July 16th, 2011 by Medgadget in News
Tags: Biocompatible Scaffold, Harvard Bioscience reactor, Implant, Karolinska University Hospital, stem cells, Sweden, Synthetic Trachea, Tracheal Cancer, Tracheal Tumor, Windpipe
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Clinicians at Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden are reporting that they successfully performed the world’s first implantation of a synthetic trachea. The organ was created from a biocompatible scaffold that was seeded with the 36 year old patient’s own stem cells inside a Harvard Bioscience bioreactor.
The patient had been suffering from late stage tracheal cancer. Despite maximum treatment with radiation therapy, the tumor had reached approximately 6 cm in length and was extending to the main bronchus. It was progressing and almost completely blocked the trachea. Since no suitable donor windpipe was available, Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
July 14th, 2011 by RyanDuBosar in News, Opinion
Tags: CNN, Patient Reimbursement, Physician, Professionalism, Scheduling, Waiting, Waiting Room, Waiting time
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Patients are starting to bill doctors for making them wait, reports CNN.
“When he keeps patients waiting more than 15 minutes, Dr. Timothy Malia, a primary care physician in Fairport, New York, hands them a $5 bill. If patients in Eugene, Oregon, wait more than 10 minutes to see Dr. Pamela Wible, they receive a handmade soap or a bottle of lotion. When Dr. Cyrus Peikari, an internist in Dallas, recently had to miss a day of work because of a family emergency, he gave the patients whose appointments he canceled $50 at their next appointment.”
I’ve been kept waiting at doctors’ offices. I’ve been kept waiting as pharma reps walked past a full waiting room bearing plates of food. But I’ve also been kept waiting as doctors have handled other patients, undoubtedly more complex cases than mine.
Practice administrator and blogger Brandon Betancourt sums up the point nicely, and further extends the idea to every delay faced in life, such as toll booths on turpikes tied up with traffic.
I’ve also been squeezed into the schedule for emergency appointments, undoubtedly making someone else wait. And I’ve also been treated by phone on nights, weekends and holidays, and I’m not so sure that my primary care physician gets reimbursed for that.
So, kudos to those few physicians who respect their patients’ busy schedules enough to reward them. But I’m Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
July 13th, 2011 by admin in News, Opinion
Tags: Adherence, Capsules, Compliance, CVS, e-Patient Dave, FICO Score, Health Information Technology, HIT, Jessie Gruman, Kaiser Health News, New York Times, Tara Parker-Pope
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In Keeping Score on How You Take Your Medicine, Tara Parker-Pope of the New York Times, reports on a new initiative from the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) known previously for its credit score ratings. FICO has developed a Medication Adherence Score, using publicly identifiable information (like employment status, age and gender) to determine a patient’s score, which it says “can predict which patients are at highest risk for skipping or incorrectly using prescription medications.”
Parker-Pope reports, “By the end of the year, an estimated two million to three million patients will have been given a FICO medication adherence score and a total of 10 million patients are expected to be scored during the next 12 months…FICO officials say insurance companies and other health care groups will use the score to identify those patients who could benefit the most from follow-up phone calls, letters and e-mails to encourage proper use of medication.”
The FICO medication adherence score has not received a universally warm reception: e-Patient Dave and Society for Participatory Medicine member Alexandra Albin point out that the score only accounts for whether prescriptions are purchased, not whether the pills have actually been taken.
In a related effort, Geisinger Health Systems and CVS Caremark are conducting a study to assess whether enhanced doctor-pharmacist communication can help with medication adherence. Shefali S. Kukarni reports in Tracking Down Patients Who Skip Their Drugs that, “The 18-month investigation will track a prescription from the moment it is submitted electronically to the pharmacy until it reaches the patient. If the patient does not pick up the prescription a ‘red flag’ or some form of notification will be sent to the doctor.”
But as Jessie Gruman recently blogged, there is no magic pill to cure poor medication adherence. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Prepared Patient Forum: What It Takes Blog*
July 11th, 2011 by admin in News
Tags: Attachment, Camera Phone, Cataracts, Device, Diagnosis, Droid, iPhone, Ophthalmology
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Researchers at MIT have developed a cheap and easy to use system, called Catra, that uses a cameraphone clip-on device to map out cataracts.
The technology functions by sweeping the eye with a beam of light and using the phone’s camera to detect fuzzy spots. It can provide both a map of the cataracts and maybe help make an overall assessment of whether surgery might be necessary.
From MIT News:
While the standard test for cataracts in an ophthalmologist’s office assigns a score on a scale of 1 to 4 — from no cataracts to completely blocked vision — the new, inexpensive test actually provides much more information. Media Lab graduate student Vitor Pamplona, a member of the team developing Catra, explains that it “scans the lens of the eye and creates a map showing position, size, shape and density of cataracts.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
July 8th, 2011 by Berci in News, Video
Tags: Blood Pressure Monitor, Cardiology, Cost, Health 2.0, iOS, iPad, iPhone, Medicine, Medicine 2.0, Vital Signs, Withing's
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One of the most interesting things I saw at this year’s Doctors 2.0 and You event was Withins’ Blood pressure monitor.
This iPhone-connected blood pressure monitor made its first appearance at CES, but you’ll finally be able to order one of your own today. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, the $129 accessory costs three to four times as much as off-the-shelf blood pressure monitors, but integrates well if you’re looking to pair it with your Withings scale for a complete vitals management solution.
*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*
