On the internet, there’s more information than anyone could ever have imagined. But sometimes, especially when it comes to health matters, it can be a problem. Still, research shows too much information isn’t necessarily bad for patients who listen to instructions or suggestions from their health-care practitioners. University of Illinois researchers studied the issue and… Continue reading Researchers: Too Much Information Can Be Good – if Doctors Convey It Correctly
Tag: patient
A Crucial Factor in Heart-Failure Survival
When heart-failure patients were re-hospitalized within a month, those who returned to the same hospital were discharged quicker and were more likely to survive than those who were taken to a different facility, according to new Canadian research in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American… Continue reading A Crucial Factor in Heart-Failure Survival
How Braces Can Change Your Life at Any Age
Did you know that teeth can be moved at any age? In fact, more and more adults are seeking orthodontic treatment, sometimes well into their 70’s, proving that if you are unhappy with your teeth, it’s never too late to re-align your smile. Many of my adult patients feel the desire to return to orthodontics… Continue reading How Braces Can Change Your Life at Any Age
Better Medical Communication Needed in Hospitals
Structured means of communication can help doctors, nurses and clinicians better understand each other during routines designed to evaluate patients, according to a new study. Previous studies on these routines – multidisciplinary rounds, or MDRs – have demonstrated that the daily meetings have positive effects on patient care and outcomes. MDRs involve health care personnel… Continue reading Better Medical Communication Needed in Hospitals
How to Develop Health Literacy
When your doctor prescribes a medication, do you know what the correct dosage is or how to measure it? Are you comfortable asking your doctor questions when you receive a lab report and don’t understand the results? Do you understand how to use the information on the Nutrition Facts Label on food products when you… Continue reading How to Develop Health Literacy
Mobility Program Offers A Better Life after Hospitalization
Hospitalized patients who took part in a mobility program were less likely to experience a decline in mobility than those who had the usual care during hospitalization, according to investigators from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Patients who participated in the mobility… Continue reading Mobility Program Offers A Better Life after Hospitalization
Vacation Tips for Diabetes Patients
Everyone loves going on vacation – and to have the best possible time, diabetes patients need to do some extra preparation before they leave. Here, from the American Diabetes Association (www.diabetes.org) are some suggestions for a safe holiday: Before you leave, the ADA says, ask your doctor for two documents: a letter and a prescription.… Continue reading Vacation Tips for Diabetes Patients
Choosing the Right Antidepressant
Depression is a difficult condition to deal with – and choosing the right medicine can be almost as complicated. There are a lot of choices today, but their effects may be unpredictable, according to the Mayo Clinic. As a result, the Mayo experts say, patients can spend months or even years looking for the right… Continue reading Choosing the Right Antidepressant
COPD Patients Don’t Know Enough About The Illness
A new national survey of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) shows a surprising lack of awareness of risk factors and knowledge of diagnosis stage. That lack of knowledge, researchers says, has a significant impact on patients’ quality of life, employment and ability to afford treatment. COPD, the third most common cause of death… Continue reading COPD Patients Don’t Know Enough About The Illness
Older Patients and Implantable Defibrillators
Fewer one in 10 heart attack patients over 65 get an implantable defibrillator within a year of their heart attacks, according to a study from Duke Medicine. The most likely reasons for the low rate included advanced age, transitions in care between the hospital and an outpatient clinic, and a mandatory waiting period to… Continue reading Older Patients and Implantable Defibrillators
A Computer Program to Help Patients, Doctors and Caregivers
New software for medical records will help provide more personalized care for older patients, according to researchers. A study published in eGEMs, a peer-reviewed online publication recently launched by the Electronic Data Methods Forum, details the enhanced Electronic Medical Record Aging Brain Care Software, an automated decision-support system that enables care coordinators to track the… Continue reading A Computer Program to Help Patients, Doctors and Caregivers
New Guidelines for Making Critical-Care Decisions
Experts have developed guidelines aimed at avoiding conflicts between physicians caring for patients with advanced illness, and the families of those patients. “Neither individual clinicians nor families should be given unchecked authority to determine what treatments will be given to a patient,” explained Douglas White, M.D., M.A.S., UPMC Chair for Ethics in Critical Care Medicine,… Continue reading New Guidelines for Making Critical-Care Decisions
Making Sure Cancer Patients Get the Information They Need
Cancer patients’ information needs seem to differ depending on the type of cancer they have, and clinicians caring for survivors may need to understand those individual needs to better address survivors’ concerns about cancer recurrence, late effects, and family members’ risks. A three-year study of over 2,000 cancer survivors by the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg… Continue reading Making Sure Cancer Patients Get the Information They Need
End-of-Life Care Often Inadequate
People whose loved ones are dying appear to be significantly dissatisfied with the care the patients are getting, according to a new survey published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine. “People are less satisfied with care at the close of life, and I think it’s now urgent for us to start thinking about what interventions… Continue reading End-of-Life Care Often Inadequate
Health Data Collection Is Often Substandard
Most clinical registries that collect statistics on patient outcomes are substandard and lacking in features that could make them useful for patients, doctors and policy makers, according to a study. The investigation, by researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, was published in the Journal of Healthcare Quality. The study revealed poor data… Continue reading Health Data Collection Is Often Substandard
Some Hospitals Not Doing Enough to Protect Patients From Infection
Almost half the hospitals who took part in a study aren’t doing what they should to prevent Clostridium difficile bacteria, which sickens hundreds of thousands of people each year. While nearly all of the 398 hospitals in the study use a variety of measures to protect their patients from C. diff infections, a team of… Continue reading Some Hospitals Not Doing Enough to Protect Patients From Infection
COPD Patients Risk Burn Injuries from Oxygen
Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are receiving home oxygen have a higher risk of burn injury, according to researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. This study was published on March 30 in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. For their study, the researchers looked at data from Medicare beneficiaries from 2001… Continue reading COPD Patients Risk Burn Injuries from Oxygen
Drug Companies At Fault for Lack of Generic Insulin
Generic insulin, which could make the lifesaving treatment available to more diabietics, isn’t available because drug companies have acted to keep insulin under patent, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins. The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The researchers said that insulin, which is used by 6 million people in the… Continue reading Drug Companies At Fault for Lack of Generic Insulin