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Detecting diabetes with spit

Research promoting a painless new method for detecting diabetes, utilizing saliva, was revealed today at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) 18th Annual Meeting & Clinical Congress.

17 May 2009

Chicago Tribune examines use of urgent care centers

More people have begun using urgent care centers as a means of avoiding waiting for care in emergency departments or for a doctor's appointment, the Chicago Tribune reports.

15 May 2009

Urgent Care Centers: Between the ER and the family doctor

Urgent care centers (UCCs) are providing an alternative to emergency room treatment. A study published in the open access journal BMC Health Services Research has shown that UCCs tend to be open well outside of office hours and offer a wider range of services than primary care offices.

14 May 2009

Implanted cardioverter defibrillators extend lives of heart attack survivors by a year

A landmark follow-up study found that heart attack survivors who receive implanted cardioverter defribillators (ICDs) live longer the longer they have them, according to the results of alate-breaking clinical trail presented today at the annual Scientific Sessions of the Heart Rhythm Society.

14 May 2009

Two New York State health agencies launch series of projects that seek to reduce racial health disparities

The Perinatal Network of Monroe County and the Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency in New York state on Friday will unveil a series of 13 initiatives that aim to reduce racial health disparities, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports.

13 May 2009

Medicare hospital fund will be insolvent by 2017, two years earlier than expected, trustees say

The trust fund that Medicare uses to pay for beneficiaries' hospital care will be insolvent by 2017, as the program since last year has been paying out more than it collects in taxes and interest, in part due to the worsening economy, according to a Medicare Payment Advisory Commission report issued Tuesday, the Washington Times reports.

13 May 2009

South African President Zuma appoints new health minister to replace Hogan

South African President Jacob Zuma on Sunday appointed physician Aaron Motsoaledi as health minister, replacing Health Minister Barbara Hogan, who was appointed to a public enterprises position, London's Guardian reports. Motsoaledi previously served as a provincial education minister. Hogan had been appointed to the post last year to replace former Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang (Smith, Guardian, 5/10).

13 May 2009

DHEA supplement combined with vitamin D and calcium significantly improves spinal bone density in older women

"The results of our study are very promising. Similar studies have demonstrated much smaller benefits for bone than we found. However, calcium and vitamin D deficiencies, which are present in half of older adults, may have prevented DHEA from improving bone density in the earlier studies," said Edward Weiss, Ph.D., associate professor of nutrition and dietetics at Saint Louis University's Doisy College of Health Sciences and lead author of the study.

12 May 2009

Senior Medicare beneficiaries give their coverage higher ratings than do those with ESI

Elderly Medicare beneficiaries are more satisfied with their health care, and experience fewer problems accessing and paying for care, than Americans with employer-sponsored insurance (ESI), according to a study by Commonwealth Fund researchers published today on the Health Affairs Web site.

12 May 2009

Self-reported diagnosis of heart disease: Less than one in five heart problems are diagnosed before symptoms appear

Clinicians are missing golden opportunities to identify heart disease before patients start displaying symptoms, according to a study of 13,877 people published in the May issue of UK-based IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

11 May 2009

Scientific publishing giant guilty of some shonky behaviour

It has been revealed that the academic publisher Elsevier has admitted its Australian office produced six fake medical journals between 2000 and 2005.

11 May 2009

Victorian Police accused of throwing too many 'sickies'

A major campaign by Victorian Police aims to crackdown on the number of its officers taking 'sickies'.

11 May 2009

Survey examines wait times for appointments with specialists in 15 U.S. cities

Atlanta residents seeking appointments with certain specialists wait an average of 11.2 days, which is the shortest wait time among 15 cities polled in a survey released on Wednesday, the Detroit Free Press reports.

7 May 2009

British scientists win grant to develop hand-held self-monitoring test for HIV viral loads

Scientists in the United Kingdom have received a grant worth two million euros, or about $2.67 million, to develop a self-monitoring system for HIV-positive people that measures viral loads through a finger-prick of blood, BBC News reports.

7 May 2009

Kidney disease patients reap rewards of prevention

Making sure you see your doctor and have tests run on a regular basis can prevent serious complications of chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN).

7 May 2009

Many seniors at risk of malnutrition

As many as one in six people who took part in a study of older people who live at home were under-nourished and at risk of malnutrition, according to the May issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

7 May 2009

Research confirms benefits of mobile health screening program to help diagnose at-risk populations

Results presented today at the American Society of Hypertension's Twenty Fourth Annual Scientific Meeting (ASH 2009) reveal that hypertension is still disproportionally prevalent in African-American women living in Boston’s inner city neighborhoods, despite recent improvements in diagnostic and treatment options.

7 May 2009

Significantly increased mortality rate in elderly patients with nocturia

Patients suffering from nocturia, the need to urinate at least twice during the night, may have a significantly increased risk for mortality.

7 May 2009

New device allows for self-monitoring of blood lactate level

Performance athletes need to know their blood lactate level. It indicates how much lactic acid has collected in their blood as a result of physical exertion and enables conclusions to be drawn about their fitness. Professional athletes therefore regularly have to attend performance diagnosis sessions. As they pedal a cycle ergometer at various levels of exertion, a doctor takes blood samples from an earlobe. A special device then measures the concentration of lactate in the blood.

6 May 2009

Asthma coaching can reduce hospitalizations in some children

Working with an asthma coach helps to significantly reduce hospitalizations of low-income, African-American children with asthma, results of a new, two-year study show.

5 May 2009

Doctor News and Research

Detecting diabetes with spit

Chicago Tribune examines use of urgent care centers

Urgent Care Centers: Between the ER and the family doctor

Implanted cardioverter defibrillators extend lives of heart attack survivors by a year

Two New York State health agencies launch series of projects that seek to reduce racial health disparities

Medicare hospital fund will be insolvent by 2017, two years earlier than expected, trustees say

South African President Zuma appoints new health minister to replace Hogan

DHEA supplement combined with vitamin D and calcium significantly improves spinal bone density in older women

Senior Medicare beneficiaries give their coverage higher ratings than do those with ESI

Self-reported diagnosis of heart disease: Less than one in five heart problems are diagnosed before symptoms appear

Scientific publishing giant guilty of some shonky behaviour

Victorian Police accused of throwing too many 'sickies'

Survey examines wait times for appointments with specialists in 15 U.S. cities

British scientists win grant to develop hand-held self-monitoring test for HIV viral loads

Kidney disease patients reap rewards of prevention

Many seniors at risk of malnutrition

Research confirms benefits of mobile health screening program to help diagnose at-risk populations

Significantly increased mortality rate in elderly patients with nocturia

New device allows for self-monitoring of blood lactate level

Asthma coaching can reduce hospitalizations in some children

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

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