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How medical homes promote equity in health care

Providing minority patients a medical home in which they have a regular doctor or health professional who oversees and coordinates their care would help eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities and promote more health care equity, says a new report from the Commonwealth Fund.

28 Jun 2007

Print and phone programs help increase physical activity

As Americans struggle to become more physically active, simple programs that provide feedback and motivation can play a crucial role in getting people off to a good start, according to a study of the July issue of Health Psychology.

27 Jun 2007

40 percent of parents willing to have their child's DNA stored in a government biobank

Genetic testing holds great promise for the future. Information generated by genetic testing may provide information that leads to new treatments for common diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

23 Jun 2007

CBO Director discusses health care spending growth

Congressional Budget Office Director Peter Orszag on Thursday at a hearing of the Senate Budget Committee said that federal spending on Medicare and Medicaid would increase from about 4.5% to about 20% of U.S. gross domestic product by 2050, CongressDaily reports.

22 Jun 2007

Gaps in diabetes care identified

A symposium, sponsored by the American Journal of Nursing (AJN) in collaboration with the American Diabetes Association, the American Association of Diabetes Educators, Joslin Diabetes Center and the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing identified barriers to, and strategies for, more effective diabetes self management and reaffirmed the nurse's critical role to facilitate better patient self care.

17 Jun 2007

Childbirth-related hospitalizations among adolescent girls

The rate of teenage and younger girls giving birth in U.S. hospitals dropped by a quarter between 1997 and 2004 - from 55 to 41 admissions per 100,000 girls under age 18 - according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

16 Jun 2007

Type of insurance coverage linked to more advanced cancers

Two new studies find the uninsured and people with certain types of public health insurance are more likely to be diagnosed with more advanced cancer compared to those with private insurance.

16 Jun 2007

True cost of having a baby

For women insured through large employer private plans, the average cost of having a baby in the United States in 2004 was more than $8,000, according to a study released by the March of Dimes Foundation.

14 Jun 2007

Should insurance companies have access to genetic test results

There is no good reason to deny insurers access to genetic information, argues a Professor of Ethics in a debate published in the British Medical Journal.

14 Jun 2007

Health-care costs higher for insomniacs

Research presented at SLEEP 2007, the 21st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS) finds that the health care costs of patients with insomnia are higher than for those without insomnia.

14 Jun 2007

Hawaii the tops when it comes to health care

Living in Hawaii has more advantages than just sunshine and beautiful beaches. Health wise Hawaii is the top place to be when it comes to accessing safe and affordable medical care.

13 Jun 2007

Child care trends

As baby boomers age and women with young children return to the work force, families are increasingly turning to paid workers to care for children and elderly parents and grandparents.

8 Jun 2007

Damages caps in medical malpractice cases

Caps on medical malpractice damages mean lower insurance premiums for doctors, according to a new review from two Alabama universities.

1 Jun 2007

Uncontrolled asthma is highly prevalent

A survey of 1,812 patients with moderate-to-severe asthma revealed that the disease was not controlled in 55 percent, despite the fact that most had health insurance and visited their health care providers regularly.

1 Jun 2007

FDA should be given broad regulatory authority over tobacco marketing, packaging, and distribution

A combination of increased excise taxes, nationwide indoor smoking bans, and other measures would significantly lower the U.S. smoking rate, which now hovers at around 21 percent of the adult population, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

28 May 2007