Study shows surprising decreased surgical infection risk after age 65
...tients aggressive procedures? Do trends in patient referral and selection differ according to surgical procedure? And if increasing age is truly associated with decreased risk for surgical-site infections, is there a biologically plausible explanation for the effect?...Better referral training for emergency doctors helps improve patient care
...cine Journal . Developing a standard safe patient referral from emergency medicine (EM) staff to hospital inp...re made including that there be formal teaching of referral to new EM doctors (perhaps even in medical school), there should be clear guidelines as to the role ...Stents that release medication appear more effective than traditional stents
...trial included 175 patients presenting to a single referral center in Italy with STEMI or presumed new left bundle-branch block between March 6, 2003 and April 23, 2004. Patients received either tirofiban regimen plus sirolimus-eluting stenting (n = 87) or abciximab plus bare-metal stenting (n = 88). The res...Internet program launched to prevent blindness in diabetic patients
...s and Velez said the study will determine if early referral to ophthalmologists will help. The project "I See in NC" is being pilot-tested at Downtown Health Plaza of Baptist Hospital, where Velez is medical director, and then will be offered to two rural networks of Community Care of North Carolina. One i...Drug safety in the doctor's office: Nearly half of patients have lapses in monitoring
... often, then call their physician for a laboratory referral when the time comes to be tested....Breast cancer chemotherapy regimen associated with life-threatening complications
...relapse. Patients were treated at 11 French cancer referral centers from June 1999 through January 2003. Patients received doxorubicin plus docetaxel, or doxorubicin plus cyclophosphamide, given postoperatively for 4 courses. The trial was terminated prematurely when 2 deaths related to drug toxicity and 1 ca...Practice of defensive medicine widespread among physicians in specialties at high risk of lawsuits
...itional testing or treatment), replace care (e.g., referral to another physician or health facility), or reduce care (e.g., refusal to treat particular patients). Some practices, described as "assurance behavior" (sometimes called "positive" defensive medicine), involve supplying additional services of margin...Northwestern Memorial researchers aim to find answer to halting the progression of fatty liver
...udy, please call Northwestern Memorial's physician referral line at 312-926-8400....Physiotherapist' advice may be as good as physical treatment for low back pain
...or the management of low back pain encourage early referral to a physiotherapist for patients with non-specific pain when first-line management by general practitioners with medication, advice to stay active, and simple messages about self management has not been effective. Elaine Hay (Keele University, UK) a...Cancer patients do better with surgeons, hospitals that treat higher volume
...al centers. "Present findings support volume-based referral initiatives," they write. "Centralization of most, if not all, oncological procedures now seems appropriate." The current review included 41 studies from 1984 to 2004. Because studies varied, no exact definition of low volume versus high volume for e...Roy Meadow should not be found guilty of serious professional misconduct
... of medicine's intersection with the law. Meadow's referral to the GMC should never have taken place, he states. He calls on the government to urgently create a Royal Commission to investigate and make recommendations concerning the use of experts by the courts. Horton comments: "On the available evidence pr...Availability of vascular surgeons impacts amputation rate
...200 patients who survived through 1999 by hospital referral region and merged it with information on the supply of local physicians and vascular surgeons. Ho's statistical analysis of the data revealed that a .30 increase in the number of vascular surgeons per 10,000 Medicare beneficiaries resulted in almost ...Hospice referral rates increase with intervention improving communication
...tween a patient and physician can increase hospice referral rates among nursing home residents, increase their families' ratings of end-of-life care, and may decrease use of acute care resources, according to an article in the July 13 issue of JAMA . "At least one in four Americans dies in a nursing home, a...New study: Sexually transmitted disease treatment can be effectively administered by sex partners
...form their partners of their STD exposure. Partner referral is the most common method of attempting to control...also provides the patients with booklets that have referral tear-out cards for distribution to sex partners. The new method, known as patient-delivered partner ...Cognitive therapy effective in preventing repeat suicide attempts
...0 to receive enhanced usual care with tracking and referral services. The central feature of cognitive therapy was the identification of thoughts, images, and core beliefs that were activated prior to the suicide attempt. Strategies were applied to address the identified thoughts and beliefs and participants...Tip sheet for Annals of Internal Medicine, Sept. 20, 2005 issue
...ncluded treatment by a primary care physician with referral to a specialist if needed. The targeted program included unlimited visits to a rheumatologist, education, and free medications. While the special program was relatively expensive, by the end of the second year, the program saved between $8 and $20 fo...Heavy smokers who cut their smoking in half may reduce their risk of lung cancer
...king cessation combine pharmacological therapy and referral for intensive behavioral support from a trained counselor. Those patients who cannot quit smoking despite all efforts should be strongly encouraged to cut down on their cigarette consumption as much as possible, since doing so will significantly decr...Emergency departments may often under-diagnose mental disorders in youth
... outpatient care referral; 5.8 percent resulted in referral to the emergency department for continuing care, 4...ecognition of mental illness and likely inadequate referral for follow-up mental health care. Further research is clearly needed to better understand the extent...Alcoholics Anonymous and treatment seem to work best together
... also emphasize that counselors in information and referral centers and clinicians in substance use treatment settings should make every reasonable effort to enable individuals with alcohol-related problems to enter and continue to participate in self-help groups such as AA." "Are these better outcomes due sp...Yale researcher leads successful effort to access HMO fees for Medicaid patients
...2. Data collected included key interviews with six referral staff and five specialty physicians from each of the four participating agencies between January and April 2005. The team also statistically analyzed the two hospital databases, examining payer mix and percentage change in cardiology and GI visits fr...