The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has released a new pamphlet to help Spanish-speaking patients know what to expect and watch out for while using the blood thinner Coumadin®/warfarin.
Electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) systems that allow doctors to select lower cost or generic medications can save $845,000 per 100,000 patients per year and possibly more system-wide.
More than ninety-four percent of U.S. hospitals have centralized systems for collecting reports of adverse events, but only 21 percent fully distribute and consider adverse event summary reports.
Clinicians using an electronic prescribing system appear more likely to prescribe lower-cost medications, reducing drug spending, according to a report in the December 8/22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
December 5 Mammography Clinic in Clinchco, Va., will be the latest step in the University of Virginia Health System's initiative to create sustainable health care solutions in far southwest Virginia. The UVA Health System, The Health Wagon and the Virginia Department of Health's Every Woman's Life program are teaming up to offer free mammograms and access to state-supported follow-up care for uninsured and underinsured women in the Coalfields region.
To heal our ailing healthcare system, we need to stop thinking like Americans. That's the consensus of two articles published this week in the American Academy of Neurology journal Neurology by Dr. Marc Nuwer, a UCLA seizures expert and leading expert on national healthcare reform.
Neurosurgeons, worried about resident fatigue, embraced the current ACGME rules that were implemented in 2003, substantially modifying the way residents are trained. However, reacting to the IOM Resident Work Hour Report, organized neurosurgery raised concerns that further restrictions in duty hours have the potential to significantly harm patients and increase healthcare costs.
The costs that health care providers are charged and reimbursed for childhood vaccines vary widely, and the high cost of some immunizations is leading to significant financial strain for some physicians, according to a pair of new studies from the University of Michigan Health System.
Although national health guidelines call for physicians to discuss topics such as substance use, safety and nutrition with adolescents, new research suggests that these talks do not occur as often as they should.
A new study provides limited evidence that physicians could make fewer mistakes on the job by abandoning paper-based medicine in favor of electronic health records. The study appears in the latest issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
AHRQ has released two new Spanish-language checklists to help Spanish-speaking men and women over the age of 50 keep track of when they should have potentially life-saving screening exams done.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released the first-ever inventory of quality measures that are used for reporting, payment, or quality improvement by its agencies and operating divisions.
Hospital admissions for lung cancer remained relatively stable "“ at roughly 150,000 a year between 1995 and 2006 "“ despite a steady decline in the number of Americans diagnosed with the disease.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has issued a final rule for Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs), which will become effective on Jan. 19, 2009. It provides final requirements and procedures for PSOs to identify and reduce patient care risks and hazards.
Women are more likely than men to be hospitalized for chest pain for which doctors cannot find a specific cause.
A new study involving health care systems in 21 countries -- and the prospects for change in response to such common pressures as rising costs and aging populations -- casts doubt on the possibility of major overhauls of any of these systems because of the history and traditions that created them.
Researchers find that state rules to ensure equitable pricing lead to a $100 per month increase in monthly premiums for a typical family. States that force insurers to work with any willing provider see a 10 percent jump in monthly premiums.
This month's issue of Prepared Patient looks at how serious illness can affect your work life and what you can do to safeguard your job.
Work health promotion programs can have positive effects on employees' health and productivity"”including more than a 20 percent reduction in sick leave, according to a review in the November Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).
A report by the S.C. Rural Health Research Center at the University of South Carolina's Arnold School has found that nearly one-fourth of the nation's children have had no dental care in at least a year.
About 1.4 million hospitalizations in 2006 involved patients who were admitted for a mental illness, while another 7.1 million patients had a mental disorder in addition to the physical condition for which they were admitted.
Antibacterial drug use appears to have increased at academic medical centers between 2002 and 2006, driven primarily by greater use of broad-spectrum agents and the antibiotic vancomycin, according to a report in the Nov. 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
A new review of existing research and expert opinions suggest that there are many benefits to allowing adolescents to review their own health information online and to send messages to their doctors. Adolescents could learn how to take responsibility for their own care, develop better relationships with their doctors and do a better job of controlling chronic conditions.
Hospital discharges to home health, nursing homes are on the rise.
Some 2.3 million children a year, mostly from low- to middle-income families, have no health care coverage to pay for preventive or other medical needs, even though at least one of their parents is insured.
When it comes to primary care medicine, the U.S. is in both a quandary and a crisis, says a University of Virginia professor of medicine. On one hand, politicians are calling for measures to give more Americans access to essential healthcare services; on the other, the number of primary care doctors and dentists available to provide those services is dwindling.
Some 2.3 million children a year, mostly from low- to middle-income families, have no health care coverage to pay for preventive or other medical needs, even though at least one of their parents is insured, according to a new study supported by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the National Center for Research Resources.
The rate of patients discharged from hospitals but who still needed home health care increased 53 percent (from 2 million to 4 million) between 1997 and 2006. There was a 30 percent increase (from 4 million to 5 million) in the rate of patients discharged to nursing homes or rehabilitation facilities during the same period.
Approximately 21 million Americans "“ 9.5 percent of adults 18 and older "“ either visited or called a doctor for a prescription to reduce arthritis pain in 2005 (the latest year for these data).
New interim guidance that outlines how to become a Patient Safety Organization is now available from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Hispanic adults from both poor and wealthy communities are much more likely than whites to be hospitalized for health problems that good quality outpatient care can prevent or control, such as uncontrolled diabetes and heart ailments.
Four of the most widely prescribed drugs in the United States can cost 15 percent more on average in the poorest neighborhoods of Florida, according to a study comparing retail pharmacy prices around the state.
Six major illnesses common among Americans age 65 and older cost more than $196 billion in 2007, according to estimates by researchers at RTI International.
Uninsured children in families earning between approximately $38,000 and $76,000 a year are about as likely to go without any health care as uninsured children in poorer families.
Approximately 4 percent of U.S. children and adolescents have a gap in health insurance coverage at some point during the year, even though they have at least one parent who is insured, according to a study in the October 22/29 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on the Health of the Nation.
A proposal to implement a value-added tax for universal health insurance vouchers would also provide for significant decreases in other taxes, according to the authors of a commentary in the October 22/29 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on the Health of the Nation. They add that this plan would create incentives for cost-containment and health care quality.
In order to achieve comprehensive health care reform, states cannot do it alone. States and the federal government must partner and collaborate to overcome barriers and challenges to create high-quality, affordable health care, according to the authors of a commentary in the October 22/29 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on the Health of the Nation.
The 47 million Americans who lack health insurance are the reason emergency departments are crowded all the time "“ right? Not so fast, according to a new study. In fact, the reality of what causes ED overcrowding is a lot more complicated. And some widely repeated perceptions may be rooted more in assumptions than in solid fact.
Is it possible to comparison shop for a hospital? Here's what hospital report cards have -- and do not have -- to offer for health care consumers.
A 5,000-person, five-country study released today by Edelman shows that people want more active, trusted, and personal health interaction with companies, organizations and brands, effectively rewriting the "rules of engagement" in health. The Edelman Health Engagement Barometer finds that to win a "license to engage," companies must, above all, help people address their specific personal health concerns and help them maintain their health through prevention and care. They also must provide people with thorough, transparent, and specific information; engage them through personal and health-expert channels, online and off; and address personal issues like health and well-being before larger societal concerns.
The U-M C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health finds the majority of likely voters believe Barack Obama can best handle the country's biggest health care issues, including the high cost of health insurance, and the millions of U.S. adults and children without insurance.
Researchers at the Drexel University School of Public Health led by Dr. Dennis Andrulis authored a report comparing Barack Obama and John McCain's health care reform plans in the context of eliminating the nation's racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care. The report was released by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.
Knowing how an investigator is paid for running a research study surprisingly plays a small role in patients' willingness to take part in clinical trials. However, according to a new Johns Hopkins University study more participants are troubled when they are told that the investigator could profit or lose money depending on the results.
We can learn from our mistakes, but how willing are we to talk about them? And what happens when those making mistakes are physicians, who are often expected to be infallible? A new study provides some insights.
Not only are doctors, nurses, and firefighters essential during a severe pandemic influenza outbreak. So, too, are truck drivers, communications personnel, and utility workers. That's the conclusion of a Johns Hopkins University article to be published in the Journal of Biosecurity and Bioterrorism.
Confusing terms may keep people from getting full benefit of coverage.
About 30 percent of U.S. children and adolescents were covered by government-sponsored dental insurance in 2006, a significant increase from the 18 percent covered in 1996.
A series of articles, published in the August 2008 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP), explores applications of spatial epidemiology in identifying trends in the occurrence of diseases such as breast cancer as well as the ability of this rapidly evolving science to impact public health policy.
Contrary to public perceptions, foreign-born children are increasingly uninsured, rather than publicly insured, in the wake of immigration policy changes, according to a study by public health researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Hospital charges "“ what patients are billed for their rooms, nursing care, diagnostic tests and other services "“ jumped from $873 billion in 2005 to $943 billion in 2006.
RSS
Medicine keyboard_arrow_right
Sciencekeyboard_arrow_right
Life keyboard_arrow_right
Business keyboard_arrow_right
Journal News keyboard_arrow_right
By Location keyboard_arrow_right
Meetings, Grants, and Events keyboard_arrow_right