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Age Beat The Newsletter of the Journalists Exchange on Aging |
AgeBeat OnlineMay 24, 2004AGE BEAT ONLINE ABO is the newsletter of the Journalists Exchange on Aging (JEoA) May 24, 2004 – Vol. 4, No. 19 NOTE: Let ABO editor Paul Kleyman know if you have technical problems receiving issues of ABO or if you’d like to be removed from the list. Phone: (415) 974- 9619; e-mail: paul@asaging.org. Thanks go to Marilynn Larkin, Evelyn Strauss and Mary Johnson for their help on this issue. The most recent four issues of ABO are posted online at www.asaging.org/agebeat. IN THIS ISSUE: NEWS UNCENSORED BY DISNEY, INC. 1. TV BEAT: Seeking Karen Ryan at the GAO; One Generation Short of the Concept at the Networks 2. “SAGE WATCH” On HIPAA’s Effect on Medical Research and One Spunky Biogerontology Researcher 3. “LARKIN’S LINKS” On Undertreating Elders 4. A CLONE AND A QUOTE TV BEAT: SEEKING KAREN RYAN AT THE GAO: Two congressional investigations have now judged the Bush administration’s actions to be illegal. No, we’re not referring to post-9-11 activity or Iraq, but rather the measures involving the new Medicare Modernization Act. Last Wednesday (May 19) the General Accounting Office (GAO), an investigative arm of Congress, issued a report saying that the Bush administration had violated federal law by producing and disseminating television news segments depicting the new statute as highly beneficial to older Americans. According to an e-memo from the Association of Healthcare Journalists (AHCJ), “the agency said the videos were a form of ‘covert propaganda’ because the government was not identified as the source of the materials, broadcast by at least 40 television stations in 33 markets. The agency also expressed some concern about the content of the videos, but based its ruling on the lack of disclosure.” The video releases showed a woman at a news anchor desk who identified herself as “KAREN RYAN, reporting.” She is actually a PR consultant, according to news reports. A Spanish-language version had one ALBERTO GARCIA playing the same role. ROBERT PEAR’S piece, which ran on page A23 of the New York Times National edition on May 20, is available at: www.nytimes.com/2004/05/20/politics/20medicare.html? ex=108023369&ei=1&en=bfdfd150fb4826ce. AMY GOLDSTEIN’S May 19 Washington Post piece on the GAO reports is at www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41077- 2004May19.html?referrer=email. AHCJ lodged a protest over the questionable ethics of the videos, and the group was jointed by 20 other journalism groups. To read their statement about the situation, go to: www.ahcj.umn.edu/files/AHCJ%20statement_HHS_VNRs_FINAL.pdf. The GAO report comes only weeks after the Congressional Research Service determined that the former head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services, THOMAS SCULLY, had acted illegally when he threatened to fire the chief actuary of Medicare, Richard Foster, if he informed Congress that he’d calculated the cost of the new law to be $139 billion, or 35% greater than the previous estimates. ONE GENERATION SHORT OF THE CONCEPT: The six television networks have discovered “multigenerational” programming--kind of—according to STUART ELLIOTT in today’s (May 24) New York Times. Elliot’s advertising column, headlined “Fall TV Season's Offerings Are Escapist Brain Candy,” reports, “Another element of the trend toward escapism is the addition of series that younger and older viewers can watch together. ‘It helps you get both ends of the 18-to-49-year-old spectrum,’ [Shari Ann Brill, vice president and director of programming at Carat USA in New York] said, referring to the age group advertisers most desire.” Elliott notes that scripts for seriessuch as CBS’s "Joan of Arcadia," Fox’s "The O.C.," and WBs "Everwood" will “interweave plot lines involving characters of different ages, typically children and their parents.” Elliott quotes Steve Sternberg, executive vice president and director of audience analysis at Magna Global USA in New York, part of Interpublic: "Even though the average household has three TV sets, in an average minute of prime time, 80% of households have only one set on. That means there's multigenerational viewing going on." Presumably, Grandpa is online spending some of his considerable disposable income on neat educational computer games for his grandkids, rather than watching these programs that aren’t aimed at his demographic. 2. “SAGE WATCH” On HIPAA’s Effect on Medical Research and One Spunky Biogerontology Researcher. SAGE CROSSROADS EXPLORES THE IMPACT OF HIPAA ON MEDICAL RESEARCH "THE PRICE OF PRIVACY?" -- One year after the first comprehensive federal medical records privacy law took effect, researchers say that the regulations impede access to patients' files. Without this information, they argue, the nation's health care system--and its patients--will suffer. Check out this week's SAGE Crossroads story at: www.sagecrossroads.net/public/news/. SAGE Crossroads includes in-depth articles and webcast debates on major developments in the science of aging and their policy implications. To see the entire archive of news stories and webcasts: www.sagecrossroads.net/public/news/archive.cfm. SAGE KE PROFILES DISTINGUISHED AND PERSONABLE BIOGERONTOLOGY INVESTIGATOR OLIVIA PEREIRA-SMITH Posting Wednesday, 23 May at http://sageke.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2004/21/nf53 is: "A LIFE OF FUSION" -- Olivia Pereira-Smith came from India, added “American” science to her already impressive armamentarium, and forged a long-term research partnership here studying cell aging. Full text is free with registration. SAGE KE (Knowledge Environment) is Science Magazine's website on aging, providing information and analysis of cutting-edge aging-related research: http://sageke.sciencemag.org. The site requires a subscription for full-text access, but ABO members can sign up for free sample articles, abstracts, and weekly news alerts about commentary articles on new findings in the field. 3. “LARKIN’S LINKS” By MARILYNN LARKIN UNDERTREATING ELDERS The high cost of prescription drugs continues to take a toll on elder health, according recent studies. In the May 19 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers from the RAND Institute report that individuals being treated for chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma and gastric disorders cut back on their medicines by as much as 23% when out-of- pocket payments for the drugs doubled. The investigators also found some evidence that health suffers as a result of these cutbacks. For example, as use of prescription drugs dropped, visits to hospital emergency rooms increased 17% and hospitals stays rose by 10% among patients with these disorders (www.rand.org/news/press.04/05.18.html). The study abstract is available at http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/291/19/2344. Note that the AMA now gives reporters full-text access to all articles, including those under embargo (call media relations at 312-464-4430 for details). An earlier RAND study found that “vulnerable” elders--older patients at risk of decline and death--do not receive recommended medication to treat their chronic health problems about half of the time. The patients in the study also frequently were not monitored closely enough by their physicians to ensure that the drugs were working, and did not always receive adequate education about their medications. A press release on the study, which appeared in the May 4 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, is posted, with a link to the abstract, at www.rand.org/news/press.04/05.03.html. In a separate study and advisory released on May 19, the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) advised its members that patients should not routinely split medications. “What looks like a no-brainer cost-saving approach isn’t right for every product nor for every patient,” warns APhA. For example, some tablets have coatings that make splitting difficult, and controlled- release tablets may be “impossible” to split. Moreover, “many elderly patients may lack the skill or dexterity to split a tablet properly” (www.aphanet.org/news/04_046.pdf). The May-June issue of the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association features a decision-tool on tablet splitting to help pharmacists. Journalists may obtain a copy by contacting APhA PR director Michael Stewart at 202-429-7558 or mstewart@aphanet.org. Marilynn Larkin regularly contributes "Larkin's Links" to Age Beat Online. Readers can reach her at MLAgebeat@aol.com 4. A CLONE AND A QUOTE HOT NEWS FLASH--HOT NEWS FLASH: A headline featured on “The Lower Case” page of the May-June issue of the Columbia Journalism Review (from which Jay Leno lifted his “Headlines” feature) reads: Man Who Cloned Cat Has New Cause: Menopausal Women --Wall Street Journal, March 22, 2004 NOTABLE QUOTE “Age is power. Or it can be if it isn’t distracted by shopping and cooking and trying to look nineteen.” --“Kate,” the protagonist in Alice Walker’s new novel “Now Is The Time to Open Your Heart” (New York City: Random House) ------------------------- The Journalists Exchange on Aging (JEoA) publishes AGE BEAT ONLINE with the assistance of the American Society on Aging (ASA). JEoA provides information and networking opportunities for journalists covering issues in aging but not those representing services, products or organizational agendas. ASA is a nonpartisan, nonlobbying organization of professionals in aging that is based in San Francisco. Its mandate is to serve as a forum for all points of view. |
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