Medicaid enrollment declines.(POLICY & PRACTICE)(Brief
article)
Enrollment in Medicaid declined in 2007 for the first time in
nearly a decade, primarily because new documentation requirements have
caused significant delays in processing applications and because . . .
Push for Medicare e-prescribing.(POLICY & PRACTICE)
A coalition of 22 health, business, and consumer organizations has
asked Congress to pass legislation requiring physicians who see Medicare
patients to adopt electronic prescribing by the year . . .
Sen. Clinton urges bigger role for nonphysicians.(Practice
Trends)
WASHINGTON -- According to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.),
primary care physicians don't get enough pay or respect, and there
aren't enough of them. Her response to the problem? The . . .
Patient satisfaction high following ileoanal pouch
surgery.(Gastroenterology)(Clinical report)
NEW ORLEANS -- Long-term functional outcomes may decline after
ileoanal pouch surgery, but most patients report higher a quality of
life than they had before their surgery, Dr. Feza H. Remzi said . . .
Ulcerative colitis patients benefit from
infliximab.(Gastroenterology)(Clinical report)
PHILADELPHIA -- Patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis
treated with infliximab had their colectomy rate cut by more than a
third during the first year of treatment, compared with . . .
CT colonography refines neoplasia
screening.(Gastroenterology)(Clinical report)
Detection rates for advanced colorectal neoplasia were similar in a
comparison of screening computed tomographic colonography versus optical
colonoscopy, but the numbers of polypectomies and . . .
GBS is precaution for Menactra administration.(Infectious
Diseases)(Guillain-Barre syndrome)(Brief article)(Clinical
report)
ATLANTA -- A history of Guillain-Barre syndrome is a precaution for
administration of the tetravalent meningo-coccal conjugate vaccine, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory . . .
Adult immunization recommendations updated.(Infectious
Diseases)(Brief article)
Updated adult immunization recommendations for the October 2007
through September 2008 season include the addition of zoster vaccine and
the differentiation of HIV patients based on their CD4+ . . .
Investigational 'bird flu' vaccine well
tolerated.(Infectious Diseases)(Clinical report)
CHICAGO -- The MF59-adjuvanted H5N1 influenza vaccine was as well
tolerated as the widely used adjuvanted seasonal FLUAD influenza vaccine
among adults in a large phase III multicenter study . . .
Anemia tied to worse acute coronary syndrome
outcomes.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(Clinical report)
VIENNA -- Anemia was a significant risk factor for worse outcomes
in patients with acute coronary syndrome in a post hoc analysis of
almost 14,000 patients enrolled in a recent trial.
Despite . . .
Cardiac rehab services are still underutilized.(Cardiovascular
Medicine)(Clinical report)
Several medical societies have jointly issued new performance
measures for cardiac rehabilitation that are expected to greatly
increase the number of patients referred to rehabilitation services. . . .
Lipid-lowering may improve cognition in A-Fib.(Cardiovascular
Medicine)
VIENNA -- Potent cholesterol-lowering therapy appears to reverse
neurocognitive decline in normolipidemic elderly patients with atrial
fibrillation, Dr. Elke Wezenberg said at the annual congress . . .
Fotonovela for Spanish speakers.(FYI)
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is
offering a fotonovela (a story told in photographs with captions) for
Hispanic readers. The publication, "Motivacion para el cambio: . . .
Booklet on science of addiction.(FYI)
A 30-page booklet entitled "Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The
Science of Addiction" explains in nontechnical terms what makes
addiction a brain disease that affects behavior. Published by . . .
Substance abuse/HIV brochure.(FYI)
The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment has a new brochure
entitled "Drugs, Alcohol, and HIV/AIDS: A Consumer Guide for
African Americans." It is intended for African American
patients/clients who . . .
Substance abuse advisory: naltrexone.(FYI)(Brief article)
The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment has released the Substance
Abuse Treatment Advisory: Naltrexone for Extended-Released Injectable
Suspension for Treatment of Alcohol Dependence . . .
New CPT codes promote drug abuse screening.(Psychiatry)
Two new health care codes for substance abuse screening and brief
intervention set to take effect Jan. 1, 2008, will "strengthen the
doctor-patient relationship and incorporate a powerful . . .
National depression prevalence
reported.(Psychiatry)(Survey)(Brief article)
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has
released the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health report "State
Estimates of Depression: 2004 and 2005."
The report shows that . . .
Most PTSD therapies not supported by
evidence.(Psychiatry)(posttraumatic stress disorder)
Evidence is insufficient to support most of the therapies and
medications now in use for posttraumatic stress disorder, concludes an
Institute of Medicine panel report issued in October after 9 . . .
Pfizer gives up on inhaled insulin product.(Endocrinology)(Brief
article)
After 10 years of investment and a stepped-up marketing campaign,
Pfizer Inc. threw in the towel on Exubera, having failed to convince
physicians and patients of the convenience of the inhaled . . .
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