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Telephone communication in IBD care helps to identify patients at risk of high-cost medical interventions

A comprehensive analysis of patient telephone records at an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) clinic revealed that 15 percent of patients account for half of all calls to the clinic. Forty-two percent of frequent-caller patients also were seen in the emergency department or hospitalized within the following year.

10 Feb 2014

Research roundup: Value-based insurance; telemedicine in nursing homes; advance care planning

Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.

10 Feb 2014

Researchers examine link between gender and genetic disorder

A genetic disorder that affects about 1 in every 2,500 births can cause a bewildering array of clinical problems, including brain tumors, impaired vision, learning disabilities, behavioral problems, heart defects and bone deformities. The symptoms and their severity vary among patients affected by this condition, known as neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1).

9 Feb 2014

Family Health Network grows by nearly 15% in 2013

The Family Health Network, a nonprofit health plan serving Medicaid recipients, has seen its network of providers double over the last three years, from 2,078 primary-care physicians, specialists, hospitals and clinics in 2010 to 4,299 at the close of 2013.

9 Feb 2014

Study points to molecular pathway to treat recurring, deadly malignancies

Analyzing the genomes of twin 3-year-old sisters – one healthy and one with aggressive leukemia – led an international team of researchers to identify a novel molecular target that could become a way to treat recurring and deadly malignancies.

9 Feb 2014

New bill would expand health law subsidies for those in high-cost areas

The bill would tie subsidy levels to cost of living around the nation instead of to the national federal poverty level. In the meantime, a lawmaker from Colorado introduces a bill to speed construction of VA hospitals.

9 Feb 2014

New study provides important understanding of what drives appetite

While the function of eating is to nourish the body, this is not what actually compels us to seek out food. Instead, it is hunger, with its stomach-growling sensations and gnawing pangs that propels us to the refrigerator - or the deli or the vending machine. Although hunger is essential for survival, abnormal hunger can lead to obesity and eating disorders, widespread problems now reaching near-epidemic proportions around the world.

9 Feb 2014

Penn Medicine launches program to improve health of LGBT individuals

Penn Medicine is the first academic medical center in Philadelphia - one among just a handful of academic medical centers in the U.S.—to launch a program across multiple professional schools and affiliated hospitals at Penn to improve the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals.

9 Feb 2014

Novel combined therapy for treatment of septic patients in ICU

Septic shock is caused by excessive and systemic reaction of the entire body against infectious agents, in most cases of bacterial origin. The number of deaths by septic shock in intensive care units is very high and is still increasing, despite numerous large scale clinical trials.

9 Feb 2014

DP stimulation in spinal cord-injured patients is successful in weaning patients from mechanical ventilators

A new study published in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery finds that diaphragm pacing (DP) stimulation in spinal cord-injured patients is successful not only in weaning patients from mechanical ventilators but also in bridging patients to independent respiration, where they could breathe on their own without the aid of a ventilator or stimulation.

9 Feb 2014

Researchers shed light on role of genes and blood lipid levels in cardiovascular health

New genetic evidence strengthens the case that one well-known type of cholesterol is a likely suspect in causing heart disease, but also casts further doubt on the causal role played by another type. The findings may guide the search for improved treatments for heart disease.

9 Feb 2014

Finding could lead to first effective vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus

Vanderbilt University scientists have contributed to a major finding, reported today in the journal Nature, which could lead to the first effective vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a significant cause of infant mortality.

9 Feb 2014

Researchers identify protein that promotes growth of brain cells damaged by MS

Vittorio Gallo, PhD, Director of the Center for Neuroscience Research at Children's National Health System, and other researchers have found a "potentially novel therapeutic target" to reduce the rate of deterioration and to promote growth of brain cells damaged by multiple sclerosis (MS). Current therapies can be effective in patients with relapsing MS, but have little impact in promoting tissue growth.

9 Feb 2014

Patients who experience abrupt kidney injury following surgery have increased risk of heart problems

Patients who experience abrupt kidney injury following surgery have an increased risk of later developing heart problems, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

7 Feb 2014

Loyola University toxicologist to talk about rise seen in heroin overdoses in recent years

In the wake of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman's death, Loyola University Health System toxicologist Christina Hantsch, MD, FACEP, FACMT, is available to talk about the rise she has seen in heroin overdoses in recent years.

7 Feb 2014

Research suggests that male mice may be vulnerable to effects of maternal inflammation than females

Johns Hopkins researchers report that fetal mice - especially males - show signs of brain damage that lasts into their adulthood when they are exposed in the womb to a maternal immune system kicked into high gear by a serious infection or other malady.

7 Feb 2014

Research: Clinicians often fail to follow evidence-based polices to prevent infections

While most hospitals have polices in place to prevent health care-associated infections, clinicians often fail to follow evidence-based guidelines established to prevent these infections, according to new research from Columbia University School of Nursing published in the American Journal of Infection Control.

7 Feb 2014

Proprietary supplement improves cognitive processing speed of older adults

Declines in the underlying brain skills needed to think, remember and learn are normal in aging. In fact, this cognitive decline is a fact of life for most older Americans.

7 Feb 2014

Insurers say limited doctor choice key to plan affordability under health law

Insurers are saying that offering more narrow networks of which doctors patients can see or hospitals they can go to is vital to keeping costs down in plans offered under the health law. In the meantime, some insurers are offering supplemental plans to fill in these gaps.

7 Feb 2014

Report: Fewer than 2 million new Medicaid enrollees are result of health law

The study by consulting firm Avalere Health concludes that less than a third of the 6.3 million who have signed up for Medicaid have done so because of the health law's expansion of eligibility. Developments in Virginia and Florida are also covered.

7 Feb 2014

Hospital News and Research

Telephone communication in IBD care helps to identify patients at risk of high-cost medical interventions

Research roundup: Value-based insurance; telemedicine in nursing homes; advance care planning

Researchers examine link between gender and genetic disorder

Family Health Network grows by nearly 15% in 2013

Study points to molecular pathway to treat recurring, deadly malignancies

New bill would expand health law subsidies for those in high-cost areas

New study provides important understanding of what drives appetite

Penn Medicine launches program to improve health of LGBT individuals

Novel combined therapy for treatment of septic patients in ICU

DP stimulation in spinal cord-injured patients is successful in weaning patients from mechanical ventilators

Researchers shed light on role of genes and blood lipid levels in cardiovascular health

Finding could lead to first effective vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus

Researchers identify protein that promotes growth of brain cells damaged by MS

Patients who experience abrupt kidney injury following surgery have increased risk of heart problems

Loyola University toxicologist to talk about rise seen in heroin overdoses in recent years

Research suggests that male mice may be vulnerable to effects of maternal inflammation than females

Research: Clinicians often fail to follow evidence-based polices to prevent infections

Proprietary supplement improves cognitive processing speed of older adults

Insurers say limited doctor choice key to plan affordability under health law

Report: Fewer than 2 million new Medicaid enrollees are result of health law

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

How microplastics and bacteria interact to drive antibiotic resistance

Single-cell proteomics: Revealing proteome diversity from cellular heterogeneity to non-canonical biology

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