Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

Unconscious racial attitudes affect positive interactions leading to the detriment of patient health

Primary care physicians who hold unconscious racial biases tend to dominate conversations with African-American patients during routine visits, paying less attention to patients' social and emotional needs and making these patients feel less involved in decision making related to their health, Johns Hopkins researchers report.

16 Mar 2012

More than 250 Montefiore physicians named Top Doctors by Castle Connolly

More than 250 doctors from Montefiore Medical Center have been named in the Top Doctors: New York Metro Area 2012 guide, by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. The doctors selected were among thousands who had been nominated by their peers and judged on various criteria including medical education, training, hospital appointments and disciplinary histories.

16 Mar 2012

Medicaid cost-shifting measures move forward in Fla., Wisc.

A controversial measure that would shift $300 million in disputed Medicaid bills to counties has been received by Gov. Rick Scott's office ... If Scott does neither by the March 29 deadline, it becomes law automatically. Counties are lobbying the governor to veto HB 5301, arguing that it will put an undue burden on local governments for Medicaid bills they don't believe they owe.

16 Mar 2012

New textbook about child and adolescent behavioral health, primary care

Within the health care system, children and adolescents with mental health and psychiatric conditions often go undiagnosed.

16 Mar 2012

New payment methods squeezing doctors

As the government and insurers push to switch from traditional fee-for-service payments, doctors scramble to find ways to keep practices afloat.

16 Mar 2012

Adverse drug reactions could be avoided among adult hospital and emergency patients

Close to half of adverse reactions to medicines among adult hospital and emergency patients could be avoided, shows a study from the Nordic School of Public Health NHV.

16 Mar 2012

State roundup: Ariz. long-term care plan advances; N.H. moves to repeal 'certificate-of-need'; Minn. ALEC legislation

The Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously passed a bill Tuesday that would make long-term health care more affordable for middle-class families. Rep. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, sponsored House Bill 2713, which would allow Arizonans to set aside money in a tax-deductible savings account to pay for long-term health-care expenses. It would also create tax deductions for long-term health insurance premiums.

16 Mar 2012

Longer looks: Last interview with Oregon's assisted-suicide law architect; Med students spurn primary care for hospital jobs

Dr. Peter Goodwin, a family physician and right-to-die activist, took his own life on March 11, 2012, at age 83. He did it legally, with the blessing of his family and doctors, under the Oregon law allowing physician-assisted suicide - the first such law in the country - that Goodwin was instrumental in creating. … He did not look like a dying man; he was chirpy and alert ... However, as a result of his fatal disease - a Parkinsons-like condition called coritcobasal degeneration - he could not use his right hand or do much reliably with his left.

16 Mar 2012

Many people do not recognize stroke symptoms

Nationwide ambulance use by patients suffering from a stroke has not changed since the mid-1990s, even though effective stroke treatments are now available.

15 Mar 2012

New UCLA Alzheimer's and Dementia Care program for patients, caregivers

Alzheimer's disease affects an estimated 5.4 million people in the U.S., some 480,000 of them in California. Nearly half of all people 85 and older will be stricken with the disease. The overall burden of dementia is still higher, with Alzheimer's accounting for only 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases.

15 Mar 2012

UCSF's School of Pharmacy ranks first and School of Medicine ranks third in nationwide survey

UCSF's School of Pharmacy ranked first in its field this year, while its School of Medicine tied for third place nationwide, according to a new survey conducted by U.S. News & World Report.

14 Mar 2012

Highlights from Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

The Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT) is the first comprehensive study to look at the effectiveness of different treatments for low back and leg pain. It was designed to provide data and outcomes to guide doctors and their patients in their treatment choices for three common spinal disorders: intervertebral disk herniation (IDH), degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS), and lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS).

14 Mar 2012

Higher spending on effective procedures and services leads to better patient outcomes

Among hospitals in Ontario, Canada, those with higher levels of spending, which included higher intensity nursing and greater use of specialists and procedures, had an associated lower rate of deaths, hospital readmissions, and better quality of care for severely ill hospitalized patients, according to a study in the March 14 issue of JAMA.

14 Mar 2012

Forming and maintaining primary care teams will be a significant challenge

As the era of accountable care evolves and the medical home model becomes more prevalent in organizations, the delivery of successful patient outcomes is expected to be increasingly dependent on the performance of an effective patient care team.

14 Mar 2012

Drive to make school nurses more accessible and confidential: UK

As part of a scheme by the Department of Health students may be getting to know their school nurses better. Using technology such as text messaging, emails and mobile phone apps to contact their school nurse could be used to overcome problems of setting up appointments.

14 Mar 2012

Many children with Crohn's disease and IBD benefit from ImproveCareNow

Many children with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis who received treatment through ImproveCareNow, a national quality improvement and research network, ceased to have symptoms and no longer needed to take steroids for disease management.

13 Mar 2012

Lifestyle intervention may reduce weight and blood pressure in high-risk obese patients

A program that helps obese patients improve healthy behaviors is associated with modest weight loss and improved blood pressure control in a high-risk, low-income group, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Duke University, Harvard University and other institutions.

13 Mar 2012

AMGA presents Medical Group Preeminence Award to VMMC

The American Medical Group Association today presented the Medical Group Preeminence Award to Virginia Mason Medical Center (VMMC), a health system based in Seattle, WA. The presentation took place at the AMGA 2012 Annual Conference, being held March 8-10 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt.

12 Mar 2012

Public reporting improves diabetes care in Wisconsin clinics

In one of the first studies of the impact of publicly reporting quality measures on outpatient care, a research team has found that clinics made improvements in diabetes care when they began publicly reporting how they were treating patients with the chronic disease.

8 Mar 2012

Genesys BioLabs introduces PAULA's test for early lung cancer detection

Genesys BioLabs, a division of 20/20 GeneSystems, Inc. announces today the launch of PAULA's test, a blood test for the early detection of lung cancer, addressing the need for a widely useable early detection protocol for asymptomatic patients.

7 Mar 2012