What's in the news: Jan. 6 -- MDs demand more pay for filling out paperwork

The Canadian Medical Association is attempting to negotiate better payments for doctors to fill out third-party forms, in particular the much-maligned, lengthy Canada Pension Plan medical claims documentation, the completion of which only pays doctors $65. [CMA News]

Edmonton emergency physician Louis Francescutti would like to see Alberta implement a soft-drink tax as New York Governor David Paterson has proposed there. "We allow [patients] to be unhealthy and then when they get sick we pay for their health care," he said. "There is absolutely no incentive for anyone to go and be healthy because if you need a heart transplant, they'll give it to you for free. You can become an alcoholic and we'll fix you up." But he's not optimistic about the idea. "Would Albertans go for something like this? I don't think so. Would our politicians go for something like this? I definitely don't think so." [Edmonton Sun]

Health reporter Charlie Fidelman lists some of the things patients should not bring to the emergency room with them: dirty diapers, live scorpions, bloody tissues and sex toys (assuming they're not stuck somewhere). [Montreal Gazette]

Diabetic patients performed significantly worse than non-diabetics on a series of brain-function tests, a new University of Alberta study found. [Neuropsychology (PDF)] [Edmonton Journal]

Merck has, as promised, finally submitted its request to the US Food and Drug Administration to approve its human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil for use in boys. [Wall Street Journal Health Blog] Recently, we analyzed some of the recent research on the vaccine in boys. [Canadian Medicine]

The oldest person in the world, Maria de Jesus, of Portugal, died at the age of 115. Born in 1893, Ms de Jesus didn't attend school, was illiterate, had six children, and never "fell ill, nor took any medication," her daughter said. [Agence France-Presse]

Schering Plough researchers have created a new, artificial binding molecule to treat blood poisoning and overdoses and eliminate anesthetic medications from the bloodstream. [Telegraph (UK)]

US President-elect Barack Obama offered the job of Surgeon General to neurosurgeon and CNN reporter Sanjay Gupta. No word yet on whether Dr Gupta plans to accept. [Washington Post] The Post's Ben Pershing teased, "He narrowly beat out Dr. Phil for the post. (The joke was just sitting there, waiting for someone to make it.)" [Washington Post] In an interview last year with the Canadian news magazine the National Review of Medicine Dr Gupta said he hoped some form of universal healthcare would be implemented. "There are a lot of pluses to Canada's healthcare system. The biggest plus -- besides the fact that people have healthcare insurance -- is that there's a certain amount of psychological well-being, feeling safe just from knowing that you're going to be taken care of if something bad happens to you. Unfortunately, in the US people don't have that." Asked if he would consider entering politics, he said, "I don't know if I'd ever want to run for electoral office, but I can see myself one day in a position where I can do something with health policy. I've always been interested in health policy. I think the way we take care of other people is a reflection of our society." [National Review of Medicine]

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