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Substance abuse still a massive societal ill
Dr. Abimbola Farinde Mental HealthcareThe issues of substance abuse and substance use disorders continue to be growing problems within our modern-day society, with no apparent decline in sight. According to the World Drug Report, it was estimated that 200 million people, or about 5 percent of the global population, used illicit drugs in 2005, and this number has grown since that time. Substance abuse is defined as a pattern of overuse of alcohol or other drugs that have the ability to produce adverse effects with continued use of the medication.
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Healthcare fraud and blowing the whistle
Keith Carlson Medical & Allied HealthcareOn June 18, The Dallas Morning News reported in an article that 243 healthcare workers from around the nation were indicted on federal charges of Medicare fraud by The Medicare Fraud Strike Force, the largest such bust in history. Healthcare fraud — especially Medicare and insurance fraud — is more common than we think. Healthcare professionals who find themselves potentially entangled in a fraudulent situation should immediately report the suspected abuse to the appropriate authorities.
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Study: Digital health solutions may save US health system $100 billion
Scott E. Rupp Healthcare AdministrationAccenture, in a new report, estimates that FDA-approved digital health solutions — an Internet-connected device or software created for detection or treatment of a medical indication — may have saved up to $6 billion in cost savings last year, primarily driven by medication adherence, behavior modifications and fewer emergency room visits.
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Study: Organ-rejection drugs may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease
Chelsea Adams Medical & Allied HealthcareThe calcineurin inhibitors that organ transplant patients take to prevent rejection may also work to prevent Alzheimer's disease. A new study at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) examined the rate of Alzheimer's disease among 2,600 organ transplant patients. Results were compared with a 2014 national dataset from the Alzheimer's Association.
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Keeping a watchful eye on South Korea’s deadly MERS outbreak
Joan Spitrey Medical & Allied HealthcareAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), South Korea reported its first confirmed case of Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (MERS) on May 20. The initial case was a businessman who had returned from a trip to the Middle East.
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The decision to fly — How do you make it?
Mark Huber Transportation Technology & AutomotiveDetermining when to launch — and when not to — is the most fundamental and consequential decision the helicopter crew can make, but how do you make it? New federal mandates now require crews to use risk assessment, but which risk assessment tool is right for your organization?
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The connection between cataracts and Alzheimer’s disease
Dr. Denise A. Valenti Medical & Allied HealthcareCataracts do more to health than alter visual acuity. A cataract that is blocking all the natural light from entering the eye may be creating dysfunctions to the body's natural biologic rhythms, with potential long-term health consequences.
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The brain and autism: Challenging traditional testing
Dorothy L. Tengler Mental HealthcareAbout 1 in 68 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to estimates from the CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network. Studies have shown that parents of children with ASD notice a developmental problem before their child's first birthday. Concerns about vision and hearing were more often reported in the first year, and differences in social, communication and fine motor skills were evident from six months of age.
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Psychopharmacology: When drugs are right for treating mental illness
Dr. Abimbola Farinde PharmaceuticalPsychopharmacology in the treatment of mental illnesses is gradually gaining more attention among mental health providers because they are beginning to formulate more balanced therapeutic approaches into their interventions.
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The link between patient satisfaction and nurse satisfaction
Keith Carlson Healthcare AdministrationOn April 17, The Atlantic published an article entitled, "The Problem With Satisfied Patients." The subtitle of the article — "A misguided attempt to improve healthcare has led some hospitals to focus on making people happy, rather than making them well" — makes the focus of the piece quite clear.
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