Nursing News and Research

Latest Nursing News and Research

States continue to wrestle with federal funding issues, budget shortfalls

The Fiscal Times: "Nationally, the number of Medicaid beneficiaries has risen by 8 percent a year since 2008, and 44 states have reported that they will exceed their enrollment and spending growth projections this year, the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured reported. A dozen other states, including Arizona, Utah, Wisconsin and Maryland, have experienced double-digit annual enrollment increases."

9 Sep 2010

Columbus Regional Hospital joins Indiana Network for Patient Care

Columbus Regional Hospital is bringing the nation's largest health information exchange to the Columbus, Ind. area to better serve patients. Joining over 65 hospitals, long term care facilities and other healthcare providers, Columbus Regional Hospital is now part of a statewide network that allows physicians to securely access necessary information to make decisions critical to patient care.

8 Sep 2010

Risks of 'imported' measles

An outbreak of measles at an international youth soccer event illustrates the risks of with "imported" measles, according to a study in the September issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.

8 Sep 2010

Personalized reminders effective in encouraging seniors to get annual flu shots

Personalized post cards or phone calls can be effective in encouraging more seniors to get their annual flu shots, according to a new review of evidence. Professional facilitators are also successful at urging providers to perform a suite of preventive services, including flu shots for seniors.

8 Sep 2010

Study finds alternative birthing room reduces Caesarian section surgery

Giving birth in an alternative setting within a hospital like a bed-free birthing room or one designed to be "homelike" is just as safe for healthy women as laboring in a traditional hospital bed and women who use these rooms are nearly twice as likely to be satisfied with their birth experiences, according to an updated Cochrane review.

8 Sep 2010

'Compliant concept' wins CTI Medtech Award 2010

"And the winner is- 'compliant concept' - Michael Sauter and his team receive the CTI Medtech Award 2010" was the announcement heard in the Casino in Bern on August 31st. The Medtech Event organized by the CTI, the Swiss Innovation Promotion Agency, is the meeting place for all the main players in the medical technology branch in the country.

8 Sep 2010

Study finds increase in emergency department usage among US patients

Only 45 percent of the 354 million annual visits for acute care in the United States are made to patients' personal physicians, as Americans increasingly make busy emergency departments, specialists or outpatient care departments their first point of contact for treatment of new health problems or a flare up of a chronic condition like asthma or diabetes.

8 Sep 2010

PDS selected to migrate University of Utah Medical Group's data warehouse to EPIC system

University of Utah Medical Group (UUMG), a multispecialty academic medical group practice has selected Practical Data Solutions (PDS) to migrate their data warehouse and analytical reporting to the EPIC system which is scheduled to go live November 1st of this year.

8 Sep 2010

Study finds non-hormonal therapies can relieve hot flashes in women with breast cancer

Many women enduring hot flashes experience the heat, sweat and reddened upper body as an uncomfortable inconvenience. However, hot flashes can greatly diminish a woman's quality of life, disrupting sleep at night or causing embarrassment as she goes about her daily business. Many women enduring hot flashes experience the heat, sweat and reddened upper body as an uncomfortable inconvenience. However, hot flashes can greatly diminish a woman's quality of life, disrupting sleep at night or causing embarrassment as she goes about her daily business.

8 Sep 2010

Health law rollout effects: Delivering 'accountable' care, device tax, nursing mothers

Today's updates on the continuing implementation of the health law include Medicare chief Don Berwick's behind the scenes push for 'accountable care organizations,' tax anxiety in the medical device industry, and the promise of new help for pregnant women.

8 Sep 2010

Quick increase of calcium concentration in cells rapidly trigger Aurora-A kinase enzyme activity

Aurora-A kinase (AurA) is an enzyme that is hyperactive in many cancers and drives tumor cell proliferation. Several AurA inhibitors are currently being tested in clinical trials to see if they slow tumor growth. Now, researchers in the Developmental Therapeutics Program at Fox Chase Cancer Center have identified an activation signal for AurA. They report in the September 7 issue of Nature Communications that a quick increase in the calcium concentration in a cell rapidly triggers AurA kinase activity.

8 Sep 2010

DTC consumers express concern on personal genetic risk test

One half of people using direct to consumer (DTC) personal genetic risk tests express concerns about testing yet more than 80 percent want to know their risk even for non preventable genetic diseases, according to a study in the September Genetics in Medicine, the official peer reviewed journal of The American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG).

8 Sep 2010

CDC ramps up production of new three-in-one flu vaccine

Health officials say that there will be plenty of flu vaccine available this year, now that the H1N1 pandemic has ended, The Washington Post reports. "The World Health Organization declared an end to the pandemic last month, based on indications that the H1N1 flu was transitioning to a more seasonal virus. Unlike last year, when there was one vaccine for H1N1 flu and another for seasonal flu, this year's vaccine is a 'three-in-one' that includes protection against H1N1 as well as two other strains."

8 Sep 2010

Static stretching leads to decreased running performance

Distance runners who stretch before running may not be able to run as far—and yet spend more energy doing it, according to a study in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning, official research journal of the National Strength and Conditioning Association. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.

8 Sep 2010

Study finds increase in bone morphogenetic protein usage for Off-Label procedures

Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) is increasingly used as an alternative to the patient's own bone for spinal fusion surgery. Yet at least 85 percent of these procedures are operations for which BMP use has not been formally approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), suggests a study in the September 1 issue of Spine.

8 Sep 2010

Studies examine health care use, quality

The New York Times: A new study finds "that more than half of the 354 million doctor visits made each year for acute medical care, like for fevers, stomachaches and coughs, are not with a patient's primary physician, and that more than a quarter take place in hospital emergency rooms. The authors of the study, which was published Tuesday in the journal Health Affairs, said it highlighted a significant question about the new federal health care law: can access to primary care be maintained.

8 Sep 2010

Morning sickness treatment still elusive: Review

According to experts we are nowhere near establishing safe and effective ways to treat morning sickness. Since the Thalidomide disaster in 1960’s that led to severe birth defects in the infants, this area of research is scary and less explored by many researchers. Despite its name, the vomiting and nausea of morning sickness can occur at any time of the day and affect about half of pregnant women. Between 70% and 85% of women will experience nausea during pregnancy, with about half suffering vomiting. Around 2% will experience it so badly they need to be hospitalised.

7 Sep 2010

AMN Healthcare enters MSP and RPO contract with Hendrick Medical Center

AMN Healthcare Services, Inc., the nation's largest healthcare staffing and workforce solutions company and Hendrick Medical Center, a 500-bed hospital in Abilene, TX, jointly announce a Managed Service Provider (MSP) and Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) contract between the two.

7 Sep 2010

Carolinas Healthcare System and Medicity partner to build multi-state health information exchange

Carolinas HealthCare System, one of the leading healthcare organizations in the Southeast with 32 affiliated hospitals in North and South Carolina, announced today it has selected Medicity as its partner to build a multi-state health information exchange.

7 Sep 2010

Sometimes a hospital stay does not mean you’re admitted

This Kaiser Health News story by Susan Jaffe, produced in partnership with The Washington Post, looks at an increasing use of hospital observation care for Medicare beneficiaries rather than admission as an inpatient.

7 Sep 2010