Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

DoD Task Force reports rising incidence of suicide among military members

The DoD Task Force on the Prevention of Suicide by Members of the Armed Forces today submitted a comprehensive and candid report to the Secretary of Defense as the culmination of a year-long study into the rising incidence of suicide among members of the military. Upon approval, the Secretary will submit the report to Congress for formal review.

24 Aug 2010

Doctors Care and Progressive Physical Therapy relocates Northeast Columbia center

Doctors Care and Progressive Physical Therapy, affiliates of UCI Medical Affiliates, Inc., today announced the relocation of their medical center formerly at 110 Atrium Way, Columbia, SC. The new center, which opened today, is at 10040 Two Notch Road.

24 Aug 2010

HHS to offer $32 million to increase health care access for rural Americans

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today more than $32 million in FY 2010 funds to increase access to health care for Americans living in rural areas. The funds reach across seven programs administered by the Office of Rural Health Policy in HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration.

24 Aug 2010

NextGen Healthcare collaborates with clients for Primary Care Information Project

NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Quality Systems, Inc. and a leading provider of healthcare information systems and connectivity solutions, today announced its successful collaboration with clients that received assistance through the Primary Care Information Project (PCIP), a bureau of the NYC Health Department.

23 Aug 2010

Many ED patients could have been treated in an urgent care center: Study

The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) National Health Statistics Reports shows continued use of the nation's emergency rooms for conditions that could be treated in an urgent care setting.

20 Aug 2010

HealthPartners receives grant to study primary care clinics' transformation to health care homes

The HealthPartners Research Foundation has received an US Department of Health & Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality grant to study the transformation of traditional primary care clinics in Minnesota to "health care homes," also known as "medical homes."

20 Aug 2010

Hospitals should inform patients about availability of insurance coverage for breast reconstruction: New law

While breast reconstruction after a mastectomy is covered by insurers in New York, many poor, minority, and less educated women do not seek out the procedure. Now, NY Gov. David A. Paterson has signed into law a bill that is aimed at reversing this trend.

18 Aug 2010

Florida doctors struggle to meet new standards for electronic records; Arizona faces sharp cuts in residency-training programs

"New federal standards unveiled last month require doctors to start using electronic medical records routinely, including logging patients' diagnoses and visits, ordering prescriptions, monitoring for drug interactions and making records accessible to other medical providers. ... Only about 20 percent of South Florida medical providers use electronic records now, experts said, and while many doctors are already making the change, some fear that older family physicians may one day close their practices rather than spend the money and time to go digital"

18 Aug 2010

Study finds black patients receive fewer opoid medications than whites

Black patients are prescribed fewer pain medications than whites and few women receive medications strong enough to manage their chronic pain, according to a study in the August issue of Journal of Pain.University of Michigan Health System researchers studied nearly 200 patients with chronic pain who sought help from a specialty pain center. Researchers analyzed the number and potency of medicines they were already taking and the adequacy of pain management.

18 Aug 2010

Innovative programs help blunt problems caused by primary care shortage

USA Today: "The shortage of primary care doctors could lead to longer waits not only for primary care, but also for specialty care as well as greater use of expensive emergency rooms for non-emergencies, researcher Walt Zywiak of Computer Sciences Corp., an international consulting company headquartered in Falls Church, Va., noted in a July report.

17 Aug 2010

Doctors online

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's plans for e-health mean that physicians will be able to diagnose patients using webcams over the internet under a hi-tech health policy. Ms Gillard launched her futuristic health plans in Brisbane yesterday. Under this $392 million health plan, families with home computers will be able to get access to an after hours online doctor using webcams and internet messaging services such as Skype from July 2012. Services would improve once the Government rolls out its high-speed national broadband network.

16 Aug 2010

First Edition: August 16, 2010

Today's headlines reflect coverage of state health reform implementation issues as well as other emerging policy issues in the nation's health system.

16 Aug 2010

Georgetown researcher recommends more publication on chronic sinusitis

Facial pain. Nasal congestion. Postnasal drip. Fatigue. These are hallmark signs of chronic sinusitis, a swelling of tissue in the nasal and sinus cavity. The illness strikes millions of Americans each year and is one of the top five reasons patients visit their primary care doctor. Treating sinusitis is difficult in part because it's often not known if the cause is viral or bacterial. Unfortunately little information on the subject is available to internists says a new study by a Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) internist.

16 Aug 2010

Delegates explore agricultural cooperation, expanded ties at two-day China-Africa Agricultural Forum

Chinese and African officials concluded the China-Africa Agricultural Forum in Beijing on Thursday, which explored possibilities for agricultural cooperation and addressed food security issues, Xinhua reports.

16 Aug 2010

Research Roundup: Disabled Medicare Enrollees' challenges; Increasing ER visits; costs/benefits of Part D

Health Affairs: Medicare Doesn't Work As Well For Younger, Disabled Beneficiaries As It Does For Older Enrollees - This paper examines "how well Medicare works for [the 8 million] nonelderly disabled beneficiaries compared to the elderly, based on findings from a nationally representative survey of noninstitutionalized Medicare beneficiaries conducted in 2008 by the Kaiser Family Foundation."

16 Aug 2010

National organization releases “Lessons from the Frontlines” report on H1N1

The Canadian Medical Association (CMA), the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC), and the National Specialty Society of Community Medicine (NSSCM) today released Lessons from the Frontlines, a collaborative report on H1N1 describing the physician experience on the frontlines of the pandemic.

13 Aug 2010

Mass. docs will soon track patients who abuse prescription drugs; Wis. Catholic Church employees now eligible for birth control

The Boston Globe: "With a few computer keystrokes, Massachusetts physicians will soon be able to identify patients who travel from clinic to clinic in pursuit of potent prescription drugs that feed lethal addictions. State health regulators yesterday unanimously approved the new detection system designed to stop 'doctor shopping' by addicted patients who try to dupe doctors into prescribing narcotics. The practice, specialists said, has fueled a surge in drug-related deaths in Massachusetts" (Smith, 8/12).

13 Aug 2010

Somaxon second-quarter net loss reduces to $5.7 million

Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the in-licensing, development and commercialization of proprietary branded pharmaceutical products and late-stage product candidates for the treatment of diseases and disorders in the central nervous system therapeutic area, today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010.

12 Aug 2010

Mental health bill for 2008 was $5.3 billion: Report

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), the country is spending more and more to deal with its mental ailment burden. This emerged from a report from the AIHW saying that finances spent on mental health services between 2007 to 2008 were $5.3 billion. Of this around 60 per cent came from state and territory governments, 36 per cent from the Commonwealth, and the rest from private health funds.

11 Aug 2010

Rates of ED visits increase among adults with Medicaid: Study

From 1997 to 2007, the rates of visits to emergency departments in the U.S. increased significantly, particularly among adults with Medicaid, according to a study in the August 11 issue of JAMA.

11 Aug 2010

Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

DoD Task Force reports rising incidence of suicide among military members

Doctors Care and Progressive Physical Therapy relocates Northeast Columbia center

HHS to offer $32 million to increase health care access for rural Americans

NextGen Healthcare collaborates with clients for Primary Care Information Project

Many ED patients could have been treated in an urgent care center: Study

HealthPartners receives grant to study primary care clinics' transformation to health care homes

Hospitals should inform patients about availability of insurance coverage for breast reconstruction: New law

Florida doctors struggle to meet new standards for electronic records; Arizona faces sharp cuts in residency-training programs

Study finds black patients receive fewer opoid medications than whites

Innovative programs help blunt problems caused by primary care shortage

Doctors online

First Edition: August 16, 2010

Georgetown researcher recommends more publication on chronic sinusitis

Delegates explore agricultural cooperation, expanded ties at two-day China-Africa Agricultural Forum

Research Roundup: Disabled Medicare Enrollees' challenges; Increasing ER visits; costs/benefits of Part D

National organization releases “Lessons from the Frontlines” report on H1N1

Mass. docs will soon track patients who abuse prescription drugs; Wis. Catholic Church employees now eligible for birth control

Somaxon second-quarter net loss reduces to $5.7 million

Mental health bill for 2008 was $5.3 billion: Report

Rates of ED visits increase among adults with Medicaid: Study

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Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

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