Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

FDA approves Lysteda for treating menorrhagia

Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an integrated specialty pharmaceutical company with both development and commercial capabilities focused on women's healthcare and pain management, announced today that Lysteda(TM) (tranexamic acid) oral tablets has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for treatment of women suffering from cyclic heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB), also known as menorrhagia.

16 Nov 2009

New faces of HIV/AIDS: A report

World AIDS Day 2009 will be marked with both grim and hopeful data: more than 25 million people have died of AIDS worldwide since 1981; 33 million are living with HIV/AIDS. While potent, effective medications have changed an HIV diagnosis from death sentence to manageable chronic illness in resource rich countries, global rates of infection still outstrip prevention and treatment capacity.

16 Nov 2009

Chronic pain patients with depression three times more likely to receive opioid medications

Chronic pain patients with a history of depression are three times more likely to receive long-term prescriptions for opioid medications like Vicodin compared to pain patients who do not suffer from depression, according to new research.

16 Nov 2009

CCH issues a special Briefing on employer and Medicaid-related provisions

CCH has issued a special Briefing on the employer and Medicare- and Medicaid-related provisions in the House version of health care reform, detailing provisions of the legislation approved on November 7.

16 Nov 2009

AtHoc IWSAlerts third-generation mass emergency alerting system to be deployed

AtHoc, Inc., the pioneer and leader in network-centric emergency notification systems, today announced the Lyster Army Health Clinic will deploy the AtHoc IWSAlerts™ third-generation mass emergency alerting system to help protect staff and patients.

16 Nov 2009

Doctors face image problems; patients deal with shortages, are urged to question care

Doctors must not only face the fading image of primary care providers, but also physician shortage issues. Meanwhile, some experts suggest patients consider saying "no" to their doctor to control health care costs.

13 Nov 2009

In rural Kentucky, an unexpected take on the health debate

Frank Browning reports for Kaiser Health News on how the health reform debate is playing out in rural Kentucky. "From a strip-mined bluff at the edge of this famous mountain town you can see one of the most concentrated and diverse sets of medical facilities in rural America: a general hospital, a psychiatric hospital, a university-based rural health care center and clinics for primary care, cancer, urology, cardiology, addiction and ear-nose-and throat problems.

13 Nov 2009

First Edition: November 13, 2009

On this Friday the 13th, the headlines offer an array of health policy views -- from the possibility of including a Medicare payroll tax in health reform legislation to continuing analysis of the overhaul's winners and losers as well as the CDC's new estimate of the far-reach of the swine flu.

13 Nov 2009

Idaho's U.S. Representatives oppose HR 3962: AARP disappointed

AARP is disappointed Idaho's U.S. Representatives chose to oppose the legislation, ignoring the worsening health care crisis in their home state.

13 Nov 2009

Cardiac Science and Cambridge Heart team up to develop MTWA module

Cardiac Science Corporation [NASDAQ: CSCX], a global leader in automated external defibrillator (AED) and diagnostic cardiac monitoring devices, and Cambridge Heart, Inc., [OTCBB-CAMH], a developer of noninvasive diagnostic tests for cardiac disease, with a focus on identifying those at risk for sudden cardiac arrest, today announced a partnership pursuant to a Development, Supply and Distribution Agreement Cambridge Heart previously announced on June 23, 2009.

13 Nov 2009

New book 'Thinking in Circles About Obesity' presents a novel approach to address weight crisis

Low-carb-low-fat-high-protein-high-fiber-Americans are food-savvy, label-conscious, calorie-aware - and still gaining weight in spite of all their good intentions. Worse still, today's children run the risk of a shorter life expectancy than their parents.

13 Nov 2009

MinuteClinic praises practitioners for providing affordable medical treatment and quality patient-centered care

In celebration of National Nurse Practitioner Week (Nov. 8-14), MinuteClinic, the pioneer and largest provider of retail health care centers in the United States, salutes practitioners across the country who deliver patient-centered care and help to increase access to high-quality, affordable medical treatment.

12 Nov 2009

New strategies required to curb health care spending: Study

Slowing the growth in U.S. health care spending will most likely require adoption of an array of strategies as well as an improved approach to moving promising strategies into widespread use, according to a new analysis by the RAND Corporation.

12 Nov 2009

3-D software uses real patient data; offers virtual reality technology for doctors and students

James Oliver picked up an Xbox game controller, looked up to a video screen and used the device's buttons and joystick to fly through a patient's chest cavity for an up-close look at the bottom of the heart.

12 Nov 2009

CHF commends the passage of health reform bill; disapproves move to eliminate CHIP

Children's Health Fund (CHF), a national organization that advocates for and provides clinical care to disadvantaged and medically underserved children, today issued a Report Card that graded the child health provisions in the Congressional Health Reform bill that was passed in the House of Representatives on November 7.

11 Nov 2009

Study: Face time at doctor visits expanding, not dwindling

Researchers have found that, contrary to conventional wisdom backed by "a more than 10 percent drop" in physician pay and consumer complaints, doctors are actually spending more time with their patients than they used to, the Los Angeles Times' Booster Shots blog reports.

11 Nov 2009

National Pain Summit calls for better pain care in America

Pain medicine physicians from the American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) continued to advance the call for better pain care as they joined with physician leaders from across the country in a closed-door National Pain Summit that took place adjacent to an AMA meeting last week in Houston, Texas.

10 Nov 2009

Study: Patients with difficult to treat hepatitis C are half as likely to initiate treatment

A new study by Mount Sinai researchers has for the first time found that patients with more difficult to treat forms of hepatitis C are half as likely to initiate treatment for the disease, when compared to patients with hepatitis C that is easier to treat. Marital status also affected whether patients chose treatment, as did whether or not they had other diseases.

10 Nov 2009

NATC sponsored national quit smoking program to launch second phase of campaign

With the latest research estimating that nearly six million people worldwide will lose their lives to tobacco next year, an innovative approach is critical to helping the 43 million Americans who smoke to finally quit. This month, which is observed as Lung Cancer Awareness Month, the national quit smoking program, EX(R) will debut the second phase of advertising and promotions designed to help smokers "re-learn" life without cigarettes.

10 Nov 2009

Higher investment of physicians' time may be required to deliver high-quality care

Adult primary care visits have increased in quality, duration and frequency between 1997 and 2005, according to a report in the November 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

10 Nov 2009