A Little Sunshine

The dark and mysterious world of mainstream medicine is getting a little more sunshine thanks to a new government website. Now Medicare and Medicaid customer satisfaction and performance information is available at www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov so you can learn about the hospitals in your area and make an informed choice.

The data is the result of a 27-question survey that more than 2,500 hospitals around the country gave to patients between Oct. 2006 and June 2007. Hospitals were required to survey at least 300 patients but many questioned many more.

It's a small step towards consumer education, but a good one!

Big Brother ... Again

In case you thought the FDA couldn't get more out of control than it already is, today they're having a hearing to begin collecting testimony about the role of salt in our health. They're considering a change of classification for salt (yes, really, old fashioned table salt) from GRAS or Generally Recognized As Safe to a food additive subject to limitations by the FDA.

As usual Big Brother (also known as the Food & Drug Administration) feels that Americans aren't smart enough or capable enough of making their own decisions when it comes to food and our health. Big Brother is going to decide what's safe and proper for you to eat. Since we know government is influenced by big-money lobbyists it will be interesting to see what new restrictions and requirements are created to line the pockets of the special interests.

The first tenet of complementary and alternative medicine is for each person to take responsibility for their own health. Clearly the FDA doesn't agree with that concept.