Doctors steer sick patients away from capitated HMOs
...o are sicker or who have more complex illnesses to avoid capitated managed care plans, in which doctors receive a flat monthly rate per patient. At the same time, 23 percent reported encouraging healthier patients to join such plans, finds the study published in the January issue of the Journal of General ...Chronically ill kids put up defenses to hide depression
...onnaire. Defensiveness is defined as a tendency to avoid or deny negative thoughts about ones self. It is assessed based on measures of behaviors and attitudes that are socially desirable but improbable, characterized by statements such as I am always polite, even to people who are not nice to me. The stud...Computerized tool predicts sarcoma outcome and improves ability to make better treatment decisions
...gressively treated, while patients at low risk can avoid unnecessary additional treatment. In a study published in the February 1 issue of the Journalof Clinical Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering researchersshowed the sarcoma nomogram was highly effective inprojecting patients' chances of surviving the di...Annals of Internal Medicine tip sheet Feb. 5, 2002
...ardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle) should avoid all alcohol. A four-year study of 55 alcoholic men with cardiomyopathy found that the hearts of men who continued drinking heavily progressively deteriorated, and 10 died (Article, p. 192). However, the heart function of those who reduced their drin...A few drinks a day do no harm to the alcoholic heart
...s." Dr. Rubin reiterates that the best way to avoid alcohol-related heart damage is to give up drinking completely. "But for some who will only reduce their drinking, we can say now that moderate drinking does not increase the harm to the heart" and allows it to regain some of its former strength. ...Dartmouth research examines the value of cancer screening
...n additional method of tallying all deaths to help avoid the misinterpretations that can lead investigators...ng both types of mortality classification can help avoid flaws in screening assessment, according to the researchers. They conclude that all-cause mortality ...Misclassification of death may influence perceived value of cancer screening
...the selection of a high-risk population would help avoid the misinterpretation of statistical significance that could make a harmful screening intervention appear to be beneficial or vice versa. However, in a related editorial, Helen G. Juffs, M.D., and Ian F. Tannock, M.D., of Princess Margaret Hospital i...Yale researcher receives $1.4 million grant to study the hypocretin cells involved in narcolepsy
...seful in future treatments of this disease and may avoid some of the side effects associated with stimulants. The grant from the National Institute of Health will enable a focus on the electrical behavior of the nerve cells in the hypothalamus that make hypocretin. Van den Pol and colleagues in his lab, in...New medical system for colon cancer screening
...g residual stool from the colon in the 3D model to avoid the need for harsh bowel cleansing and significantly reducing false positives. The visualization software, running on a PC, allows physicians to interactively navigate through the colon. An intuitive user interface with customized tools supports virt...Mayo Clinic Proceedings looks at epidemic of obesity in February issue
...r the 2002 winter holiday season to help residents avoid weight gain at this time and a program to encourage daily physical activity. Authors of the study include: Dr. Kottke, Matthew M. Clark, Ph.D., Lee A. Aase, B.S., Catherine L. Brandel, B.S.N., Stephen W. DeBoer, M.P.H., Sharonne N. Hayes, M.D., Rebec...'Bird brains' take heart-our feathered friends are no slouch at cognition
...irds' version does so in a way that allows them to avoid getting lost. It may someday be possible to use what we learn from the bird brain for our own purposes. "In theory, you might design some type of navigational machine based on this," Bingman said. "But that's just science fiction at this point."...Studies suggest new headache treatment is more effective than medication
...treatments. Since they are local treatments, they avoid the potential side effects of the systemic drugs that are used for migraine. said Dr. Frishman. A large-scale controlled study of the anti-inflammatory gel is being developed....UNC, Wake Forest scholars work to reduce crimes against Hispanics in North Carolina
...ommendations in the UNC report encourage police to avoid stereotyping Hispanics, increase their visibility in Hispanic neighborhoods, teach crime prevention skills, reassure them that they need not fear police and be patient with the language barrier. Its a misconception that all these people are illegal...Study shows weight loss with an antidepressant medicine in combination with lifestyle intervention
...d a reduced dosage and/or frequency is required to avoid accumulation. There have been reports of hypertension, in some cases severe, in patients receiving bupropion alone and in combination with nicotine replacement therapy. GlaxoSmithKline provided funding for this research. GlaxoSmithKline, one of th...ACP-ASIM updates ethical advice for relationships between physicians and industry
...cal industry support for educational activities to avoid all industry relationships that might diminish the...trials, or investing in services or facilities) to avoid relationships that might compromise their objective clinical judgment or their ability to serve the ...Children riding in extended cab pickup trucks are at greater risk of injury
...Dr. Winston. We encourage families who own them to avoid transporting children in them and to find other forms of transportation. Seventy-five percent of all State Farm policyholders who own compact extended cab pickup trucks insure a second vehicle, indicating most families have alternative vehicles. The...Many patients with coronary artery disease still fail to use aspirin therapy
...liff said. A small proportion of people should avoid aspirin use, Califf said. These include people with allergies to aspirin and with a history of significant gastrointestinal bleeding or gastrointestinal pain. As recently as January 2002, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force, part of the Pub...School-based program effective in lowering teens' HIV risk
... about which behaviors put them at risk and how to avoid sexually transmitted diseases can be conducted wit...s not offer protection against HIV); motivation to avoid risky behavior; and trained in skills to avoid HIV infection. This program was compared with a peer ...Over a quarter of interval cancers could have been detected during screening
...ve too high a recall rate in screening in order to avoid false positive results. So the fact that retrospectively the radiologists detected 27% of previously undetected cancers does not necessarily mean that they were missed. The figure of 27% corresponds to about 5% of the total number of breast cancers......to question its safety and underscores the need to avoid tobacco products containing nicotine, the researchers said. Those who want to quit smoking may wish to consider treatments that dont involve nicotine, he added. Unfortunately, although some nicotine-free treatments are currently undergoing testing, ...