Culture

Greatly increased risk of stroke for patients who don't adhere to anti-hypertensive medication

People with high blood pressure, who don't take their anti-hypertensive drug treatments when they should, have a greatly increased risk of suffering a stroke and dying from it compared to those who take their medication correctly.

6 steps could cut heart failure readmissions

There are six procedural things hospital teams can do to help heart failure patients avoid another hospital stay in the 30 days after they're discharged — and if all six are followed, patients are even more likely to avoid readmission, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

Combination therapy may help improve rate of favorable neurological status following cardiac arrest

Among patients who experienced in-hospital cardiac arrest requiring vasopressors (drugs that increase blood pressure), use of a combination therapy during cardiopulmonary resuscitation resulted in improved survival to hospital discharge with favorable neurological status, according to a study in the July 17 issue of JAMA.

Scientists put attitudes toward tigers on the map

It's easier to feel positive about the endangered tiger in your backyard if you live on the good side of town.

Researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) study what influences people's attitudes toward the tigers that share their neighborhood in Nepal's Chitwan National Park, home to some 125 adult tigers. In the scientific journal AMBIO, the researchers took a novel approach to putting people's attitudes on a map.

Taste rules for kids and healthy food choices

CHICAGO – Sweet and salty flavors, repeat exposure, serving size and parental behavior are the key drivers in children's food choices, according to a July 15 panel discussion at the 2013 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo® held at McCormick Place.

A standing-room only crowd of more than 200 conference attendees heard new insights into how children choose the foods they eat, what their eating behaviors are and how the industry and parents can give children access to healthy food environments that shape those food choices.

Community pharmacists support more involved role in customers' HIV treatment

Community pharmacists in the United States have a unique opportunity to consult with customers about HIV treatment when selling over-the-counter HIV tests, according to a study by researchers at the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, the Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention and Butler University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

Surface porosity and wettability are key factors in boiling heat transfer

CAMBRIDGE, Mass- A team of MIT researchers has succeeded in carrying out the first systematic investigation of the factors that control boiling heat transfer from a surface to a liquid. This process is crucial to the efficiency of power plants and the cooling of high-power electronics, and could even lead to improvements in how vehicles travel through water.

People with pre-diabetes who drop substantial weight may ward off type 2 diabetes

People with pre-diabetes who lose roughly 10 percent of their body weight within six months of diagnosis dramatically reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes over the next three years, according to results of research led by Johns Hopkins scientists.

The findings, investigators say, offer patients and physicians a guide to how short-term behavior change may affect long-term health.

Archimedes new study shows health checks may lead to cost effective improvements in health

San Francisco, CA, USA – Jul 15, 2013 – Archimedes Inc., a healthcare modeling company, today announced the results of a two-year long collaboration with Novo Nordisk A/S, a world leader in diabetes care, which evaluated the effects of standardized vascular health checks on expected health outcomes.

Men cut back on needed health care after switching to high-deductible insurance plans

Philadelphia, Pa. (July 16, 2013) – After switching to high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) in the US, men make fewer emergency department visits for even severe problems—which may lead to a later increase in hospitalization rates, suggests a study in the August issue of Medical Care, published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

Electronic health records slow the rise of healthcare costs

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.

Music decreases perceived pain for kids in pediatric ER: UAlberta medical research

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.

Researchers question practice of automatically transfusing large amounts of blood to trauma patients

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.

An end-of-life 'conversation guide' for physicians to speak with patients

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.

A guide to help physicians talk to their patients about dying

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.