Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

Inhaled corticosteroids deserve further consideration for lung cancer chemoprevention

Among a group of mostly older male veterans suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an illness that offers a greater susceptibility to lung cancer, researchers found that regular use of high dose inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) lowered the risk of developing lung cancer.

4 Apr 2007

Less children and teens taking antidepressants

The number of children and teenagers prescribed antidepressant medications appears to have decreased following public warnings about suicidal behavior potentially associated with the drugs, according to a report published in the April issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

4 Apr 2007

Effects of changing Paracetamol pack size regulations in UK

Fatal poisonings involving paracetamol (acetaminophen) fell after a law introduced in the UK restricted the number of tablets that could be sold across the counter.

4 Apr 2007

Supermarket surgeries - back door way of privatising the NHS

Last week, the government announced plans to let supermarkets and retail pharmacies provide GP services, particularly in under doctored areas.

3 Apr 2007

Preventive health examinations may provide opportunities for cancer screening

Health plan members who receive preventive health examinations, as opposed to going to a physician only when they are sick, appear more likely to undergo testing for colorectal, breast and prostate cancers, according to a report in the March 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

3 Apr 2007

Regular health exams increase likelihood that older adults will get recommended cancer screenings

If you're 50 or older, seeing your doctor every year or two for a checkup may be a good defense against cancer, according to a new study by researchers at UC Davis, the University of Washington, and Group Health Cooperative in Seattle.

2 Apr 2007

Information technology boosts mammography screening rates

Findings of a new Mayo Clinic study published in Archives of Internal Medicine show that a computerized mail and phone reminder program can significantly increase the percentage of patients receiving preventive health services and improve the value of health care.

2 Apr 2007

New York progresses HPV vaccine distribution to health providers, school clinics

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on Thursday announced that it has distributed 57,810 doses of Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil to city health providers, including school-based health clinics, the New York Post reports.

2 Apr 2007

Total sleep time affects morning testosterone levels

The testosterone levels of healthy men decline as they get older. As sleep quality and quantity typically decrease with age, objectively measured differences in the amount of sleep a healthy older man gets can affect his level of testosterone in the morning, according to a study published in the April 1st issue of the journal SLEEP.

2 Apr 2007

Fragmented sleep increases spontaneous pain in women

Sleep continuity disturbance impairs endogenous pain-inhibitory function and increases spontaneous pain in women

2 Apr 2007

Actigraphy helps assess and manage sleep disorders

Actigraphy, the use of a portable device that records movement over extended periods of time, and has been used extensively in the study of sleep and circadian rhythms, provides an acceptably accurate estimate of sleep patterns in normal, healthy adult populations and in-patients suspected of certain sleep disorders, according to practice parameters published in the April 1st issue of the journal SLEEP.

2 Apr 2007

American Cancer Society issues recommendation on MRI for breast cancer screening

An expert panel convened by the American Cancer Society has developed new recommendations for the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for women at increased risk for breast cancer, and recommends annual screening using MRI in addition to mammography for women with a 20-25 percent or greater lifetime risk of the disease.

29 Mar 2007

Improving the NHS's response to domestic violence

A project aimed at tackling shortcomings in the NHS's response to domestic violence is to be set up in Bristol and east London.

28 Mar 2007

New retail health clinic industry group meets to discuss quality, safety standards

The Convenient Care Association, an organization representing 18 companies that operate retail health clinics, held its first general meeting on Monday at the University of Pennsylvania to discuss quality and safety standards at retail clinics, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

22 Mar 2007

Why people stay in violent relationships

In an effort to identify the social and family pressures that compel women and men to return to and remain in violent relationships, University of Rochester Medical Center researchers are conducting interviews at Monroe County Family Court and at psychiatric and medical clinics.

22 Mar 2007

New screening tool for anxiety disorders

A new study by researchers led by Kurt Kroenke, M.D., of the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute, Inc. reports that nearly 20 percent of patients seen by primary care physicians have at least one anxiety disorder.

12 Mar 2007

For healthier patients, create happier doctors

Rochester doctors are putting to the test the idea that less stressed, more fulfilled physicians offer improved care to their patients.

6 Mar 2007

Delays and lack of communication to primary care physicians common after hospital discharge

Primary care physicians often do not receive adequate patient information from the hospital-based physician following discharge, according to a review article in the February 28 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

28 Feb 2007

Alaska Medicare beneficiaries have trouble finding primary care physicians

Alaska Medicare beneficiaries experience greater difficulty than beneficiaries in other states in finding primary care physicians, and "evidence indicates" the problem is "worsening" amid a growing physician shortage and low federal reimbursements rates, the Anchorage Daily News reports.

25 Feb 2007

A third of England's hospital trusts in the red

The latest NHS quarterly financial performance report, published today (Tuesday 20 February, 2007) shows that almost a third of England's hospital trusts, and almost half its Primary Care Trusts, are forecast to be in deficit at the end of this financial year.

20 Feb 2007