Daily Rounds: Obama 'Fit At 50'; Home Pap Smear; Baby Shampoo Backlash; Capra-esque Medicaid Whistleblower

Obama: 'Fit for duty and smoker no more' (Shots-NPR) - "All middle-aged men should be so healthy. A summary of the results from President Obama's latest physical were released yesterday, and he's looking good. Very good. Navy Capt. Jeffrey Kuhlman, the president's doctor, declared him "fit for duty." The big news is that Obama's not smoking anymore. Quitting was a top priority at the time of his last checkup. Kuhlman said he's now "tobacco free." Obama, 50, had been using "nicotine replacement therapy" to help, according to the public report on his last physical released in Feb. 2010." (NPR-Shots)

Consumers lash out at Johnson & Johnson over harmful chemicals in baby shampoo (NY Daily News) - "Two chemicals considered harmful to babies remain in Johnson & Johnson's baby shampoo sold in the U.S. and some other countries, even though the company already makes versions without them, according to an international coalition of health and environmental groups." (NY Daily News)

DIY cervical cancer test could save lives: study (Reuters) - "A do-it-yourself test for cervical cancer could help prevent thousands of cases of the disease in women who don't have easy or regular access to smear tests, scientists said on Wednesday. The DIY test, which detects the human papillomavirus (HPV) responsible for cervical cancer, was widely accepted in a trial involving 20,000 women in Mexico and was more effective than traditional smear tests at picking up early signs of disease." (Reuters)

For whistleblower in Medicaid suit, finding guidance in parents and Capra (The New York Times) - "It has not always been a wonderful life for Dr. Gabriel Ethan Feldman. He has been bankrupt, unemployed and penniless. He has been forced to move back to his mother’s house. At this very moment, he lives in a 275-square-foot rent-stabilized studio apartment in a frumpy building on the Upper West Side. But Dr. Feldman has always had a strong sense of right and wrong, inculcated in him by his father, Irwin, a conservative rabbi; his mother, Bernice, the daughter of a doctor who made $2 house calls; and Frank Capra movies. His determination to do the right thing paid off on Monday, when he was awarded $14.7 million from a $70 million settlement in a Medicaid fraud case against New York City. When his mother heard about the award, she said: “Good. Now I hope you’ll get married,” Dr. Feldman, 50, said Tuesday." (nytimes.com)