http://www.medicadepot.com/en-gbWashington -- President Obama's effort to engage Americans in discussions about national health system reform reached a new phase with the conclusion of five regional health forums and another smaller gathering near the White House. The invitation-only, two-hour forums were attended by a few hundred people each, including lawmakers, physicians, executives and others from a variety of backgrounds. White House staff moderated the forums, which were held between March 12 and April 6 in Dearborn,...en-gbhttp://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=72http://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=722009-04-232009-04-23GE Healthcare, a subsidiary of General Electric Co., announced in April its involvement in two separate partnerships aimed at connecting physicians. One, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Public Health Informatics, is meant to develop a project that will demonstrate the capability for physicians to receive public health alerts in a patient- and situation-specific way, at the point of care. Currently, physicians get public health alerts via fax or e-m...en-gbhttp://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=71http://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=712009-04-222009-04-22When Richard Sagall, MD, had a deaf patient request that he provide a sign language interpreter for the initial visit, he was left scratching his head. "From what I read, the law didn't say you had to provide an interpreter. It just said you had to have good communication," said Dr. Sagall, a family physician who is now retired in Boston. He turned to a nearby hospital for help, where he found an emergency department orderly who knew sign language to assist in the conversation. Despite Dr....en-gbhttp://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=70http://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=702009-04-202009-04-20The American Psychiatric Assn. in March said that to erase the risk of bias, it will phase out the $1.5 million in drugmaker money it uses to fund continuing medical education. The same month, the American College of Cardiology declined to distribute nearly half a million dollars in industry-funded, logo-branded tote bags, lanyards and badges at its annual scientific session. The moves reflect physician organizations' growing sensitivity about potential conflicts of interest. And if an expert...en-gbhttp://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=69http://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=692009-04-172009-04-17Nearly 20% of Medicare patients discharged from hospitals were readmitted within 30 days, costing taxpayers $17.4 billion, according to an April 2 study in the New England Journal of Medicine. About 10% of rehospitalizations were planned to continue needed care, the study found. But as many as 40% of them -- or about 1 million readmissions -- were preventable, said Stephen F. Jencks, MD, MPH, lead author of the study (content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/360/14/1418/). "It is very clear t...en-gbhttp://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=68http://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=682009-04-162009-04-16When Snellville, Ga., internist Joel Fine, MD, read a note from a company called Health Research Insights, he thought it sounded a little bit like a chain letter -- vaguely threatening, insistent on a quick response, with few details. The letter, addressed "Dear Health Care Professional," accused Dr. Fine of upcoding four claims for treating Georgia-Pacific employees. The earliest dated back to February 2005. "Of course, I was offended," Dr. Fine said. HRI's letter offered him two choices:...en-gbhttp://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=67http://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=672009-04-152009-04-15After Martin Duke, MD, retired as director of medical education and chief of cardiology at Connecticut's Manchester Memorial Hospital, he found himself more often the patient than the physician. As a result, he spent more time giving his medical history than taking someone else's, and he noticed significant changes in how the task was accomplished. The time spent on it was shorter. It often was taken by an allied health worker. And, sometimes it didn't even involve a face-to-face conversation. I...en-gbhttp://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=66http://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=662009-04-122009-04-12Like many doctors practicing in Massachusetts, Cambridge pediatrician Michael Yogman, MD, MPH, had an early and unhappy experience with physician ratings. Beginning in July 2006, after a mandate from the state's Group Insurance Commission, which handles benefits for public employees, physicians who contracted with Tufts, Unicare or Harvard Pilgrim were ranked for quality and cost. The rankings meant more than a gold star or lack of one in a physician directory -- they meant a higher co-pay fo...en-gbhttp://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=65http://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=652009-04-112009-04-11Classmates Mark Anderson and Marlana Li clasped their envelopes on Match Day, full of hope and uneasiness about their future in medicine. Like other graduating seniors at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, the two on March 19 learned where they will spend the next several years of residency training. They chose primary care at a time when family medicine is struggling to attract new physicians. There were 101 fewer family medicine positions available in the Match this ye...en-gbhttp://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=64http://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=642009-04-102009-04-10Organized medicine and the Federal Trade Commission continue to joust over the application to physicians of new identity theft prevention rules. With a May 1 compliance date just around the corner, neither party shows signs of capitulation. The FTC regulations require a variety of business entities -- mainly financial and banking institutions -- to implement a written program for preventing identity theft as well as detecting and responding to warning signs of such incidents. The commission m...en-gbhttp://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=63http://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=632009-04-102009-04-10SATURDAY, April 4 -- Resolvins, a new family of biologically active products of omega-3 fatty acids, may be able to remedy the inflammation of periodontal disease and restore gums to health, say Boston University researchers. Two types of resolvins are made from the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), both of which keep blood triglycerides under control and may inhibit the progression of atherosclerosis. EPA and DHA help reduce inflammation and are ...en-gbhttp://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=62http://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=622009-04-062009-04-06Washington A comprehensive, cross-disciplinary approach to managing Medicare benefits based on the value that they provide to patients is one of the keys to major reform of the health care delivery system, said Robert A. Berenson, MD, senior fellow at the Urban Institute, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. Dr. Berenson, who spoke at a March 11 policy forum hosted by America's Health Insurance Plans, said this concept of value-based purchasing goes much deeper than a simple att...en-gbhttp://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=61http://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=612009-04-042009-04-04Reps. John Fleming, MD (R, La.), and Parker Griffith, MD (D, Ala.), at first seem to have little in common other than their medical degrees and the fact that they were both sworn in as first-time congressmen in January. Dr. Fleming's solidly conservative platform, lack of political experience and reserved manner set him apart from Dr. Griffith, a high-energy former state senator looking for the right patch of moderate political ground. But there are similarities. Both Dr. Griffith, a retir...en-gbhttp://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=60http://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=602009-04-032009-04-03Washington -- With each new insight about asthma, it becomes increasingly clear how much remains unknown. That message was one of the themes at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology's annual meeting. "Asthma is a diverse, complicated disease with many presentations, outcomes and variability in responses to treatment. It's not just one disease," said William Busse, MD, chair of the Dept. of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin's School of Medicine and Public Health. He was sp...en-gbhttp://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=59http://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=592009-04-022009-04-02Clear communication about a medication's pluses and minuses leads more patients to comprehend what a pharmaceutical can do for them, but this greater understanding may not translate into better compliance, according to a pair of recently published studies. "It's disappointing, but not that surprising. There's probably a lot of work to do systematically to really improve adherence," said Ruth Parker, MD, professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. She also is a mem...en-gbhttp://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=58http://www.medicadepot.com/news-podr.html?id=582009-03-312009-03-31