Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

State roundup: Pittsburgh insurer, hospital extend contract despite ongoing fight

A restaurant workers' group and a Los Angeles community clinic have launched a unique cooperative to provide health coverage to a group of people excluded from federal health care reform -- illegal immigrants. The pilot program, believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, offers preventive and primary care to low-wage, uninsured workers in the restaurant industry. Legal immigrants and other restaurant workers who don't meet the criteria or cannot afford coverage under the health care law are also eligible.

4 May 2012

Enrollment at U.S. medical schools to reach 30% increase by 2016

New data released today show that enrollment at U.S. medical schools is on target to reach an increase of 30 percent by 2016, according to the annual Medical School Enrollment Survey conducted by the AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) Center for Workforce Studies.

4 May 2012

Current research does not support use of smell tests for Alzheimer's dementia

Current research does not support the use of smell tests for predicting Alzheimer's dementia, according to a comprehensive review by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars at the University of Michigan and the VA Center for Clinical Management Research.

4 May 2012

Health care quality varies widely despite high spending in the U.S.

The United States spends more on health care than 12 other industrialized countries yet does not provide "notably superior" care, according to a new study from The Commonwealth Fund.

4 May 2012

First Edition: May 3, 2012

Today's headlines include a report exploring how the Medicare payment system could suffer unintended consequences if the Supreme Court overturns the health law.

3 May 2012

First Edition: May 2, 2012

Today's headlines include a report that House Republican lawmakers want to cut bonuses to states for enrolling low-income kids in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

3 May 2012

Roundup: Mass. health cost control bill could save $8B to $34B; Md. weighs hospital rate freeze; Iowa Senate passes a fix for HIV insurance program

As Massachusetts' state legislators put the finishing touches on a major health care cost-control bill, there is still one big question: How much could it save? A recent report claims employers and employees could see between $8 billion and $34.5 billion in savings over nine years.

3 May 2012

First anniversary of Capital BlueCross' Accountable Care Arrangement programs

Today marks the one-year anniversary of Capital BlueCross' launch of two Accountable Care Arrangements (ACA). Preliminary results demonstrate that this innovative care delivery model is improving care coordination, lowering the medical cost trend, and improving the member's management of chronic conditions and overall satisfaction with care.

2 May 2012

Older Americans experience significant and troubling gaps in primary care

Large majorities of older Americans experience significant and troubling gaps in their primary care, according to a new national survey, "How Does It Feel? The Older Adult Health Care Experience," released today by the John A. Hartford Foundation, a champion for improved geriatric care and longtime partner of the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing at New York University's College of Nursing.

2 May 2012

Endocrine Society and its Hormone Health Network release ‘Menopause Map’

Women going through menopause now have a first-of-its-kind interactive guide to help them better understand their menu of treatment options, including whether hormone therapy may be right for them. The Endocrine Society and its Hormone Health Network today released the "Menopause Map," an online tool to help women and their doctors discuss which hormonal and non-hormonal treatment options would be most effective and safe to relieve the sometimes debilitating symptoms of menopause.

2 May 2012

54% doctors support denying treatment to smokers and the obese until they quit or lose weight

Doctors.net.uk, a professional networking site, found that 593 (54%) of the 1,096 doctors who took part in the self-selecting survey answered yes when asked: “Should the NHS be allowed to refuse non-emergency treatments to patients unless they lose weight or stop smoking?” They believe unhealthy behaviour can make procedures less likely to work, and that the service is not obliged to devote scarce resources to them.

30 Apr 2012

Hospitals seek to cut costs, compete smartly

In Colorado, New Hampshire, Florida and Kansas, hospitals are trying to be strategic to beat marketplace challenges.

30 Apr 2012

State roundup: Mass. may vote on assisted suicide; Colo. to try medical homes

Heather Clish has become a leading advocate for affording terminally ill patients in Massachusetts the same choice her father had. Clish and other supporters are pushing a ballot initiative to legalize the practice they call Death with Dignity, more commonly known as physician-assisted suicide.

30 Apr 2012

Best and worst paid doctors: Survey

More and more U.S. doctors are regretting their career choices. According to an annual survey of physician pay called Physician Compensation Survey from Medscape/WebMD this is in spite of the hefty amounts that they make each year. However the survey reveals that some specialities may earn more than others.

29 Apr 2012

Devices to aid dementia sufferers suggested

Five novel ideas were shortlisted for further development in a competition run by the Design Council and the Department of Health, to help make the lives of hundreds of thousands of people with dementia easier and more enjoyable.

29 Apr 2012

Highlights: Cuomo's plan for out-of-network charges runs into trouble; Federal agents seize patient records in Houston mental hospital

Today's news on local health policy issues comes from New York, Connecticut, Mississippi, Colorado, Iowa, Texas, North Carolina and Kansas.

27 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 27, 2012

Today's headlines include details of a new study finding that, as a result of the health law, consumers and businesses will receive an estimated $1.3 billion in rebates from insurance companies this year.

27 Apr 2012

MCW professor receives 2012 Founders Award at AMSSM meeting

Craig Young, MD, was awarded the 2012 Founders Award at the 21th Annual Meeting of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, in Atlanta on April 24, 2012. The award is not given annually, but is bestowed when AMSSM leadership determines that someone exemplifies the best that a sports medicine physician can be and do.

27 Apr 2012

Diabetes alone may cost a sixth of total NHS budget by 2035: Report

A new report warns that diabetes will cost the NHS more than a sixth of its entire budget by 2035. The disease accounts for 10 per cent (£9.8 billion) of NHS spending, but this is projected to rise to £16.9 billion over the next 25 years, or 17 per cent of the health service's funds. There are around 3.8 million people living with diabetes in the UK and this is expected to increase to 6.25 million in just over two decades.

26 Apr 2012

Contraceptive pill could soon be given out to 13 year olds without prescription

According to an NHS report girls as young as 13 should be given the contraceptive pill without having to see a doctor. Normally girls and women can only go on the Pill once they have undergone a thorough consultation with a GP or nurse as it can cause side effects including blood clots.

26 Apr 2012