MedPage Today

September 30, 2009Sep 30, 20093

Originally published in MedPage Today by Todd Neale, MedPage Today Staff Writer Primary care physicians who took part in a continuing medical education program emphasizing reflection about their clinical experiences reported improvements in burnout and mood, researchers found. The participants…

Originally published in MedPage Today

by Todd Neale, MedPage Today Staff Writer

Primary care physicians who took part in a continuing medical education program emphasizing reflection about their clinical experiences reported improvements in burnout and mood, researchers found.

The participants also indicated positive changes in empathy and psychosocial beliefs, suggesting a more patient-centered approach to care, according to Michael Krasner, MD, …

What’s the latest on prostate cancer and the PSA screening test?

September 28, 2009Sep 28, 20095

Originally published in MedPage Today by Chris Emery, MedPage Today Contributing Writer Prostate specific antigen (PSA) tests may lead to unnecessary treatment of healthy men for prostate cancer, and there is little evidence supporting the common but controversial test for…

Originally published in MedPage Today

by Chris Emery, MedPage Today Contributing Writer

Prostate specific antigen (PSA) tests may lead to unnecessary treatment of healthy men for prostate cancer, and there is little evidence supporting the common but controversial test for routine cancer screening, two new studies found.

Measurements of blood concentrations of PSA failed to predict cancer with the accuracy generally …

Is the seasonal flu vaccine associated with H1N1 pandemic influenza?

September 26, 2009Sep 26, 2009

Originally published in MedPage Today by Michael Smith, MedPage Today North American Correspondent In unpublished data, Canadian researchers have suggested that seasonal flu vaccination may increase the risk of catching the H1N1 pandemic strain, but such a pattern has not…

Originally published in MedPage Today

by Michael Smith, MedPage Today North American Correspondent

In unpublished data, Canadian researchers have suggested that seasonal flu vaccination may increase the risk of catching the H1N1 pandemic strain, but such a pattern has not been found in the U.S., the CDC said.

The Canadian data appear to suggest that people who had been vaccinated against …

HIV vaccine works in an investigational trial success

September 24, 2009Sep 24, 2009

Originally published in MedPage Today by Michael Smith, MedPage Today North American Correspondent For the first time, an investigational HIV vaccine has shown it can protect people from the virus. In a large phase III trial, the vaccine candidate reduced…

Originally published in MedPage Today

by Michael Smith, MedPage Today North American Correspondent

For the first time, an investigational HIV vaccine has shown it can protect people from the virus.

In a large phase III trial, the vaccine candidate reduced the risk of infection by 31.2% compared with placebo.

The trial, conducted in more than 16,000 volunteers in Thailand, enrolled volunteers from …

Should soft drinks be taxed and be called a public health hazard?

September 24, 2009Sep 24, 20094

Originally published in MedPage Today by Kristina Fiore, MedPage Today Staff Writer Soft drinks and other beverages loaded with sugar should be taxed as a public health hazard, much as cigarettes are, a group of prominent medical researchers says. Since…

Originally published in MedPage Today

by Kristina Fiore, MedPage Today Staff Writer

Soft drinks and other beverages loaded with sugar should be taxed as a public health hazard, much as cigarettes are, a group of prominent medical researchers says.

Since extensive evidence ties sugary drinks to an epidemic of obesity and related health problems, such as heart disease and diabetes, they …

Is the flu a heart attack risk factor?

Is the flu a heart attack risk factor?

September 22, 2009Sep 22, 2009

by Todd Neale, Staff Writer, MedPage Today Flu appears to act as a trigger for myocardial infarction and cardiovascular death, a review of the literature showed. All observational studies included in the review found an association between times when influenza…

by Todd Neale, Staff Writer, MedPage Today

Flu appears to act as a trigger for myocardial infarction and cardiovascular death, a review of the literature showed.

All observational studies included in the review found an association between times when influenza viruses were circulating and increases in cardiovascular death, according to Charlotte Warren-Gash, MBChB, of University College London, and colleagues.

There was …

Read more…

How will the H1N1 vaccine be distributed to patients?

September 21, 2009Sep 21, 2009

by Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today A minimum of 3.4 million doses of vaccine against H1N1 pandemic flu will be available in the first week of October, the CDC said. Those doses -- all in the form of…

by Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today

A minimum of 3.4 million doses of vaccine against H1N1 pandemic flu will be available in the first week of October, the CDC said.

Those doses — all in the form of a live attenuated nasal spray vaccine — may be supplemented by some injectable vaccine, according to Jay Butler, MD, the …

Physician voices

Medical malpractice reform by President Obama and the White House

September 19, 2009Sep 19, 200912

by Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today The White House today announced details of a $25 million grant program to test alternatives to the tort system for medical liability cases. In his Sept. 9 speech before Congress, the president…

by Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today

The White House today announced details of a $25 million grant program to test alternatives to the tort system for medical liability cases.

In his Sept. 9 speech before Congress, the president announced he would direct Kathleen Sebelius, Health and Human Services secretary, to launch pilot programs meant to cut down on physicians …

Is the public plan option supported by doctors?

September 18, 2009Sep 18, 200910

by Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today A solid majority of physicians favor creating a new public insurance option that would operate alongside existing private plans, according to a survey published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.…

by Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today

A solid majority of physicians favor creating a new public insurance option that would operate alongside existing private plans, according to a survey published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

About 63% of doctors, across a smattering of specialties and in various geographic regions, support a public insurance option. That …

Analysis of the Max Baucus health care reform plan

September 17, 2009Sep 17, 20093

by Peggy Peck, Executive Editor, MedPage Today In an important step toward moving healthcare reform legislation through Congress, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) introduced his much-awaited bill today after months of working to gain bipartisan support. The chairman of the powerful…

by Peggy Peck, Executive Editor, MedPage Today

In an important step toward moving healthcare reform legislation through Congress, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) introduced his much-awaited bill today after months of working to gain bipartisan support.

The chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee released a summary of legislation that would not create a public insurance option and would cost $856 …

How long are you contagious after being infected with H1N1 influenza?

September 16, 2009Sep 16, 2009

by Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today People infected with the H1N1 pandemic flu strain continue to shed virus after the point where current recommendations say they can go back to work or school, two studies here suggested. The…

by Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today

People infected with the H1N1 pandemic flu strain continue to shed virus after the point where current recommendations say they can go back to work or school, two studies here suggested.

The question, experts said, is whether those people are still contagious and whether a longer stay-at-home period would prevent enough additional …

Don’t wait for the H1N1 vaccine before you get your flu shot

September 15, 2009Sep 15, 2009

by Cole Petrochko, Staff Writer, MedPage Today Don't wait for the pandemic H1N1 vaccine to become available before getting an inoculation for seasonal flu, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases warned. Putting off routine flu shots in hopes of one-stop-shopping…

by Cole Petrochko, Staff Writer, MedPage Today

Don’t wait for the pandemic H1N1 vaccine to become available before getting an inoculation for seasonal flu, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases warned.

Putting off routine flu shots in hopes of one-stop-shopping would defeat the primary line of defense against a proven threat, according to a panel representing some of the nation’s …

Patient voices

How comfortable are compression stockings for post-surgical thromboprophylaxis?

September 14, 2009Sep 14, 2009

by Crystal Phend, MedPage Today “Every 10 years a doctor should be the patient,” said my doctor, squeezing me into pair of compression stockings that would make a sausage casing seem spacious by comparison. “Seems like a good idea,” I…

by Crystal Phend, MedPage Today

“Every 10 years a doctor should be the patient,” said my doctor, squeezing me into pair of compression stockings that would make a sausage casing seem spacious by comparison.

“Seems like a good idea,” I thought, as I lay there on the table feeling optimistic about the opportunity for first-hand experience.

It was my first minor …

An analysis of Barack Obama’s health care reform speech to Congress

September 11, 2009Sep 11, 20096

by Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today In Wednesday's address to Congress and the nation, President Barack Obama made a number of statements about healthcare reform, some involving issues that would directly affect medical practice. MedPage Today examined five…

by Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today

In Wednesday’s address to Congress and the nation, President Barack Obama made a number of statements about healthcare reform, some involving issues that would directly affect medical practice. MedPage Today examined five of Obama’s statements to add context to the sound bytes.

The Statement:

“I don’t believe malpractice reform is a silver bullet, …

A routine brain MRI can lead to incidental findings

September 10, 2009Sep 10, 2009

by Nancy Walsh, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today Almost 3% of healthy, asymptomatic people who underwent MRI brain scans showed incidental abnormalities in a recent study, leading researchers to express concern about psychological and medical fallout from these increasingly popular screenings.…

by Nancy Walsh, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today

Almost 3% of healthy, asymptomatic people who underwent MRI brain scans showed incidental abnormalities in a recent study, leading researchers to express concern about psychological and medical fallout from these increasingly popular screenings.

In meta-analysis of MRI brain scans, the prevalence of neoplastic incidental findings was 0.70% (95% CI 0.47 to 0.98), while the …

Patient voices

Does counseling kids to lose weight and increase exercise work?

September 9, 2009Sep 9, 20092

by Todd Neale, Staff Writer, MedPage Today Overweight and obese children who received counseling from a family doctor did not lose more weight or get more exercise than youngsters who did not receive counseling, Melissa Wake, MD, of Royal Children's…

by Todd Neale, Staff Writer, MedPage Today

Overweight and obese children who received counseling from a family doctor did not lose more weight or get more exercise than youngsters who did not receive counseling, Melissa Wake, MD, of Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, and colleagues reported online in the British Medical Journal.

Because the screening and counseling are so expensive, …

Medical education

Do resident work-hour restrictions increase surgical complications?

September 8, 2009Sep 8, 200911

by Chris Emery, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today Reductions in resident physician work-hours at teaching hospitals in 2003 were associated with an increase in complications related to surgery to repair hip fractures, a new study found. The rates of pneumonia, hematoma,…

by Chris Emery, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today

Reductions in resident physician work-hours at teaching hospitals in 2003 were associated with an increase in complications related to surgery to repair hip fractures, a new study found.

The rates of pneumonia, hematoma, renal complications, and blood transfusions associated with hip surgery rose disproportionally at teaching hospitals compared to other hospitals after resident …

Physician voices

Does being on the America’s Best Hospitals list affect patient outcomes?