Health savings accounts catching on ... slowly.(Practice
Trends)
WASHINGTON -- While health savings accounts and other forms of
tax-deferred, consumer-driven health care financing options have
captured the fancy of many policy makers, such options have met with . . .
Only 4% of physicians have comprehensive EHR.
About 17% of U.S. physicians have electronic health records in
their offices, but only 4% of those doctors have comprehensive systems,
according to a survey of more than 2,700 physicians . . .
Oregon reviews 10 years of 'Death With
Dignity'.(Practice Trends)
PHILADELPHIA--While physicians in much of the United States
struggle with issues surrounding end-of-life care, those in Oregon may
help their terminally ill patients end their lives because of . . .
New tools developed for end-of-life issues.(Practice
Trends)
PHILADELPHIA--Two new ways of dealing with end-of-life
issues--default surrogates and physician-ordered life-sustaining
treatment orders--are becoming more common in hospitals, according to
several . . .
A call for 'qualitists' in psychiatry.(THE ETHICAL
WAY)
Since I began writing this column, several colleagues have
continued to ask when I was going to address the ethics of the
relationship of psychiatry to the pharmaceutical industry. Is . . .
Med schools oppose industry gifts; AMA sits out debate.(Practice
Trends)(Medical schools)(Association of American Medical
Colleg
Medical schools and teaching hospitals should prohibit their
physicians, faculty, residents, and students from taking gifts and
services from drug companies, according to the Association of . . .
CMS proposal ties outpatient pay to quality.(Practice
Trends)
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has proposed an
overall 3% increase in payments for outpatient hospital care in 2009,
almost a full percent below the update for 2008. As expected, . . .
Political insiders think health reform is likely in
2009.(Practice Trends)
SAN FRANCISCO -- With a new president and a likely Democratic
majority in the House and Senate, conditions will be ripe for health
care reform in early 2009, a bipartisan group of political . . .
Obama plan combines public and private systems.(Election
2008)
With Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) set to become the Democratic
Party's presidential nominee, experts continued to scrutinize his
plans to reform health care.
The centerpiece of Sen. Obama's plan is . . .
Aetna, Cigna retain best payment records.(Practice
Trends)
Aetna has taken over from Cigna as the fastest and most accurate
national insurer when it comes to paying physicians, according to the
third annual ranking of payer performance by one of the . . .
Drugs easy to get online.(POLICY & PRACTICE)(Brief
article)
Despite a decline in the number of Web sites advertising or selling
prescriptions for controlled substances, 85% of sites selling such drugs
in the past year did not require a prescription, . . .
30% have received treatment.(POLICY & PRACTICE)(Survey)(Brief
article)
About a third of Americans have received treatment or therapy from
a psychologist or other mental health professional, according to a
Harris Interactive survey of 2,500 adults conducted in April. . . .
N.Y. tobacco ban takes effect.(POLICY & PRACTICE)
Starting July 24, all addiction treatment facilities that are
certified and funded by the New York Office of Alcoholism and Substance
Abuse Services must be entirely tobacco-free. The rules are . . .
Vt. psychiatrists unduly influenced.(POLICY &
PRACTICE)
The Vermont attorney general is alleging that psychiatrists in the
state are being inappropriately influenced by pharmaceutical industry
money. In a report issued last month, the AG found that . . .
Grassley seeks APA disclosures.(POLICY & PRACTICE)
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has asked the American Psychiatric
Association (APA) to disclose how much financial support it receives
from the pharmaceutical industry. The senator requested that . . .
In practice's losing race, good health is a winner.(Practice
Trends)
Faced with 15%-18% average yearly increases in the health insurance
premiums he pays for his staff, Dr. John K. Randall decided to do
something about it.
He staged a weight loss contest, loosely . . .
No evidence of 'chemobrain' seen in small sample of
breast cancer patients.(Across Specialties)
CHICAGO -- Chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment was infrequent
in a small study of 30 patients who underwent adjuvant chemotherapy for
nonmetastatic breast cancer.
"People could be making . . .
Modafinil reduces severe cancer fatigue.(Across
Specialties)
CHICAGO -- The wakefulness-promoting drug modafinil reduced
self-reported severe fatigue, according to a study of more than 600
cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy that was presented at the . . .
Cognitive impairment-antihistamine link debated.(Across
Specialties)
KYOTO, JAPAN -- Fexofenadine is the sole truly nonsedating
antihistamine--and the only one that does not cause objectively
measurable cognitive and psychomotor impairment at doses commonly used
in . . .
Severe psoriasis appears to be potent risk factor for
stroke.(Across Specialties)
KYOTO, JAPAN -- Severe psoriasis appears to be a potent risk factor
for stroke independent of the traditional stroke risk factors, Dr. Rahat
S. Azfar said at an international investigative . . .
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