Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

Heart attacks linked with mortality risk in people with schizophrenia

The risk of death resulting from heart attack is higher in people with schizophrenia than in the general public, according to scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES).

4 Oct 2012

One rule for one and one for another with diabetes

A joint consensus statement from the European Association for the Study of Diabetes and the American Diabetes Association encourages a shift in attitude over glycemic management in Type 2 diabetes.

2 Oct 2012

Roundup: Calif. bans gay 'cure' for minors; Pittsburgh health system merger falls apart; Ariz. seeks federal approval to continue Medicaid program

California has become the first state to ban the use for minors of disputed therapies to "overcome" homosexuality, a step hailed by gay rights groups across the country that say the therapies have caused dangerous emotional harm to gay and lesbian teenagers.

2 Oct 2012

ED discharge satisfaction related to symptom understanding, duration

While the majority of older patients treated and released from emergency departments understand their discharge information, half do not understand how long their condition could last, and a third do not understand medication warnings, show study results.

1 Oct 2012

Participatory pay-for-performance improves primary care

Both quality of care measures and patient experience may be achieved through the introduction of a participatory pay-for-performance program, study findings indicate.

1 Oct 2012

New studies reveal real economic and human costs of caring for cancer patients in Europe

New studies that reveal for the first time the real economic and human costs of caring for cancer patients in Europe will be presented during the ESMO 2012 Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology in Vienna.

29 Sep 2012

Wage disparities could limit success of health-care reform

A national study has found that earnings over the course of the careers of primary-care physicians averaged as much as $2.8 million less than the earnings of their specialist colleagues, potentially making primary care a less attractive choice for medical school graduates and exacerbating the already significant shortage of medical generalists.

29 Sep 2012

Two-part ACR guidelines on gout

Gout is one of the most common forms of inflammatory arthritis, affecting nearly 4% of adult Americans. Newly approved guidelines that educate patients in effective methods to prevent gout attacks and provide physicians with recommended therapies for long-term management of this painful disease are published in Arthritis Care & Research, a peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).

28 Sep 2012

Paper provides overview on preventing invasive cervical cancer

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues at the University of South Florida and The Ohio State University have published a paper in the September issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention that provides an overview on preventing invasive cervical cancer.

28 Sep 2012

Methodist Health System celebrates latest expansion in North Texas

Today Methodist Health System celebrated its latest expansion in North Texas during a groundbreaking ceremony for the Methodist Richardson Medical Center – Bush/Renner hospital.

28 Sep 2012

Report details Ga. mental health improvements; Colo. attempts to integrate physical, mental care

A new report shows improvement in Georgia's mental health system, but problems persist. In the meantime in Colorado, new experiments try to combine mental and physical well-being to better care for patients.

27 Sep 2012

Romney scolded for emergency room remark

During his Sunday interview on CBS's 60 Minutes, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney said that uninsured Americans can get care in emergency rooms -- a comment that drew a critical response from the American College of Emergency Physicians.

26 Sep 2012

First Edition: September 25, 2012

Today's headlines headlines include reports about a study that details accelerating health care spending.

25 Sep 2012

Viewpoints: How media missed Ryan AARP story; Romney and women voters; The price of medical mistakes

The headlines this weekend were all about the boos Paul Ryan elicited on Friday when he addressed the AARP, the self-styled seniors' lobby. The herd of independent media minds missed the real story, which is that the Republican Vice Presidential nominee went into the heart of the entitlement culture, told some hard truths, and even won applause for doing so.

25 Sep 2012

Confusion reigns on best handover of patients from secondary to primary care

Several planned interventions have reportedly improved the quality and safety of patient handovers between hospital and primary care, yet robust evidence of their benefits is still lacking, conclude researchers who conducted a systematic review of studies to date.

24 Sep 2012

First Edition: September 24, 2012

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz reports: "GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan was booed and heckled on Friday when he told an AARP convention in New Orleans that he would repeal President Barack Obama's health law. In contrast, Obama's remarks about Medicare --delivered by live satellite an hour earlier -- were warmly received."

24 Sep 2012

Simple survey can effectively identify women with ovarian cancer symptoms

A simple three-question paper-and-pencil survey, given to women in the doctor's office in less than two minutes, can effectively identify those who are experiencing symptoms that may indicate ovarian cancer, according to a study by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

24 Sep 2012

Research roundup: 'Early' cost-control lessons from Mass.; Colonoscopy coverage; Impact of PSA recommendations

On Aug. 8, Massachusetts' third health care cost control bill became law. It "sets annual state spending targets, encourages the formation of accountable care organizations, and establishes an independent commission to oversee health care system performance."

21 Sep 2012

Bipolar patients show poor HRQoL regardless of treatment setting

Patients with bipolar disorder who present for treatment in primary care settings and those who present at community mental health clinics have equally poor health-related quality of life, US research shows.

21 Sep 2012

Longer looks: A 'renegade' Bill Frist?; The pharmacist's expanding role

Meet former Sen. Bill Frist, a renegade "Obamacare"-loving Republican who is in the mood for some real bipartisanship. Yes, the same Frist who as Senate majority leader led an army into the culture wars over Terri Schiavo and whose efforts in 2004 to unseat his then-rival, Minority Leader Tom Daschle, led to a nasty - and personal - Washington battle royal. Now, Frist is pushing for a national conversation on end-of-life care and dismissing "caricatured" talk of death panels.

21 Sep 2012