As Congress debates changes to the Medicare Part D prescription drug plans, a new study finds tremendous variation in what seniors in different states pay for the same medications, even if they choose the lowest-cost Part D plans in their areas. The highest costs often occur in the lowest-income, lowest cost-of-living areas.
The Ministry of Health in Indonesia has confirmed an additional two cases of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus.
Advances in medical technology are a main factor driving the trend of increasing health-care costs, and industry stakeholders agree that improved evaluation methods are needed to better measure the benefits and risks of new technologies and procedures in order to avoid misallocation of health-care dollars.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a proposal that would require all state residents to obtain health insurance and would share the cost among employers, individuals, health care providers, health insurers and the government.
Testing has identified Norovirus as the cause of illness in two care homes in the Criccieth area. In the Bryn Awelon home, 22 of the 30 residents and eight of the 22 staff have had the stomach bug. The first person fell ill on 22_December and the last case was reported on 29_December.
Nurses with higher levels of hopefulness are more likely to report feeling confident and competent in their ability to care for dying children and their families. Based on a survey of hundreds of pediatric nurses, researchers found that nurses who were more confident about their skills also were more likely to have received education in palliative care — the practice of providing high-quality, responsive care to patients with a life-threatening illness.
Nutrition 21, Inc., today announced the results of a recent placebo controlled, double-blind, randomized, single center study that demonstrated that Diachrome, a patented combination of chromium picolinate and biotin, safely improves blood glucose levels and cholesterol metabolism in people with type 2 diabetes.
Expanding coverage for the uninsured should be the top health care priority for the new Congress over the next five years, identified as “absolutely essential” or “very important” by 88 percent of respondents to the latest Commonwealth Fund Health Care Opinion Leaders survey. Other top priorities are moderating rising health care costs (81 percent), reforming Medicare to ensure long-term solvency (80 percent), and increasing use of information technology to improve quality and safety of patient care (80 percent).
Cincinnati burn researchers have created genetically modified skin cells that, when added to cultured skin substitutes, may help fight off potentially lethal infections in patients with severe burns. Led by University of Cincinnati scientists, the team found that skin cells that were genetically altered to produce higher levels of a protein known as human beta defensin 4 killed more bacteria than normal skin cells.
Utilization of cancer treatments with limited evidence of benefit may depend on the therapy’s availability according to a new study. The study reveals that patients with pancreatic cancer were almost twice as likely to receive radiotherapy, for which there is more controversy regarding efficacy, when the treating hospital had radiotherapy available compared to patients who were treated at centers where radiotherapy was not available.