Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

Loyola University Chicago SSOM celebrates Match Day

The atrium at the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine (SSOM) was filled with screams and tears of joy as 127 medical students learned the next steps in their medical careers.

22 Mar 2012

International study into safety of NSAIDs reaches enrollment milestone

An international study into the safety of some of the most widely used medicines has reached a significant milestone by recruiting its 6,000th patient.

22 Mar 2012

Roundup: States face new revenue downturn; Calif. county has disparities in life expectancy

Revenues in most U.S. states increased in the fourth quarter of 2011, but their recent surge is tapering off, as they grew just 2.7 percent from the final quarter of 2010, according to a report released on Monday. "This is a noticeable slowdown from the 11.1 (percent) and 6.1 percent year-over-year growth reported in the second and third quarters of 2011, respectively," the Rockefeller Institute, a think tank that closely watches states' revenues, said in the report.

21 Mar 2012

WESTMED collaborates with UnitedHealthcare to launch ACO

WESTMED Medical Group announced it is collaborating with the UnitedHealthcare and Optum businesses of UnitedHealth Group to launch an accountable care organization (ACO) for its more than 220 physicians in Westchester County, N.Y.

21 Mar 2012

Axial Exchange care transition products now available for cloud deployment

Axial Exchange, Inc. announced that its award-winning care transition products are now available for cloud deployment. The private cloud infrastructure scales to thousands of hospitals and clinics and millions of patients, and already has been validated by multi-hospital health systems as well as Emergency Medical Service (EMS) providers.

21 Mar 2012

ADHD diagnosis on the rise among American children

The number of American children leaving doctors' offices with an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis has risen 66 percent in 10 years, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study. Over this same timeframe, specialists, instead of primary care physicians, have begun treating an increasing number of these young patients, the study found.

20 Mar 2012

Software tool accurately estimates risk of heart disease

University of Granada researchers have developed a software tool that makes an accurate estimation of the risk that a person has to suffer a heart disease. In addition, this software tool allows the performance of massive risk estimations, i.e. it helps estimating the risk that a specific population group has of suffering a heart condition. The researchers employed a sample including 3 000 patients.

19 Mar 2012

New software tool can accurately estimate risk of heart disease

19 Mar 2012

Study identifies primary care skills and competencies in opioid risk management

Primary care physicians are faced with treating a large proportion of chronic pain patients, but many do not often have specific training in the assessment and management of chronic pain, including the use of opioid medications for chronic pain management.

17 Mar 2012

Research roundup: Medicaid vs. private pay ER use; Doctors treat black, white patients differently; Caregiver stress

By looking at National Health Interview Survey data of more than 230,000 patients from 1999-2009, researchers were able to compare Medicaid with privately insured patients. More than 39 percent of those enrolled in Medicaid in the sample used the ER versus 17.7 percent of privately insured patients. Medicaid patients wer much more likely to have "specific barriers to timely primary care."

17 Mar 2012

MedPAC urges repeal of SGR, recommends Medicare payment cuts for hospitals, nursing homes, home health companies

The Medicare Payment Advisory Board on Thursday recommended cutting payments for hospitals and nursing homes while encouraging use of generic drugs. The panel's March report to Congress reiterates calls for reimbursing doctors' visits at the same rate whether they take place in a hospital or a physician's office. MedPAC says Medicare currently pays 80 percent more for the same routine visit if it takes place in a hospital setting, costing the program anywhere from $1 billion to $5 billion over five years

17 Mar 2012

Unconscious racial attitudes affect positive interactions leading to the detriment of patient health

Primary care physicians who hold unconscious racial biases tend to dominate conversations with African-American patients during routine visits, paying less attention to patients' social and emotional needs and making these patients feel less involved in decision making related to their health, Johns Hopkins researchers report.

16 Mar 2012

More than 250 Montefiore physicians named Top Doctors by Castle Connolly

More than 250 doctors from Montefiore Medical Center have been named in the Top Doctors: New York Metro Area 2012 guide, by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. The doctors selected were among thousands who had been nominated by their peers and judged on various criteria including medical education, training, hospital appointments and disciplinary histories.

16 Mar 2012

Medicaid cost-shifting measures move forward in Fla., Wisc.

A controversial measure that would shift $300 million in disputed Medicaid bills to counties has been received by Gov. Rick Scott's office ... If Scott does neither by the March 29 deadline, it becomes law automatically. Counties are lobbying the governor to veto HB 5301, arguing that it will put an undue burden on local governments for Medicaid bills they don't believe they owe.

16 Mar 2012

New textbook about child and adolescent behavioral health, primary care

Within the health care system, children and adolescents with mental health and psychiatric conditions often go undiagnosed.

16 Mar 2012

New payment methods squeezing doctors

As the government and insurers push to switch from traditional fee-for-service payments, doctors scramble to find ways to keep practices afloat.

16 Mar 2012

Adverse drug reactions could be avoided among adult hospital and emergency patients

Close to half of adverse reactions to medicines among adult hospital and emergency patients could be avoided, shows a study from the Nordic School of Public Health NHV.

16 Mar 2012

State roundup: Ariz. long-term care plan advances; N.H. moves to repeal 'certificate-of-need'; Minn. ALEC legislation

The Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously passed a bill Tuesday that would make long-term health care more affordable for middle-class families. Rep. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, sponsored House Bill 2713, which would allow Arizonans to set aside money in a tax-deductible savings account to pay for long-term health-care expenses. It would also create tax deductions for long-term health insurance premiums.

16 Mar 2012

Longer looks: Last interview with Oregon's assisted-suicide law architect; Med students spurn primary care for hospital jobs

Dr. Peter Goodwin, a family physician and right-to-die activist, took his own life on March 11, 2012, at age 83. He did it legally, with the blessing of his family and doctors, under the Oregon law allowing physician-assisted suicide - the first such law in the country - that Goodwin was instrumental in creating. … He did not look like a dying man; he was chirpy and alert ... However, as a result of his fatal disease - a Parkinsons-like condition called coritcobasal degeneration - he could not use his right hand or do much reliably with his left.

16 Mar 2012

Many people do not recognize stroke symptoms

Nationwide ambulance use by patients suffering from a stroke has not changed since the mid-1990s, even though effective stroke treatments are now available.

15 Mar 2012