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Medical Research Council should do more in the development of gold standard for clinical trial design

More should be done to celebrate the role of one of Britain’s leading institutions, the Medical Research Council, in the development of the gold standard for clinical trial design. Sir Iain Chalmers, writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, questions the apparent reluctance of the MRC to take credit for its ground-breaking work in the design and management of randomised multicentre controlled clinical trials in the 1950s.

28 Nov 2013

State highlights: S.C. clinic a model for free care; Mont. doctor's push to treat mine workers sickened by asbestos; fast food consumption in Calif. kids

What began two decades ago on Hilton Head Island as a free clinic using retired physicians and volunteers to care for the working poor has become a model for dozens of similar clinics nationwide. At a time when the nation debates how to pay for care, there are now 96 Volunteers in Medicine Clinics in 29 states (Smith, 11/27).

28 Nov 2013

Viewpoints: SCOTUS should support contraception mandate; our brains 'not wired' for Obamacare; President's personality impairs law's success

More than a year after it upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court has set the stage for a showdown over the law's requirement that employer health plans cover birth control.

28 Nov 2013

Walk-in clinics staffed by nurses can reduce health care costs, says URI professor

People who don't have health insurance are often forced to seek treatment at hospital emergency rooms for colds, body aches and other routine illnesses. Those visits cost patients, hospitals and taxpayers millions of dollars every year.

28 Nov 2013

Improving the quality of cancer care among aging population

As 10,000 baby boomers reach 65 each day, the incidence of cancer is increasing, estimated to increase by 67% between 2010 and 2030, bringing attention to the nation's response to cancer care. Cancer is diagnosed at a higher rate, accounts for more survivors, and results in more deaths than in younger patients.

28 Nov 2013

How Washington State made its health insurance exchange work; Philly plans big exchange push

It was on a cold, sunny day in Baltimore last January that Curt Kwak, chief information officer of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange, first realized that the signature feature of President Obama's Affordable Care Act could be in trouble.

28 Nov 2013

Consumers urged to give healthcare.gov another try -- just not too many of them

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday that healthcare.gov is "improved every day." But she delayed a big marketing campaign planned for December and is asking allies to hold back their enrollment pushes to avoid a crush of new users that might overwhelm the site again.

28 Nov 2013

Political playbooks direct lawmakers to find Obamacare 'stories'

Lawmakers are being urged by their respective parties to publicize constituents' experiences with Obamacare -- horror stories, in the case of Republicans, and success stories showing the law "delivering on its promise" for Democrats. Meanwhile, a CNN/ORC poll shows that Democrats have lost their post-government shutdown lead among registered voters in a generic ballot.

28 Nov 2013

Longer looks: Providing dental care in rural Alaska; the after-effects of the ICU; cure for allergies

Aniak, Alaska, is a Yu'pik village of 500 people on the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta, about 400 miles northwest of Anchorage. It is in this special and isolated community where I practice as a dental therapist, trained and certified to deliver some, but not all, types of dental care. Dental therapists have been practicing in Alaska for nine years and now provide routine dental care to 40,000 Native Alaskans. In the United States about forty-seven million people live in areas where there is a shortage of dentists, and millions more can't afford to see them. For so many Americans, even the most basic dental care is out of reach. Yet right here in Alaska, I think we've found part of the solution (Conan Murat, November, 2013).

28 Nov 2013

NIBIB-funded researchers explore better treatment for brain aneurysms

Thirty thousand Americans suffer severe neurological damage or death from brain aneurysms each year and the existing treatments eventually fail in nearly half of patients. Currently, these "bubbles" in the blood vessel are either clamped off, which requires invasive brain surgery, or filled with platinum coils to induce clotting in the aneurysm. Both treatments, although somewhat effective, can have subsequent problems, including inflammation, incomplete healing, and the development of secondary aneurysms adjacent to the initial site. These complications result in approximately 40 percent of patients needing additional treatment to attempt to re-repair the aneurysm.

28 Nov 2013

Administration to small businesses: Online health insurance exchanged delayed

News outlets covered the pre-Thanksgiving announcement of the delay.

27 Nov 2013

Nearly 400,000 poor Americans flock to expanded Medicaid

The Washington Post reports the rollout of the law's expanded Medicaid program appears to be 'the silver lining' in the health law's implementation -- signups of nearly 400,000 people appear to be going smoothly. Meanwhile, news outlets cover Medicaid developments in Wisconsin, Ohio and South Carolina.

27 Nov 2013

Philadelphia hospital reaches out to homeless

The program helps reinforce the importance of health care for shelter residents and their children.

27 Nov 2013

ANCC redesignates Sinai Hospital of Baltimore as Magnet-recognized hospital

The American Nurses Credentialing Center has redesignated Sinai Hospital of Baltimore as a Magnet-recognized hospital, a distinction that honors nursing excellence in patient care, leadership and growth opportunities for nurses within a health care organization. US News & World Report uses the Magnet designation as a factor when ranking the best medical centers in 16 specialties.

27 Nov 2013

Researchers show benefits from testosterone administration in hysterectomized women

Hysterectomy and oophorectomy (the removal of ovaries) are performed to treat various diseases in women, including cancer. These procedures are accompanied not only by a decline in estrogen but also testosterone levels in the blood.

27 Nov 2013

Supreme Court to hear arguments on health law's contraceptive coverage mandate

The justices accepted a pair of cases that raise questions not just about religious freedom and equality for female employees, but whether the religious beliefs of the owners of secular corporations allows them to not comply with a law.

27 Nov 2013

First Edition: Nov. 27, 2013

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz, in collaboration with McClatchy, reports: "Like half the states, South Carolina chose not to expand Medicaid under the federal health law next year, citing the program's high costs and inefficiency. Yet, state officials still forecast a 16 percent enrollment jump by the end of June, 2015, triple that of a typical year and even higher than the 12 percent average increase expected in states that are expanding eligibility.

27 Nov 2013

RSNA and Regenstrief Institute partner to standardize radiology procedure names

Under a contract awarded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, the developers of two advanced medical terminologies have begun work to harmonize and unify terms for radiology procedures. Creating standardized radiology procedure names will improve the quality, consistency and interoperability of radiology test results in electronic medical record systems and health information exchange.

27 Nov 2013

Preterm infants at high risk for significant long-term problems

Premature birth appears to trigger developmental processes in the white matter of the brain that could put children at higher risk of problems later in life, according to a study being presented next week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

27 Nov 2013

Study highlights unique barriers for African Americans with hypertension

For African-Americans who have hypertension, controlling their high blood pressure is critical to avoid serious complications. However, a history of racial discrimination and/or mistrust in their physicians often causes them to skip taking their necessary medication, finds a new study in the American Journal of Public Health.

27 Nov 2013