National Vital Statistics Reports: Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2010
^{by Sherry L. Murphy, B.S.; Jiaquan Xu, M.D.; and Kenneth D. Kochanek, M.A}

This report presents preliminary mortality data for the United States based on vital records for a substantial proportion of deaths occurring in 2010. Statistics in preliminary reports are generally considered reliable; past analyses reveal that most statistics shown in preliminary reports for 1995–2009 were confirmed by the final statistics for each of those years. Death rates for 2010 are based on population estimates consistent with the April 1, 2010, census. For comparison, this report also presents revised final death rates for 2009, based on populations consistent with the 2010 census. Because the rates for 2009 are based on revised populations, they may differ from rates previously published.

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Health and Access to Care Among Employed and Unemployed Adults: United States, 2009–2010
^{Anne K. Driscoll, Dr.P.H., and Amy B. Bernstein, Sc.D.}

The 2007–2009 recession was the longest and deepest since the Great Depression; the economy is still recovering. U.S. unemployment rates were 9.3% in 2009 and 9.6% in 2010, levels not seen since 1983. Health insurance is a major determinant of access to both preventive and acute health care. Most Americans rely on employer-provided insurance. Thus, unemployment affects their access to health services, due to both loss of employer-sponsored health insurance and reduced income. This report uses data from the 2009 and 2010 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to compare the health insurance status, health, and access to health care of employed and unemployed adults aged 18–64 years. It compares health status and access to care between the employed and unemployed by insurance status to show associations between these factors and employment net of insurance status, a major determinant of health care access.

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AtlasVa.com - The Virginia Atlas of Community Health

The Virginia Atlas of Community Health provides dozens of community health indicators for Virginia cities and counties. This free resource is produced by Community Health Solutions with financial support from the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association.

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Table: Hospital Patient Satisfaction Ratings By Region

Hospital patients in different parts of the country give different ratings to their hospital experiences. The table below shows the percent of patients in each regional hospital market that gave their experience the highest rating in each of 10 different categories of hospital experience. The ratings for 295 hospital markets were calculated by Kaiser Health News. You can look up the ratings of individual hospitals on Medicare’s Hospital Compare website. Hospitals are grouped by Hospital Referral Region.

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MEP Calculator Updated!

SMA's online MEP Calculator has been updated with FFY Q1 2012 data!

PCA users, please use your PCA credentials to access the tool.

_{The SMA MEP Calculator requires a subscription, please contact SMA Informatics for access or further information (select "Register for an Account," "Register for SMA|DS Account," then make sure you enter MEP Access in the "Questions/Comments?" box.}

Dollars for Docs
How Industry Dollars Reach Your Doctors
^{by Dan Nguyen}

Drug companies have long kept secret details of the payments they make to doctors and other health professionals for promoting their drugs. But 12 companies have begun publicizing the information, some because of legal settlements. ProPublica pulled their disclosures into a database so patients can search for their doctor. Accepting payments isn’t necessarily wrong, but it can raise ethical issues.

US road accident casualties: every one mapped across America
^{by Simon Rogers}

369,629 people died on America's roads between 2001 and 2009. Following its analysis of UK casualties last week, transport data mapping experts ITO World have taken the official data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration - and produced this powerful map using OpenStreetMap. You can zoom around the map using the controls on the left or search for your town using the box on the right - and the key is on the top left. Each dot represents a life