November 2nd, 2011 by ChristopherChangMD in Opinion, Research
Tags: Age-Related Macular Degeneration, AMD, aniogenesis, Avastin, Benign conditions, blood vessel growth, Cancer, Chronic, Drug, Ear, Erbitux, Glue, Infection, Research, Treatment, Tubes, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor, VEGF Inhibitors
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I read with astonishment that a class of cancer drugs known as VEGF Inhibitors (ie, Avastin and Erbitux) used to treat colorectal, lung, breast, and kidney cancers can also be used to potentially treat a type of chronic ear infection known as glue ear… at least in theory and in mice. Glue ear is when an individual suffers from repetitive ear infections or upper respiratory infections to the point where the fluid in the ear turns into a maple syrup consistency. It’s thick, sticky and tough to get rid of with standard antibiotic medications. Standard treatment to address glue ear is placement of ear tubes to allow ventilation and drainage of the ear as well as antibiotic/steroid ear drops.
British researchers using the mouse model have determined that Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Fauquier ENT Blog*
November 1st, 2011 by GarySchwitzer in Opinion, Research
Tags: ACO, Affordable Care Act, Better Care, Health Care System, Health Insurance, High Performance Health System, Infant Mortality, Medicare, Patient-Centered, Preventable Death, Safety, The Commonwealth Fund Commission, U.S., United States, Waste
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Why doesn’t the US have the best health care system in the world? That’s the question The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System asks in its report, “Why Not the Best? Results from the National Scorecard on U.S. Health System Performance, 2011.” Excerpt:
“U.S. health system performance continues to fall far short of what is attainable, especially given the enormity of public and private resources devoted nationally to health. Across 42 performance indicators, the U.S. achieves a total score of 64 out of a possible 100, when comparing national rates with domestic and international benchmarks. Overall, the U.S. failed to improve relative to these benchmarks, which in many cases rose. Costs were up sharply, access to care deteriorated, health system efficiency remained low, disparities persisted, and health outcomes failed to keep pace with benchmarks. The Affordable Care Act targets many of the gaps identified by the Scorecard.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview Blog*
November 1st, 2011 by RyanDuBosar in Research
Tags: American College Of Physicians, AmericanEHR Partners, Ease of use, EHR, Electronic Health Record, Electronic Medical Records, EMR, Health Information Technology, Physicians, Ratings, Research, Satisfaction, Survey, Training
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Physicians need at least three to five days of training on new electronic health record (EHR) systems to achieve the highest level of overall satisfaction, but nearly half of new users get three or fewer days of training, according to a survey.
AmericanEHR Partners surveyed physicians’ experiences with EHRs to achieve some meaningful use requirements. (The group is a web-based resource for EHR system selection/implementation developed by the American College of Physicians and Cientis Technologies).
AmericanEHR Partners used a 139-question online survey to collect data form physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants about their use and satisfaction with EHRs and health information technology. Survey data from more than 2,300 physicians in conjunction with five different professional societies was collected from April 2010 to July 2011. Results appeared at the group’s website.
There were Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
November 1st, 2011 by PJSkerrett in Opinion, Research
Tags: British Medical Journal, Children's Health, Chronic Disease, David Barker, Development, Diabetes, Diet, Fetus, Harvard School of Public Health, Health, Healthy Eating, Heart Health, In Utero, Matthew Gillman, New England Journal of Medicine, Nutrients, Osteoporosis, Pregnancy, Prevention, Women's Health
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Heart disease. Stroke. Diabetes. Asthma. Osteoporosis. These common scourges are often pegged to genes, pollution, or the wear and tear caused by personal choices like a poor diet, smoking, or too little exercise. David Barker, a British physician and epidemiologist, has a different and compelling idea: these and other conditions stem from a developing baby’s environment, mainly the womb and the placenta.
Barker was the invited speaker at this year’s Stare-Hegsted Lecture, which is a big deal at the Harvard School of Public Health. In just over an hour, he covered the basics of what the British Medical Journal used to call the Barker hypothesis. It has since come to be known as the developmental origins of chronic disease. (You can watch the entire talk here.)
It goes like this: During the first thousand days of development, from conception to age 2, the body’s tissues, organs, and systems are exquisitely sensitive to conditions in their environment during various windows of time. A lack of nutrients or an overabundance of them during these windows programs a child’s development and sets the stage for health or disease. Barker and others use low body weight at term birth is a marker for poor fetal nutrition.
When a fetus is faced with a poor food supply, it Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Harvard Health Blog*
October 31st, 2011 by RyanDuBosar in Research
Tags: British Geriatrics Society, Cancer, Comfort, Death, Disease Management, Dying, End Of Life, End Of Life Care, Imminent death, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Palliative Care, Patient Communication, Patients, Research, Sweden, symptom control
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Providing information of imminent death to cancer patients does not increase pain or anxiety, but is associated with improved care and to increase the likelihood of fulfilling the principles of a good death, a Swedish study found.
Informed patients significantly more often had parenteral drugs prescribed as needed, died in his or her preferred place, and had an informed family who were offered bereavement support. There was no difference between informed and uninformed patients in control of pain, anxiety, nausea, and respiratory tract secretions, although there was a difference in management of confusion. Results appeared in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Since 2000, there has been an increasing focus on palliative care in Sweden, the study authors wrote. In 2001, the Swedish Government identified breakpoints for Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Hospitalist*
