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Gap in health rates between socioeconomic classes unchanged

Over the past century, the United States has witnessed historic advances in public health and medicine that have contributed to improved health and a significant increase in life expectancy for all socioeconomic groups.

5 Dec 2007

Research institutes from Finland and Singapore develop remote healthcare services

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and A*STAR Agency for Science, Technology and Research from Singapore have developed remote healthcare services that allow patients to be treated globally independent of time and location and irrespective of the solutions provided by hardware and data system suppliers. In Finland, the first trial services for treating cardiac patients and patients suffering from chronic illnesses have been promising.

5 Dec 2007

New recommendations provide evidence-based solutions to America's many health care problems

In a new evidence-based paper, the American College of Physicians (ACP) analyzes health care in the United States and 12 other industrialized countries and identifies lessons that could be applied to the particular political and social culture of the United States to achieve a high performing health care system, including achieving universal health insurance coverage for all Americans.

4 Dec 2007

Cancer patients to be treated by qualified professionals

The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) is calling on European politicians to voice their support for a decisive step to help ensure cancer patients receive the best possible treatment.

3 Dec 2007

Out-of-hours doctors reluctant to do home visits, say patients

Patients feel that doctors providing out-of-hours services in primary care are reluctant to do home visits, shows a small study of patients' experiences in Quality and Safety in Health Care.

3 Dec 2007

Patients with learning difficulties get a poor deal in Britain

The government's health watchdog in Britain, the Healthcare Commission says patients with learning difficulties receive standards of care which are well below what should be expected of modern healthcare services.

3 Dec 2007

10% of patients in NHS hospitals may experience some kind of adverse event

One in ten NHS patients comes to harm while in hospital as a result of their clinical care, suggests a study in Quality and Safety in Health Care.

2 Dec 2007

New report explores Medicaid's challenges in providing long-term care

Medicaid has evolved to become the primary payer for long-term care (LTC) services and supports to low-income elderly and disabled individuals, financing nearly half (42 percent) of the nation's spending on long-term care services.

29 Nov 2007

Health professionals worry about ethnic sensitivity

Health professionals worry that a lack of knowledge about different cultures may lead to them being seen as insensitive or inappropriate to patients from different ethnic backgrounds - according to new research.

29 Nov 2007

The association of registered nurse staffing levels and patient outcomes

If hospitals added one more full-time registered nurse on staff to care for patients, the number of hospital-related deaths in the United States could decrease significantly, according to a new review.

27 Nov 2007

Screening for dementia red flags in primary care: Is it time?

Primary care physicians should focus on "dementia red flags" rather than routinely screen individuals with no dementia symptoms just because they've reached a certain age, according to Malaz Boustani, M.D., MPH, of the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute, Inc. and colleagues from the University of Kent and the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom in a commentary published in the Nov. 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

27 Nov 2007

Many people mistrust Britain's NHS even though it is improving, research shows

Research carried out by Professor Peter Taylor-Gooby and Dr Andrew Wallace at the Department of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent, shows that many people mistrust the NHS even though spending has increased hugely, waiting lists have fallen rapidly and death rates in the priority areas (heart disease and cancer) have improved sharply.

27 Nov 2007

Psychiatric advance directives enhance patient-doctor communication

In theory, psychiatric advance directives provide a way to improve medical decision making during a mental health crisis.

27 Nov 2007

Many employers do not implement programs to improve quality and value of health benefits

A new survey indicates that among large employers, many have not examined data on physician quality or shared health plan or physician data with employees that could help improve the value and quality of health benefits, according to a study in the November 21 issue of JAMA.

21 Nov 2007

The science of cancer health disparities in racial/ethnic minorities and the medically underserved

The latest biological, clinical and social research behind how cancer affects different racial and ethnic groups will be the focus of the first American Association for Cancer Research conference on the topic, entitled "The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved."

21 Nov 2007

Rapid response teams in children's hospitals reduce risk of death, cardiac arrests

A children's hospital that added a rapid response medical team for patients not in the intensive care unit saw an 18 percent decrease in the death rate, and about a 70 percent decline in the rate of cardiac and respiratory arrests, according to a study in the November 21 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

21 Nov 2007

World-famous heart transplant hospital given the all-clear

World-famous Papworth hospital in Cambridgeshire, England, has been given the all-clear to resume heart transplant surgery.

20 Nov 2007

Health care opinion leaders support public reporting of health care quality, prices

Health care providers, insurance companies and drug makers should make information about prices available to the public, according to a new survey of leaders in health care and health policy.

19 Nov 2007

UK government has reneged on its pledge to provide more flexible working in the NHS

The government has reneged on its pledge to provide more flexible working in the NHS, says the Medical Women's Federation in Postgraduate Medical Journal.

13 Nov 2007

N.J. nurses are overworked

New Jersey registered nurses are teetering on the brink of exhaustion due to heavier work loads, feeling that they are not able to provide proper patient care and receiving little support from management, according to a survey conducted by Rutgers College of Nursing faculty member Linda Flynn.

13 Nov 2007