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New study: Exercise improves memory in heart failure patients
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareAbout 5.7 million adults in the United States have heart failure (HF). One in nine deaths in 2009 included HF as contributing cause, and about half of those who develop HF die within five years of diagnosis. HF is associated with frequent hospital admissions, reduced quality of life, significant morbidity, and increased mortality. Cognitive impairment is a common adverse consequence of HF and is characterized by deficits in one or more cognition domains, including attention, memory, executive function, and psychomotor speed.
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Pew report: Provider demand for accurate patient matching is high
Scott E. Rupp Healthcare AdministrationThe Pew Charitable Trusts is concerned with the ability to accurately match patients to their health records. According to healthcare providers surveyed, match rates are "far below the desired level for effective data exchange," said researchers at Pew, which collaborated with eHealth Collaborative on the report. Patient matching is the comparing of data from different health IT systems to verify if data sources match and belong to the same patient. Matching data completes the patient’s health history and medical care record. If data matches, that patient’s records are combined to eliminate duplication and confusion.
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Newly approved device to help increase access to suitable lungs for transplant
Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied HealthcareOn April 26, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new device that may increase access to more lungs for transplant. The new Xvivo Perfusion System (XPS) is a type of ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) therapy, which can temporarily ventilate and pump preservation solution through lungs. The process can increase the percentage of lung transplants by allowing transplant teams to identify better quality lung grafts that would have been otherwise rejected for transplantation in the past.
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Randstad Sourceright discusses healthcare’s tightening talent market
Terri Williams Healthcare AdministrationFirst, the good news: life expectancies are rising, 10,000 baby boomers are retiring every day (which provides jobs for other workers and gives boomers an opportunity to enjoy their golden years), and the life sciences and healthcare sector is projected to grow by 5.4% annually, outpacing global GDP. Now, the bad news: According to Randstad Sourceright's 2019 Talent Trends survey, 85% of human capital and C-suite leaders in the life sciences and healthcare sector say talent scarcity is one of their greatest concerns.
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Patriarchy and healthcare: A dying zeitgeist
Keith Carlson Medical & Allied HealthcareSince time immemorial, men have dominated medicine. Nurses were historically viewed as subservient laborers who followed orders and carried no sense of personal or professional agency; in that same vein, female physicians were less numerous and not readily recognized for their contributions by their male peers. In many aspects of our lives, this paradigm is shifting for the better, and that same change is also underway in the healthcare sphere.
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Study: Only 1.5% of those at high risk of opioid overdose receive a prescription…
Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied HealthcareThe vast majority of people who are at high risk of opioid overdose are not prescribed the naloxone they may one day need to save their lives, according to the results of a new study published in JAMA. In fact, the researchers found that only about 1.5% of high-risk patients receive such a prescription, despite multiple opportunities. Sarah Follman and associates from the University of Chicago performed a retrospective study in which they analyzed data from the Truven Health MarketScan Research Database.
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5 surprising ways to decrease risk in your operating rooms
Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare AdministrationOperating room safety is a major, ongoing priority for your medical facility — and you no doubt practice scrupulous technique when it comes to monitoring procedures and equipment. Research shows, though, that employing unexpected personnel strategies can also be a highly effective way to cut risks and improve surgical outcomes in both the long and short term. Try these science-driven tips to improve your OR environments.
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Mefloquine: A personal perspective
Roy Phillips Law Enforcement, Defense & SecurityIf you’ve deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, especially in the early days of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, you were probably prescribed mefloquine. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the drug, it is an anti-malarial with some odd and obvious side effects. The drug, a white pill, was to be ingested every Monday morning for the duration of the deployment, followed by a two-week-long daily dose of primaquine. Earlier this year, the VA established a committee to study the long-term effects of mefloquine toxicity.
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New study shows compelling case for link between autism, antidepressant…
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareAutism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder. Although many causes have been proposed, the cause is still questionable and ultimately unknown. However, a recent study shows a potential link between autistic-like behavior in adult mice and exposure to a common antidepressant in the womb. One of the most commonly prescribed antidepressants is fluoxetine (Prozac), a serotonin reuptake inhibitor. The researchers investigated adult mice born to mothers treated with fluoxetine over a 15-day time period, which corresponds to the second trimester in humans, compared with those born to mothers given normal saline.
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HHS finalizes rule requiring drug prices in TV ads
Scott E. Rupp PharmaceuticalFrustrated viewers of nearly every television program barraged by advertisements of drug commercials that feature all the medicine’s benefits, the litany of potential side effects, etc. — but who receive no pricing information — are getting a little reprieve. Those ads will soon change slightly, according to the Trump administration, which has finalized a rule that will require pharmaceutical companies to disclose the price of their products in television advertising as soon as summer 2019.
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