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Women with IBS more likely to suffer from ectopic pregnancies, miscarriages

A study by researchers at University College Cork, Ireland and the University of Manchester, UK suggests that women with Irritable Bowel Syndrome are more likely to suffer from miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies.

4 Apr 2012

Doctors more reluctant to start their patients on insulin

Doctors are more reluctant to start their patients on insulin than the patients are themselves, according to a new study led by researchers at St. Michael's Hospital.

3 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: 'Outrageously high fee' for emergency services; Mysterious rise in autism cases

The calculus for medical charges in general is beyond comprehension, with outrageously high fees used as a starting point in a bizarre game of bargaining. Glenn Melnick, who teaches hospital finance at USC, told me it's as crazy as if he asked to buy the TV in my living room, and I gave him a price of $1 million to start the conversation.

3 Apr 2012

UCM to launch Medicine and Religion Faculty Scholars Program

Is a doctor's spirituality an obstacle or a benefit in the clinic? Does religious affiliation affect medical decision making? Can a spiritual calling protect doctors against career burnout? With a $2.5 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation, the University of Chicago Medicine will launch a new program to help faculty scholars study these questions and more about the role of spirituality in medical practice and education.

3 Apr 2012

Patients prefer immediate access to radiology reports

You've been experiencing severe back pain and weakness in your right leg. Your doctor orders a spinal MRI to help determine the cause. The radiology report diagnoses cancer. Would you rather read the detailed medical report right away at home or wait until your doctor was available to explain the test results, diagnosis and treatment options? This scenario was part of a study at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center designed to determine if patients wanted online access to radiology test results and, if so, how quickly.

3 Apr 2012

CovalentMedical makes Focus MaculaPro available to general public

Focus MaculaPro is a leading macular health vitamin in the United States and is sold in more retina specialists' offices than any other eye vitamin on the market. Focus MaculaPro up until now has only been available to patients through their retina specialist. Now, however, Covalent Medical has made Focus MaculaPro available to the general public.

3 Apr 2012

Mammograms may increase risk for ‘over-diagnosis’ of cancers: Study

According to a new study from Norway up to a fourth of breast cancers found through mammograms are harmless and would not cause noticeable disease during the women's lifetimes. Such women are said to be over-diagnosed, because their cancers would not have caused symptoms or death. Over-diagnosis is a problem because women may receive tests and treatment they did not actually need.

2 Apr 2012

Melanoma on the rise among young adults

Even as the rates of some cancers are falling, Mayo Clinic is seeing an alarming trend: the dramatic rise of skin cancer, especially among people under 40. According to a study by Mayo Clinic researchers published in the April issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, the incidence of melanoma has escalated, and young women are the hardest hit.

2 Apr 2012

Number of kidney cancer cases rises over 9,000 in Great Britain

The number of cases of kidney cancer diagnosed each year in Great Britain has risen over 9,000 for the first time, new figures from Cancer Research UK show today.

31 Mar 2012

Differentiating between sneezing due to cold and allergies

One of the problems that parents may have during the springtime is deciphering whether their children's sneezing is due to a cold or allergies.

31 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: IPAB should be 'embraced'; World Bank nominee 'exactly what the doctor ordered'

Controlling costs will require a devilish balancing act among practitioners who resist change, consumer demand and best practices, and IPAB should experiment before imposing radical changes systemwide. But given the devastating, and growing, effects of Medicare spending on the federal debt, the U.S. can't afford not to have an IPAB. The board should be embraced, not feared.

30 Mar 2012

Perspectives on the court and the health law: Is this judicial activism?; Decision could define Roberts; Health economics 101

The ideological nature of the health care case was obvious on the last day of oral argument. By the time the proceedings were over, much of what the conservative justices said in court seemed like part of a politically driven exercise - especially because the issues addressed on Wednesday were not largely constitutional in nature.

30 Mar 2012

Consumer should be centre of care when offering alternative medicine brands

NPS is reminding pharmacists to place patient care first and avoid multiple switching of medicine brands for patients who may be at higher risk of confusion from switching, as price disclosure arrangements come into effect this weekend.

29 Mar 2012

SafeStitch Medical's AMID Stapler to be presented at AHS 2012

SafeStitch Medical, Inc. will present the AMID Stapler® at the 5th International Hernia Congress in New York City, March 28-31, 2012.

29 Mar 2012

Castlight Health launches new mobile offerings

Castlight Health, developer of a personalized health care shopping platform, today announced the launch of Castlight Mobile, a new offering that extends the power of the Castlight Health platform to users' preferred mobile devices.

29 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: Why doctors find it hard to tell the truth; The fruits of biomedical research; Cheney's 'taxpayer-subsidized' benefits

Last month, an article in the journal Health Affairs made headlines in the news media - "Physicians Are Not Always Open or Honest with Patients." A vast majority of the nearly 2,000 doctors surveyed agreed that physicians should be fully open and honest in all their communications with patients. ... I suspect that the dishonesty that is being uncovered in a study such as this - and frankly, I was amazed that the number of less-than-truthful instances was so low - reveals more about the diagnosis of being human than anything else. ... I couldn't bring myself to tell this young mother that she was going to die."

29 Mar 2012

Tips to help ensure best plastic surgery results

Believe it or not, you play just as big a role in the overall success of your cosmetic surgery as your surgeon. Board certified plastic surgeon Dr. Gregory A. Buford recently published a comprehensive list of tips to help ensure the best results, no matter what procedure you're preparing for.

29 Mar 2012

Many medical implants never tested for safety

A new investigation by Consumer Reports reveals that while tens of millions of American consumers live with medical devices implanted in their bodies, many of these implants have never been tested for safety and manufacturers are often required to do nothing more than file paperwork and pay a user fee before bringing their products to market.

29 Mar 2012

Stress response reduces memory during tests in older adults

Your mother had a doctor's appointment for a memory test. The results are conclusive: she presents with the first signs of Alzheimer type dementia. Now, to get to her appointment, your mother, who is no longer used to driving in town, took her car, looked for a parking space for 15 minutes, got lost in a labyrinth of one-way streets, had never used those new electronic parking meters before and is convinced that the "machine" stole her credit card number.

28 Mar 2012

Specific precautions must be taken for individuals on longer-term oral glucocorticoid therapy

Millions of people around the world are prescribed glucocorticoids for a wide variety of inflammatory conditions, including, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and inflammatory bowel diseases. Although they are effective and widely used, one of the potentially serious side effects of these medications is glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis.

28 Mar 2012