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Studies examine effects of hospital closures, affordability of coverage

The authors recommend that low-cost, nonhospital-based preventive care be promoted to reduce patient deaths after hospital closures.

24 Aug 2006

Medicare to reduce payments to pharmacies making their own medications

Beginning in January 2007, CMS will make "significantly lower" Medicare payments to pharmacies that make compounded inhalation drugs for patients with respiratory needs, according to a letter sent on Tuesday from CMS Administrator Mark McClellan to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), USA Today reports.

24 Aug 2006

Variances in patterns of care for patients with prostate cancer failing primary therapy

Variables that impact management of failed primary therapy for prostate cancer (CaP) are not well defined.

21 Aug 2006

Federal report calls for changes in procedures for evacuating nursing home residents during disasters

The emergency evacuation plans of nursing homes located in the Gulf States during four hurricanes within the past year met federal and state regulations but had a number of problems, according to a report issued on Friday by HHS Inspector General Daniel Levinson, the New York Times reports.

20 Aug 2006

Fewer physicians accepting Medicaid beneficiaries as new patients

Fewer physicians are accepting Medicaid beneficiaries as new patients, in part because they say that reimbursements are too low and because of "administrative hassles," according to a study from the Center for Studying Health System Change, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports.

17 Aug 2006

Average Medicare drug benefit premium to remain unchanged at $24 in 2007

Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in the program's prescription drug benefit in 2007 will pay an average monthly premium of about $24, the same as the average monthly premium for this year, CMS Administrator Mark McClellan said Tuesday, the New York Times reports.

16 Aug 2006

When a patient is diagnosed with prostate cancer, what determines whether he will receive early androgen ablation?

While the benefits of androgen ablation therapy have been well documented in patients with locally advanced and metastatic prostate cancer, there is a paucity of evidence its role in patients with low-grade, low-stage disease.

16 Aug 2006

Implications of the new Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit for people with HIV/AIDS

The Kaiser Family Foundation today released a report on the implications of the new Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit for people with HIV/AIDS.

3 Aug 2006

Researchers test possibility of growing kidneys for transplant

Bioengineers from the Medical University of South Carolina and Clemson University believe their research has the potential to save the lives of thousands of patients desperately waiting for a kidney while, at the same time, cutting costs associated with kidney disease.

2 Aug 2006

Computer-aided detection essential in preventing breast cancer

Computer-aided detection improves breast cancers in both screening and diagnostic patients according to a recent study done by a private practice radiologist in Santa Barbara, CA.

2 Aug 2006

Hospitals and physicians organize and market services targeted at specific diseases, organ systems and populations, raising cost and quality concerns

The proliferation of heart institutes, cancer centers, orthopedic hospitals and other niche specialty centers signals an escalation in a new medical arms race as hospitals and physicians develop and market profitable specialty-service lines.

26 Jul 2006

Burgess bill important step toward ensuring seniors get needed health care

Rep. Michael C. Burgess, MD. (R-TX) took an important step toward replacing the flawed Medicare physician payment formula with the introduction of the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Bill and Quality Improvement Act of 2006.

26 Jul 2006

Type 2 diabetes is associated with primary open angle glaucoma in women

A 20-year study of women in the Nurses' Health Study has shown that Type 2 diabetes is associated with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), the most common form of glaucoma, accounting for about 60 to 70% of all glaucomas.

12 Jul 2006

Focussing on performance measures may lead to inappropriate antibiotic use

Patients with suspected pneumonia may receive antibiotics unnecessarily as a result of hospital and physician efforts to meet certain performance measures.

10 Jul 2006

Women receive lower-quality heart attack care than men

A new study shows that a puzzling gap between the sexes persists in hospital care for heart attack patients, despite specific efforts by hospitals to improve the way they treat all patients immediately after a heart attack.

10 Jul 2006

Hospital quality measures do not fully account for the variation in hospital death rates for heart attack patients

Hospital quality measures do not fully account for the variation in hospital death rates for heart attack patients, according to a study in the July 5 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.

4 Jul 2006

Terminally ill cancer patients continue to receive aggressive treatment at end of life

The increasing use of chemotherapy and intensive hospital treatment for cancer patients in their last two weeks of life continued at least into the late 1990s despite the growth of the hospice movement that emphasizes comforting personal bonds and controlling pain and discomfort

9 Jun 2006

Factors influencing the route of administration for Epoetin treatment among hemodialysis patients in the U.S.

A forthcoming article to be published in the July 2006 issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases finds that physician decision-making for the delivery of epoetin therapy is primarily influenced by the type of ownership and financial incentives associated with dialysis centers.

6 Jun 2006

MRI cost-effective for some women at high-risk of breast cancer

A computer model simulation suggests that adding breast MRI screening may be cost-effective for women of certain ages who carry BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations.

23 May 2006

Benefits of screening colonoscopy in very elderly

Even though the prevalence of colon tumors increases with age, screening colonoscopy in patients over 80 years of age results in smaller gains in life expectancy, compared to younger patients.