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Study: Prior authorization practices cause unnecessary delays and interference in care decisions for cancer patients

Restrictive prior authorization practices cause unnecessary delays and interference in care decisions for cancer patients, according to a new survey of nearly 700 radiation oncologists -- physicians who treat cancer patients using radiation-- released today by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

26 Apr 2019

Study details how optimism can bias prognosis in serious illness

Most people think of optimism as a good thing - a positive outlook in challenging circumstances. But in reality, it's a psychological state that can be "contagious" in a bad way.

26 Apr 2019

Effective engagement of corporations with communities improves outcomes in sport sector

A new book co-written by a University of Kent sports scientist recommends corporations and organizations engage more effectively with communities - rather than taking a 'top down' approach - to improve relationships and outcomes in the sport sector.

26 Apr 2019

Study highlights importance of continued efforts to enhance the reach of diabetes prevention programs

Using data from the 2016 National Health Interview Survey, Johns Hopkins researchers report that few American adults eligible for diabetes prevention programs are being referred to, or participating in, these programs.

26 Apr 2019

Researchers find out barriers to obtaining clean needles and needle exchange

Acute hepatitis C infections rose 98 percent between 2010 and 2015 nationwide, largely because more people were injecting drugs.

26 Apr 2019

Study identifies the pollutant sources and health risks posed in Ulaanbaatar

Ulaanbaatar is often called the world's coldest capital city because the temperature can reach -40 °C on winter nights.

26 Apr 2019

New technology identifies regions where coral reef ecosystems are vulnerable to human activities

Researchers from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa and the State of Hawai'i Department of Health have developed and applied a new technology in Hawai'i that identifies where coral reef ecosystems and associated fisheries are vulnerable to human activities and where to focus management actions to minimize anthropogenic impacts.

26 Apr 2019

Limited awareness of diabetes, hypertension in China remains a major public health concern

Awareness and diagnoses of hypertension and diabetes in China has been limited, resulting in compromised treatment, and increased screening did not lead to significant improvements, according to a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Findings are online in the journal BMC Public Health.

25 Apr 2019

Increased out-of-pocket spending threatens universal health coverage in 'missing middle' countries

One in six countries is expected to have substantially high out-of-pocket spending as a proportion of total health expenditures by 2050, according to a new scientific study.

25 Apr 2019

Vascular surgery after firearm injury linked with higher morbidity and mortality

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine found that among all hospitalizations that were due to firearm injury, patients who underwent surgical repair of their major blood vessels had the highest injury severity score (predictor of in-hospital death).

25 Apr 2019

Stretchy wearable patch can do a health check while you work out

Next-generation fitness sensors could give deeper insights into human health through noninvasive testing of bodily fluids. A stretchy patch developed at KAUST could help this approach by making it easier to analyze sweat for critical biomarkers.

25 Apr 2019

Exercise activates brain circuits associated with memory in older adults

How quickly do we experience the benefits of exercise? A new University of Maryland study of healthy older adults shows that just one session of exercise increased activation in the brain circuits associated with memory - including the hippocampus - which shrinks with age and is the brain region attacked first in Alzheimer's disease.

25 Apr 2019

Small army of tiny robots can remove dental plaque

A visit to the dentist typically involves time-consuming and sometimes unpleasant scraping with mechanical tools to remove plaque from teeth.

25 Apr 2019

What causes us to binge eat? Scientists may have the answer.

Scientists have revealed that the reason we eat more than we need to may be caused by cellular communication originating in the emotion-processing center of the brain.

25 Apr 2019

Device converts brain signals into speech, offering hope for patients

In a remarkable application of modern technology, scientists have created a device that can decode signals from the brain’s speech centers to produce speech through a synthesizer.

25 Apr 2019

Measles vaccination rates are a 'public health time bomb'

The number of measles cases is on the rise globally, with many countries seeing rates that surpass annual rates for the past century. Public health officials are calling it a 'time bomb'.

25 Apr 2019

Association insurance pushes on despite court ruling

When the Trump administration in June issued rules making it easier for small employers to band together to buy health insurance, "we started looking immediately," recalled Scott Lyon, a top executive at the Small Business Association of Michigan.

25 Apr 2019

Researchers seek sage advice of elders on aging issues

Rachel O'Conor booted up her slides and began posing questions to six older adults sitting around a table: How should primary care physicians support patients and caregivers after a diagnosis of dementia? And what stands in the way of getting adequate support?

25 Apr 2019

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What the Health?’ The abortion wars rage on

A federal district judge in Oregon blocked new rules for the federal family planning program issued by the Trump administration and due to take effect May 3. It's one of several cases out to thwart the changes that would effectively evict Planned Parenthood from the Title X program.

25 Apr 2019

Study outlines challenges faced as the U.S. becomes an ‘aging society’

A paper by Columbia Mailman School's John Rowe, MD, Julius Richmond Professor of Health Policy and Aging, in the journal Health Affairs outlines the challenges we face as the U.S. becomes an "aging society."

25 Apr 2019