Here you will find topics ranging from current events that affect public health in Arizona to overall information about the Arizona Department of Health Services
AHCCCS will host public meetings across the state to provide additional information regarding the future of Arizona’s Medicaid program. Here's the Public Meeting Schedule and more information.
I've written a few times about fluoridation - about it being an inexpensive public health intervention and the benefits of fluoride when the EPA and HHS changed the how much they recommend to add to the water supply. But it's always an interesting topic to revisit. Recently, the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College [...]
Some AZ health care providers and parents have asked questions about whether medical marijuana is safe for use while breastfeeding. The short answer is no, because the active chemical in marijuana is passed to the baby through breast milk. For this reason, most experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC advise moms not to use marijuana [...]
We carefully planned our processes for randomly selecting medical marijuana registration certificates in competitive districts to make sure the process was fair and transparent. Part of our planning included contracting with Henry & Horne, LLP to independently observe the entire process. The contract included a requirement to develop a final report documenting their observations. The [...]
Many of you have probably seen the signs around town about the Tattoo Expo that is happening this weekend in Phoenix. Tattoos have been growing in popularity over the past decade, but that doesn't mean they’re completely safe. Recently there was a recall of tattoo ink because the ink was contaminated with an unusual (and stubborn) bacteria [...]
Team ITS delivered and deployed 2 more new web modules for the Medical Marijuana application this week: the 1) dispensary agent processing module; and 2) a new version of the Verification System which more efficiently facilitates card verification for law enforcement officers and employers in real time. Thanks much to everyone who assisted in the development of these modules. From ITS, [...]
Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released information about an infection some folks were getting because of the ink used in their tattoos. It reminds me that there are some good practices that folks who want tattoos can ask their artist about - I wrote about it last year in Tattoo You? Regardless [...]
The future health insurance exchange under the Affordable Care Act will need to offer an Essential Benefit Package. In fact, most health insurance plans will need to cover each state’s Essential Benefit Package starting New Year’s Day in 2014. There are 10 key service categories that future plans will need to cover- including behavioral health services. States need [...]
The Affordable Care Act (aka health care reform) will establish health insurance exchanges in each state- providing folks (and small business employees) an opportunity to get health insurance coverage starting 1/1/14. The future exchanges will provide competitive marketplaces for folks to directly compare and buy private health insurance based on price, quality, and other things. The law [...]
Many of our Stakeholders and the folks that we serve have asked about how Arizona and Federal laws affect the kinds of services that the ADHS provides. The answer is (of course) “it depends.” It depends on what kind of benefit or service you’re talking about. Tom Salow, Lynn Golder and others have put together [...]
