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Google is making it less scary to search your symptoms
Cait Harrison Science & TechnologyWhen you've come down with a few symptoms of illness, what better way to self-diagnose than just googling them? Chances are, you've probably done it. Google says 1 percent of all its searches (totaling millions) are symptom-related.
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APRNs enjoying increasing autonomy
Keith Carlson Healthcare AdministrationAdvanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) have been enjoying steadily increasing autonomy, and their importance to the smooth operation of the overall healthcare system cannot be denied. Shortages of primary care physicians in a variety of settings has emboldened the rise of APRNs; meanwhile, even the Department of Veterans Affairs is finding broad support in their push for APRNs to practice autonomously within the VA system.
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Should the sickest patients be removed from transplant lists?
Chelsea Adams Medical & Allied HealthcareTransplant centers are removing the sickest patients from waiting lists following changes in federal policies that govern performance standards. A study from the University of Massachusetts Medical School showed 4,300 people with life-threatening liver diseases were removed from American transplant waiting list between mid-2007 and 2012. That's almost twice as many as the 2,311 removed in the prior five years.
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EHRs not always designed to share end‑of‑life directives easily
Scott E. Rupp Healthcare AdministrationAn end-of-life directive is one of the most sensitive, emotional decisions ever made by a patient. Even when documented, not all are followed, however. Sometimes, patient end-of-life preferences are not pursued because providers and caregivers can't find the patient's instructions in the electronic health records, according to a Minneapolis StarTribune article.
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The number of pediatric concussions may be significantly underestimated
Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied HealthcareThe number of pediatric concussions may be substantially greater than what is reported in the United States, according to a recent study in JAMA Pediatrics. Researchers from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) enrolled 8,083 patients into the study. Participants were aged 0 to 17, and their median age was 13.
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CDC: Nasal flu vaccine offers little protection
Suzanne Mason Medical & Allied HealthcareWith recommendations that everyone should be vaccinated against the flu every year, new changes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may hinder some from following the advice of doctors. The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) just voted down the use of the nasal spray flu vaccine for the upcoming 2016-17 flu season after a study showed the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) had a low effectiveness rate from 2013-2016.
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Telehealth gets ethical
Scott E. Rupp Healthcare AdministrationTelehealth efforts continue to gain traction as more health systems explore ways to implement the strategies to meet patients and move more people to out-patient care. With the growth have come the vendors, the technology and the regulation. Now comes a set of ethics guidelines from the American Medical Association.
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Physicians still battling NPs over turf with no solutions in sight
Joan Spitrey Healthcare AdministrationIn the wake of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposal to allow full practice authority for all VA advanced practice nurses (APRN), the turf battle over who is best suited to provide healthcare has been fired up again. Although this is not a new battle, the tides have been changing in favor of more authority for ARPNs, which causes the question of quality care to be raised once again.
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Making medical strides in nanotechnology
Rosemary Sparacio Medical & Allied HealthcareNanotechnology is clearly playing a transformative role in the future of healthcare and medicine. Nanoparticles are being used inside the body in a variety of ways, including fighting cancer, treating atherosclerosis and killing bacteria. Here is a look at some of the latest developments on the microscopic level.
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Man who lived 555 days with artificial heart finally receives transplant
Chelsea Adams Medical & Allied HealthcareA man who lived 555 days using an artificial heart finally received a transplant of a human heart in May. The 25-year-old Michigan man had his real heart removed in November 2014. A total artificial heart powered by an external battery pack kept him alive and allowed him to stay home instead of in a hospital while a donor heart was sought.
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