By Carrie Winans. May 13-May 19 is National Women’s Health Week!  This week has been set aside by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Women’s Health in order to draw special attention to the unique health issues facing women every day.  The week serves as a reminder to schedule regular appointments such as physicals, dental check-ups and OBGYN visits.  It also encourages women to take a fresh start to summer and pledge to get active and change their diet to include the healthy vegetables of the season.

One of the most important things about National Women’s Health Week is the strong emphasis on preventive screenings.  A preventive screening helps separate healthy individuals from persons who may have an undiagnosed condition.  Commonly, tests like mammograms and pap smears come to mind as preventive measures for women.

However, there is another type of preventive screening that women should pay attention to this National Women’s Health Week.  Women should get screened for osteoporosis.  Osteoporosis is the loss of calcium and decrease in overall bone mass.  As a result of this decrease, bones become fragile and break much more easily.  It occurs most often in older women after menopause.  While osteoporosis affects both men and women, women are five times as likely to develop the condition.

The National Bone Health Alliance (NBHA) has made a special effort to increase osteoporosis awareness through their 2Million2Many campaign. The basis of the campaign lies in this fact:  Each year, there are 2 million bone breaks that are no accident, but signs of osteoporosis. Each year, a third of patients with a hip fracture had a prior fracture. After fractures, four out of five women will never be tested for osteoporosis. Osteoporosis fractures will likely cost Americans $25 billion by 2025.

As part of their efforts and in honor of National Women’s Health Week, NBHA hosted a summit yesterday at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Total Health. Moderated by former Congresswoman, tireless health care advocate, and Disruptive Woman Nancy Johnson and the director of NBH David B. Lee, the summit brought new information to the health world.  The summit focused on the specific human and economic impacts of osteoporosis and the NBHA’s plan to reduce bone breaks 20% by the year 2020.  This “20/20 Vision” initiative would implement secondary fracture prevention initiatives throughout the nation. (more…)

By Carrie Winans. We know the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Supreme Court (SCOTUS) showdown was the only thing on most people’s radar this week, at least as far as health care and health policy news goes! We too were too caught up in the broccoli vs. okra debate, dissecting every known fact about Justice Anthony Kennedy (the likely “swing” vote) and trying to find a cat leash to be bothered by the other news headlines (highway Armageddon? didn’t faze us; Final Four? we’re back at Elite Eight?).

That’s why, for the round up, we decided to focus on a few things you may have missed while you were furiously refreshing your #ACA #SCOTUS tweet-stream.

Here are this week’s top non-ACA/SCOTUS health care and health policy headlines, at home and abroad…

At home:

Cancer in young people is devastating for all, and survivors are often shocked to learn that they are infertile after treatment. Reuters reports on why doctors are sometimes silent about this side effect.

If you are lucky enough to carry children, USA Today cautions you should be on the look-out for fatal heart attacks. A recent study shows that pregnancy increases your risk.

Your trip to the OB/GYN is about to get a lot more personal.  A PsychCentral study suggests that women should start talking to their gynecologist about how their sex life is going. By skipping out on those between-the-sheets details, you could be skipping out on catching early warning signs to many reproductive, menopausal and other health related issues.

Remember how much fun you had studying for your MCAT? USA Today reports that the party rages on as the MCAT changes to recruit holistic doctors who understand the effect of sociocultural factors on health.

Along with advising heart attack survivors to take a drink, doctors may now hand out Starbucks vouchers to their diabetic patients. Seems insane? The Huffington Post reports on a Harvard School of Public Health study that found coffee improves insulin sensitivity.

Abroad

In England, a new study suggests that doctors who remove faulty breast implants should immediately replace them with new ones. If this course of action is implemented, it could cost UK tax payers millions.

Can you see your doctor prescribing two whiskeys a day to heart attack survivors? ABC News reports that the European Heart Journal believes it could work wonders.

And finally, this story may not be health-related, but take our word that you would regret if we let you miss it – CNN reports on what could quite possibly be the world’s smallest puppy.

Have a great weekend everyone and be sure to check back next week for all your health care and health policy news headlines, at home and abroad!

By Carrie Winans. Everyone loves an excuse for a party!  In honor of this special day in health policy history – the two year anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act — and the approaching Supreme Court (SCOTUS) battle, don’t miss the opportunity to celebrate while watching the coverage unfold. After all, the State of the Union comes once a year, and election night comes once every four (… unless you count the Republican primary), but the SCOTUS health law showdown will never happen again (we can only hope). Popular party games like “stack all 136 amicus briefs” for the Affordable Care Act will be sure to take center stage as you create the two-foot-tall mountain of paper in your living room.

Joking aside, next week will be monumental in deciding the future of health care coverage within the United States.  Here are some of the best articles surrounding these two interwoven events:

Reuters, source of the quirky fact about the amicus briefs above, provides this write-up, chock full of statistics and clever points about the Affordable Care Act litigation efforts so far.

As the Supreme Court prepares to orally debate the nation’s health care, Politico reminds us of four inconvenient truths about the health law that we may have to finally face in the coming days.

However, some of the truths are much more pleasant than those highlighted by Politico. In a Nancy Keenan opinion piece for the Huffington Post, true stories from people around America highlight the positive (yes, you read that correctly, positive!) effects of the Affordable Care Act.

Desperately wanting a FAQ page about the potential Supreme Court outcomes?  Here’s one created by Bloomberg Business week.

Like every good festivity, there are always pictures and stories to tell after the event has been said and done.  Please continue to check back on the latest from SCOTUS!

By Carries Winans. Like the calm before an approaching storm, another wonderful week has come and gone in the health care world. Despite the looming frenzy surrounding the combination of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) 2^nd birthday (this Friday, March 23^rd) and its subsequent judgment day in the Supreme Court (next Monday, March 26^th), all else has not come to a stand-still. Whether you were busy filling in your bracket (be it March Madness or SCOTUS brackets, we’re not here to judge) or putting these policies in place, it’s always nice to get caught up in the world of health care. Here are some of this week’s most interesting stories from at home and abroad.

At Home

The infamous Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) got its time in the spotlight as health care discussion continues in the House. CNN’s Election Center explains why IPAB (not to be mistaken for iPad) is receiving more attention than ever.

How would you feel about your grandma getting the bill for health care?  This Forbes opinion piece examines Congressman Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) policy for flaws and hiccups.

An MSNBC video discusses two states’ “special clauses” to change women’s health care. For example, Arizona would require documentation to prove birth control is only being used for medical reasons. Tell us how you feel after watching this report.

Both Obama and Romney have made promises about women’s health care going forward. This CBS report shows how women are responding to the Republican presidential candidates and their promises.

Abroad

China’s ever-growing biopharamaceutical industry is being fast tracked in Shanghai. Business Wire talks about how hands-on training and an expansive center will further China’s ability to produce quality products.

Our neighbors in Canada are facing many of the same health woes we are.  Despite putting billions into the system, Canada remains at the status quo for health care. The Wall Street Journal reports.

Be sure to check back this Friday for a special round up on the Affordable Care Act!  It’s the second anniversary of the ACA’s birth and we want you to be well-informed on its milestones.

By Carrie Winans. With spring in the air and new beginnings all around, it is nice to see some new changes in health care as well.  Here’s what happened this week while you were dreaming of warm weather:

At Home

In Oregon, a new approach to Obama’s health care has been put in place.  The Associated Press reports that if all 50 states adopted this approach the federal budget could save $1.5 trillion in the next decade.

If you’re wondering how your leaders are debating your reproductive health, ABC news gives you the spark notes version.

Were you excited to see Digital Health Records cut costs?  The New York Times cautions against breaking out confetti just yet, they may not help that much after all.

A Texas showdown sounds like something out of an old movie.  Instead, NPR uses the term to highlight some antiquated health practices.

Desperate Housewives’ Felicity Huffman guest writes for CNN about her views on women’s health care in America, an issue that needs some desperate improvement. 

Abroad

The euro isn’t the only thing to watch during the Greek Debt Crisis.  Reuters reports that several health care companies based in France, Germany, and the UK are trying to resolve their monetary issues with the struggling country.

While we’re busy worrying about our reproductive health, the World Health Organization is focusing on the health of women in rural areas.  The Voice of America highlights some of the struggles of the world’s poorest and least developed regions.

By Carrie Winans. Happy March! Here are some of the headlines this week in the health care world!

At home

Did you think health care reform would make things better for your children? Forbes reports on some unintended consequences that parents should be aware of. 

Thinking about getting a tattoo? If you have medical problems, this could be one of your best options to alert EMS workers. The Associated Press explains why this new trend is occurring here.

Did you smile yesterday? If you are Hawaiian, it’s more likely you answered yes. Find out which Americans are dealing with depression the best and why obesity is finally tapering off, per the Washington Post. 

The worst part of traveling for work? Definitely missing a day in your diet and exercise regime.  In a USAToday article, Holiday Inn parent company  IHG  has just announced a new line of cheap, on-the-go hotels that are geared toward staying healthy and fit. 

On this week’s episode of “Men Planning Women’s Health Care”, the Senate plans to vote on whether or not to appeal President Obama’s contraception mandate, ABCNews reports.

Abroad

“The Times of India” reports that India will be investing 2.5% of its GDP toward health care by 2017. The goal is to achieve universal health care… sound familiar?. 

In order to gain a necessary aid package, Greece is being forced to make pension and health care cuts. Bloomberg explains the projected impacts of Greece’s new policy.

By Carrie Winans. At Disruptive Women, we examine many issues that are troubling in today’s world.  However, we occasionally will come across an issue that shakes enough to really create some disruption.  Jennifer Newsom’s film Miss Representation demonstrated that the current status quo for women is not acceptable in today’s society.

As Disruptive Women in Health Care founder and creator Robin Strongin explained introducing the film, “My daughter sent this to me and said ‘I’m okay, but you’re not about to be.’ That’s how I knew this was going to be big.”

What makes a woman want to change the status quo? First, a woman has to find a problem that shakes her enough to make her disruptive. Jennifer Newsom, a filmmaker, actress, women’s advocate and mother realized she wanted to change an issue that had always disturbed her. When pregnant with her daughter, Nielson knew it was her time to change the world for the benefit of her daughter, and women everywhere.

Panelists Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the film's creator/producer, and Janice Kovach, mayor of Clinton, NJ, discuss the film and the way that the media's portrayal on women has affected them personally as well as professionally.

As an actress, Newsom is no stranger to the portrayal of women in the media. Through personal experiences and by watching reality television and advertisements, she quickly concluded that the media spent a large majority of time focusing on women’s youth, beauty and sexuality rather than intelligence, talents and gifts.

“The media is this huge pedagogical force of communication — it’s dictating our cultural values and our gender norms. And it’s doing it in such a way that it’s communicating to us that a woman’s value is limited,” Newsom told the Huffington Post.

“I witnessed the sexism that was directed at Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton in the 2008 presidential election and I made a connection between the misrepresentations of women in the media, which I’d already witnessed in Hollywood, and the underrepresentation of women in leadership,” she elaborated to Vogue Magazine.

With these ideas in mind, Newsom set forth to make a documentary that would raise awareness about the portrayal of women in the media and inequality between genders within the United States. The documentary, entitled Miss Representation, focuses in on the keys issue of gender portrayal through interviews with teenage girls, prominent male leaders and some very impressive female politicians and celebrities. Condoleezza Rice, Lisa Ling, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, Rosario Dawson, Jackson Katz, Jean Kilbourne and Gloria Steinem, to name a few, are all featured in the film as examples of powerful women who have been disparaged, sexualized or otherwise misrepresented by the mainstream media. (more…)

By Carrie Winans. During the month of February, the Disruptive Women team’s focus has been on leadership for women and in support of this we held a screening of the film Miss Representation. For those of you who were able to join us we hope that the film inspired you. You can show your support by taking the pledge. Look for a full recap of the event on Monday, but in the meantime we have put together the following resources that will hopefully inspire and help you to become the leader you have always wanted to be.

Miss Representation addresses many of these issues through some surprising statistics:  the United States is still 90th in the world for women in national legislatures and women hold only 3% of clout positions in mainstream media.  Just to show you how bad the United States is really doing, “Women hold 17% of the seats in the House of Representatives (the equivalent body in Rwanda is 56.3% female).”

Now that you’re awake, there is good news…we do not have to maintain the status quo.  At a time when the United States is rapidly changing and evolving, women have every opportunity to get into leadership positions.  This post will outline some great resources to get you inspired to be the leader you were born to be. 

The first resource is entitled 20 Ways to Become a Leader and was written by Dr. Ellen Ostrow, the owner of Lawyers Life Coach LLC.  The article examines 20 key attributes leaders should have and how to achieve them.

If counting to 20 seems like a lot at the moment, here are Nine Principles for Effective Leadership.  I love the article based off of this singular quote:  “If women would realize what an influence they have, they would be filled with pride. If men recognized how influential women are, they would be scared to death.” 

If you’re looking for a bit more, there is a great book called Through the Labyrinth  by Alice Eagly and Linda Carli.  This book answers critical questions such as:   How far have women actually come as leaders? Do stereotypes and prejudices still limit women’s opportunities? Do people resist women’s leadership more than men’s? And, do organizations create obstacles to women who would be leaders? 

The same awesome women that wrote Through the Labyrinth also has an article that is circulating through the psychology department at Wellesley:  The Female Leadership Advantage: An Evaluation of the Evidence. This article examines effective leadership practices within healthcare.  It examines three core values being:  change, choice, and principles.  If you don’t feel that your health care practice is living up to its potential,  maybe it’s time to approach things from a new angle. 

Make sure you are realistic about your dreams though.  Men and women ARE different!  Can you imagine if we were exactly the same?  It is important to be aware of the obstacles we will have to overcome:  http://www.clevelandconsultinginc.com/articles/myths.pdf

To the nay sayers, this website has documented women in power for thousands of years!  Not only are women effective leaders, they have often been the best leaders! 

Lead On!

By Carrie Winans. Hope your past week has been disruptive as usual!  In keeping with the spirit of Valentine’s Day, here’s hoping you love our weekly roundup as much as any piece of chocolate!  This is the week’s best of news from at home and abroad:

National

Worried about pollution in your local city?  Well if you’re a woman, you may need to worry twice as much!  Pollution has been decreasing women’s mental health via Healthcare Today. http://www.healthcare-today.co.uk/news/air-pollution-harms-womens-brains/21080/

Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States.  This is disproportionately true for African-American women.  See what one initiative in Delaware is doing to raise awareness via Delaware Online:  http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20120214/HEALTH/120214057/New-health-initiative-focuses-black-teens-women-Del-?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CHome

The Roman Catholic Womenpriests and the US Bishops seem to be at odds about the issue of contraceptives in the Affordable Care Act.  This Letter to the Editor from Kathy Redig, Roman Catholic Womanpriest at All Are One Roman Catholic Church, shares another perspective: http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/opinion/letters/article_f13d109c-574e-11e1-b15c-001871e3ce6c.html

Feeling discouraged about US health care?  Here are some statistics from Market Watch that demonstrate physicians and specialists technological advancements in the field of medicine within the United States: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-among-leaders-in-healthcare-it-use-and-adoption-accenture-eight-country-study-reports-2012-02-15?reflink=MW_news_stmp

Thought football season was over?  In this Huffington Post opinion piece, women’s health care is described as the new “political football” of the game.  Would you call this a touchdown or a major fumble?  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/k-sujata/komen-planned-parenthood_b_1270505.html

Abroad

Indonesia.  A new clinic in Jakarta opened in hopes of improving maternal and reproductive health services across Indonesia.   This clinic hopes to help with specialized services such as in vitro fertilization via The Jakarta Globe:  http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/womens-health-gets-a-boost-with-new-clinic-in-jakarta/498088

World.  Wondering what the key issues with Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are?  Health Imaging explores 10 key rights and responsibilities for HER users:  http://www.healthimaging.com/index.php?option=com_articles&view=article&id=31914:cmaj-10-rights-responsibilities-for-ehr-users

Health Care News Roundup
By Carrie Winans

Happy Wednesday everyone!   A lot happened in health care this past week while you were busy working (or perhaps because you were!). Here are some of the health headlines that have caught our attention at home and abroad this week:

National Health

Wondering how the Supreme Court will rule on the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance mandate?  The Los Angeles Times gives its opinion.  http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20120207,0,1359954.column

In case you didn’t have enough reasons to support women’s health care, this story from the President of the Spirit of Women Hospital Network will give you a new one for today, per HuffPo.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tanya-abreu/the-biggest-health-risk-o_b_1242259.html

Can you conceive the idea of a compromise on contraception?  The White House may have to with Americans so divided on the issue, CBS News reports.   http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505267_162-57373108/compromise-on-white-house-contraception-rule/

How does the Komen controversy affect African American women?  Eleanor Hinton Hoytt, CEO of Black Women’s Health Imperative, discusses the controversy and future steps.  http://newsone.com/nation/washington-watch/rolandsmartin/eleanor-hinton-hoytt-on-the-komen-controversy-black-women%E2%80%99s-health/

Ever used the expression “eyes up here”?  In the battle to better women’s health, it is unsurprising that the media chooses to focus on breasts rather than the women attached to them, asserts this CNN opinion piece.  http://articles.cnn.com/2012-02-03/opinion/opinion_christakis-breast-women_1_breast-komen-foundation-mammography-referrals?_s=PM:OPINION

Overseas

At least it’s comforting to know we’re not alone – the UK also faces a rocky future when it comes to health reform. As the Telegraph reports, the House of Lords may try to stop Prime Minister Cameron’s health reform bill before it can be put into action.  http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/maryriddell/100135835/david-camerons-health-reforms-are-an-affront-to-democracy/

The call to end female genital mutilation is louder than ever. But not all of the voices you would expect are joining in the chorus; instead, some health care providers are attempting to find ways to make the practice more “medical”, per VOA News.  http://www.voanews.com/english/news/health/Health-Rights-Groups-Demand-Anti-FGM-Laws-138782694.html

Check back each week for the latest health care news!

By Carrie Winans

The Disruptive Women in Health Care blog continually aims to encourage discussion and debate among readers about emerging issues and topics in the health care world. Historically, one of the ways that we have done that is through our weekly round-ups – that is, posts containing summaries and links to some of the big stories in health care news for the given week, with some original commentary and content sprinkled in as well. The way we see it, there is just too much happening in this burgeoning industry; it’s hard to keep up, especially when you’re busy disrupting and making headlines in the health care world yourselves. We know the weekly round-ups have been on hiatus for a while, but are happy to report that they’re finally making a comeback. Each week, we’ll be gathering some of the biggest health care news you can use from at home and abroad for posting on Wednesdays. Feel free to comment on what’s included and send us some links to articles to be considered for next week!

Has your week been too disruptive for you to keep up with the news?  Disruptive Women are on the case!  Here is this week’s round up of some of the most pressing issues here in America and around the world.

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