Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

Roundup: Calif., Conn. plan budget cuts; Md. implements health reform; Boston ambulances 'heavy up'

Following serious cuts initiated by former Gov. Schwarzenegger, [Gov. Jerry] Brown also will be cutting welfare, social services and health care for the poor (Michaels, 1/10).

11 Jan 2011

Race, ethnicity and geography influence colon cancer screening

New research from UC Davis Cancer Center has found that whether a person gets screened for colon cancer often depends on where they live in addition to their race or ethnicity.

11 Jan 2011

Health centers should screen students for depression

One out of every four or five students who visits a university health center for a routine cold or sore throat turns out to be depressed, but most centers miss the opportunity to identify these students because they don't screen for depression, according to new Northwestern Medicine research.

11 Jan 2011

LibiGel may be the first FDA approved product to treat HSDD in menopausal women

BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a pharmaceutical company developing products for the treatment of female sexual health, today announced results of a survey of over 100 Obstetrician/Gynecologists and Primary Care Physicians regarding the need for an FDA-approved drug to treat a form of Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD) known as Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD).

11 Jan 2011

Birmingham VAMC selects DSS HB Mobile for Home Based Primary Care nurse Case Managers

The Birmingham VA Medical Center (VAMC), an acute tertiary care facility that serves the veteran population of Alabama, has selected HB Mobile from DSS, Inc. to provide an integrated mobile electronic health record (EHR) solution for its Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) nurse Case Managers. The Birmingham VAMC was selected in August 2009 by the Veterans Integrated Service Network 7 (VISN 7) to be the Alpha test site for HB Mobile.

10 Jan 2011

OpEds: Health reform repeal; CBO's numbers; Reviving public option?

[A]s a political matter, an outright repeal isn't really a winner. Most Americans dislike the law, but few are gunning to do away with it altogether. They don't like its mandates and costs, but they'd prefer to see a scaled down law that still provides more access to health care. Republicans run the risk of overreaching on this, as Democrats did in pushing a vast expansion of government into the health care field.

10 Jan 2011

HHS grants $10 million fund for HCPG opportunity

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced up to $10 million in funding for a Health Center Planning Grant opportunity for organizations across the country that would like to become a Community Health Center.

10 Jan 2011

PCPs and kidney specialists favor collaborative care for progressive chronic kidney disease

Most primary care physicians (PCPs) and kidney specialists favor collaborative care for a patient with progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD), but their preferences on how and when to collaborate differ, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). PCPs and kidney specialists need to partner more effectively to optimize care for patients with CKD.

7 Jan 2011

Research roundup: Accountable Care Organizations; Electronic health records; Medicaid and deficit reductions

Health Affairs: Accountable Care Organizations: Making Them Work - The January issue of the journal features several articles examining initiatives underway that could help form ACOs, such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts' "Alternative Quality Contract,"a modified global payment model in which annual payments to medical groups are linked to a per member per month budget.

7 Jan 2011

IDSA releases MRSA treatment guidelines

Physicians now have help in their battle against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a potentially deadly infection that initially was limited to hospitals and health care facilities but has become a growing problem in healthy children and adults. The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has released its first guidelines for the treatment of increasingly common MRSA infections.

7 Jan 2011

Medical experts issue warning about common practice of tablet splitting

Medical experts have issued a warning about the common practice of tablet splitting, after a study found that nearly a third of the split fragments deviated from recommended dosages by 15 per cent or more.

6 Jan 2011

Using TMV to control temperature of children's bath water can reduce risk of scalding: Researchers

Using a thermostatic mixer valve to control the maximum temperature of children's bath water can significantly reduce the temperature of hot bath water and should reduce the risk of scalding, according to researchers at The University of Nottingham.

6 Jan 2011

Study compares treatment cost of PID hospitalizations, ER care for teen girls

Hospitalizing teen girls with pelvic inflammatory disease costs six times as much as treating them in the emergency room, and up to 12 times more than treating them in an outpatient clinic, according to a small study conducted at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

6 Jan 2011

Tablet splitting leads to inaccurate dosages

5 Jan 2011

Roundup: Calif. issues emergency medical care expenditure regs; High risk pools in Mich., Wis. face stumbling blocks

California's new insurance commissioner sought Monday to force health insurers to spend more of their revenue on medical care. In his first official act, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones ordered emergency regulations requiring insurance companies to devote at least 80% of their income to policyholders' claims in the state's individual insurance market (Helfand, 1/4).

5 Jan 2011

New program may help reduce hospital readmission rates for high-risk seniors

SCAN Health Plan and Lakewood IPA have partnered with Dovetail Health in a program designed to reduce readmission rates for high-risk seniors following discharge from hospitals and skilled nursing facilities.

4 Jan 2011

Interventions aimed at infants improve school readiness and achievement

Parent education programs delivered through pediatric primary care offices increased parent-child play and reading activities critical for child development and school readiness during infancy in at-risk families, according to two concurrent reports in the January issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

4 Jan 2011

VIP program appears to promote parent-child interactions in families with low socioeconomic status

Parent education programs delivered through pediatric primary care offices appeared to increase parent-child interactions during infancy in at-risk families, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

4 Jan 2011

Team care to help multiple chronic conditions

According to a new study patients with multiple chronic diseases like diabetes mellitus and heart disease are at higher risk of depression that can render medication ineffective. Lead researcher Dr. Wayne J. Katon and colleagues at University of Washington in the study found that patients who received care from nurses who worked with patients and physicians to manage the care for depression and diabetes and heart disease had better outcomes. The study was published in the Dec 30, 2010 issue of New England Journal of Medicine.

2 Jan 2011

A ‘tough’ 2011 for Britain’s NHS

The NHS would have a tough year ahead said the NHS Confederation suggesting 2011 could end up being the “toughest year” in the NHS’ 62-year history. The major issues would be the structural reforms from health secretary Andrew Lansley, the difficulty of finding £20 billion of efficiency savings and the uncertainty created by debate over a major piece of healthcare legislation would all contribute to a tough year.

30 Dec 2010