_ Heart Health Hospital Visits for AFib Rising By article Hospitalizations and costs for treating irregular heartbeats, a condition called atrial fibrillation or AFib, are escalating. This fact is increasing the burden on the U.S. healthcare system, according to new research published in May 2014 in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. AFib can lead to stroke and other heart-related complications.
_ Caregiving Aging in Place: The ΓÇ£Granny PodsΓÇ¥ Trend By article By Hilary Young According to the American Association of Retired Persons, over 80 percent of adults now intend to age in place. Nursing homes are no longer the norm. Many seniors prefer to stay active and remain independent for as long as possible. One major trend that is helping to make this wish come true is the proliferation of transitional housing options, otherwise known as “Granny Pods.”
_ Pricier Rx If Docs Get Free Drug Samples By article At least for dermatologists, access to free drug samples from Big Pharma representatives means costlier prescription for patients. That’s the finding of Stanford University Medical Center researchers who published the results of their study April 16th in JAMA Dermatology.
_ Delirium Severity Measure for Older Adults By Sondra Forsyth article Researchers from Harvard, Brown, and the University of Massachusetts have developed a new method for measuring delirium severity in older adults. A release from the Hebrew Senior Life Institute for Aging Research, a affiliate of Harvard Medical School in Boston explains that delirium is defined as the sudden onset of confusion or change in mental status that is often brought about by physical illness, surgery, or hospitalization. Delirium is a common and often costly condition that is a leading complication among older adults who are hospitalized.
_ Doctors Say Malpractice System Is Better But Needs More Work By Jane Farrell article In a new assessment of the state of medical malpractice, the American College of Physicians (ACP) said that although the cost of liability insurance has leveled off, doctors still “fear litigation” and “expect lawsuits.” Molly Cooke, MD, FACP, president of ACO, also said that physicians feel “the psychological burden of navigating the complex medico-legal system.”
_ Criteria for ΓÇ£Choosing WiselyΓÇ¥ Lists By Jane Farrell article In the creation of lists by specialty societies of medical services deemed least beneficial, the "Choosing Wisely" initiative, inclusion was often justified by evidence suggesting no additional benefit with higher risk, higher cost, or both, compared with other options, according to a study in the April 9th 2014 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.
_ Don't Be Confused By Organ-Donation Myths By Jane Farrell article From the Mayo Clinic Over 100,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for an organ donation. Unfortunately, many may never get the call saying that a suitable donor organ — and a second chance at life — has been found.
Advance Directives Critical for Elderly Still at Home By Sondra Forsyth article More than 70% of elderly Medicare beneficiaries experience cognitive impairment or severe dementia near the end of life and may need surrogate decision makers for healthcare decisions. Advance care planning for older adults with dementia may be particularly important for individuals who do not reside in a nursing home or a long-term care facility, according to research done at at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and published in the April 2014 issue of Health Affairs.
_ Women's Health and Wellness Recurrent UTIs: Hope For A Cure By Jane Farrell article Scientists may be edging closer to a permanent cure for recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs). Researchers led by microbiologists from the University of Utah have shown the efficacy of a compound called chitosan when it’s used in combination with antibiotics. Chitosan is already approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for pharmaceutical and agricultural uses.
_ Reducing Falls Among the Elderly By article A low-cost program reduced falls in the elderly by 17 percent statewide in Pennsylvania, according to a study done at University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health available online in March 2014 and slated to be published in the May 2014 issue of the American Journal of Public Health The researchers demonstrated the value and effectiveness of using existing aging services such as senior centers in preventing falls.
_ Docs Not Sure Which Tests to Order By article A survey of primary care physicians suggests they often face uncertainty in ordering and interpreting clinical laboratory tests, and would welcome better electronic clinical decision support tools. The results of the survey, done at the University of Illinois in Chicago and sponsored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, were published in the March-April 2014 issue of The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.
_ Rural Docs Doing a Good Job By article Although studies have found that the quality of care delivered to rural patients is as good or better than that available in urban areas, the belief persists that top-quality primary care is only available in big cities. However, a new study done at Massachusetts General Hospital and published in the National Rural Health Association's Journal of Rural Health finds few meaningful differences between rural and urban primary care physicians on key measures of professionalism, including their attitudes about participation in quality care improvement.
_ Breast Cancer New Breast Ca Surgical Guideline By article The Society of Surgical Oncology announced on February 10th 2014 the release of a comprehensive consensus guideline for physicians treating breast cancer that will reduce healthcare costs and improve the course of treatment. Developed in conjunction with the American Society of Radiation Oncology, the guideline outlines an evidence-based surgical treatment path that will save patients from unnecessary surgery.
_ Hospitals Don't Follow Infection Prevention Rules By article The most comprehensive review of infection control efforts at U.S. hospitals in more than three decades found lax compliance even in intensive care units where patients are more likely to be treated with devices linked to preventable infections – such as central lines, urinary catheters and ventilators. That is the finding of research done at Columbia University School of Nursing and published in the American Journal of Infection Control.
Determining Severity of Rotator-Cuff Injuries By article About 90 percent of people over 60 years old have rotator-cuff disease. A new ultrasound probe that has been developed at Clemson University in South Carlina could take some of the guesswork out of determining the severity of rotator-cuff injuries, making it easier for doctors to decide whether patients need surgery. Rotator-cuff injuries are the second highest-costing disease in the country, behind only back injuries.
Llama Antibodies Control C. difficile By article Antibodies derived from llamas point the way to the development of new treatments for the deadly opportunistic bacterial pathogen Clostridium difficile (C. difficile).That’s the news from researchers from the Alberta Glycomics Centre at the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta in collaboration with researchers at the National Research Council of Canada in Ottawa. The team has revealed the first molecular views showing how highly specific antibodies derived from llamas may provide a new method for controlling lethal infections from C.
_ Good News About Reducing Hospital Infections By article A national plan developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Servicesfor preventing healthcare-associated infections shows progress. That is the joint finding of 14 papers published in a special issue of the journal Medical Care. The 3-year evaluation of the effort has identified what's working as well as the challenges that remain.
The Growing Crisis of Visual Disorders in Seniors By Jane Farrell article Along with a host of other conditions such as diabetes, obesity and dementia, age-related eye disease is a growing health care issue, especially for older people. Forty million people worldwide are blind or have significant visual impairment. The vast majority of them - 82 percent of those who are blind and 65 percent of those who are visually impaired - are over 50. Researchers worldwide are working on "the aging eye" to address unmet needs of patients and to make scientific findings a reality in the eye doctor's office.