Florida physicians decrease or eliminate services
... or eliminated services compared with those in the lowest quartile (increase < 15 percent) (51.4 percent). Similarly, we noted statistically significant relationships between increases in PLI premiums and decrease in or elimination of services for rural physicians (66.2 percent vs. 48.1 percent) and fo...US kidney failure rates stabilize, ending a 20-year climb
...ates for new cases in whites under age 40 were the lowest since the late 1980's, in stark contrast to rates for their African American counterparts, which have not budged. "It's gratifying to see progress, however small, and to know that NIDDK activities undoubtedly have had a hand in that success," said P...No reason to fear very low LDL
...s a trend toward improved clinical outcomes in the lowest LDL groups," said Stephen D. Wiviott, M.D., from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. The researchers used data from a large trial comparing two cholesterol-lowering statin drugs in patients following acute coronary syndromes, such...Physician pay-for-performance programs may produce little gain in quality
... Physician groups whose performance was initially lowest improved the most, whereas physician groups that had previously achieved the targeted level of performance improved the least. Unlike quality improvement, which followed an inverse relationship to baseline performance, bonus dollars were garnered in ...Elevated blood levels of a protein are linked to asbestos-induced cancers
...osed to asbestos for less than 10 years showed the lowest levels of osteopontin. Those levels doubled in people with more than 10 years of exposure. The osteopontin levels rose as changes on their lungs, such as scarring, which were revealed on X rays, became more pronounced. In the patients with documented...Pain drives Canadian youth to seek alternative medical treatment
...st in western Canada (six per cent per capita) and lowest in the Atlantic provinces and the North (three per cent per capita) 75 per cent of CAM users come from families with household income in the top two quartiles Massage therapy is the most common type of CAM used by youth Dr. McColl suggests that t...Delivery of aid to Africa: Changes needed to ensure money reaches poor
...t to providers devolves financial decisions to the lowest appropriate level. Most importantly, in many input-based projects, 20% or less of the money allocated actually reaches the poor. OBA can reverse this equation." "The health situation in Africa is deteriorating and without major challenges in external...Researchers show beneficial role of risk calculator in fighting progression of glaucoma
...continuing treatment and monitoring of patients at lowest risk. This could result in greater consistency in treatment, improving quality of care for patients with ocular hypertension and a decrease in patients who go on to develop glaucoma....Heart attack death rates found higher in hospitals treating larger share of African Americans
...measured by an index of comorbidities, but had the lowest risk-adjusted mortality rates. The differences in risk-adjusted hospital mortality outcomes also were not explained by patients' income, type of hospital ownership, the hospitals' annual AMI patient volume, region of the country, or urban status. "...Physician behavior an underlying cause for health care cost
...rom an average of $4911 per capita in the areas of lowest spending to $8325 in the highest spending areas. The authors found that physicians who practice in areas of high spending do more they order more tests, referrals, and treatments than doctors who practice in low spending areas. For example, when...Anemia associated with higher risk of death in the elderly
CHICAGO Elderly people with the lowest and highest hemoglobin concentrations (the compone...bin concentration for the 1,205 individuals in the lowest fifth was higher than the WHO criteria for anemia, and 41.3 percent of these 1,205 people did qualif...Researcher says flu responders can learn from 1918 epidemic
...ia, Higgins found that the areas that suffered the lowest mortality rates included Bethlehem, which benefited from the resources provided by the then-prosperous Bethlehem Steel. "At the time, Bethlehem Steel produced more munitions than Great Britain and France combined, and the plant could not affor...Study reveals $20 billion in untapped generic drug savings
... the highest generic fill rates, at 56% each. The lowest generic fill rates were in New Jersey (41%) and New York (43%). Southern states, including Texas, Louisiana and Florida, opted for generics for fewer than 46% of all prescriptions filled in 2004. The states with the greatest savings opportunity fro...Walking and sports linked with heart health benefits in Japan, too
...high levels of physical activity to those with the lowest levels. Thus they hoped to prevent a possibly misl...es, short-term mortality and the use of the second lowest exercise category as referent minimizes the effects of those who do not exercise because they are al...Broccoli sprouts, cabbage, ginkgo biloba and garlic: A grocery list for cancer prevention
...or short-cooked, as a side dish. She observed the lowest rate of breast cancer among women who consumed high amounts of raw- or short-cooked cabbage during adolescence, but found that high consumption during adulthood provided a significant protective effect for women who had eaten smaller quantities of th...High doses of ibuprofen cause significant GI bleeding, despite safety profile
...as the painkiller with the fewest side effects and lowest incidence of ulcers or GI bleeding. Everyday more than 30 million people take over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription NSAIDs for pain relief, headaches and arthritis. Although long-term use of NSAIDs in high doses can provide great benefit in terms...Alternative tobacco products: A better, safer option for smokers?
...other consumer products designed for oral use. The lowest levels were found in hard snuff lozenges and only trace amounts were found in medicinal nicotine products. The most prevalent strong carcinogens in smokeless tobacco products are the tobacco-specific nitrosamines (cancer causing chemical agents), of...Medication shows promise in the treatment of hyperactivity associated with autism-related disorders
...ree at the medium dose and one while receiving the lowest dose. One child withdrew from the study for unspecified reasons, 58 children completed the crossover phase of the study. Forty-four (76 percent) of the 58 participants responded during at least one of the four treatment conditions, the researchers re...Adolescents who watch smoking in movies are more likely to try smoking
...ts in the higher movie smoking categories with the lowest category and controlling factors known to be linke...kely to take up smoking compared to those with the lowest exposure. All else being equal, the researchers found that of 100 adolescents that tried smoking, 38......han those living in the 10% of households with the lowest incidence. While Mackinnon and colleagues do not question the long-term benefits of understanding the genetic factors, they conclude that "identifying and tackling the household effects must be the more efficient route to reducing the burden of dis...