Hypertension is not commonly regarded as a childhood illness. However, a recent report noted that both systolic and diastolic blood pressures are increasing in U.S. children. Although the increases are relatively small, incremental increases of even one to two milliliters of mercury may increase the risk of developing hypertension in the adult years.

Although nursing informatics is a rapidly growing nursing specialty only 3% of the 537 respondents to a recent survey of registered nurses working in informatics reported any home health experience. The survey reported that the roles and titles of nurses working in informatics ranged from applications analyst, to consultant, to project leader or manager. However, those who work in some of the more sophisticated organizations report titles and responsibilities commensurate with a Director of Informatics status.

Although the respondents were typically employed by hospitals, health systems and vender firms they reported that there was no common or clear cut reporting structure leaving some of these clinicians reporting to nursing administration while others reported to departments such as information technology, administration, or quality improvement.

A new Medicare coverage policy removes the barriers to covering antiobesity interventions if scientific and medical evidence demonstrate their effectiveness in improving Medicare beneficiaries' health outcomes. The new policy removes language in the Medicare Coverage Issues Manual stating that obesity is not an illness. This step allows members of the public to request that Medicare review medical evidence to determine whether specific treatments related to obesity would be covered by Medicare.

Under the new policy, Medicare beneficiaries would be able to obtain coverage for treatments, such as gastric bypass surgery, if "scientific and medical evidence demonstrate their effectiveness in improving Medicare beneficiaries' health," the department announced in a recent statement.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services is implementing a demonstration project to "study the efficacy and cost of providing home health services to beneficiaries with chronic conditions" who would otherwise not meet the traditional homebound definition. To qualify, the beneficiary must be severely disabled and need daily assistance with at least three activities of daily living (ADLS) and require skilled nursing.

The demonstration project was mandated by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 and will be in effect for 2 years. Although the project is limited to three states (Colorado, Massachusetts, and Missouri) it is expected to enroll up to 15,000 Medicare beneficiaries.