While many people with peripheral artery disease (PAD) smoke, few receive proven smoking cessation strategies from their doctor, according to new research in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Worldwide, 202 million adults are affected by peripheral artery disease, which is a narrowing… Continue reading Smokers with Peripheral Artery Disease Need More Help to Kick The Habit
Tag: physicians
Atrial Fibrillation Patients with Cancer Are Less LIkely to See Cardiologists
Atrial fibrillation (AFib) patients with a history of cancer are less likely to see a cardiologist or fill anticoagulant prescriptions, compared with AFib patients who never had cancer, according to a study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. By not filling and taking prescribed medication, these patients are potentially putting themselves at… Continue reading Atrial Fibrillation Patients with Cancer Are Less LIkely to See Cardiologists
How Health-Care Practitioners Can Help Patients Avoid Falls
Editor’s note: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2.8 million elderly people are treated annually in emergency rooms for falls, while more than 800,000 patients are hospitalized every year. And the incidence is likely to rise as 10,000 people in the U.S. turn 65 every day. Additionally, the National Council on Aging… Continue reading How Health-Care Practitioners Can Help Patients Avoid Falls
Medical Error 3rd Leading Cause of Death in U.S.
Analyzing medical death rate data over an eight-year period, Johns Hopkins patient safety experts have calculated that medical error is the third most frequent reason for death. That means more than 250,000 deaths per year are due to medical mistakesin the U.S. Their figure, published May 3 in The BMJ, surpasses the U.S. Centers for… Continue reading Medical Error 3rd Leading Cause of Death in U.S.
Doctors Offer Solutions to Rising Drug Costs
The American College of Physicians (ACP) today released a new policy paper calling for changes that could slow the rising cost of prescription drugs. The paper, Stemming the Escalating Cost of Prescription Drugs, was published in Annals of Internal Medicine. “In the United States we pay comparatively much more for prescription drugs than other countries,… Continue reading Doctors Offer Solutions to Rising Drug Costs
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
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
Will Doctors Stop Ordering Too Many Tests?
Ask enough people and most will say that their physician has a fairly decent reason for ordering tests and prescribing treatments. Recent studies show that their doctor may be among the growing number of physicians who disagree. In a survey of 600 physicians conducted by the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation, almost 3 out… Continue reading Will Doctors Stop Ordering Too Many Tests?
Congress and A Failure to Address Health-Care Costs
Although the U.S. Senate has killed a bill that would have changed the way Medicare pays doctors, that issue remains just as crucial, according to a commentary in the journal JAMA Surgery. The bill, the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) Repeal and Medicare Provider Payment Modernization Act, was supported by physicians’ organizations as well as both… Continue reading Congress and A Failure to Address Health-Care Costs
Some Doctors Not Up to Date on Genetic Testing
Although genetic testing is becoming increasingly important, many primary care providers face challenges in making that part of a patient’s basic care, according to a new study published in Genetics in Medicine. Researchers from the University of Michigan reported that the most common reason given by primary care physicians (PCPs) was that they had insufficient… Continue reading Some Doctors Not Up to Date on Genetic Testing