Although the dangers of over-prescribing opioids are well known, patients who have been hospitalized after opioid overdoses are being given the same kind of medicine again, putting them at high risk of a second overdose. The findings, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, highlight the challenges faced by physicians to balance the known risks… Continue reading Opioid Prescriptions Given to Patients Who Have Already Overdosed
Tag: patients
Telemedicine and Sleep Specialists
Experts are backing the use of telemedicine by board-certified sleep medicine specialists in the treatment of sleep disorders. A new position paper published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine presents recommendations for sleep specialists to consider when integrating sleep telemedicine into their practice “The integration of telemedicine in sleep medicine practices across the country… Continue reading Telemedicine and Sleep Specialists
Needed: An Accurate Determination of Life Expectancy
Because older adults often don’t accurately predict their own prognosis, health-care providers should have detailed discussions with them to determine their real life expectancy and what they want to do about health interventions, according to new research. The findings, from investigators at UC San Francisco and San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, were published inJAMA… Continue reading Needed: An Accurate Determination of Life Expectancy
Placebo Drugs Can Predict Successful Depression Treatment
If a depressed patient responds well to a placebo, that may determine how well they’ll respond to a real medicine, according to new research. People who can marshal their brain’s own chemical forces against depression, it appears, have a head start in overcoming its symptoms with help from a medication. But those whose brain chemistry… Continue reading Placebo Drugs Can Predict Successful Depression Treatment
Study: Diagnostic Errors Are Too Common
At some point in their lives, most people will get an inaccurate or delayed diagnosis that could have serious consequences, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. And the findings also revealed that there have been only limited efforts to improve diagnosis and reduce… Continue reading Study: Diagnostic Errors Are Too Common
Patients Can Be Emotional Burden to Doctors
The greater a patient’s emotional need, the more likely he or she is to view their doctors as devoid of emotion, according to a new study published in Social Psychological and Personality Science. At the same time, the study said, those patients expect their doctors to be able to absorb their emotions and experiences. The… Continue reading Patients Can Be Emotional Burden to Doctors
Senior Vaccination Rates Are Too Low
While influenza, pneumococcal, tetanus, and shingles vaccines are effective, routinely recommended for older adults and covered in varying degrees by health insurance, vaccination rates among older adults are much lower than current targets set by the U.S. government’s Healthy People 2020 Initiative. The undesirable rates of vaccines have far-reaching results: Older Americans are much more… Continue reading Senior Vaccination Rates Are Too Low
A Healthier Picture for Medicare Patients
The health picture is brighter for older Medicare patients: In a 15-year study, Yale School of Medicine researchers saw an estimated 20% drop in mortality, about 30% fewer hospitalizations, and 40% reduction in deaths after hospitalization. The findings were published In JAMA’s theme issue on Medicare and Medicaid at 50. In the study, researchers took… Continue reading A Healthier Picture for Medicare Patients
Caregiving Strategies for Traveling with Alzheimer’s Patients
Taking a person with Alzheimer’s disease on an overnight trip is a challenge. Traveling can make the person more worried and confused, so it’s important to think ahead. Here are some tips from the experts at the National Institute on Aging: Getting Started Talk with the person’s doctor about medicines to calm someone who gets… Continue reading Caregiving Strategies for Traveling with Alzheimer’s Patients
Are Some Hospital Patients Kept Longer than Necessary?
Some hospitals may be keeping patients longer than necessary because of the way Medicare determines payment rates, according to a study from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Medicare pays these facilities – known as long-term hospitals – at a higher rate for patients who stay for at least a certain number of days;… Continue reading Are Some Hospital Patients Kept Longer than Necessary?
Better Treatment for Hep C Patients
A new system can help identify which hepatitis C patients are most in need of new anti-viral drugs. An awareness campaign directed at baby boomers, born between 1946-1965, to be screened for hepatitis C , took off as effective treatments emerged to wipe out the liver-damaging virus. But high costs – up to more than… Continue reading Better Treatment for Hep C Patients
Low-Cost Drug Not Being Prescribed to Pre-Diabetes Patients
There’s a low-cost drug that can help prevent the onset of diabetes, but few doctors are prescribing it, according to a new study. The study, from investigators at UCLA, was published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. It found that only 3.7 percent of adults with pre-diabetes were given metformin during a… Continue reading Low-Cost Drug Not Being Prescribed to Pre-Diabetes Patients
New Guidelines for Some Hospital Visitors
Experts have issued new guidelines for people visiting hospital patients with infectious diseases. The recommendations were published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). “Visitors have initiated or been involved in healthcare-associated infection outbreaks, but it is unknown to what extent this occurs in the… Continue reading New Guidelines for Some Hospital Visitors
Dying Patients Don’t Always Want a Longer Life
When it comes to end-of-life choices, patients with advanced cancer valued avoiding severe pain or dying at home over extending their life by one year or receiving high-quality health care, research has shown. Investigators from the Lien Centre for Palliative Care (LCPC) and collaborators from the National Cancer Centre Singapore, published their finding in the… Continue reading Dying Patients Don’t Always Want a Longer Life
Rx for the Medical Profession: An Injection of Humanity
The changes in medical care over the last five decades have been dramatic. Technological and scientific advances gave patients access to a level of medical diagnosis and care previously undreamed of. During this time, Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act provided more people with the opportunity to take advantage of that care. Yet… Continue reading Rx for the Medical Profession: An Injection of Humanity
Four Lessons Hospitals Could Learn from Disney World
Recently, I returned from a trip to Disney with my family. It was my third time at the parks, but this trip was different. My wife and I were thrilled to have brought our three children, son in law, and, most importantly, our two grandchildren. Seeing my three and a half year old grandson, Erez,… Continue reading Four Lessons Hospitals Could Learn from Disney World
Older Blood Is Safe for Transfusions
Although blood is perishable, it’s just as good as new blood after three weeks of storage, Canadian researchers say. The finding was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. According to a release from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, the large clinical trial provides reassuring evidence about the safety of blood routinely transfused to… Continue reading Older Blood Is Safe for Transfusions
Better Care Needed for Sepsis Patients
Health-care practitioners need to provide more individualized care to patients who have suffered sepsis so they won’t have to be readmitted to a hospital, researchers said. A study published in JAMA looked at data from 2,6000 survivors of sepsis, a critical illness that shuts down internal organs following an infection. About 42 percent of the… Continue reading Better Care Needed for Sepsis Patients