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New concussion tool approved in time for fall sports
Dr. Denise A. Valenti Sports & FitnessThe Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the marketing of two tests that will help determine an athlete's cognitive status after a brain injury or concussion — just in time for fall sports. The two tests are the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, referred to as ImPACT, and a version for younger athletes called the ImPACT Pediatric.
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Cognitive offloading: Help or hindrance?
Dorothy L. Tengler Science & TechnologyRoughly two-thirds of Americans (68 percent) have smartphones, and nearly half (45 percent) have tablet computers. Such devices tell us the time, date, sunrise, sunset, weather, what we need to do, when we need to do it and how we can get there. We can sync our calendars as well as our grocery to-do lists on all our devices.
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Getting care to where the patients will be
Christina Thielst Healthcare AdministrationWayne Gretzky famously said his success came from "skating to where the puck will be." The recent InTouch Health Innovation Forum was an exploration of the telehealth ecosystem, and it highlighted a number of healthcare organizations that are creating strategies to deliver care to where the patients will be.
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Report: Use of feeding tubes in nursing homes declining
Dr. Denise A. Valenti Medical & Allied HealthcareA recent report in the Journal of the American Medical Association indicates a drastic reduction in the use of feeding tubes in nursing homes in the United States. The report utilized data from the federally mandated Minimum Data Set reporting for nursing homes. Criteria for review were that the patient was admitted to the nursing home with a diagnosis of advanced Alzheimer's disease or advanced dementia and had no feeding tube in place at the time of admission.
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Medical schools attempting to curb physician burnout, opioid epidemic
Lonny Alfred Medical & Allied HealthcareThe numbers don't lie. Cases of opioid addiction and overdoses have been on the upward bound in the last decade. Just as alarming, more than half of practicing physicians today display signs of burnout, and those rates don't look to be declining any time soon.
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Voucher programs: A bold new model for organ donation
Chelsea Adams Medical & Allied HealthcareA grandfather's sacrifice has created a new model of organ donation at several hospitals across the United States. This program started at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center when a 64-year-old man made an unorthodox proposal to hospital leaders. He would donate one of his kidneys to a person on the waiting list now in exchange for a kidney for his grandson sometime in the future.
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The good, the bad and the ugly of marijuana
Dr. Denise A. Valenti Medical & Allied HealthcareOn Aug. 11, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) ruled that marijuana will remain as a Schedule I drug, along with heroin, ecstasy and others. The DEA holds the position that there are only negatives associated with marijuana. However, we must look at the good, the bad and the ugly for a complete picture when it comes to marijuana.
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Big Pharma’s greed exposed again with rise in EpiPen costs
Joan Spitrey PharmaceuticalAs the school year begins, parents across the nation are being confronted with the outrageous price increase of the life-saving epinephrine delivery device, EpiPen. For parents of children who attend school or daycare, having this life-saving medication readily available is a necessity. The EpiPen quickly delivers epinephrine, which is needed to prevent anaphylaxis and possible death due to severe allergies.
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Your neck bone’s connected to your smartphone
Kelly Sharp Science & TechnologyThe first thing most people do when they wake up is check their phone. Throughout the day, your smartphone goes everywhere you do, and free moments are dedicated to scrolling through social media or holding texting conversations. The average person then remains on her phone until she fall asleep, where the cycle continues the next day.
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Promising relief for neuropathic pain
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareNeuropathic pain erodes quality of life. In this chronic pain state, nerves in the central nervous system have become damaged, dysfunctional or injured, sending incorrect signals to other pain centers.
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