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HCLA testifies that medical lawsuit abuse threatens patient care

The Health Coalition on Liability and Access (HCLA) testified today before the Committee on the Judiciary of the U.S. House of Representatives in a hearing titled, "Medical Liability Reform – Cutting Costs, Spurring Investment, Creating Jobs." Stuart L. Weinstein, MD, a spokesperson for the HCLA, called on the Congress to "create a climate for patient centered care by reforming a medical liability system that continues to put everyone's health care at risk."

21 Jan 2011

Initiative to eliminate cervical cancer in North Carolina

Patricia Gregory of Cary was only 24 years old when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Now a mother of an 11-year-old daughter, she considers herself blessed to have a child, as cervical cancer can make women unable to bear children.

21 Jan 2011

Routine rotavirus vaccine shows a significant drop in diarrhea cases: Study

A latest study has shown that the rotavirus vaccines have helped drastically reduce hospital visits around the world. Rotavirus can lead to fatal cases of diarrhea in children and causes half a million deaths in kids under five each year around the world. Developing countries are particularly at risk.

20 Jan 2011

Model guides creation of more patient-centered personal health records

Personal health records have great potential to help patients manage their health, but technology needs to be designed with the patient in mind - which means doing more than helping patients access health information, according to an editorial by two Virginia Commonwealth University family medicine physicians published in the Jan.19 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

20 Jan 2011

Reducing generic prices will not result in pharmacy shortages: Study

A University of British Columbia study shows that there are enough pharmacies situated throughout Ontario communities to absorb many closures without negatively affecting geographical accessibility for residents. The research suggests concerns that reducing generic pricing could result in pharmacy shortages are unfounded.

20 Jan 2011

Failure to use research evidence leads to inefficiencies, reduced quality of life, says Dr. Sharon

Health care systems around the world are failing to use evidence obtained through research when making decisions, causing inefficiencies and reduced quantity and quality of life, according to a leading expert in the field of "knowledge translation."

20 Jan 2011

Viewpoints: Sebelius and Vilsack on rural health; Many thoughts on repeal vote; State budget cuts

As former governors from the Heartland, we've seen firsthand how Americans in rural areas struggle to get the health care they need. Whether it's a farmer losing his health insurance because he has no good choices or a mom putting off a treatment because there aren't enough doctors nearby, rural Americans often go without critical preventive care or key procedures.

20 Jan 2011

Home blood pressure monitors can help people keep blood pressure in check

A recent research review has concluded that home blood pressure monitors can help people keep their blood pressure in check and possibly cut down on medication – as long as patients and their doctors put those home readings to good use. For years, Omron Healthcare, Inc. has reminded Americans how important home blood pressure monitoring is when it comes to reducing their risk of a heart attack or stroke, and truly wants people to take the news to heart in 2011.

19 Jan 2011

First Edition: January 19, 2011

Today's headlines and news coverage offer details about the House health law repeal debate, which started yesterday.

19 Jan 2011

MD Anderson experts create plan to guide women on healthy behaviors

"A woman's life changes at every decade and so does her body," says Therese Bevers, M.D., medical director of MD Anderson's Cancer Prevention Center. "And, just as a woman sets personal and work-related milestones, she also should set health goals for every stage of life."

19 Jan 2011

African American patients who are susceptible to hypertension may benefit from storytelling: New study

Controlling blood pressure is not only a medical challenge, but a social one as well. Because patients are required to strictly adhere to a treatment plan that may include medication, dietary restrictions and regular doctor visits, the ideas of wellness and health are also powerful parts of the social reinforcement needed for behavioral change.

19 Jan 2011

Loyola offers new, nonsurgical treatment for Dupuytren's contracture

Loyola University Health System is among the first centers to offer a new, nonsurgical treatment for Dupuytren's contracture, a debilitating condition that curls fingers toward the palm.

19 Jan 2011

Quality of care and reimbursements will go down under Healthcare Reform Act: Survey

The newly released 2011 Thomson Reuters - HCPlexus National Physicians Survey (NPS) links doctors' fears that their pay will go down under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), commonly called Healthcare Reform Act (HCRA), with their concerns that the quality of care will also deteriorate. The study includes responses from 2,958 doctors of varying specialties and practice types, from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia.

19 Jan 2011

Guardian online series explores global health worker issues

The Guardian reports, as part of an online feature about health care workforces worldwide done in association with the Global Health Workforce Alliance (GHWA), that "Africa is desperately short of doctors and nurses. So is much of Asia. In 57 countries, the situation is deemed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to be at crisis point ... But in contrast to some other developing world problems, this is an issue that really does affect all of us. The world needs an estimated 4.2 million more health workers."

19 Jan 2011

Medical mistakes, doctor ratings gain state-level attention

In Wisconsin, the issue of access to reports on medical mistakes is part of a bill being considered in the state legislature. In Minnesota, physicians are seeking a delay to the plan to provide ratings based on cost and quality.

18 Jan 2011

Viewpoints: Next step after health law repeal effort; Refuting 'job-killing' claims; Mental health care

The continuing resolution that extended funding for the federal government until Mar. 4 gives us an opportunity to include language in the appropriations that fund the rest of this fiscal year — and must be passed to avoid a government shutdown. The language would prohibit any funds from being used to implement or enforce Obamacare (Rep. Steve King, 1/18).

18 Jan 2011

Studies offer insights into end-of-life directives

News reports focus on how doctors' religious beliefs and U.S. laws impact decisions made in end-of-life care.

18 Jan 2011

Hotspur announces successful completion of GPSCath Catheter in peripheral angioplasty surgery

Hotspur Technologies, announced today that Dr. Greg Sampognaro, Interventional Cardiologist at P & S Surgical Hospital in Monroe, Louisiana, successfully completed the first use of the GPSCath Balloon Dilatation Catheter in an intervention to treat a blocked peripheral artery.

18 Jan 2011

Media look at what's ahead for South Sudan

"This week's independence referendum in southern Sudan marks an apparent victory for U.S. foreign policy in east Africa - one that has secured for Washington a deeper advisory role in what is expected to be the birth of a new, impoverished nation," according to a Wall Street Journal article looking at the issues facing the U.S. in south Sudan after voting concludes.

18 Jan 2011

AHRQ reports 1 in 5 Americans have no usual source of medical care

Roughly 60 million people -- 1 in 5 Americans -- have no usual source of medical care, such as a family doctor or clinic, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

18 Jan 2011