Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

Tips for parents of children with cancer

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and Lisa Diller, MD, chief medical officer of Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, advises parents to remain positive if their child is among the 12,000 children in the United States diagnosed with cancer each year.

13 Sep 2013

State highlights: Nation's older population strains budgets in Northeast; Detroit may replace health coverage with stipends; access to care in rural Alaska

Most of the nation's oldest population is now clustered in the Northeast and growing rapidly, according to Census data, straining medical, housing and transportation budgets and forcing lawmakers to look for new approaches. And legislators and governors are reaching the conclusion that the way to pay for the elderly is to cater to the young (Wilson, 9/12).

13 Sep 2013

Feds to PA.: Shift some kids on CHIP to Medicaid

Federal officials denied a request by Pennsylvania to keep more than 50,000 children on the state CHIP program and have instead instructed officials there to shift the kids' coverage to Medicaid ahead of implementation of Obamacare.

13 Sep 2013

Uninsured residents report improved health with primary care 'home'

A new study shows significant health benefits for uninsured people living under the federal poverty level in the suburbs when they receive access to primary care.

12 Sep 2013

Viewpoints: Hopes for single payer system remain; GOP's move to tie debt ceiling to health law is dangerous; subsidy fraud must be stopped

With the Oct. 1 rollout of a major facet of the Affordable Care Act on the horizon, you'll be hearing a lot about the glitches, loopholes and shortcomings of this most important restructuring of America's healthcare system in our lifetimes.

12 Sep 2013

Financial incentives on hypertension care shows increased blood pressure control

In an examination of the effect of financial incentives on hypertension care at 12 outpatient clinics, physician-level (individual) financial incentives, but not practice-level or combined incentives, resulted in greater blood pressure control or appropriate response to uncontrolled blood pressure, according to a study in the September 11 issue of JAMA.

11 Sep 2013

P4P incentives in EHR lead to improvements in CV care processes, outcomes

A pay-for-performance program in electronic-health-records-(EHR)-enabled small practices led to modest improvements in cardiovascular care processes and outcomes, according to a study in the September 11 issue of JAMA.

11 Sep 2013

Screening of growth disorders using EHR system linked with higher rate of detection in kids

"Monitoring of linear growth is a well-established part of pediatric health care in the developed world. Although monitoring aims to support early diagnosis and timely treatment of disorders affecting growth, such disorders are often diagnosed late," write Ulla Sankilampi, M.D., Ph.D., of Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland, and colleagues.

11 Sep 2013

Experts to develop internet-based platform that links health data with environment, climatic factors

Experts from the University of Exeter, the Met Office, Public Health England, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and University of Bristol will be involved in the project which, over three years, will develop an internet-based platform that will link health data with information on the environment and climate.

11 Sep 2013

Viewpoints: Navigators become 'major friction point;' conservative opponents of health law take tactics from civil rights conflict

In the fierce debate over what would become the Affordable Care Act, the signature policy achievement of President Obama's first term, there was relatively little to-do over the question of the bill's so-called navigators. ... But in the years since the ACA became law, navigators have become a major friction point in the push to unravel Obamacare in state legislatures across the country. Insurance brokers and agents have led the charge, insisting that navigators will impede their ability to do business (9/6).

10 Sep 2013

What does the health law's future hold for workers, uninsured people, employers and others?

News outlets examine a variety of issues related to the health law's implementation, ranging from how it might impact workers in the year ahead, to those who will not gain any benefit from the law as well as the importance of location and other news about how the overhaul will affect the health care marketplace.

10 Sep 2013

Holes found in primary care insomnia management

Better education and training for management of sleep problems is needed, including a clear primary care pathway to treatment, suggests the experience of patients and clinicians in the UK.

9 Sep 2013

Dementia catheterization rate a ‘cause for concern’

Researchers from the UK have found that patients with dementia presenting in primary care with urinary incontinence are significantly more likely to receive pharmacologic treatment or be catheterized than other patients.

9 Sep 2013

Research roundup: The financial burden of hospital acquired infections

Health care–associated infections (HAIs) account for a large proportion of the harms caused by health care and are associated with high costs. ... [Using a simulation, the researchers found that the] total annual costs for the 5 major infections were $9.8 billion (95% CI, $8.3-$11.5 billion), with surgical site infections contributing the most to overall costs (33.7% of the total), followed by ventilator-associated pneumonia (31.6%), central line–associated bloodstream infections (18.9%), C difficile infections (15.4%), and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (<1%). ... recent analyses indicate that at least 50% are preventable. ...

7 Sep 2013

First Edition: September 6, 2013

Today's headlines include a report on the White House's proposal about how to gather information that would allow the government to enforce the employer mandate, which requires companies with 50 or more workers to provide affordable health insurance to their full-time employees.

6 Sep 2013

State highlights: Texas abortion clinics prepare to shutter; wide disparity in hospital prices; Calif. bill to expand abortion providers passes

A selection of health policy news from Texas, California, North Carolina, Missouri, Oregon and Colorado.

6 Sep 2013

First Edition: September 5, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about former President Bill Clinton -- dubbed the "explainer in chief" -- drumming up support for the health law and scolding Republicans for their efforts to repeal it.

5 Sep 2013

State highlights: Calif. bill to expand nurse role in health care dies; Ohio senior housing developer turns eye to primary care; examining Miss. trauma care costs

A selection of health policy stories from California, Ohio, Mississippi and Washington. An effort to ease a shortage of primary-care doctors in some California communities by letting nurse practitioners operate more independently has flat-lined in the Legislature after a fierce lobbying battle. A bill by Sen.

4 Sep 2013

Viewpoints: Shortages of drugs persist; number of Medicare doctors is growing; Obamacare undermines health savings accounts

As was the case during the last debt-ceiling debacle, in 2011, playing politics with the nation's creditworthiness is irresponsible and unnecessary. Leave aside the ObamaCare obsession, because Republicans have zero chance of persuading the president to kill one of his defining achievements.

4 Sep 2013

N.C. transitional care program shows promise in reducing hospital readmissions

A statewide transitional care program in North Carolina may hold hope for reducing hospital readmissions in the U.S., a new study finds. In the meantime, readmissions' financial stakes become clear for one Minnesota hospital.

4 Sep 2013

Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

Tips for parents of children with cancer

State highlights: Nation's older population strains budgets in Northeast; Detroit may replace health coverage with stipends; access to care in rural Alaska

Feds to PA.: Shift some kids on CHIP to Medicaid

Uninsured residents report improved health with primary care 'home'

Viewpoints: Hopes for single payer system remain; GOP's move to tie debt ceiling to health law is dangerous; subsidy fraud must be stopped

Financial incentives on hypertension care shows increased blood pressure control

P4P incentives in EHR lead to improvements in CV care processes, outcomes

Screening of growth disorders using EHR system linked with higher rate of detection in kids

Experts to develop internet-based platform that links health data with environment, climatic factors

Viewpoints: Navigators become 'major friction point;' conservative opponents of health law take tactics from civil rights conflict

What does the health law's future hold for workers, uninsured people, employers and others?

Holes found in primary care insomnia management

Dementia catheterization rate a ‘cause for concern’

Research roundup: The financial burden of hospital acquired infections

First Edition: September 6, 2013

State highlights: Texas abortion clinics prepare to shutter; wide disparity in hospital prices; Calif. bill to expand abortion providers passes

First Edition: September 5, 2013

State highlights: Calif. bill to expand nurse role in health care dies; Ohio senior housing developer turns eye to primary care; examining Miss. trauma care costs

Viewpoints: Shortages of drugs persist; number of Medicare doctors is growing; Obamacare undermines health savings accounts

N.C. transitional care program shows promise in reducing hospital readmissions

Exploring the role of confocal-based high-content imaging in advancing core facilities

Transforming Cardiovascular Care: Insights from Mina Makar at AstraZeneca

Clue's CEO Rhiannon White on the Future of Femtech and PCOS

Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

Exploring the role of confocal-based high-content imaging in advancing core facilities

Transforming Cardiovascular Care: Insights from Mina Makar at AstraZeneca

Clue's CEO Rhiannon White on the Future of Femtech and PCOS

Newsletters you may be interested in