Top Story

• Americans increasingly price-shop for health care
  Sixteen percent of people who recently received health care checked prices first, compared with 11% in 2010, an NPR-Thomson Reuters poll of 3,000 people found. About 80% of households polled included someone who had received health care over the past year. "In every age group, regardless of income, more than half of the respondents said that [price] influenced their choice of provider," said Ray Fabius, chief medical officer with Thomson Reuters. National Public Radio/Shots blog (5/31)

Guide to Healthy Living

• Study finds vegetarian diet offers health advantages
  People who followed a vegetarian diet showed sufficient levels of protein, iron and zinc and had a reduced risk of developing heart disease, colorectal cancer, type 2 diabetes and obesity, researchers reported in the Medical Journal of Australia. FoxNews.com/NewsCore (6/4)

• Intestinal transplants show promise
  Intestinal transplants have allowed nearly 1,000 patients to discontinue IV feeding and begin eating a normal diet, according to data from the Intestinal Transplant Association. The field is still young and the complication rate high, but the procedure shows promise for people who have had a section of small intestine removed or otherwise cannot digest food due to tumors, obstructions or disease, doctors say. Empowher.com (6/4)

• Experts discuss what to look for in a physician
  Patients should be wary of physicians who are sleep-deprived or too quick to write a prescription, according to medical experts. However, patients should not shy away from new doctors, who may be up on the latest in medicine even though they lack the experience of more established practitioners. MSNBC/Today Health (6/3)

• Patients advised to talk to doctor before colonoscopy: Gastroenterologists performing colonoscopy should have a polyp detection rate that matches the incidence in the general population, or about 25% in men and 20% in women, says Dr. Durado Brooks of the American Cancer Society. The optimal scope withdrawal is 10 minutes for the best chance of polyp detection, Brooks says, but it should be at least six minutes. National Public Radio/Shots blog/Kaiser Health News (6/5)

• Study: Patients have reservations about questioning docs
  Some patients do not ask questions about their care because they worry about upsetting their doctors, according to a study published in Health Affairs. "Many physicians say they are already doing shared decision-making, but patients still aren't perceiving the relationship as a partnership," said lead author Dominick Frosch. "We urgently need support of shared decision-making that is more than just rhetoric. It may take a little longer to talk through decisions and disagreements, but if we empower patients to make informed choices, we will all do much better in the long run." The New York Times (tiered subscription model)/Well blog (5/31)

Diagnosis & Treatment

• Study: Gluten is culprit in many nonresponsive celiac cases
  A U.K. study of 100 patients with nonresponsive celiac disease found 45% had not entirely eliminated gluten from their diets. More than half of those were consuming gluten accidentally, and 47% were not consistently following a gluten-free diet. Twelve percent had microscopic colitis, 9% had bacterial overgrowth in the small bowel and 9% had refractory celiac disease. Celiac.com (6/4)

• Study explores link between esophageal cancer, oral bone drugs
  A review of the FDA's adverse event database uncovered a link between oral bisphosphonates and elevated risk of esophageal cancer. Alendronate (Fosamax) accounted for 75% of the bisphosphonate-associated cases. Patients with Barrett's esophagus or persistent mucosal abnormalities should discuss any use of oral bisphosphonates with their physician. MedPage Today (free registration) (5/30)

• Childhood cancer linked to elevated risk of GI cancer later
  Adults who had cancer as children face almost five times the risk of developing secondary gastrointestinal cancer as those who did not and 11 times the risk if treatment involved abdominal radiation, according to a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Patients who survived childhood cancer should be screened for GI cancer at a younger age than the general population, the researchers said. MedPage Today (free registration) (6/4), MyHealthNewsDaily.com (6/4)

Policy Watch

• Study: FDA drug recall system needs work
  The FDA recalls about one drug each month, but the agency failed to alert doctors and the public to 20% of Class I drug recalls over an eight-year period, a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found. Drugs recalled under Class I are potentially life-threatening. Reuters (6/4), ABC News/Medical Unit blog (6/4)

• FDA denies request to call high-fructose corn syrup "corn sugar"
  The FDA has denied a corn industry request to change the name of high-fructose corn syrup to "corn sugar." A sugar industry spokesman said the ruling reaffirms that HFCS is not sugar, but the Corn Refiners Association said the FDA did not decide whether it is nutritionally the same as other sugars. Yahoo!/Agence France-Presse (5/30)

• ACA repeal could wreak havoc on Medicare
  The Affordable Care Act significantly changed Medicare, and a Supreme Court ruling striking down the law could create "a high level of chaos and confusion," says Avalere Health Senior Vice President Bonnie Washington. Systems already in effect for payment rates, health care delivery and benefits would be invalidated. Reuters (6/5)

The Last Word

News and information from the American College of Gastroenterology

• How to handle belching, bloating and flatulence
  Ever wonder why you experience belching, bloating and flatulence from time to time? Although intestinal gas is unavoidable, you may be able to alleviate the symptoms by following some helpful tips.

SmartQuote

I will go anywhere, provided it be forward." --David Livingstone, Scottish medical missionary and explorer