Competition in health care may not result in better quality
...nd perhaps the most effective change may require a mix of approaches involving competition and regulation to ensure patient safety and quality of care. For example, the automotive industry is highly competitive, but certain elements such as emissions, fuel efficiency and safety measures are regulated," h...Can hospital data detect poor performing doctors?
...od therefore needs to be refined to deal with case mix variation. The authors also warn of the potential limitations of statistics, including missing or poor quality data that can hamper all analyses, and they stress that the interpretation of outlier status is still as yet unclear. They recommend a stru...Paramedics need help to revive marriages: U of T study
...es. Add a traumatic event, such as a death, to the mix and paramedics' emotional resources may be taxed. Generally, they bring the workplace stress and trauma home with them. "The aftermath of the traumatic events these workers experience ripples out to encompass family members," says Regehr. "If you don...UT Southwestern sports medicine doctor pedals advice on gearing up for safe cycling season
... exercising at a leisurely pace, getting the right mix of carbohydrates and protein before, during and after a ride is essential. "Research indicates that for someone in training, carbohydrates are an important source of energy. A healthy diet would include one with 60 percent carbohydrates, less than 30...'Fickle' enzyme helps protect, but also can promote heart failure, animal study shows
...emical analysis revealed that mice with NOS3 had a mix of two chemical forms of the enzyme. The form of NOS3 that works best with the BH4 cofactor dominated in the non-enlarged hearts but uncoupled when levels of its cofactor declined. The scientists believe this enzymatic uncoupling is key to explaini...Institute of Medicine news: Changes needed in WIC program
...sions would be the most substantial changes to the mix of foods offered through WIC since the supplemental nutrition program for low-income women, infants, and children was launched in 1974. The recommendations also are the first effort to apply the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans to a national foo...Study finds benefits, less organ rejection using immunosuppressive combination for heart transplants
... transplant patients over other combinations. A mix of immunosuppressive therapies is typically used to prevent a recipient's body from rejecting a transplanted organ. Rejection is one of the most common causes of death in the first year after heart transplantation. "Until now, there has been a lac...Large survey suggests schizophrenia less prevalent than textbooks say
...phrenia have persisting symptoms, despite the best mix of interventions we can offer." It has been estimated that current interventions can at most reduce 25% of disease burden. Thus, the authors conclude that "this is a powerful argument for investing in applied and basic research." ...Richer nations at more risk of schizophrenia
... schizophrenia vary between countries. "Maybe the mix of illnesses we see here in Australia are different to the mix they get in Mumbai or Zambia or Tokyo." He said to explain the results his team would try to match ...New technology can boost bottom lines for US hospitals
...l center, showed an increase of 12 percent in case mix index, a leading determinant for inpatient revenues. How It Works Compliance+ TM helps build hospital revenue using a patent-pending technology that enables "Remote Concurrent Coding" (RCC). RCC leads to more comprehensive and accurate documenta...Johns Hopkins scientists use gene therapy to prevent heart arrhythmias from stem cell transplants
...lants showed that heart tissue regrowth produced a mix of skeletal and heart muscle, resulting in long strands of muscle fibers. In the Hopkins experiment, for example, muscle fibers ranged in length from 500 microns to 1.5 millimeters when viewed under the microscope. Though otherwise healthy, these ...New report calls for recovery units to boost surgery survival rates
...optimisation, where the anaesthetist administers a mix of fluids guided by monitored cardiac output. At present, while these procedures are standard in some hospitals, many others do not make use of them. Nutritional supplements can also improve patients' outcome along with exercise. Overall the report ...Special scalpel reduces blood loss, facial nerve trauma in salivary surgery
...and which contributes a watery fluid to the saliva mix that helps lubricate the mouth and tongue and dige... the June issue of Laryngoscope, compared a larger mix of patients: 41 patients who underwent conventional surgery and 44 who underwent harmonic scalpel pa...Johns Hopkins scientists uncover clues to 'disappearing' precancers
...eason many of these lesions persist is an unlikely mix of human papilloma virus (HPV) strain and a woman's individual immune system. For decades, scientists have known that HPV causes nearly all cases of cancer in the neck of the womb. Most sexually active women some reports say up to 80 percent are e...Giving oxygen may do more harm than good, new report shows
...'s a simple solution adding carbon dioxide to the mix it isn't being used by most Canadian hospitals and emergency services networks, says Dr. Steve Iscoe, a respiratory physiologist. This has implications for treating a number of serious health conditions, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, di...Massachusetts second state to consider nurse staffing ratios; experts to appear at public hearing
...s, but also on human resources factors such as the mix of nurses, doctors, and auxiliary personnel, and on the work environment or culture of the hospital. The current nursing shortage complicates the feasibility of increasing nurse-to-patient ratios. Massachusetts leads the nation with the most registe...Decline in performance of candidates taking a postgraduate medical examination between 1997 and 2001
...ot an artefact of changed Examination Regulations, mix of UK and overseas candidates, or time from qualification until taking the Examination", write the authors. "Study 2 confirmed that performance in 2001 was significantly worse than in 1996, that the poorer performance was found in graduates of UK med...Mars breaks new ground in heart health with Cocoavia
...ine of snacks also is fortified with calcium and a mix of heart-healthy nutrients including folic acid, vitamins B-6, B-12, C and E. CocoaVia TM is made by Mars Nutrition for Health & Well-Being, a new division of Mars, Incorporated, makers of some of the world's best-loved, great-tasting chocolate bran...NASH clinical research network launches trial for treatment of liver disease in children
... on the age group being studied, the racial/ethnic mix of the study, and the methods used to assess fatty liver, which include serum enzyme readings, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, researchers in a nationwide school-based population study found that about 23 percent of obese 1...Long-term smoking is associated with up to 40 percent increased risk of breast cancer
...placement therapy (estrogen plus progestin) to the mix increase their odds of getting breast cancer by 110 percent: more than double that of women who've never smoked or taken HRT. These findings, by Christopher I. Li, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues, appear online and will be published in the October print ...