August 5th, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, News, Research
Tags: Asclera, Blood Vessels, Cosmetic Surgery, Dermatology, FDA, Food and Drug Administration, Plastic Surgery, Poliocanol, Spider Veins, Varicose Veins, Vascular Surgery
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The FDA recently (March 2010) approved Asclera (poliocanol) injection for the treatment of small spider veins (tiny varicose veins less than 1 millimeter in diameter) and reticular veins (those that are 1 to 3 millimeters in diameter).
Asclera is a detergent sclerosant and produces endothelial damage through interference with the cell’s surface lipids.and acts by damaging the cell lining of blood vessels. This causes the blood vessel to close, and it is eventually replaced by other types of tissue. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
August 4th, 2010 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
Tags: Children's Health Services, Decreased Birth Rates, Family Medicine, Infant Care, Labor And Delivery, Large Tertiary Medical Centers, Making Fewer Babies, Maternal-Child Health, Neonatal Intensive Care, No Health Insurance, Obstetrics And Gynecology, Pediatrics, Prenatal Care, Primary Care, Small Community Hospitals, Underinsured Mothers, Wall Street Journal
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Recently I ran into the office manager for one of Houston’s largest pediatric practices. New patient visits are way down and their doctors are looking for ways to keep business rolling. The same day I picked up this piece in the Wall Street Journal which shows declining admissions and doctor visits as a national trend. This is bad news and shows how our faltering economy is finally working its way more visibly into healthcare.
And apparently we’re making fewer babies –- admissions to neonatal intensive care units are down. This is a problem. For large tertiary medical centers and hospitals specializing in maternal-child health, babies are the critical customers of a healthy operation.
A few thoughts on what to look for (or dare I say, what to “expect”) with fewer babies:
Pipelines. Look for tighter referral relationships between large tertiary centers and the smaller community hospitals that deliver babies in need of specialized care. Centers already aligned with ready-made networks should be well-positioned for the downturn. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
August 4th, 2010 by GarySchwitzer in Better Health Network, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: British Journal of Dermatology, Critical Reporting, Gary Schwitzer, HealthNewsReview.org, Inaccurate Studies, Journal Articles, Journal Study Changes, L'Oreal-Nestle, Medical Journals, Previously-Published Paper, Research Inaccuracy, Reuters Health, Study Questioned, Tanning Pill
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In an unusual move, a journal has actually gone in and changed a previously-stated conclusion of a previously-published paper. This follows a Reuters Health story that raised questions about the study. Reuters reports:
“A journal editor has scrubbed a line supporting the use of a L’Oreal-Nestle tanning pill from the conclusion of a company-sponsored study.
The edits come days after a Reuters Health story about serious shortcomings in the report.
Dr. Tanya Bleiker, editor of the British Journal of Dermatology, which published the study, told Reuters Health this week by e-mail she had changed the conclusion of the report, with the permission of the authors, and added the researchers’ financial conflicts.
Half of them were employees of Laboratoires Inneov, a joint venture between L’Oreal and Nestle that makes the tanning pill, called Inneov Sun Sensitivity. However, the original version of the study did not include a conflict of interest statement, Bleiker said last week, because “the authors stated very clearly that there was no conflict of interest.”
…
On the first page of the report, the researchers concluded that their “results support the use of this nutritional supplement.”
That sentence has now been removed. But the new version of the report now available online still says the tanning pill increases the threshold for sunburns and “represents a complementary strategy to sun avoidance and sunscreen use for a global approach to photoprotection.”
An independent dermatologist who reviewed the results for Reuters Health disputed those claims last week.
Referring to whether the pill would protect women against the sun’s harmful UV rays, Dr. Peter Schalock, a dermatologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said he had “hard time seeing that statistically or scientifically (the researchers) have proven it.”
Journalists and the general public can learn from this example. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview Blog*
August 4th, 2010 by BobDoherty in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: 1968 Chevy Impala, ACP, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, AHRQ, American College Of Physicians, Breakdown, Family Medicine, Fixing Primary Care, General Medicine, Internal Medicine, Medical Home Builder, New Model, New Primary Care Models, Old Clunker, Patient-Centered Medical Home, PCMH, Quality of Care, Trade-In, Traditional Primary Care
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When I was a much younger man I had a 1968 Chevy Impala. I loved its V-8 engine and spaciousness, but I paid a steep price for it. It consumed gas like a drunk on a binge. It was prone to breakdowns, usually in the left lane of a busy highway. Even as it consumed my limited financial resources, I couldn’t count on it to reliably get me to where I wanted to be. Yet I held onto it. One day, though, its transmission gave out, and I finally had to resign myself to buying a new, more reliable, more modern, and efficient vehicle. Yet to this day, I miss my clunker.
I am reminded of this when I think about the state of primary care today. Many of us are attached to a traditional primary care model that may no longer be economically viable — for physicians, for patients, and for purchasers.
We hold onto a model where primary care doctors are paid based on the volume of visits, not the quality and value of care rendered. We hold onto a model where patient records are maintained in paper charts in voluminous file folders, instead of digitalizing and connecting patient records. We hold onto a model that generates enormous overhead costs for struggling physician-owners but generates insufficient revenue. We hold onto a model that most young doctors won’t buy, as they pursue more financially viable specialties and practices. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty*
August 4th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: Doctor-Patient Connection, Dr. Pauline Chen, Family Medicine, Fixing Primary Care, General Medicine, Healthcare Economics, Healthcare reform, Informed Patients, Internal Medicine, New Primary Care Models, New York Times, One Doctor, Patient Satisfaction, Patient-Centered Medical Home, Patient-Doctor Relationship, Patients Are Wary, Primary Care, Primary Care Crisis, Quality of Care, Save Money, Saving Healthcare Dollars, Single Physician, Single Provider, Transforming a Medical Practice, Unsure Patients
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Say the words, “Patient-centered medical home,” and you’re bound to get a variety of opinions.
On this blog alone, there are a variety of guest pieces critical of the effort, saying it does not increase patient satisfaction, nor does it save money. And that’s not good news for its advocates, who are pinning primary care’s last hopes on the model.
Medical homes hit the mainstream media recently, with Pauline Chen focusing one of her recent, weekly New York Times columns to the issue. She discussed the results of a demonstration project, showing some positive results. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
