Doctor News and Research

RSS

Viewpoints: The health law's double count on Medicare funding; Pa. budget endangering health safety net; A doctor's call for more texting

One of the enduring mysteries of President Obama's health law is how its spending constraints and payroll tax hikes on high earners can be used to shore up Medicare finances and at the same time pay for a massive new entitlement program. Isn't this double counting?

3 May 2012

CSI third quarter revenues increase 5% to $21.2 million

Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (CSI), a medical device company developing and commercializing innovative interventional treatment systems for vascular disease, today reported financial results for its fiscal third quarter ended March 31, 2012.

3 May 2012

First anniversary of Capital BlueCross' Accountable Care Arrangement programs

Today marks the one-year anniversary of Capital BlueCross' launch of two Accountable Care Arrangements (ACA). Preliminary results demonstrate that this innovative care delivery model is improving care coordination, lowering the medical cost trend, and improving the member's management of chronic conditions and overall satisfaction with care.

2 May 2012

It's never too late to take control of diabetes

"You could live a normal life." Those were the words that 15-year-old Steve Edelman kept hearing from the nurses when he was hospitalized following his type 1 diabetes diagnosis in 1970. He wondered why they kept repeating this to him.

2 May 2012

Older Americans experience significant and troubling gaps in primary care

Large majorities of older Americans experience significant and troubling gaps in their primary care, according to a new national survey, "How Does It Feel? The Older Adult Health Care Experience," released today by the John A. Hartford Foundation, a champion for improved geriatric care and longtime partner of the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing at New York University's College of Nursing.

2 May 2012

Endocrine Society and its Hormone Health Network release ‘Menopause Map’

Women going through menopause now have a first-of-its-kind interactive guide to help them better understand their menu of treatment options, including whether hormone therapy may be right for them. The Endocrine Society and its Hormone Health Network today released the "Menopause Map," an online tool to help women and their doctors discuss which hormonal and non-hormonal treatment options would be most effective and safe to relieve the sometimes debilitating symptoms of menopause.

2 May 2012

Amadeus Consulting develops Android version of iBirth

Amadeus Consulting, a custom software development company, recently developed iBirth for Android a mobile application for Lula B, LLC. Created by two mothers in Boulder, Colorado, Lula B wanted an app to help women through the childbirth process to ensure they have the information available for a safe, healthy, and empowering pregnancy.

2 May 2012

Most asthmatic youths still exposed to tobacco smoke

Despite longstanding recommendations for children with asthma to avoid tobacco smoke, many youths are still exposed to secondhand smoke and their health suffers because of it, according to a study to be presented Tuesday, May 1, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Boston.

2 May 2012

Viewpoints: Romney's argument that health law would kill free enterprise; FDA's delay in cutting use of antibiotics in animals

In my column on Sunday, I quoted Mitt Romney's warning last week that President Obama's health reform law could doom the free-enterprise system in the United States. "With Obamacare fully installed," Romney said, "government will come to control half the economy, and we will have effectively ceased to be a free-enterprise society." Could that be true? Would "Obamacare," which relies mostly on free-enterprise health insurance companies, really turn America into a socialist state?

2 May 2012

Roundup: Mass. premium increases muted; Iowa cuts payment to charity after fraud probe; Ga. asks EMS providers to save scarce drugs

State regulators on Monday approved third-quarter health insurance rates that will raise premiums an average of just 1.2 percent in the market serving small businesses and individuals, continuing a trend of more modest increases seen over the past three quarters. And several carriers, including Tufts Health Plan of Watertown and Fallon Community Health Plan, based in Worcester, will reduce their rates -- a rarity in Massachusetts health care -- according to data from the state Division of Insurance.

2 May 2012

54% doctors support denying treatment to smokers and the obese until they quit or lose weight

Doctors.net.uk, a professional networking site, found that 593 (54%) of the 1,096 doctors who took part in the self-selecting survey answered yes when asked: “Should the NHS be allowed to refuse non-emergency treatments to patients unless they lose weight or stop smoking?” They believe unhealthy behaviour can make procedures less likely to work, and that the service is not obliged to devote scarce resources to them.

30 Apr 2012

Hospitals seek to cut costs, compete smartly

In Colorado, New Hampshire, Florida and Kansas, hospitals are trying to be strategic to beat marketplace challenges.

30 Apr 2012

Viewpoints on health law: Concerns about 'Lake Wobegon-ization' of Medicare Advantage; Romney's efforts to raise fears

One of the significant reforms in the health-care law was to put private Medicare plans on a more equal footing with the traditional government program. ... But the immediate sting of the cuts was significantly lessened by the Obama administration's move to expand and speed up a program to pay bonuses to high-performing programs.

30 Apr 2012

Health information technology gains momentum, uses

One in 10 doctors who work outside hospitals in the United States began using electronic health records in 2011, helped along by the promise of $27 billion in incentives from the federal government.

30 Apr 2012

AlderMed enters distribution agreement with Gulmay Medical for Xstrahl-100 therapy system

AlderMed announced today it has entered into a three-year exclusive distribution agreement with Gulmay Medical, manufacturer of the Xstrahl-100 therapy system.

From Xstrahl 30 Apr 2012

Teens with high levels of uric acid at increased risk for high blood pressure

Teens with high levels of uric acid appear to be at increased risk for high blood pressure, according to results of research from scientists at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

30 Apr 2012

State roundup: Mass. may vote on assisted suicide; Colo. to try medical homes

Heather Clish has become a leading advocate for affording terminally ill patients in Massachusetts the same choice her father had. Clish and other supporters are pushing a ballot initiative to legalize the practice they call Death with Dignity, more commonly known as physician-assisted suicide.

30 Apr 2012

Astounding lack of public awareness about lung cancer

An astounding lack of public awareness about lung cancer has been revealed in a Cancer Research UK study, published today.

30 Apr 2012

Mount Sinai experts to share skin cancer prevention tips on May 7

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States, with one in five Americans developing it over the course of their lives. It's also one of the most preventable types of cancers. Since May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month and Melanoma Monday is May 7, Mount Sinai experts are sharing tips on prevention and insight on the new FDA labeling requirements on sunscreen.

30 Apr 2012

UCSD researchers analyze landscape of smoking cessation over the past 20 years

Smoking is a major public health issue and quitting is the single most important thing smokers can do to improve their health. In the 2012 edition of the prestigious Annual Review of Public Health, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have reviewed the landscape of smoking cessation over the past 20 years.

30 Apr 2012