Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

4 key takeaways for faster, cheaper, more responsive research in healthcare settings

Thousands of studies take place every year in healthcare settings. A report published recently in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine describes how to do many of these studies more rapidly.

16 Jul 2014

Teenage boys desire intimacy and sex relationship with their partners

Teenage boys desire intimacy and sex in the context of a meaningful relationship and value trust in their partnerships, according to researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

16 Jul 2014

Viewpoints: 'Tradeoffs among access, quality and costs'; Obamacare as a political issue

One of the oft-repeated arguments in favor of the Affordable Care Act is that it will reduce people's need for more intensive care by increasing their access to preventive care.

16 Jul 2014

Telecare intervention leads to improvement in chronic musculoskeletal pain

A telephone-delivered intervention, which included automated symptom monitoring, produced clinically meaningful improvements in chronic musculoskeletal pain compared to usual care, according to a study in the July 16 issue of JAMA.

16 Jul 2014

New research explores why active surveillance underused in patients with prostate cancer

New research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is shedding light on the important role a diagnosing urologist plays in whether older men with low-risk prostate cancer receive treatment for their disease, and if so, the type of treatment they receive as a result.

15 Jul 2014

Some doctors refuse to see Obamacare enrollees

Subscribers are running into closed doors from some doctors listed in their plans' networks, reports The Miami Herald. Meanwhile, Connecticut advocates express concern about how a proposed overhaul of the state's health care system could change Medicaid, and in Washington state, providers scramble to keep up with demand.

15 Jul 2014

Research roundup: Clinics and electronic records; young adults baffled by exchange; Medicare spending slowdown

We found that in 2012 nine out of ten health centers had adopted a EHR system, and half had adopted EHRs with basic capabilities. Seven in ten health centers reported that their providers were receiving meaningful-use incentive payments from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

14 Jul 2014

Portable, microchip-based test for diagnosing type-1 diabetes

An inexpensive, portable, microchip-based test for diagnosing type-1 diabetes could improve patient care worldwide and help researchers better understand the disease, according to the device's inventors at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

14 Jul 2014

"Expressive therapy" intervention helps HIV women, improves social support

New research from UC San Francisco shows that an "expressive therapy" group intervention conducted by The Medea Project helps women living with HIV disclose their health status and improves their social support, self-efficacy and the safety and quality of their relationships.

14 Jul 2014

State highlights: N.Y. gives millions for hospital primary care; fight over new Ga. trauma center; San Francisco premiums expected to drop

New York health officials have awarded $462 million to help 22 hospitals and five large public hospital systems statewide continue key services. The funds followed a federal agreement in April for New York to reinvest $8 billion in Medicaid savings to support hospital overhauls and expand primary medical care over five years. The goal is to reduce avoidable hospital use by 25 percent while helping financially struggling institutions shift to more primary and outpatient care (7/9).

11 Jul 2014

Study explores key pathways for establishing successful accountable care organizations

Strong leadership, reliable health care coordination and first-rate information technology are key for academic medical centers seeking to establish successful accountable care organizations, according to a Johns Hopkins study published in the journal Academic Medicine this week.

11 Jul 2014

Insurers test new payment models for health care providers

The patient-centered medical homes model, which has been the hallmark of one such experiment by CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, is among the approaches receiving attention for reducing costs and reducing hospitalizations.

11 Jul 2014

HHS grant to support new model of care for patients with complex cancer

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced a three-year grant to University Hospitals Case Medical Center Seidman Cancer Center totaling $4.7 million to support a new national model aimed at improving care for patients with complex cancer.

11 Jul 2014

Lower back pain not triggered by weather changes according to new study

Episodes of lower back pain are not triggered by changes in weather conditions, say Australian researchers.

10 Jul 2014

First Edition: July 10, 2014

Today's headlines cover health policy headlines from the marketplace, the campaign trail and regarding the health law's implementation.

10 Jul 2014

Study examines use of electronic patient portals by patients with cancer

There has been a sharp increase in the number of cancer patients at UT Southwestern Medical Center using MyChart, the online, interactive service that allows patients to view laboratory and radiology results, communicate with their healthcare providers, schedule appointments, and renew prescriptions.

10 Jul 2014