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Rising fuel prices affecting some health care workers

Rising fuel prices are causing financial strain for some home health care workers and the industry is considering replacing some services in rural areas with remote monitoring systems, the AP/Chicago Tribune reports.

22 Jul 2008

New method for obstetric care leads to healthier newborns and mothers

An alternative method for obstetric care has led to lower neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission rates, higher uncomplicated vaginal birth (UVB) rates, and a lower mean Adverse Outcome Index (AOI) score, according to a new study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and published in this month's issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

3 Jun 2008

NYT examines limited options for disabled children who reach age 18

The New York Times on Wednesday examined how as "medical advances have allowed patients who might have died as children to survive into adulthood, the patients are falling into a void in a health care system that has yet to develop institutions for the young and 'medically fragile.'"

19 May 2008

House Committee holds hearing on concerns about nursing home ownership, inspections

The House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee on Thursday held a hearing to examine the effects that the "increasingly veiled nature" of nursing home ownership and problems with inspections have had on the quality of care for elderly and disabled residents, CQ HealthBeat reports (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 5/15).

19 May 2008

New surgical device earns high marks from combat surgeons

Results of an independent clinical study conducted by U.S. Army combat support surgeons in Baghdad show that a new medical device used to close a type of surgical wound more quickly is saving lives and limbs of soldiers and civilians.

2 May 2008

Costs for elder care increase for fifth consecutive year, study finds

Costs for nursing homes, assisted living facilities and some in-home care services have increased for a fifth consecutive year and might continue to increase as a result of an expected shortage of long-term health care workers, according to a study released on Tuesday by Genworth Financial, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.

30 Apr 2008

Targeted therapy combo overcomes treatment resistance in liver cancer

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Abramson Cancer Center reported at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research that combining two targeted therapies overcomes treatment resistance in liver cancer cell lines.

13 Apr 2008

Helping older people live safely and independently

Complex interventions such as preventive home visits and community-based care after hospital discharge can help improve physical function and maintain independent living in older people, according to a Bristol University study of more than 90,000 older people published in this week's edition of the Lancet.

28 Feb 2008

Bacterial toxin closes gate on immune response

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have demonstrated that a bacterial toxin from the common bacterium Staphylococcus aureus shuts down the control mechanism of the tunnel, called an ion channel, in immune cell membranes.

14 Feb 2008

New York State Health Department begins $1.75 million campaign to promote long-term care insurance

New York State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines, M.D., today announced a $1.75 million statewide media campaign to promote the purchase of long-term care insurance, including the state's Partnership for Long-Term Care, by New York residents ages 40 to 65.

4 Feb 2008

Budget request from President Bush to increase spending for SCHIP by $19.7B over five years

President Bush on Monday will release a $3 trillion fiscal year 2009 budget request that would significantly reduce or eliminate spending for dozens of health and other programs but would significantly increase spending for SCHIP, the New York Times reports.

4 Feb 2008

New target for flu prevention

Emerging subtypes of influenza A virus hold the potential to initiate a world-wide epidemic in the next few years, according to World Health Organization officials.

4 Feb 2008

Patient care: Intelligent Clinical Decision Support System

European and Turkish doctors and technicians are perfecting a medical support system that can track patients' real-time vital signs, link those to patient medical history, and, crucially, provide the latest clinical guidelines for patient care. Better yet, it can alert doctors when necessary.

8 Jan 2008

Congestive heart failure leads to greater disability, nursing home admissions

Medical breakthroughs in recent decades have allowed heart attack survivors and other heart-disease patients to live longer.

8 Jan 2008

Congestive heart failure leads to greater disability among older adults

Medical breakthroughs in recent decades have allowed heart attack survivors and other heart-disease patients to live longer. But as their hearts decline into congestive heart failure, an increasing number will experience disability and the need for nursing-home care.

7 Jan 2008

Labor market work and home care's unpaid caregivers

People who provide intensive and time-consuming care to others at home - such as assisting with feeding, bathing and toileting - are the caregivers who are most vulnerable to dropping out of the labor force, according to a new systematic review of studies on unpaid caregivers.

10 Dec 2007

Research institutes from Finland and Singapore develop remote healthcare services

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and A*STAR Agency for Science, Technology and Research from Singapore have developed remote healthcare services that allow patients to be treated globally independent of time and location and irrespective of the solutions provided by hardware and data system suppliers. In Finland, the first trial services for treating cardiac patients and patients suffering from chronic illnesses have been promising.

5 Dec 2007

Study finds high cost of caring for aging parent

Caring for an aging parent or spouse is expensive -- averaging about $5,500 a year -- according to a new national study.

29 Nov 2007

Transcranial magnetic stimulation effective in treating major depression

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and other study sites have found that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) – a non-invasive technique that excites neurons in the brain via magnetic pulses passed through the scalp – is a safe and effective, non-drug treatment with minimal side effects for patients with major depression who have tried other treatment options without benefit.

27 Nov 2007

Managing the chronic care of patients is not being captured in today's reimbursement system

Full-time physicians spend an average of one full day a week providing services for patients that are not reimbursed by Medicare, according to a new study conducted by Jeffrey Farber, MD, Assistant Professor of Geriatrics at The Mount Sinai Medical Center, and published the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

19 Nov 2007