Health Care News and Research

RSS

Addiction medicine mostly prescribed to whites, even as opioid deaths rose among blacks

White drug users addicted to heroin, fentanyl and other opioids have had near-exclusive access to buprenorphine, a drug that curbs the craving for opioids and reduces the chance of a fatal overdose.

8 May 2019

CDC says large number of pregnancy related deaths could be prevented

The Centres for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) has released a Vital Signs report that says that at least three in five pregnancy related deaths are preventable.

8 May 2019

Diabetes complications rise sharply in the U.S. as teenagers transition to adulthood, but not in Canada

Hospitalizations for a feared complication of diabetes, diabetic ketoacidosis, rise sharply as adolescents transition to adulthood in the U.S, but not in Canada, according to a new study published May 8 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. DKA can generally be prevented with regular use of insulin.

8 May 2019

The money and politics of prescription drugs: What you need to know

If there's one area of health care where Republicans and Democrats might strike a deal, it's prescription drugs.

8 May 2019

A plan to cover immigrants would divert public health dollars

California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants the state to provide health coverage to low-income young adults who are in the country illegally, but his plan would siphon public health dollars from several counties battling surging rates of sexually transmitted diseases and, in some cases, measles outbreaks.

8 May 2019

Effects of surgery on a warming planet: Can anesthesia go green?

It was early morning in an operating theater at Providence Hospital in Portland, Ore. A middle-aged woman lay on the operating table, wrapped in blankets. Surgeons were about to cut out a cancerous growth in her stomach.

8 May 2019

Researchers create ‘mini-guts’ to explore how gut epithelium respond to gluten in celiac patients

In pursuit of a novel tool for the research and treatment of celiac disease, scientists at the Mucosal Immunology and Biology Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital have validated the use of intestinal organoids.

8 May 2019

Drug industry patents go under Senate Judiciary Committee’s microscope

Congress isn't making much headway in finding a solution to the problem of soaring prescription drug prices, but lawmakers from both parties are tinkering on the edges with legislation that aims to increase competition among drugmakers.

8 May 2019

Hospital openness linked to lower mortality rates

The diffusion of a culture of openness in hospitals is associated with lower hospital mortality, according to a study conducted among 137 acute trusts in England by Veronica Toffolutti (Bocconi University and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine) and David Stuckler (Bocconi University) published in Health Affairs.

7 May 2019

Discovery could change the way fibromyalgia and chronic pain are treated

Researchers led by a team from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston were able to dramatically reduce the pain of fibromyalgia patients with medication that targeted insulin resistance.

7 May 2019

Patients of Medicare providers excluded for fraud and abuse more likely to be minorities, disabled

A new study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health analyzed providers excluded from Medicare for fraud and abuse, and found that the patients they treated prior to being banned were more likely to be minorities, disabled and dually-enrolled in Medicaid to supplement financial assistance for health care.

From Johns Hopkins Medicine 7 May 2019

Feds want to show health care costs on your phone, but that could take years

Federal officials are proposing new regulations that for the first time could allow patients to compare prices charged by various hospitals and other health care providers using data sent to their smartphones.

7 May 2019

Meth vs. opioids: America has two drug epidemics, but focuses on one

Kim had been wine tasting with a friend in Sonoma, Calif. They got into an argument in the car that night and Kim thought someone was following them. She was utterly convinced. And she had to get away.

7 May 2019

Enhancing the effectiveness of cognitive tests for diagnosing dementia

Cognitive difficulties are a symptom of many neurodegenerative conditions, and the benefits of early and accurate diagnosis are well recognized.

7 May 2019

Clarigent Health partners with The Children's Home of Cincinnati to test decision support app

Clarigent Health, a technology company building a clinical decision support tool for mental health professionals, is partnering with The Children's Home of Cincinnati, a leading provider of education and mental health treatment for children facing significant challenges, to complete a pilot study using Clarigent's mobile decision support app.

7 May 2019

Developing the first digital procedural checklist for trauma centers

In hospital trauma centers, where life-or-death decisions are made in seconds, fractions of a second it takes even the best doctors to remember "what's next?" could be pivotal.

6 May 2019

Low oxygen levels harm specific cells in the developing brain

Low oxygen levels are a well-known cause of brain injury in premature babies. But the mechanism by which low oxygen hurts the developing human brain has been unclear.

6 May 2019

The long and winding road to mental health care for your kid

For several months last spring and summer, my teen daughter, Caroline, experienced near-daily bouts of depression and debilitating panic attacks. During those episodes, she became extremely agitated, sobbing uncontrollably and aggressively rebuffing my attempts to comfort or reason with her.

6 May 2019

Many patients and the public have low awareness of heart failure

Low awareness of heart failure among patients and the public is highlighted in surveys to be presented during Heart Failure 2019 the annual congress of the Heart Failure Association, a branch of the European Society of Cardiology, taking place in Athens, Greece from 25 to 28 May.

6 May 2019

Study asks patients’ input for improving hospital care

American hospitals engage in continuous quality and safety improvement, but information remains scarce on what patients, families and caregivers themselves most want to change about their hospital experiences.

3 May 2019