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Pharmacists forge an expanded role in patient-centered care
Sheilamary Koch PharmaceuticalComplex patients see their pharmacist an average of 35 times each year — that’s 10 times more than most will visit their primary care physician, according to claims data from the state of North Carolina’s Medicaid care coordination network. As the provider who directly interfaces with the patient most — no one is better positioned to regularly monitor the patient than the pharmacist. Yet while it’s logical that pharmacists perform other vital tasks to manage patient care in addition to dispensing medicine, this not yet the norm in the U.S. healthcare system.
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Skin cancer study improves use of sun protection measures in transplant…
Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied HealthcareLong-term immunosuppressive therapy can significantly increase the risk and mortality of skin cancer in organ transplant recipients (OTRs). Previous research shows that specific educational interventions can boost the use of sunscreen and other sun protection measures in OTRs. A new research letter shows that merely participating in a skin cancer research study for at least a year — even one without specific educational interventions — can increase the practice of multiple sun protection behaviors in recipients.
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New report shows reimbursement increases for brand-name drugs in Medicare…
Scott E. Rupp PharmaceuticalThe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has released a much-publicized report that shows that from 2011 to 2015, total reimbursement for brand-name drugs in Medicare Part D increased 77 percent even though there was an actually decrease in utilization for these drugs. Per the report, overall, Part D paid $382 billion for all brand-name drugs for the period mentioned. The total number of prescriptions for brand-name drugs decreased 17 percent, from 229 million in 2011 to 191 million in 2015.
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New study looks at transplants from drug overdose donors
Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied HealthcareDemand for donor organs for transplant is high. Someone is added to the national transplant waitlist every 10 minutes, according to UNOS, and an estimated 20 people die every day waiting for a transplant. Deceased donors save thousands of lives each year, as four out of five donated organs come from deceased donors. Now, an increasing number of organs are coming from donors who died from drug overdoses.
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Take the stress out of testing for your patients
Lisa Mulcahy Medical & Allied HealthcareFor most patients, medical tests are obviously necessary protocol — but they're not a lot of fun, for a number of reasons. Testing can cause much more emotional distress to patients than many doctors suspect, in fact. A study from the University of Illinois at Chicago found that many people reported serious symptoms of anticipatory anxiety in a situation like waiting for test results, such as worrying for an entire day. The positive news: you as a physician can do a lot to take the stress out of the testing process.
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Labor Dept. rules expand AHPs, in further blow to Obamacare
Seth Sandronsky Healthcare AdministrationThe Trump administration’s Department of Labor on June 19 issued a final rule that lets groups of small businesses offer Association Health Plans (AHPs), which are health insurance plans that sidestep some provisions of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. "Every American should be able to get comprehensive health care coverage they can afford, and we support the goal of increasing competition and choice in ways that improve affordability," said Kristine Grow, senior vice president of communications for America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), a national trade association, in a statement.
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Research finds e-cigarette flavorings are harmful to vascular system
Dr. Denise A. Valenti Medical & Allied HealthcareThere is ever-increasing evidence that the harm from electronic cigarettes far exceeds the benefits of their use as an aid to stop smoking nicotine cigarettes. The latest adverse health effects reported are to the delicate tissues of the vascular system from the use of flavorings in e-cigarettes. The new study looked at how nine different flavors impacted vascular endothelial cell function.
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Negative pressure wound therapy for lower leg fractures might be ineffective
Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied HealthcareCompared with standard dressings, negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) does not improve 12-month outcomes in patients with open leg fractures, according to a new study published in JAMA. Since they break the skin, open fractures have a higher risk of healing-related complications. Infection rates can be as high as 27 percent in severe open leg fractures, for example. NPWT is a new type of postoperative dressing that creates a vacuum, removing the blood and fluid accumulating inside a wound.
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The effects of loneliness on our hearts
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareIt is well-known that our hearts often respond to our emotional state. For example, broken heart syndrome, also known as stress-induced cardiomyopathy or takotsubo cardiomyopathy, is a recently recognized heart problem. Symptoms of broken heart syndrome can look like those of a heart attack. But a broken heart may not be the only emotional stressor that affects our hearts. Loneliness may also be bad for the heart and may even lead to premature death.
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Automated robotic device draws blood, performs analysis
Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied HealthcareResearchers from Rutgers have developed an automated blood drawing and testing device that promises quick results. Speeding up blood testing could potentially improve hospital workflow and allow practitioners to spend more time treating patients. The research team published a description of their fully automated device online in the journal TECHNOLOGY. "This device represents the holy grail in blood testing technology," said Martin L. Yarmush, senior author of the study, in a press release.
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