Universal Truths Abide in Medicine, Even in Parallel Universes
Medicine is practiced differently around the world, and yet some aspects — especially the frustrations — are fairly universal. Where better can you experience the similarities and differences than in the blogging world, where clinicians share stories from their practices and their personal lives? Two physician bloggers, known as "Dr. Dino" and "Dr. Emer," provide […]
Did Low Payments in Ambulatory Care Spawn the Hospitalist Movement?
One of the most interesting developments in American healthcare in the past decade is the emergence of hospitalists: internists whose sole job is to manage hospitalized patients, and who never venture into the more traditional outpatient setting.
VA Study: ART Confers Negligible Risk for Heart Disease
Four-year follow-up of more than 40,000 HIV-infected patients revealed no association between longer durations of ART exposure and risk for cardiovascular disease. Summary Many antiretroviral regimens have been associated with metabolic perturbations that are linked to risk for atherosclerotic heart disease. Consequently, there is keen interest in determining the rates of cardiovascular events among HIV-infected […]
Post-Myocardial Infarction Cardiogenic Shock: What’s New?
Cardiogenic Shock: Current Concepts and Improving OutcomesReynolds HR, Hochman JSCirculation. 2008;117:686-697 Cardiogenic Shock: Basics and Clinical ConsiderationsGowda RM, Fox JT, Khan IA Int J Cardiol. 2008;123:221-228 Historically, cardiogenic shock (CS) was nearly always fatal after myocardial infarction (MI). Mortality rates were consistently reported at approximately 80% until the 1990s, when the mortality improved but only […]
New Recommendations Issued for Treatment of Malaria in the United States
A systemic review of treatment of malaria in the United States, published in the May 23/30 issue of JAMA, provides recommendations to minimize morbidity and mortality of this disease. "Even though endemic malaria has been eliminated from the United States, it remains a leading infectious disease worldwide," write Kevin S. Griffith, MD, MPH, from the […]
Fluticasone Spray for Allergic Rhinitis May Not Suppress Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Function
Fluticasone furoate nasal spray did not suppress the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal [HPA] axis in teens and adults with allergic rhinitis (AR), according to the results of a short-term, double-blind, randomized study reported in the May issue of Annals of Allergy & Asthma Immunology.
The Case of the Ruthless Ruler With a Deadly Disease
Introduction The patient was an elderly male, a member of a prominent royal family, who became a ruthless ruler of a European principality. Little is known about his medical background, family history, or details about his final illness except that he was obese and a nonsmoker. From what is now known about his cause of […]
NPI required for all HIPAA Standard Transactions on May 23, 2008
As of May 23, Medicare FFS will require and send NPI-Only in ALL provider identifier fields for all HIPAA and paper transactions where a provider identifier is required. If you send Medicare a transaction with a Medicare legacy identifier in any of the provider fields, your claim will be rejected. These transactions include all electronic […]
Quest Diagnostics and Google Empower Patients and Physicians to Share Diagnostic Test Results Online
MADISON, N.J., May 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Patients and physicians have a new way to share diagnostic laboratory data online, thanks to Quest Diagnostics and Google Health, a product launched today by Google. More than 100,000 physicians in the U.S. who use Quest Diagnostics' family of Care360(TM) connectivity products will be able to securely provide diagnostic […]
Annual FIT Testing Detects Colorectal Cancer Two Years Earlier Than Colonoscopy Alone
Annual FIT Testing Detects Colorectal Cancer Two Years Earlier Than Colonoscopy Alone, Study of High-Risk Population Finds SAN DIEGO, May 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — An interim analysis of a study presented today at the 39th Annual Digestive Disease Week (DDW) Conference found that, among patients at increased risk for colorectal cancer who completed an annual fecal […]
