Doctor News and Research

RSS

25% of stroke patients stop taking prevention medication within 3 months

At least a quarter of patients who have suffered a stroke stop taking one or more of their prescribed stroke prevention medications within the first three months after being hospitalized - when the chance of having another stroke is highest - according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and colleagues.

12 Aug 2010

Tips to prevent back pain for frequent laptop users

The symptoms are familiar to any student who has ever spent a long night pounding out a paper on a laptop computer: an aching neck, throbbing head and tingling fingers.Because of the way the computers are designed, using a laptop almost inevitably leads to poor posture, said Kevin Carneiro, DO, a doctor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. Incorrect posture and computer overuse can cause debilitating physical problems, such as sore muscles or repetitive stress injuries. Typing can also cause carpal tunnel syndrome, an injury to the nerve that passes through the wrist.

12 Aug 2010

What doctors say and what patients hear may be entirely different things

A study of 89 patients at one U.S. hospital has found that "doctors and patients are often not on the same page when discussing diagnoses and treatment," Reuters reports. "In interviews with the patients on the day of their discharge, researchers found that only 18 percent even knew the name of the main physician in charge of their hospital care.

12 Aug 2010

Modifiable factors associated with stroke survivor compliance to taking medication: Study

12 Aug 2010

Researchers develop first diabetes risk assessment for multi-ethnic population

A team from the University of Leicester, led by Professor Melanie Davies from the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences and Professor Kamlesh Khunti from the Department of Health Sciences, has developed an easy way for people to assess their risk of having diabetes. Working in partnership with Diabetes UK, the largest diabetes charity in the country, and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, they have produced the first diabetes risk assessment that can be used in a multi-ethnic population.

12 Aug 2010

Nurses increasingly the target of violence; Texas nurse case settled

The Associated Press: "Violence against nurses and other medical professionals appears to be increasing around the country as the number of drug addicts, alcoholics and psychiatric patients showing up at emergency rooms climbs. Nurses have responded, in part, by seeking tougher criminal penalties for assaults against health care workers.

12 Aug 2010

Rural health suffering in Australia

A report looking into the state of Australia's rural health system has found severe disparities in rural health care. The report shows that more than 52 percent of rural Australians are waiting one or more weeks for a routine appointment with their GP and some are forced to wait up to six months to see specialists.

11 Aug 2010

Mental health bill for 2008 was $5.3 billion: Report

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), the country is spending more and more to deal with its mental ailment burden. This emerged from a report from the AIHW saying that finances spent on mental health services between 2007 to 2008 were $5.3 billion. Of this around 60 per cent came from state and territory governments, 36 per cent from the Commonwealth, and the rest from private health funds.

11 Aug 2010

Agile initiates Phase 3 NEW CHOICE Study of AG200-15 contraceptive patch

Agile Therapeutics, Inc., a pharmaceutical development company specializing in women's healthcare products, today announced study initiation and dosing of the first patient in the Company's pivotal, Phase 3 NEW CHOICE Study of AG200-15, Agile's lead contraceptive patch. AG200-15 is designed to effectively deliver a low dose of estrogen in combination with levonorgestrel. The patch is applied once weekly for three weeks followed by a patch-free week.

11 Aug 2010

Survey shows strong interest in video games, virtual reality environments for doctor training

Today's students were raised with a digital mouse in their hands. So it should be no surprise that a majority of medical school students surveyed say video games and virtual reality environments could help them become better doctors.

11 Aug 2010

Telemedicine helps care for seniors, while pediatricians increasingly care for young adults

As part of a special section on aging, The Washington Post reports on telemedicine for seniors: "Imagine a 75-year-old receiving wireless medication reminders, straight to his beeping wristband. ... Although developers and advocates have promoted telemedicine for years, Alice Borelli of Intel points to barriers -- including Medicare reimbursement policies and inadequate broadband in parts of the country -- that have kept telemedicine a mostly conceptual solution.

11 Aug 2010

Payment practices investigated; Texas docs team with hospitals on payment reform

The New York Times: The Obama administration is investigating widespread practices that don't pay nurses and other employees at hospitals and nursing homes properly for overtime they work. "Hospitals around the country have paid millions of dollars in back wages to settle claims by the government and their employees. And many more hospitals are fighting class-action lawsuits that raise the same issues." Settlements have been reached in St. Louis, Boston and California.

11 Aug 2010

Today's Opinions and Editorials: Bringing down health care costs; More on the Medicare trustees report

Short of transforming the medical payment system, can we bring down health care costs by feasible fixes? Yes, by reducing the number of services that must be covered by every insurance policy and requiring higher copayments for patients using the highest cost providers (Robert Pozen, 8/10).

11 Aug 2010

Telephone monitoring can save heart failure patients: Study

Chronic heart failure needs constant care and regular monitoring. Now research says remote monitoring, either over the phone or using wireless technology, helps people with heart failure live longer and stay out of hospital.

10 Aug 2010

Computerized warning system alerts harmful drug orders for older hospital patients

Adverse drug events, such as dizziness or confusion occur in an estimated 40 percent of all hospital patients and can be the result of inappropriate medications being ordered. Not surprisingly, elderly individuals are particularly vulnerable to these adverse events, which not only result in longer hospitalizations, but can also pose a threat of serious complications and even death.

10 Aug 2010

Nat'l Health Services Corps spending more to increase primary care docs in underserved areas

The Washington Post reports on the Obama administration's efforts "to bring thousands of young primary care doctors to underserved areas … and keep them there. The administration recently invested more than $1 billion from the stimulus and the health-care law into the National Health Services Corps to beef up doctor recruitment.

10 Aug 2010

Scientists work towards creating a vaccine for Parkinson's disease

Nina Brown, 68, and millions of others with a debilitating neurological condition called Parkinson's disease are counting on researchers for a cure. At The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), protein chemists are working to develop a therapeutic vaccine.

10 Aug 2010

Active outreach may enhance kids’ ability to get health insurance

A new review of existing research suggests that health system workers can boost the number of children with medical insurance by providing application materials to parents and helping them fill out the forms.

9 Aug 2010

University of Houston and Texas Instruments collaborate to simplify development of new portable applications

From smart phones to medical equipment, embedded processors are everywhere and getting increasingly more powerful. One University of Houston (UH) professor's work with Texas Instruments (TI) is making it easier to develop these types of systems.

7 Aug 2010

President Obama issues Proclamation recognizing National Health Center Week

President Barack Obama today issued a Presidential Proclamation recognizing August 8 - 14, 2010 as National Health Center Week. "During National Health Center Week, we recognize the important work of Community Health Centers for their role in providing quality, accessible, and affordable patient care as we strive to build a health care system equipped for the 21st century," said the President.

7 Aug 2010

Doctor News and Research

25% of stroke patients stop taking prevention medication within 3 months

Tips to prevent back pain for frequent laptop users

What doctors say and what patients hear may be entirely different things

Modifiable factors associated with stroke survivor compliance to taking medication: Study

Researchers develop first diabetes risk assessment for multi-ethnic population

Nurses increasingly the target of violence; Texas nurse case settled

Rural health suffering in Australia

Mental health bill for 2008 was $5.3 billion: Report

Agile initiates Phase 3 NEW CHOICE Study of AG200-15 contraceptive patch

Survey shows strong interest in video games, virtual reality environments for doctor training

Telemedicine helps care for seniors, while pediatricians increasingly care for young adults

Payment practices investigated; Texas docs team with hospitals on payment reform

Today's Opinions and Editorials: Bringing down health care costs; More on the Medicare trustees report

Telephone monitoring can save heart failure patients: Study

Computerized warning system alerts harmful drug orders for older hospital patients

Nat'l Health Services Corps spending more to increase primary care docs in underserved areas

Scientists work towards creating a vaccine for Parkinson's disease

Active outreach may enhance kids’ ability to get health insurance

University of Houston and Texas Instruments collaborate to simplify development of new portable applications

President Obama issues Proclamation recognizing National Health Center Week

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

Latest News