Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

HHS announces $250 million in federal funding to boost primary care providers

The Washington Post: "In an attempt to address a national shortage of health-care workers, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Wednesday that the federal government will spend $250 million in programs to increase the number of doctors, nurses and other care providers. The money ... includes $168 million to train 500 new primary-care physicians over the next five years, $30 million to encourage 600 nursing students to attend school full-time and complete their education, and $32 million to create 600 new physician assistants."

18 Jun 2010

First Edition: June 17, 2010

Kaiser Health News staff writer Mary Agnes Carey reports on states' progress with high-risk pools created as part of the health reform law: "The program, one of the highest profile provisions of the law, is designed to provide health insurance to people who have been denied coverage due to a pre-existing medical condition and have been without coverage for at least six months.

17 Jun 2010

Patients prescribed NSAIDs also receive appropriate measures to prevent UGI problems: Study

Four out of ten high-risk patients prescribed nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs also received appropriate measures to prevent upper-gastrointestinal problems, but the remainder did not receive adequate protection, according to a study in the June issue of Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

17 Jun 2010

HHS Secretary announces series of new investments to strengthen primary care workforce

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced a series of new investments worth $250 million to increase the number of health care providers and strengthen the primary care workforce. The new investments were made possible by the Affordable Care Act. Sebelius was joined for the announcement by U.S. Representative Lois Capps, Health Resources and Services Administration Administrator Dr. Mary Wakefield, and HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Howard K. Koh.

17 Jun 2010

UNC researchers study why surgery happens less often in blacks with lung cancer

A new study led by UNC researchers that looks at newly diagnosed lung cancer patients and follows them from diagnosis forward is one of the first to give reasons why patients don't go to lung surgery and why surgery happens less often in blacks.

16 Jun 2010

Physicians play stronger role in ensuring asthma patients don't waver in taking drugs: Researchers

Armed with the right information, physicians can play a stronger role in ensuring asthma patients don't waver in taking drugs proven to prevent asthma attacks, according to researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

16 Jun 2010

New public service advertisements to spread preventive medical testing awareness

Men are 24 percent less likely than women to have visited the doctor within the past year, according to new data released today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. In addition, men are about 30 percent more likely than women to be hospitalized for preventable conditions such as congestive heart failure and complications from diabetes, according to new AHRQ data.

16 Jun 2010

Supreme Court to hear case on overcrowding and medical needs of Calif. prisoners; Ohio state employees have unusual situation covering adult children

Agreeing to hear an appeal from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will decide whether the state can be forced to release 46,000 inmates — more than one-fourth of its prison population — to relieve overcrowding. The justices said they would hear the case in the fall and rule early next year.

16 Jun 2010

Most elite medical schools rank low on 'social mission'

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jenny Gold reports: "A new study is turning the traditional medical school ranking list on its head.

16 Jun 2010

Medicare will hold off processing payment claims until June 18

Congress is debating a bill that would eliminate a cut in Medicare reimbursements to physicians and other providers that officially went into effect June 1. Several news outlets report how the delay in congressional action has created confusion for doctors and Medicare billing procedures.

16 Jun 2010

Elite medical schools rate poorly on social mission

A new study ranking the social mission of medical schools puts historically black colleges on top and some Northeast private schools at the bottom.

16 Jun 2010

First Edition: June 15, 2010

Susan Jaffe, writing for Kaiser Health News in collaboration with The Washington Post, reports: "For consumers looking for bargains on refrigerators or restaurants, ratings can be helpful. But a score card doesn't work as well for selecting a Medicare private health plan" (Kaiser Health News).

15 Jun 2010

New regulation on 'grandfathered' health plans

The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury today issued a new regulation that makes good on President Obama's promise that Americans who like their health plan can keep it.

15 Jun 2010

Female endurance sports athletes are at risk for serious health issues, say physicians

Female endurance sports athletes may be at risk for serious health issues, according to physicians at Loyola University Health System. Excessive exercise and inadequate nutrition can lead to problems such as low energy, menstrual irregularity, fertility issues, stress fractures and osteoporosis.

15 Jun 2010

Free clinics across the U.S. care for 1.8M uninsured patients annually: Survey

Free clinics across the U.S. provide care to about 1.8 million mostly uninsured patients annually and the majority of clinics receive no government support, according to the first comprehensive survey of all known free clinics since the 1960s.

15 Jun 2010

States, Feds look to expand ACOs and medical homes

Crain's New York Business, on ACOs in New York: "Authorized by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Barack Obama in March, ACOs are intended to reward providers that shift their focus to preventive care and presumably reduce the need for expensive procedures.

15 Jun 2010

AMA adopts new policies to strengthen physician workforce

The American Medical Association adopted today at its Annual Meeting new policies to strengthen the physician workforce to meet the nation's growing health care needs. The United States faces a shortage of between 124,000 and 159,000 physicians by 2025. Already at least 22 states and 15 medical specialties have reported physician workforce shortages, including in medically underserved regions and front-line specialties including primary care and general surgery.

15 Jun 2010

Study finds survival disparities among patients with colorectal cancer

Disparities in cancer stage and treatment are the main reasons why Medicaid-insured and uninsured rectal cancer patients are twice as likely to die within five years as privately insured patients. That is the conclusion of a new study published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. Because poorer survival among rectal cancer patients without private insurance is largely attributable to later cancer stage at diagnosis and inadequate treatment, disparities may be lessened through health care reform.

14 Jun 2010

President Obama calls on Congress to avert 21% cut in payments to physicians

President Obama called on Congress today to avert a 21 percent cut in payments to physicians who treat Medicare patients in his weekly radio address. He also reiterated his commitment to permanent reform of the Medicare physician payment formula.

14 Jun 2010

Lack of access to primary care leads reasons for poorer health in US

Why do other countries spend less on health care and yet achieve near-universal coverage and often better outcomes than the United States? This question has come up repeatedly during the health reform debate, and yet the answers still aren't clear. How much of a factor is the health care system? Population differences? These are some of the questions addressed in Health Care in World Cities, a new book co-authored by Hastings Center scholar Michael Gusmano and published by Johns Hopkins University Press.

11 Jun 2010