Doctor News and Research

RSS

BCBSF unveils new online tool for comparing health care quality and cost

Knowing and understanding the cost of a medical procedure before it takes place helps people to be more than health care users - it helps them become informed health care consumers, says Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida (BCBSF).

28 Sep 2011

First Edition: September 28, 2011

Today's headlines include reports about the costs of employer insurance plans and the final installment of KHN's "Building Ambitions" series about children's hospitals.

28 Sep 2011

Americans cutting back on health spending by skipping prescriptions, procedures

A Consumer Reports survey revealed that more Americans are ignoring their doctor’s advice and skipping prescription drugs or medical procedures to save money in 2011 than a year earlier.

28 Sep 2011

Vinegar may easily detect cervical cancer

Vinegar may be more useful than you realise. It has the ability to find precancerous lesions in the cervix and potentially save thousands of women’s lives say researchers.

28 Sep 2011

Saw Palmetto ineffective in patients with enlarged prostate: Study

A new study showed that much cited saw-palmetto supplements for the middle aged to cope with the symptoms of an enlarged prostate might not do much at all.

28 Sep 2011

GlobalPost interviews reproductive health expert Frederick Sai

GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog features an interview with Frederick Sai, a Ghanaian physician who is a member of Aspen's Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health and a former president of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and director of population at the World Bank.

28 Sep 2011

Older patients who undergo carotid stenting from less experienced physicians have higher death risk

Preventing a stroke by placing a stent in the carotid artery, a major artery of the head and neck, is a procedure that's skyrocketing in the United States, but the outcomes can be deadly if older patients are not in the right hands.

28 Sep 2011

Global health blunders can lend useful lessons

New York Times reporter Lawrence Altman recounts his experience in the mid-1960s with a measles immunization campaign in Upper Volta during his time with the Epidemic Intelligence Service of the CDC in a "Doctor's World" perspective piece in the newspaper. Altman says that although the effort to expand the immunization campaign from a small field trial to a regional program "failed miserably," the "lessons learned from these blunders led to a new program that wiped out smallpox, still the only human disease to have been eradicated from the planet."

28 Sep 2011

Campaign gears up against fake plastic surgeons

A public safety campaign called, “White Coat Deception,” by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons is moving against doctors who provide care beyond their specialties.

27 Sep 2011

Low vitamin B12 raises risk of dementia in the elderly: Study

According to a latest study the elderly with low levels of vitamin B12 in their blood may be more likely to develop problems with their thinking skills and have more brain shrinkage. The study points to a link between low B12 and early cognitive decline, a condition that often leads to dementia. Previous research has found that those people with high levels of vitamin B12 in their blood have lower levels of an amino acid called homocysteine, which some studies have linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease, memory loss, and stroke.

27 Sep 2011

Autism Speaks ATN receives federal grant to continue to serve as AIR-P

The Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network (ATN), has received a $12 million federal grant to continue to serve as the Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health.

27 Sep 2011

Insurers, patients wrestle with payment, care issues and strategies

News outlets report on a variety of issues reflecting the insurance hassles patients sometimes face and the efforts by insurance companies to find profits in better-coordinated care.

27 Sep 2011

Subtle and unspoken clues exchanged by patients, doctors exert an influence on medical care

Subtle and unspoken clues exchanged by patients and doctors exert an influence on medical care, according to a new study by the University of Michigan Health System. Researchers analyzed video recordings of routine checkups and conducted follow-up interviews with participants to help elucidate signals sent and received on both sides of the examination table.

27 Sep 2011

Patients with chronic conditions likely to change their preferences for CPR

Patients with chronic conditions are likely to change their preferences for receiving emergency procedures in the event of cardiac arrest, according to new findings.

27 Sep 2011

Medical ethics and comedy

Doctors and other medical professionals occasionally joke about their patients' problems. Some of these jokes are clearly wrong, but some joking between medical professionals is not only ethical, it can actually be beneficial, concludes an article in the Hastings Center Report.

27 Sep 2011

NPR: Bartering to cover health care costs

Deb Barth is raking leaves for Lesley Jones. But Barth isn't earning money for her yardwork, at least not in physical currency. She's earning "time dollars" - for every two hours she spends doing odd jobs, she'll earn a free visit with her doctor.

27 Sep 2011

Walden University forms partnerships with five health systems

With an aging population placing major demands on healthcare systems and the nursing profession projected to grow significantly in the next few years, the need for educated healthcare professionals continues to increase.

27 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: LA Times wants solutions from GOP candidates; WSJ finds worrisome census numbers

We've now seen three full-dress debates among the Republican politicians who want to be the next president of the United States, and here's what we've learned: They all believe taxes are too high, even though federal taxes are lower as a percentage of the U.S. economy than any time in the last 60 years. They all believe onerous environmental regulations are preventing economic recovery, though few economists would agree.

27 Sep 2011

Researchers devise protein 'switch' that instructs cancer cells to produce their own medication

Johns Hopkins researchers have devised a protein "switch" that instructs cancer cells to produce their own anti-cancer medication.

26 Sep 2011

Parental motivation could improve diabetes management in high-risk youth

A little motivation for parents could go a long way toward improving young diabetes patients' ability to manage their own care, a Wayne State University researcher believes.

26 Sep 2011