Blogs

Implementation of staggered radiologist work shifts can expedite the communication of urgent findings and improve patient care, according to a study in the September issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (www.jacr.org).

Radiology practice in the United States is moving toward 24/7 coverage, in which it has maximized coverage for imaging such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) interpretation either by utilizing on-call radiologists with their groups or teleradiology services. However, in many institutions, there is incomplete coverage for interpretation of other imaging such as conventional X-rays, especially for overnight and early morning hours.

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Nearly 40 per cent of family members caring for a loved one with dementia suffer from such signs of distress as depression, rage and an inability to cope, new research reveals.

The data, published by the Canadian Institute for Health Information, also show that one in five people getting home-care services suffer from Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

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The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has responded to today’s study* on care homes’ use of medicines. The study outlined that drug errors occurred in seven out of 10 care home residents.

John Turk NPA Chief Executive said: “The safe management of medicines in care homes is vital as many residents will take complex regimes of medicines for a variety of long term conditions. These vulnerable patients deserve close attention from the NHS.”

Few meet federal guidelines for 'meaningful use,' putting potential stimulus funding at risk

Boston, MA – Transforming the U.S. health care system from paper-based to electronic-based may improve health care quality and reduce costs, but a new study by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) suggests that goal is far off. The adoption of basic or comprehensive electronic health records (EHR) by U.S. hospitals increased modestly from 8.7% in 2008 to 11.9% in 2009, but only 2% of hospitals met the federal "meaningful use" standard needed to qualify for government financial incentives.

[img_assist|nid=261|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=256]Canada needs a new vision for health at the federal level, writes Dr. Paul Hebert, Editor-in-Chief, CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) and Matthew Stanbrook, Deputy Editor, in an editorial published on August 23rd.

While provinces and territories are responsible for the day-to-day delivery of health services, the federal government has a role to play in setting priorities, ensuring accountability and enforcing laws along with collecting taxes to fund health care.

This lack of vision and leadership affects our ability to protect public health and to adequately support our public health systems.

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Admitting mistakes did not lead to more malpractice costs

Ann Arbor, Mich.– The University of Michigan's program of full disclosure and compensation for medical errors resulted in a decrease in new claims for compensation (including lawsuits), time to claim resolution and lower liability costs, according to a study published Aug. 17 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Incentives and protections for industry encourage development of many drugs with few new benefits over existing pharmaceuticals, but with risk of serious harm to users.

ATLANTA — The pharmaceutical industry is a "market for lemons," a market in which the seller knows much more than the buyer about the product and can profit from selling products less effective and less safe than consumers are led to believe, according to an analysis that will be presented at the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association.

Persuading influential medical centers to adopt electronic medical records helps speed adoption by their neighboring hospitals, according to the Management Insights feature in the current issue of Management Science, a flagship journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS®).

“Social Contagion and Information Technology Diffusion: The Adoption of Electronic Medical Records in U.S. Hospitals” is by Corey M. Angst and Ken Kelley of the University of Notre Dame; Ritu Agarwal of the University of Maryland; and V. Sambamurthy of Michigan State University.