In reviewing 25 years of U.S. malpractice claim payouts, Johns Hopkins researchers found that diagnostic errors — not surgical mistakes or medication overdoses — accounted for the largest fraction of claims, the most severe patient harm, and the highest total of penalty payouts. Diagnosis-related payments amounted to $38.8 billion between 1986 and 2010, they found.
Culture
TAMPA, Fla. (April 22, 2013) – The current special issue of Technology and Innovation – Proceedings of the National Academy of Inventors® (https://www.cognizantcommunication.com/component/content/article/636), devoted to studies on medical technology and health care delivery, focuses on a wide range of topics, from new technologies to reduce the cost of health care to understanding the human microbiome.
A matched cohort study by William W. Hung, M.D., M.P.H., of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, and colleagues examined the use of the Mobile Acute Care of the Elderly (MACE) service compared with general medical service (usual care). (Online First)
IQ directly relates to how students perform on tests in the first two years of dental school. But emotional intelligence (EI) trumps IQ in how well dental students work with patients, report researchers from Case Western Reserve University's School of Dental Medicine and Weatherhead School of Management.
In a small study of 39 primary care doctors and 208 of their patients, Johns Hopkins researchers have found that physicians built much less of an emotional rapport with their overweight and obese patients than with their patients of normal weight.
Bonding and empathy are essential to the patient-physician relationship. When physicians express more empathy, studies have shown that patients are more likely to adhere to medical recommendations and respond to behavior-change counseling — all vital elements in helping overweight and obese patients lose weight and improve health.
URBANA – There has been much talk about sustainability, but little attention has been paid to its nutritional aspects. University of Illinois animal sciences researcher Kelly Swanson, in cooperation with scientists at natural pet food maker The Nutro Company, have raised a number of important questions on the sustainability of pet ownership.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Older adults represent an important and growing demographic in emergency departments (ED) across the country, with urinary tract infections (UTIs) being one of the leading causes for ED visits. In fact, UTIs, which can progress to serious health concerns, are the fourth most common diagnosis in women over age 65. But a new study at Rhode Island Hospital has found that many such women receive treatment for a UTI, but have no firm evidence of such an infection, resulting in the prescribing of unnecessary antibiotics.
People who live in urban areas with more green space tend to report greater well-being than city dwellers who don't have parks, gardens, or other green space nearby, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
In various studies across different countries the reported one year mortality risks after hip fracture can vary anywhere from 5 to 50 %. In India, however, there has been little research on the risk of mortality and functional impairment following hip fracture.
It is widely accepted that medical insurance helps older adults with chronic health problems to receive better care. But what about young adults between the ages of 18 and 25, a demographic that also tends to have the lowest levels of health insurance coverage?
New research published in the journal Psychological Science has found that people living in urban areas with more green space tend to report greater wellbeing than city dwellers that don't have parks, gardens, or other green space nearby.
The research has been led by Dr Mathew White from the University of Exeter Medical School's European Centre for Environment & Human Health, in Truro, Cornwall.
Cells are the basic unit of a living organism. The human body consists of a vast array of highly specialized cells, such as blood cells, skin cells and neurons. In total more than 250 different cell types exist. How are the different types related to each other? Which factors are unique for each cell type? And what in the end determines the development of a certain cell?
BOSTON — More than 1 in 270 people in the US are living with HIV and every 9.5 minutes someone is else is infected. The economic cost estimates associated with HIV/AIDS exceed 36 billion dollars a year. The development of effective drug treatments have allowed people with HIV to live longer with federal health officials now predicting that by 2015 one-half of the population with HIV in the US will be older than 50.
Geneva, Switzerland: Intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) gives better results than standard radiotherapy in patients with early breast cancer, according to results from a randomised trial presented today (Sunday) to the 2nd Forum of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO). IMRT is an advanced, high-precision form of radiotherapy that can deliver an even dose of radiation, thus reducing the cosmetic problems that can often occur after breast radiotherapy.
Geneva, Switzerland: Researchers have shown for the first time that it is possible to reduce the distressing symptoms of dry mouth in patients treated with radiotherapy for head and neck cancers if the radiation dose to a salivary gland (called the submandibular gland) on the opposite side to the tumour is kept to the minimum.