Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

Out-of-hours doctors reluctant to do home visits, say patients

Patients feel that doctors providing out-of-hours services in primary care are reluctant to do home visits, shows a small study of patients' experiences in Quality and Safety in Health Care.

3 Dec 2007

Napping more efficient than coffee in keeping young people awake

Coffee is an effective countermeasure to sleepiness for both young and middle-aged people.

3 Dec 2007

Patients with learning difficulties get a poor deal in Britain

The government's health watchdog in Britain, the Healthcare Commission says patients with learning difficulties receive standards of care which are well below what should be expected of modern healthcare services.

3 Dec 2007

Childhood sleep-disordered breathing disproportionately affects obese and African-Americans

As the obesity epidemic grows in the U.S., doctors are discovering more and more far reaching health concerns for overweight children.

2 Dec 2007

Altered sex hormone levels, higher body temp affects sleep quality in postmenopausal women

In an examination of potential relationships between objective sleep measures, nocturnal sex hormone levels, and the nocturnal course of body temperature of older postmenopausal women, a study published in the December 1, 2007 issue of the journal SLEEP finds that altered levels of both sex hormones and gonadotropins may contribute to sleep disturbance in older postmenopausal women and confirm the results of previous studies indicating that higher body temperature is associated with poorer sleep quality.

2 Dec 2007

Health professionals worry about ethnic sensitivity

Health professionals worry that a lack of knowledge about different cultures may lead to them being seen as insensitive or inappropriate to patients from different ethnic backgrounds - according to new research.

29 Nov 2007

Depressed, older adults with diabetes live longer when they are treated for depression

The depression study, which followed primary care patients in the New York City, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas for five years, also showed that treating depression reduced mortality more for those who had diabetes than for those who did not.

27 Nov 2007

New challenges for diagnosis of bacterial STIs

This year cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have risen by 2% in the UK, in spite of a small drop in the incidence of syphilis and gonorrhoea, according to scientists speaking today (Wednesday 28 November 2007) at the Federation of Infection Societies Conference 2007 at the University of Cardiff, UK, which runs from 28-30 November 2007.

27 Nov 2007

Screening for dementia red flags in primary care: Is it time?

Primary care physicians should focus on "dementia red flags" rather than routinely screen individuals with no dementia symptoms just because they've reached a certain age, according to Malaz Boustani, M.D., MPH, of the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute, Inc. and colleagues from the University of Kent and the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom in a commentary published in the Nov. 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

27 Nov 2007

Transcranial magnetic stimulation effective in treating major depression

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and other study sites have found that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) – a non-invasive technique that excites neurons in the brain via magnetic pulses passed through the scalp – is a safe and effective, non-drug treatment with minimal side effects for patients with major depression who have tried other treatment options without benefit.

27 Nov 2007

Smoking and depression often go hand-in-hand for new mothers

Smoking and depression often go hand-in-hand for new mothers, according to a study in the November 2007 issue of Preventive Medicine by Temple University researcher Dr. Robert Whitaker.

27 Nov 2007

Dyslexia expert Dr. Bruce McCandliss awarded Presidential honor

Dr. Bruce McCandliss, a psychologist at the Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology and associate professor of psychology in psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, has received a commendation by the President of the United States in the form of a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

20 Nov 2007

Saline irrigation versus saline spray for relief of chronic nasal symptoms

An inexpensive, safe and easy treatment is an effective method for treating chronic nasal and sinus symptoms – more effective, in fact, than commonly used saline sprays, according to a new study from University of Michigan Health System researchers.

20 Nov 2007

Managing the chronic care of patients is not being captured in today's reimbursement system

Full-time physicians spend an average of one full day a week providing services for patients that are not reimbursed by Medicare, according to a new study conducted by Jeffrey Farber, MD, Assistant Professor of Geriatrics at The Mount Sinai Medical Center, and published the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

19 Nov 2007

Geisinger rheumatologists redesign osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis care

With the nation collectively spending about $18 billion per year on osteoporosis related bone fractures, Geisinger researchers found that streamlining the ordering process for osteoporosis bone density scans quadrupled the number of patients who received the exam.

19 Nov 2007

High cost of pain in Australia

For the first time, a dollar value has been attached to the high cost of pain in Australia in an MBF Foundation funded study that reveals a massive annual cost of $34.3 billion -- nearly $11,000 for each of the estimated 3.2 million people grappling with pain.

19 Nov 2007

British school children to undergo obesity checks

Parents however will be allowed choose to opt out of the scheme, run by primary care trusts, which along with the National Health Service (NHS) provides services to primary schools.

19 Nov 2007

Three quarters of U.S. physicians and nurses recommend dietary supplements to their patients

The study also shows that an almost equal number - 72 percent of physicians and 89 percent of nurses - personally use vitamin, mineral, herbal and other supplements either regularly, occasionally or seasonally, which is a higher percentage than the 68 percent of adults who report they take nutritional or dietary supplements.

16 Nov 2007

Experts say obese women should be refused fertility treatment

A fertility organisation in Britain is saying that severely obese women should be barred from having National Health Service fertility treatment until they have lost weight.

15 Nov 2007

Telemedicine may play in the diagnosis of eye diseases

Two studies being presented at the American Academy of Ophthalmology's 2007 Annual Meeting suggest that telemedicine may have a significant role to play in the diagnosis of eye diseases, increased patient compliance and patient access to quality care.

13 Nov 2007