Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

Research roundup: Patients hesitant to focus on costs; Increase in primary care demand is uneven

One way to contain health care spending is to get patients involved in weighing costs of treatment options with their doctors. Researchers recruited 211 medically insured participants to assess their willingness to consider costs when choosing treatments. The authors found that participants generally "preferred better care, even when the relative benefit it offered was marginal, and even when told that the second-best choice still met the threshold of 'good enough' care from a clinician's perspective.

26 Feb 2013

Robert Wood Johnson Medical Group physicians appear on the Best Doctors in America List

Eighty-five physicians affiliated with The Robert Wood Johnson Medical Group, the faculty practice of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, appear on the Best Doctors in America List for 2013.

26 Feb 2013

A good night's sleep can also help promote cardiovascular health

Cutting back on sodium and increasing physical activity are not the only ways to improve heart health - a good night's sleep can also help promote cardiovascular health. One expert at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) says not getting enough sleep can have harmful heart-health effects.

24 Feb 2013

U.S., rest of world can learn from Rwanda's success in developing its health system

"Amidst the barrage of stories about failing states and civil wars that characterize the dour American media coverage of the developing world, the reinvention of Rwanda offers hope," Chicago-based writer Neal Emery states in an opinion piece in the Atlantic, adding, "Over the last 10 years, Rwanda's health system development has led to the most dramatic improvements of health in history."

22 Feb 2013

Research into why young adults overuse short-acting bronchodilators

The high cost of medication, stigmatisation and poor acceptance of their condition are causing young adults to take a dangerous approach to managing their asthma, according to new research published today in the journal BMJ Open.

22 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: Holtz-Eakin and Roy offer prescription to fix health law; Iowa lawmakers opposed to Medicaid expansion should give up their coverage

Over nearly a century, progressives have pressed for a national, single-payer healthcare system. When it comes to health reform, what have conservatives stood for? For far too long, conservatives have failed to coalesce around a long-term vision of what a free-market healthcare system should look like. ... Obamacare is the logical byproduct of this conservative policy neglect.

22 Feb 2013

Younger parents more likely to say online scores for physicians are very important

Numerous websites are available to rate just about any service or product: restaurant food, hotel service and even a pediatrician's care. However, a new poll from the University of Michigan shows that only 25 percent of parents say they consider doctor rating websites very important in their search for a child's physician.

21 Feb 2013

Dress to impress in the ICU

Dressing in “traditional” medical attire may help physicians in the intensive care unit to get relationships with their patients’ families off to a good start, research suggests.

20 Feb 2013

Asthma patients have large number of fungi in their lungs

Hundreds of tiny fungal particles found in the lungs of asthma sufferers could offer new clues in the development of new treatments, according to a team of Cardiff University scientists.

20 Feb 2013

State roundup: Calif. opens prison psychiatric ward, hopes to shed fed oversight

Virginia is among the last states to begin dismantling its large institutions for the developmentally disabled, a decision that was made as part of a year-old settlement agreement with the Justice Department, which argued in a lawsuit that Virginia was discriminating against training center residents by keeping them institutionalized.

20 Feb 2013

First Edition: February 19, 2013

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jay Hancock, working in collaboration with The Philadelphia Inquirer, reports: "Computer mistakes like the one that produced incorrect prescriptions for thousands of Rhode Island patients are probably far more common and dangerous than the Obama administration wants you to believe, says Drexel University's Dr. Scot Silverstein."

19 Feb 2013

Further hearing screens may be required for infants

Some infants go on to develop sensorineural hearing loss despite having passed the universal newborn hearing screen, show study findings.

19 Feb 2013

Antibody test ‘inappropriate’ without connective tissue symptoms

The positive antinuclear antibody test is often used inappropriately in patients without indications of connective tissue disease, real-world research suggests.

18 Feb 2013

MIR names Aetna as Health Insurer of the Year

Aetna a leading global diversified health care benefits company, has been named "Health Insurer of the Year" for 2013 by MENA Insurance Review (MIR), a leading magazine covering the insurance sector in the Middle East and North Africa.

18 Feb 2013

State officials worry that doctors may not accept upcoming wave of new Medicaid patients

More than 7 million people are expected to gain insurance through Medicaid under the federal health law next year. In other news about implementation of the health overhaul, the trade group representing Catholic hospitals reserves judgment for now on latest administration policy on requiring contraception coverage.

15 Feb 2013

Roundup: States get insurance exchange weapon on abortion; N.Y. budget woes include Medicaid money worry; Ga. hospital 'bed tax' might not offer budget solution

Abortion opponents have found a new way to restrict access to abortion -- by using the authority states have over the new health insurance exchanges, which will be up and running in a year. At least 21 states have legislation in place or in the works that will stop health insurance companies from paying for abortions for women.

15 Feb 2013

New study reveals racial disparities in chronic pain management

Opioids are frequently prescribed for pain management in noncancer patients, but recommended clinical guidelines for monitoring effectiveness and signs of drug abuse are often not implemented. Alongside well-documented racial disparities in prescribing opioid medications for pain, researchers report racial differences in the use of recommended opioid monitoring and follow-up treatment practices.

14 Feb 2013

Less than 1 in 4 young people with ASD receive transition services

Health care transition (HCT) services help young people with special health care needs such as asthma or diabetes move from pediatric to adult health care. However, youths with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have less access to these services, which are designed to prevent gaps in care and insurance coverage.

13 Feb 2013

Platelet-rich plasma holds great promise in treating knee OA

A study by researchers from Hospital for Special Surgery has shown that platelet-rich plasma (PRP) holds great promise for treating patients with knee osteoarthritis.

13 Feb 2013

State roundup: Calif. doc supply strains under health law

The compelling facts and figures he provided the Senate Finance Committee gave feuding Democrats and Republicans the confidence to unite behind an expedited but cautious roadmap toward a federally prescribed expansion of Medicaid in Virginia.

12 Feb 2013