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New online tool to evaluate health reform proposals

The RAND Corporation today launched an online tool to provide policymakers and interested parties with a unique way of understanding and evaluating the effects and unintended consequences of health care reform proposals certain to be introduced in the new 111th Congress and beyond.

13 Jan 2009

Hospital diabetes care standards not met by US academic medical centers

A benchmarking study published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine evaluated contemporary hospital glycemic management in United States academic medical centers, determining glucose control practices are suboptimal and do not meet current American Diabetes Association (ADA) hospital diabetes care standards.

13 Jan 2009

Potential health consequences of recession

The Bureau of Labor Statistics just announced a jump in the jobless rate, from 6.8 percent in November to 7.2 percent in December.

13 Jan 2009

AGnES supports general practitioners

General Practitioners (GPs) can delegate visits to patients and medical work to qualified employees. In this way, they can provide care to more patients.

13 Jan 2009

10.9 million Americans under age 65 have individual health insurance

About 10.9 million Americans under age 65 purchased individual health insurance policies at some point in 2006, but only 7 million were covered by these policies for the full year, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

8 Jan 2009

Study finds failure to include nurses in process of admitting errors to patients, families

Even though nurses routinely disclose nursing errors to their patients, a new study published in the January 2009 issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety shows that nurses often are not included when physicians tell patients about more serious mistakes.

7 Jan 2009

Drive toward containing health care costs could have consequences for health care delivery

The drive toward containing health care costs could have the unintended consequence of reducing physician productivity, impairing quality and perhaps even increasing costs, two Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center physicians suggest in a New England Journal of Medicine "Perspective."

7 Jan 2009

Caring for chronic diseases in a "fragmented" health care system

Ed Wagner, MD, MPH, knew there had to be a better way. He and Group Health colleagues set out 15 years ago to explore how best to engage patients with chronic diseases in effective care.

6 Jan 2009

First national study on nursing home social workers

Social workers play a vital role in improving the quality of nursing home residents' lives.

5 Jan 2009

One-week course 'Nursing in Global Humanitarian Relief'

Throughout the world - in the impoverished slums of India, at refugee camps in Africa, or in the aftermath of floods and tsunamis - global humanitarian relief is in great demand.

5 Jan 2009

The culture of medicine

Everybody is familiar with the stereotypes of medical education from the student perspective: grueling hours, little recognition, and even less glory.

1 Jan 2009

Medication errors among adults and children with cancer in the outpatient setting common

Seven percent of adults and 19 percent of children taking chemotherapy drugs in outpatient clinics or at home were given the wrong dose or experienced other mistakes involving their medications, according to a new study supported in part by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality through its Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics program.

1 Jan 2009

More private patients in public Australian hospital beds

According to a new report more Australian privately insured patients used the public hospital system last year than previously and there are concerns that encouraging people to take out private health insurance is doing little to reduce the burden on the public health system.

30 Dec 2008

Study examines impact of managed care on stroke prevention surgery

Policymakers and economists often promote managed-care plans based on the assumption that they prevent the overuse of unnecessary surgical procedures or help steer patients to high-quality providers, compared to traditional fee-for-service insurance plans.

30 Dec 2008

Doctors question standardized training requirements

Doctors lack confidence in their procedural skills after completing the current NHS postgraduate training curriculum.

18 Dec 2008

Likely shortage of emergency physicians in foreseeable future

The number of physicians with board certification in emergency medicine is unlikely to meet the staffing needs of U.S. emergency departments in the foreseeable future, if ever; according to a study from a research team based at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

17 Dec 2008

Policymakers, the media and the public should use 20 specific health indicators

Policymakers, the media, and the public should focus on 20 specific health indicators as "yardsticks" to measure the overall health and well-being of Americans, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

17 Dec 2008

Informed consent process has lost its educational value

It's time patient consent forms came back full circle to a tool for patient education, rather than the waiver of liability they have become.

17 Dec 2008

Healthcare leaders vow to stop intravenous medication errors

Intravenous (i.v.) medication errors are twice as likely to cause harm to patients as medications delivered by other routes of administration (such as tablets or liquids), according to research commissioned by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).

16 Dec 2008

Proactive care saves lives of seniors

Can a patient-centered, care management program utilizing nurse care managers and interdisciplinary teams, supported by electronic tracking and care coordination systems reduce the rate of deaths and hospitalizations among chronically ill older adults?

15 Dec 2008