Archive for the ‘Primary Care’ Category

Doctor’s Offices Can Help Stem Narcotic Painkiller Abuse

Saturday, April 12th, 2008

Every day, thousands of doctors around the United States walk a tightrope stretched between their duty to help patients in pain -- and the risk of abetting illegal and life-destroying drug addiction and dependence, and losing their medical license for doing so.They walk this tightrope every time a patient asks ...

Physicians And Patients Nationwide Discuss Controversial Results Of Recent Cholesterol Lowering Study

Friday, April 11th, 2008

Sermo (http://www.sermo.com), the largest physician-only online community, today announced the results of a physician survey prompted by the swirl of media coverage following the release of ENHANCE trial data at the recent American College of Cardiology (ACC) conference. The focus of the study was on the effectiveness of frequently prescribed ...

In Sickness And In Health: Mending A “Fragmented” NHS

Friday, April 11th, 2008

Patients who are normally fit but need treatment for a serious, acute illness have never been better served by the NHS than they are today. But for those with long term conditions, there is no fast technological fix. They need an NHS where care is properly integrated between hospitals, GPs ...

BMA Calls For Negotiations Following Pay Cut For Junior Doctors, UK

Friday, April 11th, 2008

The BMA has requested an urgent meeting with NHS employers to open negotiations with junior doctors. The move follows this week's announcement of below-inflation pay awards for hospital doctors. The BMA's Junior Doctors Committee was particularly angered by the refusal of the doctors' pay review body to recommend a compensatory ...

Junior Doctors Working Hours: The Challenge Ahead

Thursday, April 10th, 2008

Continuity of care for patients, the quality of training for doctors and the efficiency of hospitals could be compromised when junior doctors hours have to be reduced further next year to meet the requirements of the European Working Time Directive (EWTD). The difficulties of moving from the current 56 ...

ACOG Ethics Opinion On Referrals By Physicians Opposed To Abortion, EC

Wednesday, April 9th, 2008

The American Medical News reports that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said last month that it will re-examine a November 2007 opinion that calls on physicians to provide referrals for patients seeking abortions, emergency contraception or other procedures if they are opposed to providing the services themselves. According ...

Society Still Finding It Tough To Talk About Incontinence, UK

Wednesday, April 9th, 2008

New international research1 conducted on behalfof SCA Personal Care, and presented at the 2nd Global Forum onIncontinence (GFI), points to an array of failings in society that keeps incontinence,rooted towards the bottom of the healthcare agenda. Incontinence remains an isolating and debilitating condition and a clear communication barrier exists, even ...

URAC Announces Support For Principles Of Disclosure Project’s Patient Charter

Wednesday, April 9th, 2008

URAC, one of the nation's leading independent accrediting organizations, announced its support for the general principles put forward by the Consumer-Purchaser Disclosure Project in its Patient Charter for Physician Performance, Measurement and Tiering Programs. The Patient Charter is supported by leading consumer, labor and employer groups and aligns with ...

Universal Coverage Exacerbating ‘Imbalance’ Between Supply Of Physicians, Number Of Patients In Massachusetts

Tuesday, April 8th, 2008

Massachusetts' health insurance law has had the "unintended consequence" of exacerbating the "imbalance" between supply and demand for primary care physicians, the New York Times reports. Since the law took effect last year, about 340,000 of the state's estimated 600,000 uninsured residents have obtained coverage. However, the number of physicians ...

Doctors’ Sub-Inflation Pay Awards Are Extremely Disappointing, Says BMA, UK

Tuesday, April 8th, 2008

Doctors are today (Monday 7 April, 2008) facing another year of below inflation pay awards, with effective cuts for many. Dr Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the British Medical Association, warns of anger and disappointment within the medical profession at what he describes as "unacceptable" pay rises.The government has today (Monday ...