Daily Rounds: Bias Against Women In Science; Electronic Health Fraud; Romney's ER Stance; Power Vegans

Bias Persists For Women Of Science, A Study Finds (The New York Times) — "Science professors at American universities widely regard female undergraduates as less competent than male students with the same accomplishments and skills, a new study by researchers at Yale concluded. As a result, the report found, the professors were less likely to offer the women mentoring or a job. And even if they were willing to offer a job, the salary was lower. The bias was pervasive, the scientists said, and probably reflected subconscious cultural influences rather than overt or deliberate discrimination."

HHS, Justice Department Warn Hospitals On EHR-payment Fraud (Modern HealthCare) — "The Obama adminstration on Monday issued a stern letter to the nation's hospitals that warned that HHS and the Justice Department will crack down on providers that misuse electronic medical records to bill for unprovided services."

Mitt: Uninsured Should Go To ER (The Daily Beast) — "Pelley asked Romney whether the government is responsible for providing the uninsured with health care and Romney pointed out that actually “we do provide care for people who don't have insurance.” It’s called the emergency room. When Pelley pointed out to the former Massachusetts governor—who, in fact, revamped his state’s own health-care law to help people avoid the ER—that emergency medicine is the most expensive way to be treated, Romney simply said, “Some provide that care through clinics; some provide that care through emergency rooms.” He insisted he wouldn’t push a Massachusetts-like universal health-care law on the whole country."

Vegan Food Is Mainstream In California (The New York Times) — "Craig’s, hatched last year by Craig Susser, an alumnus of Dan Tana’s, the age-defying hangout on Santa Monica Boulevard, is not a vegan restaurant. It represents a new culinary wave that can be felt all over Southern California, that reliable ripple-generator of so many national trends: the omnivore’s restaurant that courts vegans and vegetarians (particularly the glamorous and powerful ones who are a crucial engine of the dining economy here) by preparing meatless dishes that surpass the droopy steamed-vegetable platters of yore. “You picture vegan restaurants with a lot of people with sandals and dreadlocks, drinking carrot juice,” said Ellen DeGeneres, who stopped by with her spouse, the actress Portia de Rossi, to chat with Ms. Freston. Here at Craig’s, the mood was more high heels and blond locks. In fact, from power tables in Beverly Hills to pubs in the San Fernando Valley, the surging popularity of plant-based diets is drastically changing the dining landscape."