MultiBriefs - Your source for industry specific News Briefs

Reality bites: Dog attacks and the elderly

Dr. Denise A. Valenti Pet Care

Each year there are 4.5 million dog bites (Bites), and animal bites make up 1 percent of all emergency room visits at a cost of over $50 million a year. (Cost) From 2005 to 2015, there were 360 deaths caused by dog attacks in the United States.(years)

Harnessing social media to predict psychosis

Brian Mulligan Mental Healthcare

Social media has forever changed the landscape for patients. Now clinicians at the Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, New York, are working to incorporate social media into clinical care.

Study: Home blood pressure monitoring pushing more people to the ER

Chelsea Adams Medical & Allied Healthcare

A new study finds that home blood pressure monitoring is leading more and more people to emergency rooms when true emergency symptoms aren't present. Published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, the study analyzed more than 200,000 emergency room visits at 180 locations. From 2002 to 2012, there was a 64 percent increase in emergency visits for hypertension. However, over the same time period, hospitalizations for the same reason declined.

Government, private entities move to reduce waiting lists

Chelsea Adams Medical & Allied Healthcare

The federal government is attempting to shorten the length of time organ recipients spend on waiting lists. A three-pronged plan that involves government agencies and private entities was announced recently. Announced at a summit held at the White House, the plan spells out ways the Department of Defense, private businesses and nonprofit groups will work to reduce the number of people on organ waiting lists.

Research confirms connection between boxing and Parkinson’s

Dr. Denise A. Valenti Sports & Fitness

The rope-a-dope boxing strategy is one that is strongly associated with Muhammad Ali and his fight against George Foreman in 1974 (see the video above). His rope-a-dope stance with the body lying against the ropes allows some of the blows to be absorbed by the rope's elasticity, but the blows to the head can still be brutal.

Can neurons tell us when to stop drinking?

Dorothy L. Tengler Mental Healthcare

It’s summer. You're on vacation, poolside and drinking your favorite alcoholic beverage. But how many drinks do you have? Other than the need to drive, is there something else that tells you when to stop refreshing your drink? According to new research findings, we may be able to influence alcohol drinking behavior by activating particular neurons. These findings provide insight into another mechanism underlying alcoholism.

CMS changes meaningful use reporting period for 2016 to 90 days

Scott E. Rupp Healthcare Administration

Here’s looking at you, CMS. This hat is tipped for you. So must be the sentiment across thousands of healthcare organizations when in early July, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said that the meaningful use reporting period should be reduced from one year to just 90 days in 2016 for returning participants in the incentive program. "This increases flexibility and lowers the reporting burden for hospital providers," the organization said in a statement posted on its website.

Numbers show continuing decline in youth sports participation

Kate Hessong Sports & Fitness

Childhood sports have been an American rite of passage for as long as many can remember, so it may come as a surprise to most people to hear that youth sports participation has been declining since 2014. According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, inactivity among children reached 20 percent in 2014, and grew to 37.1 percent in 2015. With these numbers, why are parents allowing their children to stop playing sports, when exercise is one of the most widely recognized methods to keep kids healthy and active?

Networking for pharmacists 101

Jason Poquette Pharmaceutical

I sometimes ask my pharmacy students what they think will be the most important thing to help them reach their own career goals as a pharmacist. Is it the school you went to? Is it the degree(s) you obtained? How about residencies or certifications? In a previous article, I discussed the various types of pharmacy "add-on" degrees that pharmacists can obtain, along with the merits of each. But I would like to suggest that although certain add-on degrees may be good and necessary to reach some specific career goals you may have, there is actually another tool that may be even more important.

How nurses help underserved communities

Keith Carlson Medical & Allied Healthcare

Nurses have a rich history of contributing to the welfare of underserved populations. As the backbone, lifeblood, and connective tissue of the healthcare industry, nurses interface regularly with citizens who are most in need of compassionate care grounded in nursing science. When Lillian Wald founded The Henry Street Settlement in 1893, she was doing what nurses do best, which is recognizing a problem that can be mitigated by the nursing process and nursing intervention.

Industries