Health and safety news from the blogosphere

August 26th, 2009 by Julie Ferguson

Money-Driven Medicine – Maggie Mahar, one of the regular Health Wonk bloggers who we admire, is author of the book Money driven medicine: the real reason health care costs so much. Her book has been made into a documentary by Alex Gibney, the producer noted for his documentary expo Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. This Friday night, Bill Moyers Journal will preview excerpts of Money Driven Medicine, which Moyers cites as one of the strongest documentaries he has seen in years. It bears checking out. For more about the documentary, including a trailer, see moneydrivenmedicine.org. You can also follow Maggie’s blog posts at Health Beat.
Meanwhile, in Business Insurance, Joanne Wojcik writes that two surveys project that healthcare benefit costs will increase by more than 10% in 2010. Aon Consulting projects an average 10.5% increase, while Segal Co. sees cost increases ranging between 10.2% and 10.8% for managed care plans.
Nanoparticles – the NIOSH Science Blog highlights recent research related to occupational disease and nanoparticles. Nanotechnology is the discipline of technology that works at a molecular level with particles that are less than 100 nanometers in size. Earlier this year, the CDC released Approaches to Safe Nanotechnology (PDF), which offers recommendations for specific precautions to protect workers who are exposed to any level of nanoparticles. Learn more about research and risk management at the NIOSH Nanotechnology site.
Fatal SunshineTime recently featured an article on the plight of California farm workers, who frequently do not have adequate protection from heat stroke and basic precautions to prevent heat-related illness. While California state law mandates heat stress standards, many employers do not adhere to those standards. The ACLU and the law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson are suing California’s occupational health and safety agency on behalf of the United Farm Workers, workers who became sick, and relatives of workers who died from heatstroke.
Employer Pandemic Planning – While there are dueling projections for the potential impact of the H1N1 flu this fall and winter, it pays to be prepared. Safety Daily Advisor offers an abbreviated workplace pandemic planning checklist based on CDC recommendations. For more detailed planning information for work and home, see Flu.gov.
More on work suicides – We noted last week that a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed that workplace suicides increased by 28% in 2008. At Comp Time, Roberto Ceniceros looks at the issue of workplace suicide in light of a recent Indiana appeals court ruling in which a widow was denied benefits related to her husband’s suicide.
Taking the job home – Jon Gelman blogs about a recent CDC study showing that workers who are exposed to lead can transport it home. The CDC suggests certain precentive measures to minimize risk to other family members.
Fitness for Duty – Fred Hosier of SafetyNewsAlert posts about how to deal with employees who are consistently unsafe through a comprehensive fitness for duty program.
OSHA – Is OSHA back in the business of enforcement? The Safety Duck thinks that issuance of 142 citations and $576,000 in penalties against Sims Bark Co. and Sims Stone Co. signifies that it is.

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