| Comsn dangled carrots for care managers
Troubled nursing care operator Comsn Inc. introduced an incentive scheme for qualified care managers who succeeded in increasing the number of users of company facilities, sources said Wednesday. The Nursing Care Insurance Law prohibits operators of nursing care services from instructing care managers to draw up nursing care plans that recommend use of specific facilities. The law also prohibits care managers from receiving money and goods as a reward for devising such plans. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry believes Comsn may have violated the regulation, the sources said. As fraudulent acts, such as acquiring operating licenses for care facilities with falsified applications, of the Minato Ward, Tokyo-based company--part of Goodwill Group, Inc.--have come to light, Goodwill Chairman Masahiro Origuchi and other executives have insisted that systematic irregularities had not taken place and pinned the blame on staff members who, they claim, did not realize their actions were illegal.
Health Highlights: June 14, 2007
Reported cases of Lyme disease in the United States have more than doubled since 1991 and 93 percent of those cases have been reported in just 10 states, says this week's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 1991, there were fewer than 10,000 reported cases of Lyme disease, which is transmitted primarily by ticks. By contrast during 2003-2005, there were 64,382 cases of Lyme disease reported in 46 states and the District of Columbia. States with the most cases were: Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. During 2003-2005, two age groups had the most cases of Lyme disease -- children ages 5-14 (10 cases per 100,000), and adults ages 55-64 (9.9 cases per 100,000).
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