July 29th, 2011 by EvanFalchukJD in Health Policy, Research
Tags: Active Patients, Decision Support, Doctor Patient Relationship, Empowered Patients, Healthcare reform, Informed Patients, Patient Engagement, Patient-Centered Care, Primary Care, Quality Care
1 Comment »
Sometimes you need a published study to tell you what should be obvious in the first place.
This time, researchers have discovered that:
When physicians have more personalized discussions with their patients and encourage them to take a more active role in their health, both doctor and patient have more confidence that they reached a correct diagnosis and a good strategy to improve the patient’s health.
Really?
But wait, there’s more. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
July 29th, 2011 by MuinKhouryMDPhD in Opinion, Research
Tags: Abacavir, Adverse Drug Effects, CDC, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services, FDA, Food and Drug Administration, Genetics, Genomics, HIV Treatment, HIV/AIDS, Pharmacogenomics, Public Health, Warfarin Dosing
1 Comment »
Adverse drug events are a serious public health problem. Consider the following facts:
- an estimated 82% of American adults take at least one medication and 29% take five or more;
- 700,000 emergency department visits and 120,000 hospitalizations are due to adverse drug events annually;
- $3.5 billion is spent on extra medical costs of adverse drug events annually;
- at least 40% of costs associated with adverse drug events occurring outside hospitals can be prevented.
How can genomics help? Pharmacogenomics is the study of genetic variation as a factor in drug response, affecting both safety and effectiveness. The intended applications of pharmacogenomics research include identifying responders and non-responders to medications, avoiding adverse events, optimizing drug dose and avoiding unnecessary healthcare costs. The Food and Drug Administration has added pharmacogenomic information to the labeling for more than 70 drugs. Labels may include information on genetic determinants of clinical response or risk for adverse events.
In spite of current enthusiasm about pharmacogenomics in the research community, Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Genomics and Health Impact Blog*
July 28th, 2011 by Peggy Polaneczky, M.D. in Health Tips, Research
Tags: American College of Ob-Gyn, Annual Mammogram, Breast Cancer, Breast Cancer Risks, Doctor's Recommendation, False Positive Mammogram, Influence of opinion, Lifetime Risk, Mammogram, Mammography, Misinformation, Overestimate risks, Screening Guidelines, USPSTF Guidelines, Women's Health
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Most women in their 40′s believe they should have annual mammograms, regardless of what screening regimen their doctor might recommend.
So say researchers in Massachusetts who surveyed women (primarily white, highly educated) ages 39-49 presenting for annual checkups. They gave the women a fact sheet about the new USPSTF guidelines on mammogram screening in their age group, and asked them to read one of two articles either supporting or opposing the guidelines. The researchers then asked women about their beliefs, concerns and attitudes about breast cancer and mammogram screening. Here’s what they found –
- Women overwhelmingly want annual mammograms – Close to 90% of women surveyed felt they should have annual mammograms, regardless of what their doctor might recommend.
- Women overestimate breast cancer risks – Eighty eight percent overestimated their lifetime risk for the disease, with the average estimate being 37%. (The correct lifetime risk for breast cancer is 12%). This is consistent with previous research on breast cancer beliefs.
- The media may not influence women’s opinions about screening guidelines – Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Blog That Ate Manhattan*
July 28th, 2011 by GruntDoc in Health Tips, Research
Tags: Athletes, Concussion, Football, Football Helmet Ratings, Head Injury, Helmet, National Impact Database, National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, Sports, STAR Evaluation System, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
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Courtesy of Virginia Tech-Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences:
National Impact Database
Adult Football Helmet Ratings – May 2011
A total of 10 adult football helmet models were evaluated using the STAR evaluation system for May 2011 release. All 10 are publicly available at the time of publication. Helmets with lower STAR values provide a reduction in concussion risk compared to helmets with higher STAR values. Based on this, the best overall rating of ‘5 Stars’ has the lowest STAR value. Group rankings are differentiated by statistical significance.
If you’re in the market to buy a loved one a football helmet, or just curious, go and have a look. It doesn’t take long, there are only 10 helmets on the list. Go to the list.
I got to this from ESPN’s Page 2: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at GruntDoc*
July 26th, 2011 by Medgadget in News, Research
Tags: Care Innovations, CONNECT, GE, Geriatrics, Health Management, Information Sharing, Intel, Nursing Home, Senior Citizens, Social Isolation, Social Network, Telemedicine
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Care Innovations, a joint venture between GE and Intel, has released Connect, a service designed to address social isolation in seniors.
Connect software runs on a touch screen device and features social networking, as well as health management and reporting tools. The system has been undergoing a successful user trial at a nursing home in Michigan since last year.
More about Connect from the announcement: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
