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Last Updated: Apr 21, 2008 - 5:09:36 AM |
Healthcare
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USA
US requires 40,000 more health IT professionals
Washington, April 18 - United States alone requires an additional 40,000 IT professionals to move its healthcare toward a paperless system that cuts costs and medical errors.
Apr 18, 2008 - 3:24:21 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
Indian American doctor under scanner for malpractices
New York, March 8 - A prominent Indian American doctor in Las Vegas is being investigated for medical malpractices, which have led to a huge health scare in the community.
Mar 8, 2008 - 8:37:48 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
4.5 percent of US prisoners report sexual abuse
Washington, Dec 17 - Nearly one in 20 inmates of US prisons reported being sexually victimized in the previous 12 months, according to a report.
Dec 17, 2007 - 9:50:30 AM
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Latest Research
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Cancer
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Breast Cancer
Osteoporosis drug approved to cut breast cancer risk
In 1997, FDA approved Evista, which is manufactured by Eli Lilly and Company, for the prevention of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women and in 1999, for the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.
Sep 15, 2007 - 1:39:48 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
Doctor shortage looms in Massachusetts, USA
The Massachusetts health reform plan is in full swing, but so is an acute doctor shortage that may curtail the state's goal of providing care to hundreds of thousands of new patients who will want it, according to a new study.
Jul 28, 2007 - 4:26:24 AM
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Healthcare
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USA
California Health Insurance Coverage Is Becoming Less Affordable
For many Californians in the individual and small-group markets, sky-rocketing healthcare costs mean benefit drop-offs or spiking premiums, a new study says.
Jun 16, 2007 - 3:21:20 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
New Warnings About Suicidal Thinking and Antidepressants
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed that makers of all antidepressant medications update the existing black box warning on their products' labeling to include warnings about increased risks of suicidal thinking and behavior, known as suicidality, in young adults ages 18 to 24 during initial treatment which is generally the first one to two months.
May 3, 2007 - 3:59:59 AM
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Healthcare
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USA
Foodborne illnesses on rise in United States
A report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows a leveling of cases for some foodborne infections after a period of decline. For others, incidences of infection which had declined appear to be returning to earlier levels.
Apr 13, 2007 - 2:52:09 AM
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Healthcare
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USA
FDA Warns Five Firms To Stop Compounding Topical Anesthetic Creams
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning five firms, Triangle Compounding Pharmacy, University Pharmacy, Custom Scripts Pharmacy, Hal’s Compounding Pharmacy, and New England Compounding Center, to stop compounding and distributing standardized versions of topical anesthetic creams, which are marketed for general distribution rather than responding to the unique medical needs of individual patients. Firms that do not resolve violations in FDA warning letters risk enforcement such as injunctions against continuing violations and seizure of illegal products.
Dec 5, 2006 - 2:59:38 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
Susan C. Winckler Appointed as Acting FDA Chief of Staff
Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, Acting Commissioner of Food and Drugs (FDA), today announced the appointment of Susan C. Winckler, RPh, Esq., as the agency’s Acting Chief of Staff. Ms. Winckler is replacing Patrick Ronan who announced his resignation last week after several years of service at the FDA.
Dec 5, 2006 - 10:15:31 AM
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Healthcare
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USA
Profiles of serial killers have limitations
Dennis Rader, the notorious BTK murderer who eluded capture for more than 30 years until his arrest in 2005, did not fit precisely into the FBI's method for profiling serial killers on the basis of crime scenes. And Aileen Wuornos, the Florida prostitute executed in 2002 for slaying seven men over a two-year period in the early 1990s, didn't fit at all because the database of convicted serial killers used by the FBI in developing their profiling method did not include women.
Oct 29, 2006 - 9:28:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
Concerns over abortion law in the US state of South Dakota
In this weeks BMJ, a senior doctor raises serious concerns over abortion law in the US state of South Dakota. Earlier this year, South Dakota passed a bill which bans virtually all abortions in the state except for circumstances in which the procedure is necessary to prevent the death of the mother. Under this new legislation, doctors face prosecution for the termination of any pregnancy in which maternal death is not clearly averted by its performance.
Oct 29, 2006 - 9:26:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Opens the National Center for X-ray Tomography (NCXT)
The National Center for X-ray Tomography (NCXT) has officially been dedicated at the U.S. Department of Energys Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Located at Berkeley Labs Advanced Light Source (ALS), this new center features a first-of-its-kind x-ray microscope that will enable scientists to perform CAT scans on biological cells, just one of many unprecedented capabilities for cell and molecular biology studies.
Oct 13, 2006 - 10:54:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
States That Easily Grant Immunization Exemptions Have Higher Incidence Of Whooping Cough
States that have personal belief exemptions for school immunization requirements, and exemptions that are easily obtained, have higher rates of new cases of pertussis (whooping cough) than states in which obtaining immunization exemptions is more difficult, according to a study in the October 11 issue of JAMA.
Oct 11, 2006 - 5:14:00 AM
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Healthcare
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USA
Study calls for 39 percent more family physicians in USA
With an aging population and an increasing prevalence of chronic disease, now more than ever the United States is in dire need of family physicians. A study released this week on the U.S. physician workforce calls for a significant increase in the number of family physicians to meet the escalating health care needs of the American people. The study was conducted by consultants from the University of Utah School of Medicine and the Utah Medical Education Council.
Oct 1, 2006 - 11:04:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
FDA safety alerts for automated external defibrillators occur frequently
The FDA frequently issues safety advisories for automated external defibrillators (portable electronic device used to restore regular heart beat in patients with cardiac arrest) and accessories, although the number of actual device malfunctions appears to be relatively small, according to a study in the August 9 issue of JAMA.
Aug 9, 2006 - 5:34:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
Hospital Performance Results Do Not Always Reflect Patient Outcomes
Hospital quality measures do not fully account for the variation in hospital death rates for heart attack patients, according to a study in the July 5 issue of JAMA. As part of the national effort to improve hospital quality, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) monitor and publicly report hospital performance on acute myocardial infarction (AMI heart attack) core process measures approved by the Hospital Quality Alliance, according to background information in the article. Although the CMS/JCAHO process measures are considered indicators of quality of AMI care, little is known about how these measures track with each other. And the degree to which process measure performance conveys meaningful information about short-term death rates remains unclear.
Jul 5, 2006 - 7:07:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
US suicide rate drops as antidepressant prescriptions rise
A just published UCLA study suggests that the use of antidepressants to treat depression has saved thousands of lives, despite the concern about a possible link between suicide risk and the class of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI).
Jun 14, 2006 - 7:40:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
FDA Counterfeit Drug Task Force's recommendations adopted
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced new steps to strengthen existing protections against the growing problem of counterfeit drugs. The measures, which were recommended in a report released today by the agency's Counterfeit Drug Task Force, emphasize certain regulatory actions and the use of new technologies for safeguarding the integrity of the U.S. drug supply.
Jun 10, 2006 - 9:06:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
Rapid Approval of Gardasil Marks Major Advancement in Public Health
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced the approval of Gardasil, the first vaccine developed to prevent cervical cancer, precancerous genital lesions and genital warts due to human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16 and 18. The vaccine is approved for use in females 9-26 years of age. Gardasil was evaluated and approved in six months under FDA's priority review process--a process for products with potential to provide significant health benefits.
Jun 9, 2006 - 2:00:00 AM
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Healthcare
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USA
Antiretroviral therapy saved three million life years
On the 25th anniversary of the first reported cases of AIDS in the United States, a new article in The Journal of Infectious Diseases estimates that antiretroviral therapy has saved nearly three million years of life among people with HIV infection.
Jun 3, 2006 - 9:07:00 AM
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Healthcare
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USA
Society should support breastfeeding
Although the act of breastfeeding is not "illegal," women in various parts of the U.S. can be arrested for "public indecency" when breastfeeding their baby in public. As of November 2005, 12 states and Washington, DC had not enacted at least some kind of law regarding breastfeeding.
May 22, 2006 - 3:16:00 AM
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Healthcare
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USA
Impact of state CON programs on heart attack treatment
People who have heart attacks are about 15 percent less likely to be treated with bypass surgery or angioplasty within the first few days of the incident in states with certificate of need (CON) regulatory programs. However, these patients are no more likely to experience adverse events, such as death, than patients who had heart attacks but were treated within the first days in states without CON.
May 10, 2006 - 1:01:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
Indian American doctor pushes for healthcare reforms
An Indian American physician, who is president-elect of the Chicago Medical Society, has said that doctors should take the lead and work with lawmakers in the US on healthcare reforms that should include a reduction in fines to be paid in cases of medical negligence.
Apr 30, 2006 - 11:00:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
Autism Costs $35 Billion Per Year to U.S.
It can cost about $3.2 million to take care of an autistic person over his or her lifetime. Caring for all people with autism over their lifetimes costs an estimated $35 billion per year. Those figures are part of the findings in the first study to comprehensively survey and document the costs of autism to U.S. society. Michael Ganz, Assistant Professor of Society, Human Development, and Health at Harvard School of Public Health, authored the study, which appears in a chapter titled, The Costs of Autism, in the newly published book, Understanding Autism: From Basic Neuroscience to Treatment (CRC Press, 2006). Ganz hopes his research will help policymakers allocate scarce resources to its treatment and prevention as well as provide a useful reference for policymakers and advocates to help them more fully understand the financial impact of autism on U.S. society.
Apr 26, 2006 - 6:26:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
Mammography screenings for breast cancer show ethnic disparities
Inadequate use of screening mammography may be an important reason that African-American women are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer than members of other ethnic groups, according to a new study led by a University of California, San Francisco imaging specialist.
Apr 18, 2006 - 2:14:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
Congenital rubella syndrome nearly eradicated in the US
Congenital rubella syndrome, a birth defect caused by the rubella virus (also known as German measles), has practically been eliminated in the U.S., according to a statement published in the April 2006 issue of Birth Defects Research Part A, the official journal of The Teratology Society.
Apr 10, 2006 - 2:04:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
Indian American wants ayurveda practitioners in US licensed
An Indian American practitioner of ayurveda wants those who practice this ancient Indian medical system to get licences in the US.
Apr 7, 2006 - 1:52:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
Donning uniform was my best move: US Army nursing chief
Gale Pollock was so impressed by the way the military treated her elder brother after he was wounded in Vietnam that she decided to become a nurse. Thirty years down the line, she's a major general and heads the US Army Nurse Corps.
Apr 3, 2006 - 7:09:00 AM
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Healthcare
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USA
Media campaigns encourage parents to talk about sex
Media campaigns are an effective tool in encouraging parents to talk with their children about sex, said US scientists.
Mar 23, 2006 - 5:28:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
South Dakota passes law banning abortions
In the biggest challenge in years to US women's right to abortion, the governor of South Dakota has signed a law banning most abortions that seems certain to inflame national debate on the highly charged issue.
Mar 8, 2006 - 4:55:00 AM
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Healthcare
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USA
Immigrants to US change diet
Coming to the land of milk and honey can be hazardous to new immigrants' diet and health. So says Ilana Redstone Akresh, a visiting professor of sociology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the author of a new analysis of dietary assimilation and immigrant health. In her study, Akresh considered the changes in immigrants' diets after coming to the United States and the subsequent relationship between those changes and Body Mass Index (BMI) and health status.
Feb 12, 2006 - 6:13:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
Court upholds $79.5 mn ruling against tobacco giant
The Oregon Supreme Court Thursday upheld a $79.5-million punitive damages award given to the family of a smoker who died of cancer.
Feb 3, 2006 - 3:38:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
Mass behavioral health plan is cost effective - study
A study released by the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Corporations of Massachusetts, Inc. (MHSACM), a statewide organization representing over 100 community-based mental health and substance abuse service providers, found that the MassHealth behavioral health carve-out provides efficient and effective mental health and substance abuse services and is of good taxpayer value to the Commonwealth.
Jan 31, 2006 - 7:20:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
Second-hand tobacco smoke is toxic - California
California has classified second-hand tobacco smoke as a toxic air pollutant, becoming the first US state to make such a declaration.
Jan 27, 2006 - 7:38:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
Trauma-Center Care Lowers Risk of Death
Care at a trauma center lowers by 25 percent the risk of death for injured patients compared to treatment received at non-trauma centers, according to the results of a nationwide study conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of Washington School of Medicine. A National Evaluation of the Effect of Trauma Center Care on Mortality, to be published in the January 26, 2006, edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, is among the first studies to provide strong evidence of the effectiveness of specialized trauma-care facilities.
Jan 26, 2006 - 4:45:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
New Prescription Drug Information Format to Improve Patient Safety
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) unveiled a major revision to the format of prescription drug information, commonly called the package insert, to give healthcare professionals clear and concise prescribing information. In an effort to manage the risks of medication use and reduce medical errors, the newly designed package insert will provide the most up-to-date information in an easy-to-read format that draws physician and patient attention to the most important pieces of drug information before a product is prescribed. The new format will also make prescription information more accessible for use with electronic prescribing tools and other electronic information resources.
Jan 20, 2006 - 3:10:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
Slow Progress in Improving In-patient Safety Systems
While there has been some improvement in patient safety systems at hospitals, progress has been slow and the current systems are not close to meeting certain recommendations, according to a study in the December 14 issue of JAMA. The 1998 Institute of Medicine (IOM) National Roundtable on Health Care Quality and subsequent reports ushered in a period of extensive research about the quality of the U.S. health care system, according to background information in the article. The IOM report, To Err Is Human, provided in-depth analyses of a wide range of patient safety problems and underscored the need for improvement. Subsequently, the IOM has called for "fundamental change
to close the quality gap and save lives," and proposed a national initiative to "provide a strategic direction for redesigning the health care system of the 21st century." These documents indicate that successful implementation of change in the nation's overall health care system requires change in specific patient safety systems at the hospital level.
Dec 14, 2005 - 4:59:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
US data on influenza death may be more PR than science
US data on influenza death may be more PR than science, argues a Harvard University graduate student in this weeks BMJ. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) acknowledges a difference between flu death and flu-associated death yet uses the terms interchangeably, writes Peter Doshi. Statistical incompatibilities also exist between official estimates and national vital statistics data. For example, CDC states that the historic 1968-9 Hong Kong flu pandemic killed 34,000 Americans. At the same time, CDC claims 36,000 Americans annually die from flu. What is going on, asks Doshi?
Dec 12, 2005 - 4:03:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
HIV Hospital Admissions Fell by More Than Half
The number of hospital admissions for HIV infection in the United States declined from a high of 149,000 in 1995just before approval of life-prolonging protease inhibitor drugs known as the "AIDS cocktail"to 70,000 admissions in 2003, according to statistics released by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. During the same period, the percentage of AIDS patients who died in the hospital dropped by 32 percentfrom a death rate of 12.5 percent in 1995 to 8.5 percent in 2003.
Dec 2, 2005 - 8:09:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
Hospitalization Rates For Infectious Diseases Increase Among Older Adults
Due in part to a growing population of older adults, there was a 13 percent increase in the infectious disease hospitalization rate between 1990 through 1992 and 2000 through 2002, according to a study in the November 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Nov 29, 2005 - 7:16:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
Swine Workers at Increased Risk of Infection with Swine Influenza Virus
With national attention focused on the avian flu threat, other infections that could be transmitted from animals to people are also coming under scrutiny. People with work exposure to pigs, such as farmers, veterinarians and meat processing workers, are at heightened risk of contracting swine influenza, according to a study in the Jan. 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.
Nov 25, 2005 - 6:33:00 AM
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Healthcare
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USA
Antibiotics Overprescribed For Pharyngitis
Physicians prescribe antibiotics for more than half of children with sore throat, exceeding the expected prevalence of strep throat, and used nonrecommended antibiotics for 27 percent of children who received an antibiotic prescription, according to a study in the November 9 issue of JAMA.
Nov 9, 2005 - 8:32:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
Low Birth Weight Rates Vary Widely
Low birth weight, an important risk factor of infant mortality and childhood developmental disorders, varies more than 3-fold in regions across the U.S., according to national research conducted at Dartmouth Medical School. The study offers promise for health care experts in an area of prenatal health where progress has been elusive.
Nov 8, 2005 - 9:32:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
Cervical Cancer Screening Programs For Low-Resource Areas Appear Effective And Safe
Two "screen and treat" cervical cancer prevention programs developed for high-risk women in low-resource settings resulted in a lower prevalence of precancerous cervical lesions and cervical cancer, according to a study in the November 2 issue of JAMA. Each year 471,000 cases and 233,000 deaths occur from cervical cancer worldwide, of which 80 percent occur in less-developed countries that have access to less than 5 percent of global cancer treatment resources, according to background information in the article. The lifetime risk of a woman developing cervical cancer in a low-resource setting is approximately 2 percent to 4 percent. Cytology (cell) -based screening programs have markedly reduced the incidence of cervical cancer in developed countries that have the infrastructure to support these programs. However, these screening programs have been difficult to implement in low-resource settings.
Nov 2, 2005 - 3:21:00 AM
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Healthcare
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USA
US Health Care Cuts Are Costing Lives
Health care cuts in the US are costing lives, argues one American citizen in this weeks BMJ. Lori Smith, a representative of the Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign in Tennessee, believes that plans to dismantle national social programmes for sick and poor people throughout the US are leading to suffering and death.
Oct 29, 2005 - 2:49:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
CDC Advises Broadening of Influenza's Vaccination Efforts
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today said that the supply of vaccine for this flu season is good and it is time to broaden vaccinations beyond the high-risk groups. The CDC advised that flu shot providers who have sufficient supplies of vaccine should broaden their vaccination efforts to include other people, especially 50-to-64 year olds, who are interested in getting an influenza vaccination.
Oct 27, 2005 - 12:26:00 AM
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Healthcare
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USA
A Virtual Katrina of deaths every week in US due to racial health gap
Research estimates that health inequalities between white and black Americans cause 84,000 extra deaths every year equating to a virtual hurricane Katrina every week, says an editorial in this weeks BMJ. But because the victims die gradually from diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, HIV, and from drug and alcohol abuse, the public are generally unaware of the scale of the fatalities.
Oct 21, 2005 - 3:51:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
Number of bariatric surgical procedures increased considerably
The number of bariatric surgical procedures performed in the U.S. from 1998 to 2003 increased considerably, according to a study in the October 19 issue of JAMA. Morbid obesity is an increasing health problem in the United States, according to background information in the article. In 2002, 5.1 percent of U.S. adults had a body mass index (BMI) higher than 40. The prevalence of individuals with a BMI higher than 40 quadrupled from 1:200 in 1986 to 1:50 in 2000; the prevalence of individuals with a BMI higher than 50 quintupled from 1:2000 to 1:400. The increasing prevalence and associated sociodemographic disparities of morbid obesity are serious public health concerns. Bariatric surgical procedures provide greater and more durable weight reduction than behavioral and pharmacological interventions for morbid obesity.
Oct 19, 2005 - 8:24:00 PM
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Healthcare
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USA
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Medicare
Medicare patients have higher risk of death after bariatric surgery
Medicare patients have a substantially higher risk of early death following bariatric surgery than previously suggested, and the risk of death is higher among men, older patients, and patients of surgeons who perform lower numbers of bariatric procedures, according to a study in the October 19 issue of JAMA.
Oct 19, 2005 - 8:09:00 PM
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