Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

First Edition: November 18, 2011

In today's health policy headlines, reports indicate that the super committee continues to face difficulties and may not make its fast-approaching deadline.

18 Nov 2011

New Jersey HITEC reaches 5,000 primary care providers member milestone

The New Jersey Health Information Technology Extension Center (NJ-HITEC) announced today that it has reached the 5,000 primary care providers member milestone in support of the healthcare evolution to transition to patient Electronic Health Records (EHRs).

18 Nov 2011

Schwartz presses super committee to advance her 'doc fix' proposal

The plan, advanced by Rep. Allyson Schwartz, D-Pa., would prevent a 27.4 percent cut in Medicare physician payments from kicking in Jan. 1, phase out the current outdated formula and transition to a new one. Though some physician groups are lining up behind her approach, the American Medical Association has not yet "on board."

18 Nov 2011

Viewpoints: Paul Starr on Obama, Romney and health reform; Glenn close on the need for mental health services

As we testified on Nov. 1 before the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, the principal driver of long-term federal deficits is the rapidly mounting cost of healthcare, particularly Medicare. ... Solving the U.S. debt crisis requires structural changes to slow Medicare's cost growth plus significant new revenue to accommodate the retirement of the baby boomers. Any plan without those two essential components should go back to the drawing board.

17 Nov 2011

LGBT seniors face higher rates of disability, physical and mental distress

Aging and health issues facing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender baby boomers have been largely ignored by services, policies and research. These seniors face higher rates of disability, physical and mental distress and a lack of access to services, according to the first study on aging and health in these communities.

17 Nov 2011

American College of Physicians support framework to repeal the SGR formula

The 132,000 Internal medicine physician and medical student members of the American College of Physicians applaud Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA) for urging the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to include broad reforms based on her MEDICARE PHYSICIAN PAYMENT INNOVATION ACT.

17 Nov 2011

UI bioengineering professor to take part in OSA's congressional briefing

On November 17, 2011, Stephen Boppart from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will take part in a congressional briefing convened by the Optical Society of America (OSA). The briefing is being held under the auspices of the Advisory Committee for the Congressional Research and Development Caucus.

16 Nov 2011

Public health officials should address needs of people with blood disorders

Public health should focus not only on reducing the burden of common diseases but also address the needs of people with blood disorders , experts say in a supplement to December's American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

16 Nov 2011

Sexual and physical abuse of girls raises risk of heart disease: Study

A new study finds that women who have experienced repeated episodes of sexual abuse during childhood or adolescence appear to have a 62% greater risk for heart disease. Further, severe physical abuse was also associated with a 45% increased risk for cardiovascular or CV events

14 Nov 2011

Latest advances in cardiovascular medicine, science and education to be presented at AHA 2011

Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania faculty will be involved in presenting research findings on the latest advances in cardiovascular medicine, science, and education at the 2011 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, in Orlando, FL, November 12 - 16, 2011.

14 Nov 2011

Research roundup: Cutting speciality care by raising co-payments; Asthma diagnosis and insurance coverage; GAO on early retirees

Mayo Clinic Employees Responded To New Requirements For Cost Sharing By Reducing Possibly Unneeded Health Services Use -- Researchers at the Mayo Clinic examined the effects of changes in the clinic's self-funded health plan "to decrease the use of potentially inappropriate health care services and foster a deliver system centered on primary care."

11 Nov 2011

What about Walmart's plans to add health clinics?

After questions from reporters, the retailer backpedaled from earlier reports about confidential documents, saying it didn't plan on dominating the medical market in the way it dominates the discount-store business.

11 Nov 2011

State roundup: Alaska's dental problem; some Minn. health funding blocked

The need for dental care in rural Alaska is huge. According to a recent CDC report, the rate of cavities among rural Alaska Native children is four and a half times greater than the general population of U.S. children of the same age. ... But it's important to note the dental therapist program in Alaska is not without controversy.

10 Nov 2011

First Edition: November 9, 2011

In today's headlines, reports on the latest developments related to the 'super committee's' deliberations, an appeals court issues a health law decision and results from yesterday's elections.

9 Nov 2011

CHCs and primary care providers will become America's obesity 'first responders'

Community health centers (CHCs) and primary care providers working in other settings will increasingly become America's obesity "first responders," needed to provide weight-related health services as the nation continues to implement the Affordable Care Act.

9 Nov 2011

Conventional definition of obesity needs to be lowered in migrant South Asians

A major study calling for levels of obesity among South Asians to be recalculated has been published by researchers from the University of Leicester.

9 Nov 2011

NIH announces results from first large scale study on treatment of prescription opioid addiction

People addicted to prescription painkillers reduce their opioid abuse when given sustained treatment with the medication buprenorphine plus naloxone (Suboxone), according to research published in yesterday's Archives of General Psychiatry and conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health.

9 Nov 2011

Seriously ill adults skip needed care due to costs and medical debt

Chronically and seriously ill adults who received care from a medical home-an accessible primary care practice that helps coordinate care-were less likely to report medical errors, test duplication, and other care coordination failures, according to a new Commonwealth Fund international survey of patients' experiences in the U.S. and 10 other high-income countries.

9 Nov 2011

PCPs fail to report substantial number of child maltreatment cases

A team of researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC), report that primary care providers (PCP) fail to report a substantial number of cases of child maltreatment.

9 Nov 2011

Pfizer's Toviaz Study A0221048 for overactive bladder meets primary endpoint

Pfizer Inc. announced today top-line results for Toviaz (fesoterodine fumarate) Study A0221048 - Effectiveness and Safety of a Flexible Dose Regimen for Patients with Overactive Bladder including Nocturnal Urinary Urgency.

9 Nov 2011