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MedPAC hearing panelists call for residency programs to move away from hospital-centered care, toward treatment of chronic illnesses

Residency programs should place greater emphasis on the treatment of chronic diseases and on incorporating health information technology because current graduate medical education focuses too heavily on hospital-centered care, panelists told the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission on Thursday, CQ HealthBeat reports.

5 Oct 2008

A decade of change in general practice

It's not only the patients in GP surgeries who are getting older, according to two new reports released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the Australian General Practice Statistics and Classification Centre, an AIHW collaborating unit located at the University of Sydney.

5 Oct 2008

Will patients stick to physical therapy? Questionnaire can help doctors predict

Patients' responses to a simple questionnaire can reliably predict whether they will adhere to physical therapy after spine surgery, Johns Hopkins researchers suggest in a new study. The findings could help physicians identify patients who might benefit from additional preoperative preparation to ensure they attend therapy sessions and follow through with prescribed exercise, a factor that can greatly affect their long-term recovery.

2 Oct 2008

Long-term psychotherapy superior in treating chronic mental disorders

German researchers say they have found that long-term psychotherapy is effective and even superior to shorter-term therapy for patients with complex mental disorders such as personality and chronic mental disorders.

1 Oct 2008

Experts say heart patients should be screened for depression

The American Heart Association says heart patients are particularly vulnerable to depression and should be screened, and if necessary treated, to improve their recovery and overall health.

30 Sep 2008

Tuberculosis bacterium uses its sugar coat to sweeten its chances of living in lungs

Common strains of tuberculosis-causing bacteria have hijacked the human body's immune response to play tricks on cells in the lungs, scientists say.

29 Sep 2008

HIV/AIDS services agency sues New Hampshire town for restricting access to group home

A Keene, N.H., AIDS services agency -- AIDS Services for the Monadnock Region -- said it is suing Gilsum, N.H., town officials for overstepping their authority and violating the state constitution by restricting who is allowed to live at a group home run by ASMR, the Keene Sentinel reports.

29 Sep 2008

President Bush signs legislation to expand protections under Americans with disabilities act

President Bush on Thursday signed legislation that expands protections under the Americans with Disability Act, the AP/Kansas City Star reports (AP/Kansas City Star, 9/25).

29 Sep 2008

Researchers investigate impact of stress on police officers' physical and mental health

Policing is dangerous work, and the danger lurks not on the streets alone. The pressures of law enforcement put officers at risk for high blood pressure, insomnia, increased levels of destructive stress hormones, heart problems, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicide, University at Buffalo researchers have found through a decade of studies of police officers.

25 Sep 2008

Science backs old fashioned belief in the healing powers of honey

Research by Canadian scientists lends support to the old fashioned belief in the healing powers of honey.

25 Sep 2008

Major study aims for new approaches to cardiovascular disease management

The Consortium for Southeastern Hypertension Control (COSEHC), headquartered at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, is launching a major five-year study designed to update current guidelines for treating cardiovascular diseases, improve disease management and reduce heart attacks and strokes in the Southeast.

24 Sep 2008

Popular COPD treatment increases risk for cardiac events, cardiac death

New research out of Wake Forest University School of Medicine shows that use of the most commonly prescribed once-a-day treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for longer than one month increases the risk of cardiovascular death, heart attack or stroke by more than 50 percent

24 Sep 2008

New research blames pollution and everyday allergens for laryngitis

Researchers say everyday exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, allergens and air pollution may be the root of chronic cases of laryngitis.

23 Sep 2008

Exposure to bacteria might prevent type I diabetes

Researchers from Yale University and the University of Chicago have found a startling illustration of the potential for microbes to prevent disease - they found that mice exposed to common stomach bacteria were protected against the development of type I diabetes.

22 Sep 2008

Huckabee discusses need to focus on preventable health problems

Former Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Tuesday during the "State of Our Health" conference in Columbia, S.C., said that the U.S. must seek to decrease rates of obesity and other preventable health problems to help reduce health care costs, the AP/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

22 Sep 2008

Supreme Court prepares to hear pre-emption case that could give pharmaceutical companies protection against liability

The case of a Vermont women who won a $6 million award from Wyeth for failure to adequately warn her of the risk of one of its products is the "latest in a brisk parade of similar ones" in which the U.S. Supreme Court will examine the principle of pre-emption, which states that FDA approval of drugs or medical devices pre-empts the ability for individuals to sue manufacturers for liability in state courts, the New York Times reports.

22 Sep 2008

Studies look at Hispanics' access to U.S. health care system

Three studies published online on Wednesday in the American Journal of Public Health look at how poverty, language and health insurance coverage affect access to care among foreign-born U.S. residents, particularly Hispanics, HealthDay/U.S. News & World Report reports.

22 Sep 2008