Culture

ANN ARBOR – Use of electronic health records can reduce the costs of outpatient care by roughly 3 percent, compared to relying on traditional paper records.

That's according to a new study from the University of Michigan that examined more than four years of healthcare cost data in nine communities. The "outpatient care" category in the study included the costs of doctor's visits as well as services typically ordered during those visits in laboratory, pharmacy and radiology.

Newly published findings by medical researchers at the University of Alberta provide more evidence that music decreases children's perceived sense of pain.

Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry researcher Lisa Hartling led the research team that involved her colleagues from the Department of Pediatrics, as well as fellow researchers from the University of Manitoba and the United States. Their findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Pediatrics today.

TORONTO, July 15, 2013—Researchers at St. Michael's Hospital are asking questions about the practice of automatically transfusing large amounts of blood and blood products to trauma patients with major bleeding.

How does a doctor tackle the delicate issue of end-of-life care planning with a patient?

With an aging population and people living longer with chronic illness, it is increasingly important for patients and family members to decide how they and their loved ones would like to spend their final days. And for physicians in both hospital and primary care settings, it is crucial that they know how to address this issue with sensitivity.

Hamilton, ON (July 15, 2013) - How does a doctor tackle the delicate issue of end-of-life care planning with a patient?

With an aging population and people living longer with chronic illness, it is increasingly important for patients and family members to decide how they and their loved ones would like to spend their final days. And for physicians in both hospital and primary care settings, it is crucial that they know how to address this issue with sensitivity.

This news release is available in German.

Philadelphia, Pa. (July 15, 2013) - Among patients undergoing spinal surgery, Medicaid beneficiaries are at higher risk of experiencing any type of complication, compared to privately insured patients, reports a study in the July 15 issue of of Spine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

Children who suffer from arthritis could one day receive more targeted treatment thanks to potential markers for the severity of the disorder discovered by researchers at the University of Adelaide and Women's and Children's Hospital.

Far more people are willing to donate their eyes to research than actually are registered to donate, according to a study led by a Michigan State University student.

While demand for tissue remains high, the number of human eyes donated for research declined 28 percent between 1997 and 2004, said Andrew Williams, a third-year MSU College of Human Medicine student who led the study in the journal Current Eye Research.

CHICAGO, IL – Programs to improve movement patterns may help prevent stress fractures in athletes and military personnel, say researchers presenting their work today at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL.

CHICAGO, IL – Corticosteroid injections may speed-up the return time for National Football League (NFL) players suffering high ankle sprains, according to research presented today at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL. Players treated with these injections typically returned 40% faster or approximately 10 days earlier than those not receiving the same treatment.

CHICAGO, IL – Certain elements of a pitcher's throwing mechanics can increase the risk for elbow injuries, according to information presented by researchers at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Annual Meeting today in Chicago, IL.

STANFORD, Calif. — A new, noninvasive technique for tracking stem cells after transplantation — developed by a cross-disciplinary team of radiologists, chemists, statisticians and materials scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine — could help surgeons determine whether a procedure to repair injured or worn-out knees is successful.

  • Among kidney disease patients receiving pre-dialysis care in a universal healthcare system, black patients experienced a faster progression to kidney failure than whites.
  • The faster decline in kidney function among black compared with white patients was predominantly present in patients with diabetes and in patients with more advanced kidney dysfunction.
  • Findings may help explain why blacks are more prone to develop kidney failure than whites.

Bethesda, MD – The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) applauds the Senate Appropriations Committee for approving a fiscal year (FY) 2014 Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS)Appropriations bill that provides $30.95 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). "The Senate funding level for NIH replaces the funding lost due to sequestration and is a critical step in the right direction," said FASEB President Margaret K. Offermann, MD, PhD.