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Articles, page 13

Physician voices

Breastfeeding rates cost the country billions

April 16, 2010Apr 16, 201011

by Crystal Phend Poor compliance with breastfeeding recommendations costs the nation at least $13 billion each year, with nearly all of the cost related to infant morbidity and mortality, according to a comprehensive economic analysis. If 90% of new mothers…

by Crystal Phend

Poor compliance with breastfeeding recommendations costs the nation at least $13 billion each year, with nearly all of the cost related to infant morbidity and mortality, according to a comprehensive economic analysis.

If 90% of new mothers followed guidelines for six months of exclusive breastfeeding for their children, an estimated 911 deaths would be prevented annually, said authors Melissa Bartick, MD, MSc, of Harvard Medical School, and Arnold Reinhold, …

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Breastfeeding rates cost the country billions

Physician voices

Checklists help reduce hospital deaths

April 15, 2010Apr 15, 20103

by Michael Smith The use of treatment checklists for 13 common diagnoses was associated with a dramatic reduction in patient deaths at three London hospitals, researchers said. The year the checklists were introduced, the three facilities in the North West…

by Michael Smith

The use of treatment checklists for 13 common diagnoses was associated with a dramatic reduction in patient deaths at three London hospitals, researchers said.

The year the checklists were introduced, the three facilities in the North West London Hospitals NHS Trust registered 255 fewer deaths than the previous year, according to Brian Jarman, PhD, of Imperial College London, and colleagues.

The targeted diagnoses accounted for 174 fewer deaths than the …

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Checklists help reduce hospital deaths

Patients who visit the emergency department have insurance

April 14, 2010Apr 14, 2010

by Joyce Frieden Most patients who visit the emergency department (ED) four or more times a year have health insurance and a primary care physician, a review of the literature found. "The uninsured represent only 15% of frequent users and…

by Joyce Frieden

Most patients who visit the emergency department (ED) four or more times a year have health insurance and a primary care physician, a review of the literature found.

“The uninsured represent only 15% of frequent users and are no more likely to be frequent users than they are to be occasional ED users (<4 visits/year),” Eduardo LaCalle, MD, MPH and Elaine Rabin, MD, of the Mount Sinai School of …

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Patients who visit the emergency department have insurance

Physician voices

Healthcare workers in the ER hit hard by H1N1

April 13, 2010Apr 13, 2010

by Michael Smith Healthcare workers in a New York City emergency department had the highest rate of infection among employees of an urban hospital system during the first wave of the H1N1 pandemic flu, researchers said. In a single-institution study…

by Michael Smith

Healthcare workers in a New York City emergency department had the highest rate of infection among employees of an urban hospital system during the first wave of the H1N1 pandemic flu, researchers said.

In a single-institution study using medical and administrative records, the adult emergency department had an H1N1 infection rate of 28.8% during April, May, and June of 2009, according to Robert Bristow, MD, and colleagues at New …

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Healthcare workers in the ER hit hard by H1N1

Physician voices

Emergency departments are frequently used by young adults

April 12, 2010Apr 12, 20105

by Kristina Fiore Twenty-somethings rely on emergency departments (EDs) for care far more than do other age groups, researchers have found. In 2006, nearly a quarter of all young adult healthcare visits -- 22.1% -- took place at an ED,…

by Kristina Fiore

Twenty-somethings rely on emergency departments (EDs) for care far more than do other age groups, researchers have found.

In 2006, nearly a quarter of all young adult healthcare visits — 22.1% — took place at an ED, compared with 12.6% for children and adolescents and 8.3% for patients over 30.

That rate has significantly increased over a 10-year period, Robert J. Fortuna, MD, MPH, of the University of Rochester Medical …

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Emergency departments are frequently used by young adults

Conditions and diseases

Flu may be associated with seasonal deficiency of vitamin D

April 11, 2010Apr 11, 20104

by Michael Smith If you look at the world map, the shapes of South America and Africa look as though they should fit together. Maybe they were once together and then drifted apart. That theory was first put forward in…

by Michael Smith

If you look at the world map, the shapes of South America and Africa look as though they should fit together. Maybe they were once together and then drifted apart.

That theory was first put forward in the late 1500s by a Dutch map maker, but it wasn’t until the 1960s that the discovery of plate tectonics finally put the idea on a — well, …

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Flu may be associated with seasonal deficiency of vitamin D

Drugs and prescribing

Statistical analysis in medical journals should be unbiased

April 10, 2010Apr 10, 20104

by Todd Neale Editors of medical journals should unite in requiring independent statistical analyses of industry-sponsored clinical trials, according to the two top editors of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Such a measure would help prevent any inappropriate…

by Todd Neale

Editors of medical journals should unite in requiring independent statistical analyses of industry-sponsored clinical trials, according to the two top editors of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Such a measure would help prevent any inappropriate influence from the study sponsors on data analysis and reporting, wrote Catherine DeAngelis, MD, MPH, editor-in-chief of JAMA, and Phil Fontanarosa, MD, MBA, executive deputy editor …

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Statistical analysis in medical journals should be unbiased

Conditions and diseases

Cell phone use and driving requires attention that few have

April 10, 2010Apr 10, 20104

by Crystal Phend Only one person in 40 has an extraordinary ability to do safely what many take for granted in daily life -- talk on a cell phone while driving. These "supertaskers" excelled on a simulated driving exercise and…

by Crystal Phend

Only one person in 40 has an extraordinary ability to do safely what many take for granted in daily life — talk on a cell phone while driving.

These “supertaskers” excelled on a simulated driving exercise and a demanding, simultaneous test of memory and math skills conducted over the phone without any loss in performance on either, according to Jason M. Watson, PhD, and David L. Strayer, PhD, both …

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Cell phone use and driving requires attention that few have

Physician voices

Retail clinics are starting to do more primary care

April 9, 2010Apr 9, 201015

by Joyce Frieden Retail clinics aren't just for strep throats any more; they'll also be managing diabetes and other chronic diseases. "It's a new service strategy," Sandra Ryan, CPNP, told attendees at a meeting on retail clinics sponsored by the…

by Joyce Frieden

Retail clinics aren’t just for strep throats any more; they’ll also be managing diabetes and other chronic diseases.

“It’s a new service strategy,” Sandra Ryan, CPNP, told attendees at a meeting on retail clinics sponsored by the Convenient Care Association and the Jefferson School of Population Health.

“We’re evolving our clinic offerings,” said Ryan, chief nurse practitioner officer for Take Care Health Systems, which operates retail clinics inside Walgreens pharmacies, …

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Retail clinics are starting to do more primary care

Advance planning helps families cope with loss

April 8, 2010Apr 8, 2010

by Crystal Phend Advance planning improves end-of-life care for elderly patients and helps families cope with the loss, researchers found. In a randomized trial, hospitalized patients over age 80 who were formally assisted with documenting their end-of-life treatment wishes and…

by Crystal Phend

Advance planning improves end-of-life care for elderly patients and helps families cope with the loss, researchers found.

In a randomized trial, hospitalized patients over age 80 who were formally assisted with documenting their end-of-life treatment wishes and with designating a surrogate were almost three times more likely to have those wishes followed (86% versus 30% in usual care, P<0.001).

Family members of patients in the advance planning intervention reported significantly …

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Advance planning helps families cope with loss

Drugs and prescribing

Chronic pain patients may have been disobedient children

April 7, 2010Apr 7, 201018

by Nancy Walsh Children who are irritable or disobedient, or who steal or bully others, are at risk for chronic pain in middle age, a large prospective study found. Youngsters who had persistent behavior problems at ages seven, 11, and…

by Nancy Walsh

Children who are irritable or disobedient, or who steal or bully others, are at risk for chronic pain in middle age, a large prospective study found.

Youngsters who had persistent behavior problems at ages seven, 11, and 16 years had more than twice the risk of widespread chronic pain at age 45 as other children (RR 2.14, 95% CI 1.43 to 3.21), according to Dong Pang, PhD, of the …

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Chronic pain patients may have been disobedient children

Healthcare reform profited lobbying firms

April 3, 2010Apr 3, 20102

by Emily P. Walker In the postgame wrap-up on healthcare reform, analysts say the big winners are lobbyists, who managed to earn record amounts during the more than year-long battle. About 1,750 businesses and organizations spent $1.2 billion in 2009…

by Emily P. Walker

In the postgame wrap-up on healthcare reform, analysts say the big winners are lobbyists, who managed to earn record amounts during the more than year-long battle.

About 1,750 businesses and organizations spent $1.2 billion in 2009 to lobby for their positions on healthcare reform and other legislative issues, according to a new study from the Center for Public Integrity (CPI).

An exact breakdown of how much money lobbyists made …

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Healthcare reform profited lobbying firms

Conditions and diseases

Children whose parents refuse vaccination may spread measles

April 2, 2010Apr 2, 20109

by Todd Neale Children whose parents refuse vaccinations for them provide fertile ground for the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases, an investigation of a 2008 measles outbreak in San Diego demonstrated. Although the rate of two-dose immunization against measles was 95%…

by Todd Neale

Children whose parents refuse vaccinations for them provide fertile ground for the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases, an investigation of a 2008 measles outbreak in San Diego demonstrated.

Although the rate of two-dose immunization against measles was 95% in the area, a single case of measles from a 7-year-old child returning from overseas sparked an outbreak that exposed 839 people and sickened 11 other children, according to David Sugerman, …

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Children whose parents refuse vaccination may spread measles

Insurance companies fail at rating physicians on cost

April 1, 2010Apr 1, 20105

by Emily P. Walker A physician profiling method used by private insurance companies to steer patients toward lower-cost physicians isn't reliable, researchers found. According to a study published in the March 18 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine,…

by Emily P. Walker

A physician profiling method used by private insurance companies to steer patients toward lower-cost physicians isn’t reliable, researchers found.

According to a study published in the March 18 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, 43% of physicians who are ranked as “lower cost” doctors according to a common formula used by insurance companies are not actually treating patients for any less than physicians with …

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Insurance companies fail at rating physicians on cost

Sex habits of older women and men

March 31, 2010Mar 31, 2010

Originally published in MedPage Today by Kristina Fiore, MedPage Today Staff Writer Thirty-somethings can expect to enjoy at least another 30 years of sex, researchers have found. At age 30, men will be sexually active for another 35 years, while…

Originally published in MedPage Today

by Kristina Fiore, MedPage Today Staff Writer

Thirty-somethings can expect to enjoy at least another 30 years of sex, researchers have found.

At age 30, men will be sexually active for another 35 years, while women will be active for another 30, Stacy Tessler Lindau, MD, and Natalia Gavrilova, PhD, of the University of Chicago, reported online …

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Sex habits of older women and men

Drugs and prescribing

Drug companies are using community doctors for dinner talks

March 30, 2010Mar 30, 20103

Originally published in MedPage Today by John Fauber, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/MedPage Today Reporter When looking for a doctor to travel the country to promote its prescription fish oil product, a leading pharmaceutical company looked to a small-town community doctor rather…

Originally published in MedPage Today

by John Fauber, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/MedPage Today Reporter

When looking for a doctor to travel the country to promote its prescription fish oil product, a leading pharmaceutical company looked to a small-town community doctor rather than an academic heavyweight.

Its choice was a Delafield, Wis., primary care physician and clinical lipidologist who entered private practice in 2001.

For speaking …

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Drug companies are using community doctors for dinner talks

Medical education

Diet Coke and the AHA red dress endorsement

March 29, 2010Mar 29, 2010

Originally published in MedPage Today by Peggy Peck, MedPage Today Executive Editor A red dress jauntily displayed on cans of Diet Coke has become the latest symbol in the ongoing debate about pharmaceutical company support of research or CME. But…

Originally published in MedPage Today

by Peggy Peck, MedPage Today Executive Editor

A red dress jauntily displayed on cans of Diet Coke has become the latest symbol in the ongoing debate about pharmaceutical company support of research or CME.

But whose dress is it? The American Heart Association says it’s “not our red dress,” even as leading pharma critic Steven Nissen, MD, …

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Diet Coke and the AHA red dress endorsement

Conditions and diseases

Cancer deaths are improving, but a cure remains distant

March 26, 2010Mar 26, 20103

Originally published in MedPage Today by Joyce Frieden, MedPage Today News Editor Almost 40 years and 100 billion federal dollars have been invested in the "War On Cancer" since President Richard M. Nixon declared it, but the campaign is far…

Originally published in MedPage Today

by Joyce Frieden, MedPage Today News Editor

Almost 40 years and 100 billion federal dollars have been invested in the “War On Cancer” since President Richard M. Nixon declared it, but the campaign is far from over, two researchers concluded this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“These funds have been more than matched by …

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Cancer deaths are improving, but a cure remains distant

Conditions and diseases

Cancer side effects are being ignored by the media

March 25, 2010Mar 25, 20102

Originally published in MedPage Today by John Gever, MedPage Today Senior Editor When the mainstream media report on cancer treatments, they seldom note that aggressive therapies may fail or cause severe side effects, researchers said. Analyzing more than 400 articles…

Originally published in MedPage Today

by John Gever, MedPage Today Senior Editor

When the mainstream media report on cancer treatments, they seldom note that aggressive therapies may fail or cause severe side effects, researchers said.

Analyzing more than 400 articles about cancer in major newspapers and magazines, investigators at the University of Pennsylvania found that adverse outcomes or palliative care were hardly …

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Cancer side effects are being ignored by the media

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