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New MicroNav surgical technique provides greater safety and reduces pain

The revolutionary new MicroNav surgical technique, performed by Dr. Scott Hodges, gives greater safety, less pain, minimal cuts and faster recovery from spine surgery using high-tech 3D scanners and GPS-like instruments. These bold claims are backed by more than 600 surgeries with zero infections and zero revisions, a huge improvement over the high failure rate of "open" surgical techniques and questionable "laser" spine surgery.

24 May 2012

ACE’s Blood Sugar Basics Game Plan kicks off to help people with diabetes

The Blood Sugar Basics Game Plan, developed by the American College of Endocrinology (ACE), with support from Merck, is kicking off to help the nearly 26 million people in the U.S. who have diabetes find new ways to help manage their disease. Th

24 May 2012

Brains that maintain healthy nerve connections as we age help keep us sharp in later life

Brains that maintain healthy nerve connections as we age help keep us sharp in later life, new research funded by the charity Age UK has found.

24 May 2012

Proper care of diabetic foot infections can save limbs, lives

Diabetic foot infections are an increasingly common problem, but proper care can save limbs and, ultimately, lives, suggest new guidelines released by the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

23 May 2012

Billion-dollar Davita deal highlights movement toward mergers, accountable care organizations

This particular deal, in which DaVita will acquire HealthCare Partners, will enable the dialysis services provider to offer a more integrated group of services that fall under the ACO model that the government is trying to encourage.

23 May 2012

Exercise can add years to a person's life

A recent study has shown that exercise can add years to a person's life. Still, as we age it can become more tedious and sometimes more difficult to exercise.

23 May 2012

First Edition: May 22, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about a lawsuit brought by Catholic organizations against the Obama administration's contraception coverage rule and a new recommendation on PSA screening by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

22 May 2012

LUGPA discredits recommendations by USPSTF to stop prostate cancer testing

The Large Urology Group Practice Association (LUGPA), representing more than 1,800 urologists, today discredited recommendations by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) to stop prostate cancer testing.

22 May 2012

Socioeconomic factors associated with skin cancer screening

When it comes to getting screened for skin cancer, only one in 14 U.S. Hispanic adults is shown to have ever gone through the process, compared to one in four non-Hispanic white adults. Research from The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) shows socioeconomic factors such as lack of health insurance and poorer access to healthcare serve as barriers for Hispanics who might otherwise receive this potentially lifesaving check-up.

22 May 2012

Behavior support intervention can help reduce blood pressure in African-Americans

Behavioral support from peers and primary care office staff can help patients improve their blood pressure control by as much as starting a new drug, a new study found. Barbara J. Turner, M.D., M.S.Ed., M.A., M.A.C.P., of UT Medicine San Antonio, is the senior author.

22 May 2012

Clifix opts for Leo Technosoft’s multi tenancy framework “SaaS-Tenant™”– touted to revolutionize the healthcare sector

Taking the industry by storm Clifix has vouched for Leo Technosoft’s “SaaS-Tenant™”, a brand that’s a leading name in cloud based multi tenancy framework to develop their pioneering practice management system. The innovative practice management system is touted to completely revolutionize the functioning of the healthcare sector. Bidding goodbye to the outdated methods, this ground-breaking technology is built on the “SaaS-Tenant™”architecture enabling speedy data mining and improved usability.

21 May 2012

HCCI's report shows facility prices outpaced general inflation for the privately insured under 65

Rising prices for care were the chief driver of health care costs for privately insured Americans in 2010, according to the first report from the newly formed Health Care Cost Institute.

21 May 2012

Online instructional video improves patient compliance with colonoscopy

Patients who watch an online instructional video are more likely to keep their appointments and arrive prepared for a scheduled colonoscopy than those who do not, according to a study by gastroenterologists at the University of Chicago Medicine.

21 May 2012

Bullying becomes hot topic in the U.S.

Bullying has become a hot topic in the U.S., hitting a cultural nerve as evidenced by the buzz surrounding the recent release of a documentary called "Bully" as well as a book entitled The Bully Society: School Shootings and the Crisis of Bullying in America's Schools.

19 May 2012

Survey: Healthcare marketers should target insured Hispanic women ages 25-35

A new national survey commissioned by Cultur Health shows healthcare marketers should target insured Hispanic women ages 25-35. These young Latinas, representing a rapidly growing Hispanic demographic, are key healthcare gatekeepers – managing their own health needs and frequently those of their families, parents, grandparents and other relatives as well.

19 May 2012

Research roundup: Electronic health records don't seem to improve diabetes care; Beefing up adult vaccination rates

Federal officials and health policy experts believe that electronic health records (EHRs) will improve patient care. Researchers measured adherence to diabetes care guidelines as well as patient outcomes over three years at 16 practices using EHRs and 26 practices using paper records. Practices with EHRs did not show signs of better care and providers using them "have not made the necessary changes to both work processes and ways of thinking about care that would lead to improvements in chronic illness management."

19 May 2012

Viewpoints: VA failing to provide timely care; Roll up your sleeves to help fight AIDS; Primary care doctors' uncertain future

Those who have served know the military rules: Be on time, do it now. Once they file disability claims with the Department of Veteran Affairs, however, veterans wait, and wait longer…. Delay is not without consequences for the individual or the community…. We sent these young men and women off to battle. We owe them timely care.

19 May 2012

Two major reasons to monitor medication use in older patients with chronic pain

Ameritox, the nation's leader in pain medication monitoring, announced today the presentation of a peer-reviewed scientific poster titled "Patterns of Drug Use in the Older Chronic Pain Population" at the American Pain Society Annual Meeting.

18 May 2012

Personal genetic test results don't drive overuse of expensive medical care

People have more and more chances to participate in genetic testing that can indicate their range of risk for developing a disease. Receiving these results does not appreciably drive up- or diminish-test recipients' demand for potentially costly follow-up health services, according to a new study in the May 17, 2012 early online issue of Genetics in Medicine.

18 May 2012

Prostate Cancer Risk Calculator offers men ‘individual risk assessment’

Men worried about prostate cancer have a new online resource, freely available, to help them assess their risk. The multi-step Prostate Cancer Risk Calculator, www.prostatecancer-riskcalculator.com*, has been created by the founders of the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC).

18 May 2012