether clinical breast examination (CBE) does more harm than good, beyond screening mammography in women 40 years or older.
• Current evidence is not enough to assess whether digital mammography or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) would be better or worse than film mammography.

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Whether you know it or not, our nation’s health care system is gearing up for a fight with the H1N1 flu this fall. Health officials estimate that as students return to school, the number of infections could increase by ten-fold every two weeks. This has led authorities to expedite vaccine research and production. Right now, the target date for vaccine distribution is mid-October. However, the vaccine is still under testing. For example, it is as yet unclear what the exact dosage should be. Some experts, including Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, believe that in order to prevent infections from skyrocketing the vaccine should get the go ahead and be used even though full testing is not completed. Just as many experts say we should not risk using the vaccine without full and proper testing. What is agreed upon are who should get the first doses of the vaccine – namely, high risk groups that include pregnant women, health care and emergency personnel, people who live with or care for children younger than 6 months, people 6 months to 24 years old, and people age 25 to 64 who are at high risk due to chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems. [via ABC News]

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