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Diagnosing influenza with rapid tests leads to more efficient care

When patients in the emergency department (ED) are diagnosed with influenza by means of a rapid test, they get fewer unnecessary antibiotics, are prescribed antiviral medications more frequently, and have fewer additional lab tests compared to patients diagnosed with influenza without testing, according to a new study. Published online in the Journal of the Pediatrics Infectious Diseases Society, the findings suggest that diagnosing influenza with a rapid diagnostic test leads to more appropriate, specific, and efficient care.

14 Nov 2013

HHS: Nearly a million consumers have completed the health insurance sign up process; 106,185 have selected plans

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced enrollment numbers today for the federal and state online health insurance marketplaces that opened Oct. 1. Medicaid enrollment data were also released.

14 Nov 2013

Artificial trans fatty acids not needed anymore

Artificial trans fatty acids are no longer needed in advanced technological societies, says metabolic disease expert Henry Pownall, Ph.D., a chemist who has been studying fatty acid and cholesterol metabolism for over four decades.

14 Nov 2013

JAMA asks experts to examine 'critical issues' in health care

The Journal of the American Medical Association's current edition, published Tuesday, invited well-known health policy experts to comment on some of the big questions in their fields.

14 Nov 2013

TAILORED-Treatment project to increase effectiveness of antibiotics receives EU funding

The European Union has funded a 4 year project called TAILORED-Treatment with € 6.000.000,-. The main goal of TAILORED -Treatment is to establish a strategy that can be used to increase the effectiveness of antibiotic treatment, reduce any potential side-effects of therapy, and help limit the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in hospitalized children and adults. The project will be coordinated by Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

14 Nov 2013

Johns Hopkins students take the top honor for developing PrestoPatch system

A Johns Hopkins undergraduate biomedical engineering student team that devised a two-part system to improve the way life-saving shocks are delivered to hearts earned first-prize in the undergraduate division of a national Collegiate Inventors Competition. In the graduate-level competition, Isaac Kinde, a Johns Hopkins medical student, received third-place honors for developing a test to detect ovarian and endometrial cancers as part of a team at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.

14 Nov 2013

Study reveals how cocaine permanently damages proteins in the body

A new study on cocaine, the notorious white powder illegally snorted, injected or smoked by nearly 2 million Americans, details how it may permanently damage proteins in the body. That information, gleaned from laboratory tests, could be used to potentially detect the drug in biofluids for weeks or months - instead of days - after use, say scientists. The findings, which appear in the ACS journal Chemical Research in Toxicology, could also help explain cocaine's long-term health effects.

14 Nov 2013

Will Healthcare.gov troubles slow Medicaid expansion too?

Medicaid sign-ups, part of the health law working the way many officials thought it should, could also be hurt by technological malfunctions. But one state is finding the opposite to be true. In the meantime, states consider new Medicaid expansions or report on how many new Medicaid enrollees are signing up.

14 Nov 2013

Porter Breast Center becomes one of the only NAPBC-accredited programs in Colorado

Porter Adventist Hospital is happy to announce that the Porter Breast Center, a regional destination for comprehensive breast care and part of the Centura Health Cancer Network, has been reaccredited by the American College of Surgeons, National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers with a three-year full accreditation.

14 Nov 2013

Viewpoints: Some who supported health law learning first-hand about the downsides; small businesses not finding better deals; Clinton should know there is no 'magic solution'

Margaret Davis of West L.A. voted for President Obama and appreciates the ideas behind the Affordable Care Act. She agrees that everyone should have access to healthcare and no one should be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions. But here's the problem: She knows firsthand, as the new law of the land rolls clumsily into being, that it's not working out to everyone's advantage (Steve Lopez, 11/12).

14 Nov 2013

Swept up in Healthcare.gov's troubled launch, the 'Mona Lisa of health care' speaks

Identified only as "Adriana," the woman whose face appeared on the federal online insurance website says she does not understand the reasons behind the mockery and speculation of which she became the focus.

14 Nov 2013

Over 50% of nonsurgical patients prescribed opioids during hospitalizations, analysis finds

Amid a growing climate of concern regarding the overuse of opioid pain medications, a comprehensive analysis of more than 1 million hospital admissions has found that over 50 percent of all nonsurgical patients were prescribed opioids during their hospitalizations -- often at very high doses -- and that more than half of those exposed were still receiving these medications on the day they were discharged from the hospital.

14 Nov 2013

Two Los Angeles County behavioral health facilities named Top Performers

Two behavioral health facilities located in Los Angeles County have been named Top Performers for hospital-based inpatient psychiatric care by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of health care organizations in America. Aurora Charter Oak Hospital, located in Covina, and Aurora Las Encinas Hospital, located in Pasadena, each received recognition for their performance on key quality measures achieved during 2012.

14 Nov 2013

State regulators explore options on insurance plan cancellations

Oregon regulators rejected calls to push back the cancellation dates of 140,000 health insurance policies in the state, even as momentum to delay the cancellations builds among California officials and some national Democratic figures. Meanwhile, PBS Newshour explores the reasons for the cancellations of policies which are sold directly to individuals.

14 Nov 2013

High-power blue laser gadgets can cause serious eye damage

A type of high-power blue laser toy readily available over the Internet and increasingly popular among male teens and young adults can cause serious, sometimes irreversible, eye damage, according to a report by investigators from Saudi Arabia’s King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital and Johns Hopkins Medicine.

14 Nov 2013

State marketplaces still plagued by technical problems

The New York Times examines how states running their own insurance exchange websites are doing. Meanwhile, USA Today looks at how insurance choices vary across the country.

14 Nov 2013

Some Democrats supporting GOP bill allowing Americans to keep canceled health plans

Democrats consider or profess their support for a Republican plan that would allow Americans to keep their canceled health insurance plans. In the meantime, fights continue to rage over the health law's navigators, and in political races.

14 Nov 2013

Leading pediatric health system to examine causes of divergence and variability

The Department of Defense has awarded Nemours a $3.9 million grant to evaluate how physicians use best practice guidelines and to consider strategies to maintain clinical skills and consistency of care. The study, which will examine care provided throughout Nemours' pediatric health system, could help the military reintegrate physicians after deployment and better understand how their time away from routine practice affects their clinical knowledge and skill.

14 Nov 2013

Policy developments: SCOTUS won't hear appeal of ruling striking down Okla. abortion law

The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal of a ruling striking down an Oklahoma abortion law that would have required pregnant women to have an ultrasound before having an abortion. In the meantime, The Washington Post fact-checks an insurance premium claim by HHS Secretary Sebelius.

14 Nov 2013

New center launched to increase efficacy, reduce costs at four health care providers across Indiana

In response to rising national health care costs, the Indiana University School of Medicine and Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute have launched a new center to increase efficacy and reduce costs at four major health care providers across Indiana.

14 Nov 2013

Healthcare News

Diagnosing influenza with rapid tests leads to more efficient care

HHS: Nearly a million consumers have completed the health insurance sign up process; 106,185 have selected plans

Artificial trans fatty acids not needed anymore

JAMA asks experts to examine 'critical issues' in health care

TAILORED-Treatment project to increase effectiveness of antibiotics receives EU funding

Johns Hopkins students take the top honor for developing PrestoPatch system

Study reveals how cocaine permanently damages proteins in the body

Will Healthcare.gov troubles slow Medicaid expansion too?

Porter Breast Center becomes one of the only NAPBC-accredited programs in Colorado

Viewpoints: Some who supported health law learning first-hand about the downsides; small businesses not finding better deals; Clinton should know there is no 'magic solution'

Swept up in Healthcare.gov's troubled launch, the 'Mona Lisa of health care' speaks

Over 50% of nonsurgical patients prescribed opioids during hospitalizations, analysis finds

Two Los Angeles County behavioral health facilities named Top Performers

State regulators explore options on insurance plan cancellations

High-power blue laser gadgets can cause serious eye damage

State marketplaces still plagued by technical problems

Some Democrats supporting GOP bill allowing Americans to keep canceled health plans

Leading pediatric health system to examine causes of divergence and variability

Policy developments: SCOTUS won't hear appeal of ruling striking down Okla. abortion law

New center launched to increase efficacy, reduce costs at four health care providers across Indiana

Exploring the nanoscale: How AFM is transforming cosmetic science

Innovating Texture and Culture in Plant-Based Foods

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

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