Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

Walk-in clinics staffed by nurses can reduce health care costs, says URI professor

People who don't have health insurance are often forced to seek treatment at hospital emergency rooms for colds, body aches and other routine illnesses. Those visits cost patients, hospitals and taxpayers millions of dollars every year.

28 Nov 2013

Genetics and cardiovascular drugs: an interview with Nancy Lurker, CEO of PDI and Paul Kinnon, CEO of Transgenomic, Inc.

People inherit different versions of any particular gene, and some genes affect how patients process and metabolize medicines. This especially holds true for people with cardiovascular (CV) disease. They may be fast, slow or non-metabolizers and might also react badly (with serious adverse events) to certain drug therapies or not at all.

27 Nov 2013

Asthma patients ‘too accepting of symptoms’

Researchers from the UK report that patients with asthma continue to overestimate their asthma control, and many accept symptoms as the norm.

26 Nov 2013

Auditory processing disorder diagnosis: an interview with Dr Doris-Eva Bamiou, UCL Ear Institute

It is a listening or hearing disorder, which is due to the brain’s defective analysis of sounds, so that individuals who are affected with this disorder cannot make sense of what they hear.

26 Nov 2013

State highlights: What will Va.'s new governor do with state's mental health system?; Kancare gets nursing home critics; patient access to records in Wis.

In the wake of the Creigh Deeds family tragedy, it seems instructive to look ahead to how Gov.-elect Terry McAuliffe plans to deal with Virginia's mental health system.

26 Nov 2013

Alternative treatment for autism focuses on controlling the 'fight or flight' response

A novel approach to treating children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder could help them navigate their world by teaching them to turn their symptoms into strengths.

26 Nov 2013

Clinicians perform unnecessary Pap tests in certain groups of women, says researcher

For the past ten years, clinicians throughout the United States have been performing unnecessary Pap tests for cervical cancer screening in certain groups of women, according to a researcher from Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah.

26 Nov 2013

Researchers receive $2.5M grant to study telephone-based approach to improve diabetes treatment outcomes

More than 25 million Americans have diabetes, yet as many as 60 percent of type 2 diabetes patients do not follow treatment plans prescribed by their healthcare provider and about 50 percent fail to meet treatment recommendations for control of blood glucose levels.

26 Nov 2013

Anti-epileptic drugs, bone loss and supplements

Antiepileptic drugs are medications used to prevent and control seizure disorders. These medications are also frequently used for other diagnoses other than seizures, however this current study concentrated on patients with a seizure disorder.

25 Nov 2013

CHI creates new academic medical center on Bergan Mercy Medical Center campus

The Network Board of Directors for Alegent Creighton Health/Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) voted today to move forward with creating a new academic medical center on the Bergan Mercy Medical Center campus, complete with a Level One trauma program. The move will take two to three years and require an investment of $145-$157 million.

25 Nov 2013

BMI or measure of obesity does not play significant role in weight loss operation, says study

A new study investigating why obese patients choose one type of weight loss operation over another reveals that the main factors influencing decision making are whether patients have type 2 diabetes, how much weight they want to lose, and their tolerance for surgical risk to achieve their ideal weight.

25 Nov 2013

Research roundup: Meeting the needs of assisted living residents; Medicaid expansion and community health centers; money follows the person

Assisted living facilities provide housing and care to persons unable to live independently, and who often have increasing medical needs. Disease outbreaks illustrate challenges of maintaining adequate resident protections in these facilities. ... Of the 50 states, 84% specify health-based admissions criteria to assisted living facilities; 60% require licensed health care professionals to oversee medical care; ... There is wide variation in how assisted living facilities are regulated in the United States.

25 Nov 2013

Research report focuses on the impact of real-time cost information within a primary care

Health care costs continue to go up, and physicians control more than 80 percent of those costs. Could providing physicians with real-time information about the cost of what they order help to restrain excessive testing? This is the question addressed in an article- in the Journal of General Internal Medicine-, published by Springer. The research project was led by Daniel Horn of the Massachusetts General Hospital's Division of General Medicine in the US, and is among the first to focus on the impact that the passive display of real-time laboratory costs can have within a primary care, non-academic setting.

22 Nov 2013

Electronic health records may be used to measure patient-centeredness of primary care practices

Although electronic health records (EHR) are primarily used to store patient clinical data, the non-clinical data they collect may be used to measure patient-centeredness of primary care practices, finds a new study in Health Services Research. In addition, two of the process of care measures collected via EHRs, volume of between clinician e-messages and frequency of in-person patient visits, were associated with better patient health outcomes.

22 Nov 2013

Bangladesh outperforms Asian neighbours despite low spending on health care

Exceptional improvements in the survival of infants and children under 5 years of age, life expectancy, immunisation coverage, and tuberculosis control in Bangladesh are part of a remarkable success story for health in the South Asian country, according to a major new Series published in The Lancet. This is despite low spending on health care, a weak health system, and widespread poverty.

21 Nov 2013

State highlights: Mo. doctors propose Medicaid payment reform project; N.C. Medicaid billing problems persist; Calif. nursing home pays $48M to settle fraud case

Some doctors want to make Missouri's Medicaid program a little more like a health club. A proposal outlined by a pair of doctors Tuesday would create a pilot project in which primary care physicians would be paid a flat monthly amount for each Medicaid patient they accept (Lieb, 11/19).

21 Nov 2013

Doctor-patient communication critical for success of patient-centered medical homes

A new trend in American health care is the patient-centered medical home. The approach revolves around a team of medical and health professionals who, working together, treat an individual, led by a primary-care physician who orchestrates the whole effort. The goal is the team knows everything about the patient, no matter how disparate the symptoms—from the earache last night to the long history of high cholesterol—and works together to treat the individual in a holistic way.

20 Nov 2013

Simple blood test may predict people at highest risk for developing heart problems

For years, doctors have been divided on how effective annual testing and screenings are for apparently healthy individuals. New research, however, shows that a simple blood test may predict who is at highest risk to develop heart problems - and how long these people may have to live.

20 Nov 2013

Many primary care pediatricians feel uncomfortable in providing care to patients with genetic disorders

Many primary care pediatricians say they feel uncomfortable providing health care to patients with genetic disorders. Also, many do not consistently discuss all risks and benefits of genetic tests with patients, according to research published today in the American Journal of Medical Genetics.

20 Nov 2013

Non-specialist health workers provide treatment for people with MNS problems in developing countries

Non-specialist health workers are beneficial in providing treatment for people with mental, neurological and substance-abuse (MNS) problems in developing countries - where there is often a lack of mental health professionals - according to a new Cochrane review.

20 Nov 2013

Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

Walk-in clinics staffed by nurses can reduce health care costs, says URI professor

Genetics and cardiovascular drugs: an interview with Nancy Lurker, CEO of PDI and Paul Kinnon, CEO of Transgenomic, Inc.

Asthma patients ‘too accepting of symptoms’

Auditory processing disorder diagnosis: an interview with Dr Doris-Eva Bamiou, UCL Ear Institute

State highlights: What will Va.'s new governor do with state's mental health system?; Kancare gets nursing home critics; patient access to records in Wis.

Alternative treatment for autism focuses on controlling the 'fight or flight' response

Clinicians perform unnecessary Pap tests in certain groups of women, says researcher

Researchers receive $2.5M grant to study telephone-based approach to improve diabetes treatment outcomes

Anti-epileptic drugs, bone loss and supplements

CHI creates new academic medical center on Bergan Mercy Medical Center campus

BMI or measure of obesity does not play significant role in weight loss operation, says study

Research roundup: Meeting the needs of assisted living residents; Medicaid expansion and community health centers; money follows the person

Research report focuses on the impact of real-time cost information within a primary care

Electronic health records may be used to measure patient-centeredness of primary care practices

Bangladesh outperforms Asian neighbours despite low spending on health care

State highlights: Mo. doctors propose Medicaid payment reform project; N.C. Medicaid billing problems persist; Calif. nursing home pays $48M to settle fraud case

Doctor-patient communication critical for success of patient-centered medical homes

Simple blood test may predict people at highest risk for developing heart problems

Many primary care pediatricians feel uncomfortable in providing care to patients with genetic disorders

Non-specialist health workers provide treatment for people with MNS problems in developing countries

How microRNA is transforming science: From discovery to diagnostics

Advancing benzodiazepine detection

The Surgeon-Scientist Pioneering Regenerative Engineering

Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

How microRNA is transforming science: From discovery to diagnostics

Advancing benzodiazepine detection

The Surgeon-Scientist Pioneering Regenerative Engineering

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