Playing Mental Hopscotch, Facebook Organ Donors, and More: The ReportingonHealth Daily Briefing

Here's what we're reading (and watching) today:

Generics: Veteran journalist Merrill Goozner (whose GoozNews blog should be on your regular reading list) reports on a study showing how Medicaid could switch more patients to generics to save money. Many of Medicaid's 45 million recipients are still using brand name drugs long after generics become available. What's happening in your state's Medicaid program?

Epigenetics: We don't read Scientific American much (maybe we should), but thanks to @Hlth_Literacy we stumbled upon this really interesting, if dense, article about epigenetics, the "molecular processes that control a gene's potential to act," can explain how acquired diseases (like cancer) become hereditary illnesses.  

Cultural Biases: HealthDay reports on a new study that finds emergency room patients who ask to be seen by a physician of their same gender, race or religious background are not always treated equally. If you're a woman, a racial minority, or a Muslim, the ER will accommodate you more often. If you're a white guy, not so much!

Facebook Organs: So a man goes on Facebook and finds a kidney donor, according to ABC News. Pretty cool! Even cooler: another woman did the same thing two weeks earlier. Trend story!

Mental Hopscotch: John Grohol of PsychCentral smacks down Allen Frances' concerns over psychiatric "fads" and mental health overdiagnoses in Psychiatric Times. The real problem, Grohol says, is inconsistent diagnosis. Thoughts?