Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

Millennials overly optimistic about their health despite unhealthy habits

According to Life University, a leading chiropractic college and vital health university, Millennials (ages 15-27), are overly optimistic about their own health, despite admitting to the same unhealthy habits that have caused chronic illness in previous generations.

2 Feb 2010

MEND Program: Effective treatment for pediatric obesity

Ground-breaking results from a study to evaluate the effectiveness of the MEND Program (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do it!), a multi-component community-based childhood obesity intervention (www.mendcentral.org), are published today in the US journal Obesity (www.nature.com/oby/journal/v18/n1s/abs/oby2009433a.html). The results coincide with the launch of Michelle Obama's initiative to reduce childhood obesity announced in the State of the Union speech.

2 Feb 2010

Researchers urge policy makers to consider coverage for smoking and weight loss counseling

Reducing obesity and smoking have become national priorities in the United States. Research has shown that intensive counseling can positively impact each problem. However, because such counseling is typically not covered by medical insurance, cost can be a barrier.

2 Feb 2010

ADT can worsen heart risk factors and may increase the risk of heart attack

Androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT), commonly used to treat prostate cancer, can worsen heart risk factors and may increase the risk of heart attack and/or cardiac death, although the relationship between ADT and heart attack or cardiac death has not been definitively established, according to a science advisory published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association and CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

2 Feb 2010

Ipsen reports consolidated group sales of €1,032.8M for 2009

Ipsen reported today its sales for the fourth quarter and full year 2009.

1 Feb 2010

PeaceHealth-San Juan Island community's new hospital initiative receives Certificate of Need approval

State of Washington Department of Health (DOH) officials approved a Certificate of Need for a new critical access hospital on San Juan Island. The new facility will be owned and operated by PeaceHealth, a regional health system that serves communities in Washington, Oregon and Alaska.

30 Jan 2010

MMA continues to support GAMC program

The Minnesota Medical Association Board of Trustees decided Saturday that it will continue to support efforts to save the General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) program, but not if such efforts include cuts in payments for services, since the existing payments already do not cover the cost of providing care.

30 Jan 2010

Novel health care approaches: The 'Medical Home' and 'Medicine at Work'

WBUR (Boston) reports that the term "medical home" has "become a health reform buzzword" and is "touted as a way to cut costs and improve primary care. Massachusetts recently launched several programs to create medical homes."

30 Jan 2010

Research roundup: Raising seniors' co-pays increases costs; The stimulus and safety net providers

New England Journal of Medicine: Increased Ambulatory Care Copayments And Hospitalizations Among The Elderly - This study examines the consequences of increasing copayments for outpatient care of Medicare enrollees in managed-care plans. "As compared with matched control plans in which copayments for ambulatory care were unchanged, Medicare plans that increased these copayments by an average of 95% for primary care and 74% for specialty care had a reduction in the number of outpatient visits but an increase in hospital admissions, in the number of days of hospital care, and in the proportion of enrollees who used hospital care," the authors write.

30 Jan 2010

Today's opinions and editorials

By not acknowledging America's concerns about health reform Wednesday night, the president appeared inflexible and incapable of real compromise (Dr. Marc Siegel, 1/28).

30 Jan 2010

Quantrx Biomedical signs agreement to acquire NuRx Pharmaceuticals

QuantRx Biomedical Corporation today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire NuRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCBB: NUXP). The transaction is structured as a tax-free, all stock acquisition resulting in a combined company with no debt and a simplified ownership and capital structure.

29 Jan 2010

ACP urges Congress to reach agreement on comprehensive health reform legislation

The American College of Physicians (ACP) today urged Congressional leaders to "reach agreement on a legislative pathway to provide affordable care to all Americans and ensure that they have access to primary care physicians and other specialties facing shortages."

29 Jan 2010

Surgeons have a lower preference for back surgery than family doctors

Surgeons are less likely than family physicians or patients to view surgery as the preferred treatment option for low back pain, according to a study in the January 1 issue of Spine.

29 Jan 2010

Quinnipiac University to open a medical school to meet global health needs

Quinnipiac University President John L. Lahey announced today that the University would begin the complex process of opening a medical school, with an emphasis on primary care and global health.

28 Jan 2010

Palliative care program may complement patients' ongoing care with symptom management and support

Georgia Sue Huston knew she was really sick. Every time the 82-year-old woman tried to turn over in her bed in the coronary care unit at Stanford Hospital & Clinics, she’d panic because she couldn’t get enough air and because it hurt so much.

28 Jan 2010

Centering Healthcare Institute receives the Cares Award for its CenteringPregnancy Group Prenatal Care program

Centering Healthcare Institute has been honored by the Premier healthcare alliance with the 18th Annual Monroe E. Trout Premier Cares Award for its CenteringPregnancy Group Prenatal Care program, which provides an innovative prenatal group care model now present in more than 300 sites across America. Centering Healthcare Institute last night received the Cares Award and $70,000 for the work it has done to provide care to mothers and babies nationwide.

28 Jan 2010

Alzheimer's disease becomes center of discussion at the World Economic Forum

For the first time ever, Alzheimer's disease is a focus at the World Economic Forum. Today more than 35 million people worldwide have dementia and those numbers will double every 20 years to 65.7 million in 2030 and 115.4 million in 2050, according to the World Alzheimer's Report from Alzheimer's disease International (ADI), a London-based, nonprofit, international federation of 71 national Alzheimer organizations.

28 Jan 2010

Mayo Clinic's QI programs recognized for inclusion in pilot MOC program

The American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM), the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), and the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP)—the nation's three largest physician certifying boards—today announced that Mayo Clinic has been approved as a Portfolio Sponsor of Maintenance of Certification (MOC) activities.

28 Jan 2010

One Medical Group announces the availability of online appointment scheduling for members

One Medical Group, the modern medical practice that's reinventing primary care, today announced the availability of online appointment scheduling for its members in San Francisco and New York City.

28 Jan 2010

Depression raises risks of advanced and severe complications from diabetes

Depression raises risks of advanced and severe complications from diabetes, according to a prospective study of Group Health primary-care patients in western Washington. These complications include kidney failure or blindness, the result of small vessel damage, as well as major vessel problems leading to heart attack or stroke.

28 Jan 2010