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Physician errors are a factor in about 60% of medical malpractice claims

Physician errors are a factor in about 60% of medical malpractice claims that involved patients allegedly injured because of missed or delayed diagnoses, according to a study published on Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports.

5 Oct 2006

88% of uninsured children live in households with a working parent

A majority of the nine million uninsured children in the U.S. live in households where at least one parent works full-time, year-round, according to a report released by the advocacy group Families USA, the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports.

3 Oct 2006

More medical students enter dermatology, leave other specialties

The Detroit News on Tuesday examined how "droves" of medical students nationwide are opting to pursue careers in dermatology "as doctors flee some of the most critical medical fields -- family practice, internal medicine and obstetrics."

3 Oct 2006

Delhi on the verge of a dengue fever epidemic

Diseases such as dengue and malaria are common in the monsoon season and the Indian capital, Delhi appears to be in the grip of a likely epidemic of dengue fever.

3 Oct 2006

When it comes to the flu, antivirals far more effective than antibiotics

It seems that even though influenza has been shown to be better treated with anti-viral medication doctors and hospitals continue to use antibiotics, often with deadly consequences.

2 Oct 2006

Medical reforms driving British doctors out of the health service

The British Government has been called on to delay it's controversial scheme intended to reform the training of junior doctors, amid fears that more than 10,000 doctors could be left without training posts when Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) is implemented next year.

27 Sep 2006

Retrial of medical workers accused of infecting Libyan children with HIV adjourned after defense lawyer hospitalized

The retrial of five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor accused of infecting Libyan children with HIV adjourned on Thursday until Oct. 31 after a defense lawyer for the Bulgarian nurses was hospitalized for high blood pressure and could not appear in court, the Sofia News Agency reports (Sofia News Agency, 9/22).

26 Sep 2006

Ophthalmologists improve LASIK

Ophthalmologists have developed a formula that slashes by nearly two-thirds the likelihood that patients will need repeat visits to an eye surgeon to adjust their vision after their initial LASIK visit. That's because the formula makes it more likely that surgeons will get it right the first time.

20 Sep 2006

Sen. Kerry says language used by both sides in abortion-rights debate often 'misleading and unconstructive'

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who supports abortion rights, on Monday during a speech at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., said both abortion-rights supporters and abortion-rights opponents sometimes use "misleading and unconstructive" language and urged both sides to find "common ground," on the issue, the Boston Globe reports.

20 Sep 2006

Medical Centers should follow Stanford's lead in banning gifts from drug companies

Stanford University Medical Center's decision to prohibit physicians from accepting any gifts from pharmaceutical sales representatives is "an austere measure that other medical centers should follow," a Los Angeles Times editorial states.

20 Sep 2006

Health IT legislation should allow portability for electronic health records

"Steps are now under way to bring ... lifesaving" electronic health records to all hospitals and physician offices in the U.S., but "Congress is considering a bill that would make it harder to allow your information to follow you throughout your health care treatment," former National Coordinator for Health Information Technology David Brailer writes in a New York Times opinion piece.

20 Sep 2006

Preconception care for improving perinatal outcomes: The time to act

Continued improvements in the infant and maternal mortality rates will depend on interventions before a woman becomes pregnant, according to officials from the March of Dimes, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other experts.

19 Sep 2006

Chilean Appeals Court suspends Government plan to distribute emergency contraception at no cost to girls

The Santiago, Chile, Appeals Court last Wednesday in a split decision issued a temporary injunction on the government's plan to distribute emergency contraceptive pills in public clinics to girls ages 14 and older at no cost and without parental consent until lawsuits challenging the plan are resolved, Reuters AlertNet reports.

18 Sep 2006

Primary election results for races involving women's health issues

Nine states and the District of Columbia on Tuesday held primary elections, and some of the races involved women's health issues.

14 Sep 2006

New evidence in Libyan medic trial appears shaky

At the retrial in Tripoli of six medics accused of infecting 400 children with HIV, a Libyan court has been hearing evidence from four new prosecution witnesses.

13 Sep 2006

Green tea slows down plaque formation in Huntington's disease

Green tea can apparently inhibit the formation of the lethal protein aggregates that are a characteristic feature of Huntington's disease (HD).

13 Sep 2006

TV advertising of prescription drugs may increase visits to doctor not actual sales

TV advertising of prescription drugs may be prompting more people to visit their doctors rather than substantially increasing sales of advertised drugs, according to research led by the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).

12 Sep 2006

Drug ads and their influence on patients and doctors

Television ads for prescription drugs are everywhere, enticing people to ask their doctors for this drug or that one, but the effect this type of ad has on American healthcare may be more complicated than simply inducing patients to choose one brand or the other, according to a team of researchers.

12 Sep 2006

Surveys show most pharmacists, doctors believe Medicare Drug Benefit helps patients, though most think it is too complicated

Most pharmacists and physicians believe that the Medicare prescription drug benefit has helped beneficiaries save money on their medications but also believe that the program is overly complex, according to two surveys released on Thursday by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

11 Sep 2006

More companies opening in-house clinics for employees to help reduce health costs

A "combination of both definable and intangible savings are driving more companies to open medical clinics to cope with ever-rising health care costs," the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.

11 Sep 2006