Culture | Science Codex

Patients with Chronic Illnesses More Likely to Receive Recommended Preventive Services

In contrast to the oft-expressed concerns that increasing patient complexity impedes the delivery of preventive services because of competing demands, researchers find the presence of chronic illness is positively associated with receipt of recommended preventive services.

In a study of 667,379 adult patients from 148 primary care practices across the United States, researchers found strong positive associations between the receipt of clinical preventive services and the presence of chronic illnesses.

Should doctors be in the gun control business?

Geriatric persons are significantly more likely than younger people to suffer self-inflicted gunshot wounds, especially to the head.

In other words, they commit suicide.

An author in Annals of Internal Medicine believes doctors can safeguard geriatric people as well as the rest of the population by advocating more physician engagement regarding gun ownership in the brief few moments they spend with each patient.

Medical safety innovation gets a boost from systematic analysis

PHILADELPHIA (July 8, 2013)— If all medical errors were counted together as a single cause, they would likely rank as the third leading cause of death in the United States. As health care personnel race to improve the quality of their care to save lives and prevent unneeded harm, a new study indicates there is more they can do to learn about what errors are occurring and why.

Fixed payments not a barrier to quality of care in HMOs, study finds

Ever since the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, the number of enrollees in Medicare Advantage, Medicare's managed care program, has jumped from 5.3 million to 14.4 million in 2013. While most individuals in Medicare opt for the traditional, fee-for-service benefit, many more are enrolling in HMOs and other managed care options.

Penn study sheds light on why low-income patients prefer hospital care to a doctor's office

Philadelphia -- Patients with low socioeconomic status use emergency and hospital care more often than primary care because they believe hospital care is more affordable and convenient, and of better quality than care provided by primary care physicians, according to the results of a new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Seizures late in life may be an early sign of Alzheimer's disease

Patients with epilepsy who had amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) or Alzheimer disease (AD) presented earlier with cognitive decline than patients who did not have epilepsy, according to a report published by JAMA Neurology, a JAMA Network publication.

AD increases a patient's risk of risk of seizures, and patients with AD and seizure disorders have greater cognitive impairment, more rapid progression of symptoms and more severe neuronal loss at autopsy than those without seizures, according to the study background.

The aging population and emergency departments

Boston – As the population gets older, and the baby boomers begin to enter their 60's and 70's, one might assume that the number of trips to the emergency department will also increase. This is contradicted by new research from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), which shows that population aging will not cause the number of emergency department (ED) visits to increase between now and 2050. However, visits will become longer and hospitalizations will become more frequent. This research will appear in the July issue of Health Affairs.

Nurse practitioners provide more primary care in states with least restrictive regulations

Facing a nationwide shortage of primary care physicians, some states in recent years have eased up on regulations that create barriers for nurse practitioners who want to work as primary care providers.

That easing of rules has had the intended effect. According to a new study by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, those states with the fewest restrictions on nurse practitioners' scope of practice had two-and-a-half times more patients receiving primary care from nurse practitioners than did the most restrictive states.

Patients who are engaged in their own care are more likely to reduce the risk of future fractures

TORONTO -- People over the age of 50 who have suffered a fracture because of a slip or trip play a central role in making sure they get proper care to prevent a future fracture, a new study has found.

The findings are important because previous efforts to improve care for bone health after one of these fractures have had limited success.

Earthworms could help scientists 'dig' into past climates

A team of UK researchers believe earthworms could provide a window into past climates, allowing scientists to piece together the prevailing weather conditions thousands of years ago.

A laboratory study by researchers from the Universities of Reading and York has demonstrated that balls of calcium carbonate (small lumps of chalk-like material) excreted by the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris – commonly known as lobworms or nightcrawlers - maintain a memory of the temperature at which they were formed.

Tailoring diabetes treatment to older patients yields dramatic results

More than a quarter of over 70s with type 2 diabetes could benefit simply from improving communication and education in the clinic, new research has revealed. A study led by the University of Exeter Medical School and published in The Lancet found that 27 percent achieved better glycaemic control through individualised care alone.

At the moment, patients over the age of 70 are treated using a blanket method of aggressively reducing blood glucose levels, but that does little to take their complex needs into account.

African-Americans with blood cancer do not live as long as Caucasians, despite equal care

A new analysis has found that among patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, African Americans more commonly present with advanced disease, and they tend to have shorter survival times than Caucasians despite receiving the same care. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the results suggest that biological factors may account for some racial disparities in cancer survival.

Gunning for trouble: Study of young assault victims finds risky mix of gun possession and aggression

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — They're young. They've been injured in an assault – so badly they went to the emergency room. And nearly one in four of them has a gun, probably an illegal one. What happens next?

A new study by the University of Michigan Injury Center provides data that could be important to breaking the cycle of gun violence that kills more teens and young adults than anything except auto accidents.

African Americans with blood cancer do not live as long as caucasians, despite equal care

A new analysis has found that among patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, African Americans more commonly present with advanced disease, and they tend to have shorter survival times than Caucasians despite receiving the same care. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the results suggest that biological factors may account for some racial disparities in cancer survival.

Gunning for trouble: Study of young assault victims finds risky mix of gun possession & aggression

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — They're young. They've been injured in an assault – so badly they went to the emergency room. And nearly one in four of them has a gun, probably an illegal one. What happens next?

A new study by the University of Michigan Injury Center provides data that could be important to breaking the cycle of gun violence that kills more teens and young adults than anything except auto accidents.