People in New York whose first language is not English will have an easier time understanding the instructions with their prescriptions medications.

Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that Wal-Mart and Target, Duane Reade,  Costco , A & P, Pathmark, Super Fresh, and Food Emporium among others have agreed that they will  offer all pharmacy customers prescription information in their own language and provide written translations in Spanish, Chinese, Italian, Russian, and French.

The agreements are the result of an undercover investigation into the policies and procedures of pharmacies, conducted by the Attorney General’s Office, which found that pharmacies routinely fail to advise non-English speaking customers in a language that allows them to understand the purpose, dosage, and side-effects of their medications.

Cuomo announced the first of these agreements, with CVS and Rite-Aid, in November.

Three physicians from Westchester County will discuss new ways to prevent or manage diabetes, heart problems, cancer and other conditions at the annual spring health forum on May 20 at the Lake Isle Country Club, 660 White Plains Road, Eastchester.

The theme of this year’s program is “Take Charge of Your Health:  Focus on Prevention and Cost Savings.”

The forum, which will take place from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., is free and is presented each year by the Health and Wellness Coalition of the county’s Department of Senior Programs and Services (DSPS).

Attendees will also learn about preventive services they are eligible to receive through Medicare to save health-care dollars.

The speakers will  Dr. David Blum, chief of the division of endocrinology of the Diabetes Center at the Sound Shore Medical Center in New Rochelle; Dr. Michael M. Silver, a cardiologist and internist with the Westchester Medical Group and Dr. Julie Toback from the Scarsdale Medical Group, an internist who specializes in gastroenterology and hepatology.

Registration is required by May 12. To RSVP, contact Kathy Santoro at (914) 813-6416 or send her an email at kjs1@westchestergov.com. A continental breakfast will be served.

New York ranks 19th on a state-by-state list of medical boards taking serious disciplinary action against physicians, according to a new report by “Public Citizen”:http://www.citizen.org/publications/release.cfm?ID=7652,  a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization.

The study shows that New york took action against 293 of its nearly 90,000 doctors, a rate of 3.41 per 1,000 physicians — slightly higher than the national average of 3.28 per 1,000.  New Jersey ranked 41st and Connecticut was near the bottom, coming in at 43rd.

The group concludes that “there is considerable evidence that most boards are under-disciplining physicians. For example, in a report on doctors disciplined for criminal activity that we published recently, 67 percent of insurance fraud convictions and 36 percent of convictions related to controlled substances were associated with only non-severe discipline by the board.”

To check on the background of a physician in New York, go to the “Office of Professional Medical Conduct and Physician Discipline”:http://www.health.state.ny.us/professionals/doctors/conduct/.

Two neighhborhood health centers in Yonkers are under new management. Hudson River HealthCare, a Peekskill-based organization that operates health clinics throughout the region, has taken over two clinics previously run by St. John’s Riverside Hospital in Yonkers.

Valentine Lane, which has locations at 503 South Broadway and 2 Park Ave., provides low-cost primary and specialty care for people with no insurance and those who are under insured.

The centers will continue to operate without interruption under the direction of Hudson River HealthCare.

New York Medical College students tomorrow are offering free health screenings at Sam’s Club, 333 Saw Mill River Road in Elmsford.

The students will be on hand from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to take blood pressure, calculate body mass index and advise shoppers about heart-disease risks, healthy eating and activities.

Physicians from the Westchester Medical Center will be there supervising the event.

“We want to be more involved in the community and that’s really why we are doing it. Hopefully it will be the first of many events in the future,” said Sally Huber, 25, a second year medical student and event organizer.

In addition to presentations on heart disease and diabetes care, the students will be working with the county Health Department to help enroll qualifying people for health insurance programs.

An estimated 130,000 people in Westchester County are not covered by any form of health insurance, according to the county Health Department.

As the unemployment rate rises, due to the recession, more people are expected to lose their employer-sponsored health insurance coverage and less likely to seek health-care.

“With the economy the way it is, it’s even more important than ever for people to monitor their own health,” Huber said.

The students also run a free health clinic in Harlem called La Casita de la Salud.

Community outreach helps the students apply what they’ve learned in medical school thus far, Huber said.

“It gives us good practice to talk with patients,” she said.

Move over bars and restaurants, hospital and medical campuses are going smoke-free too. (Better late than never, I suppose).

One of Westchester’s largest medical groups announced today that it will be completely tobacco free by July 4th and offer cessation classes for anyone who wants to quit.

“As a leading health-care provider in the region, we continually see the worst effects of smoking—respiratory and cardiac illnesses, strokes, heart attacks, and death,” said Dr. Barney Newman, WMG medical director. “By eliminating smoking on our campus, we are setting a strong example of good health.”

The group’s seven-week smoke cessation program will begin on May 19th. The cost is $140, which includes a CD and materials.  To register, call (914)  681-3101.

Smoking-related illnesses claim the lives of 25,500 adult New Yorkers every year. Smoking is responsible for causing about 90 percent of lung cancer deaths and about 80-90 percent of emphysema and chronic bronchitis deaths, according to the American Lung Association.

New York spends about $8.17 billion in smoking-related heath-care costs, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

Other health facilities including Northern Westchester and White Plains Hospital have also eliminated smoking.

Helen Hayes Hospital in West Haverstraw has scheduled news sessions of  its GolfAbility program, an adaptive golf instruction program to teach the basics of golf to individuals with disabilities.

GolfAbility workshops and outings have been schedule to run from May through September. The workshops will take place at the GolfAbility center, which is located on the campus of the physical rehabilitation hospital. The center consists of a 1,300 square foot synthetic putting green with six cups and three accessible netted tee areas. Participants will learn how to use appropriate adaptive golf equipment, including single-rider carts. The two outings will take place at a local golf course.

Joyce Fried, LPGA golf pro, conducts lessons and outing are conducted by recreational therapists. Sessions will start with a group lesson, with participants then breaking into small groups to practice concepts learned during the lesson, as well as building on skills learned in previous sessions. The cost of each workshop is $15 per golfer. The GolfAbility programs will take place from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. and each workshop will be limited to 16 participants. GolfAbility outings will take place at the Rockland Lake Executive Course with a tee time of 3:00 pm.

Pre-registration for workshops is required. The $15 registration fee should be made payable to the Helen Hayes Hospital Foundation. Participants may register for as many workshops as they wish, but priority will be given to new participants. Checks received after a class has been filled will be returned. Registered participants will be called one week prior to each workshop to confirm acceptance status. For additional information or a registration form, contact Matthew Castelluciccio at 845-786-4950, or castellucciom@helenhayeshosp.org.

Ever wonder how much your operation, test or treatment is going to cost? The problem is that until you get the bill, you probably have no idea. But now a new service similar to a blue book for car prices is making that information available.

The “Healthcare Blue Book: Your Free Guide to Healthcare Pricing”:http://www.healthcarebluebook.com/page_Default.aspx allows users to look up an estimated “fair market” price of common hospital and physician services in a region.

Rresearch found that the prices charged for the same test or treatment, even in the same market and within the same health plan, can vary by thousands of dollars. The group found big price differences even in the same city.

They found, for example, that in In Washington, D.C., prices for an MRI of the right knee without contrast among five imaging centers ranged from $400-$1,504 for the same test. The Healthcare Blue Book price is $912.

The site includes a “detailed pricing agreement” that patients can bring to their doctors outlining the fair market value of each treatment. Patients and doctors can then sign a binding price estimate of the cost.

The site is easy to use. I looked up one procedure:  Lithotripsy  or sound shock waves used to break up kidney stones. According to the Healthcare Blue Book, the fair market price in this area is $1,984 for physician services; $1,852 for a facility fee for an outpatient; and $942 for anesthesia.

The prices quoted are for patients who pay in cash at the time of service. But with today’s complicated mix of insurance reimbursement and negotiated prices, who actually does that?

A new grant will be used to Improve services for service members and veterans with brain injuries. The state Department of Health was awarded a four-year, $1 million grant by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

Twenty percent of U.S. combat troops leaving Iraq and Afghanistan reported experiencing a traumatic brain injury during deployment, according to the United States Department of Defense. Blasts are the leading cause of TBI for active duty military personnel, accounting for 69 percent of cases.

For more information about traumatic brain injury contact the  “Brain Injury Association of New York State”:http://www.bianys.org/.

A Texas plant owned by the same company  that made peanut products that sickened 700 people nationwide and killed at least nine people was fined a record $14.6 million by the Texas Department of Health.

The now-closed Plainview Peanut Corp. LLC is owned by the Virginia-based Peant Corp., which has already filed for bankruptcy. The company’s Georgia plant was the source of the salmonella contamination that made hundreds of people sick nationwide, investigators believe.

At the Texas plant, inspectors found that a ventilation system was pulling debris from an infested crawl space into production areas. The plant was ordered by the state to stop producing and distributing food products, according to the Associated Press.

The “Food and Drug Administration”:http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/peanutbutterrecall/index.cfm has a database of more than 2,600 foods that might contain peanut butter or peanut paste linked to the outbreak that were manufactured by Peanut Corp.