-
Flu season could cost employers $17.5 billion
Terri Williams Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementIn the second week of January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that between 6 and 7 million people were already sick with the flu, and between 69,000 and 84,000 people had been hospitalized. While flu activity tends to peak between December and February, the CDC notes that activity can last through May. The news comes as no surprise to executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which predicts that this flu season could cost employers $17 billion in lost productivity.
-
Top tips for taking care of your child’s dental health
Tammy Hinojos Oral & Dental HealthcareMany people don't know it but, believe it or not, cavity prevention starts at birth. And given that more than 40 percent of children have cavities by the time they reach kindergarten, there are simple things parents can do to ensure healthy oral development for their children during pregnancy and after the big delivery. February is recognized as National Children’s Dental Health Month. Dr. Lynse Briney, a Chicago Dental Society pediatric dentist, has offered her top tips for taking care of dental health for young children.
-
Psychological stress in midlife may be a risk factor for dementia
Dorothy L. Tengler Mental HealthcareVital exhaustion, a kind of emotional collapse, is further defined as excessive fatigue, feelings of demoralization, and increased irritability. Vital exhaustion has been identified as a risk factor for cardiac events. In a previous study, probabilities of adverse cardiac events over time were significantly higher in people with high vital exhaustion compared to those with low exhaustion. A recent study suggests that vital exhaustion, or psychological distress, is also a risk factor for future risk of dementia. Currently, an estimated 2 million people in the United States suffer from severe dementia, and another 1 to 5 million people experience mild to moderate dementia.
-
Home-based hypertension brings BP under control in only 7 weeks
Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied HealthcareMaking endless trips to the doctor's office to adjust blood pressure medications may soon be a thing of the past, replaced by home monitoring systems and occasional phone conversations. A new study shows that home monitoring may be more effective. About one in three adults in the United States have hypertension, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A new, home-based care delivery program developed by Brigham and Women's Hospital may improve hypertension control rates faster and less expensively than office-based programs.
-
Medicare payments come in short for practices that rely on them
Scott E. Rupp Healthcare AdministrationMedical practices that live and die on the gyrations of Medicare payments might find themselves near death’s door in 2019 if feedback is any sign of their viability and longevity. Medicare reimbursements simply may not be cutting it for as many as two-thirds of practices that receive the federal payments. Per responses, Medicare payment rates for 2019 will not cover the basic cost of their delivering care to patients, an MGMA Stat poll points out.
-
New study evaluates presentation of chronic fatigue syndrome in the ED
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareChronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is poorly understood, but proposed mechanisms include biological, genetic, infectious, and psychological. This disease is characterized by profound fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, sleep abnormalities, autonomic manifestations, pain, and other symptoms that are made worse by exertion of any sort. For years, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended two controversial treatments for CFS — a program of steadily increasing activity and a specific form of cognitive behavior therapy. However, few medical professionals are aware that the CDC has dropped the exercise and psychotherapy recommendations. How do patients with CFS get the healthcare and treatment they deserve to deal with their symptoms?
-
Are hospitals compliant with patient access to medical records?
Christina Thielst Healthcare AdministrationAre U.S. hospitals compliant with federal and state regulations in their medical records processes? That is the central question in a cross-sectional study of 83 hospitals featured in the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospital Rankings for 2016-2017. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act establishes the patient’s right for access of their protected health information within 30 days and in the format they prefer. In the study, researchers attempted to conduct scripted interviews (simulating a patient experience) with each medical records department, but three were deemed nonresponsive.
-
Bringing a stop to nurse cannon fodder syndrome
Keith Carlson Healthcare AdministrationNurses are virtually irreplaceable as the vital lifeblood and connective tissue of any healthcare organization or facility. From the emergency department and the ICU to home health and dialysis, nurses do the highly skilled work that keeps the healthcare engine humming. When nurses are treated as so much cannon fodder thrust on the front lines without appropriate support from an enlightened and forward-thinking leadership, things can go terribly awry. Being thrown under the metaphorical bus is unpleasant in any circumstance, but when nurses are left to fend themselves while healthcare outcomes and patient safety are compromised, such circumstances are morally and ethically unacceptable.
-
Getting clever to beat the flu
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareWe all dread the flu. From late fall to early spring, from mild to severe to even deadly varieties, the flu is anticipated and discussed every year. Since 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) have recommended routine annual influenza vaccinations for all persons 6 months of age or older who don’t have contraindications. However, the flu virus is a moving target, and it is often difficult to study the exact number and locations of proteins on any individual virus, and scientists have always known that a flu virus in our bodies can be a lot different than viruses grown in the lab petri dish where viruses are uniform and spherical. In our bodies, these viruses vary in shape and composition.
-
Study supports fasting as a means of improving overall health
Tammy Hinojos Medical & Allied HealthcareIt's the new year. Many people are integrating new habits into their lives to help them reach their health and wellness goals. The rise in popularity of intermittent fasting as part of an overall wellness plan has people researching, Googling and seeking out information on fasting more than ever before. In a University of California, Irvine-led study, researchers found evidence that fasting affects circadian clocks in the liver and skeletal muscles, causing them to rewire their metabolism, which can ultimately lead to improved health and protection against aging-associated diseases.
All Pharmaceutical Articles