NEW YORK (Dec. 9, 2015) - The United States has sufficient capacity for treating another outbreak of the Ebola virus, but financial, staffing and resource challenges remain a hurdle for many hospitals and health systems attempting to maintain dedicated treatment centers for highly infectious diseases, according to new study released today. The research was published online in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA).
Culture
Research indicates low wages are to blame for the STEM skills gap Wages must reflect the supply and demand for skills across occupations Reform of schools and universities isn't the answer
Low wages rather than inadequate training are to blame for the STEM skills gap, according to research from the University of Warwick.
The available evidence suggests no difference in treatment effects of second generation antidepressants and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) either alone or in combination, for patients with major depressive disorder, finds a study in The BMJ today.
CBT is a type of psychological support that works to solve problems and change unhelpful thinking and behaviour.
Over half of patients with controlled type 2 diabetes have many more tests than is currently recommended by national guidelines, and this has been associated with overtreatment of the condition, suggests a large US study published in The BMJ this week.
Overtreatment is a concern because it can lead to patient harm as well as inefficiency and waste in the healthcare system, explain the authors, and they recommend that "patients and doctors should question the value of routine tests."
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- In a study released online today in The BMJ, researchers from Mayo Clinic report a national trend toward overtesting glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) levels in adult patients with Type 2 diabetes.
Overtesting causes redundancy and waste says the study team, adding unnecessary costs and time burden for patients and providers. In addition, excessive testing can result in overtreatment with hypoglycemic drugs, adding additional cost and potential health complications.
A new study involving UT Dallas researchers shows that vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) technology could help improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of people who suffer weakness and paralysis caused by strokes.
The study, published in the journal Stroke, marks the first time that VNS has been tested in individuals recovering from stroke.
A new lifestyle risk score based on six health behaviors identified two new risk factors (sedentary behavior and sleep) that can be used in addition to traditional risk factors, such as smoking and excessive alcohol use to predict risk of mortality. These findings by Ding Ding and colleagues from the University of Sydney, Australia, are published in this week's PLOS Medicine.
More than 50 million Americans live in rural areas, and many have limited access to health care. For someone living far from an urban area, local specialty care for complex health issues is difficult, if not impossible, to obtain. For years, telemedicine programs across the country have connected rural patients to specialists in urban settings. Now, a study by University of Missouri School of Medicine researchers shows that patients and providers alike are satisfied with video-based health care.
(Boston ) -- In the majority of cases, hip x-rays are not reliable for diagnosing hip osteoarthritis (OA), and can delay the treatment of this debilitating disease.
These findings are the first to evaluate the diagnostic performance of an x-ray in patients with clinical signs and symptoms of classic OA. The study appears in the British Medical Journal.
BOSTON, MA - Physicians in training experience higher rates of depression when compared with the general public. However, the estimated prevalence of this disorder among resident physicians has varied substantially between studies. New research from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) finds that 28.8 percent of trainees screen positive for depression during their residency. The findings are published in the December 8 issue of JAMA.
Graduating family medicine residents have indicated they intend to provide a broader scope of practice than that reported by current family physicians, including for prenatal care, inpatient care, nursing home care, home visits, and women's health procedures, according to a study in the December 8 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on medical education.
An analysis of more than 1.3 million emergency department visits found an increase in patient length of stay of approximately 5 minutes associated with the presence of medical students in the emergency department, which was statistically significant but likely too small to be of clinical relevance, according to a study in the December 8 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on medical education.
PHILADELPHIA - Medical students in Emergency Departments often perform an initial evaluation of stable patients prior to supervising residents or attending physicians, who meanwhile provide care to other patients. Despite some concern over the possible effect to patients, new research shows the presence of medical students in the Emergency Department adds less than five minutes to the average length of a patient's stay.
Hedge fund activism often initially bolsters the target company but new research has found that it weakens the competition, which may hurt innovation and the larger economy.
"It is survival of the fittest," said Praveen Kumar, finance professor at the University of Houston and an author of a study published in the Journal of Financial Economics. "Yes, you do want the weakest competitors weeded out. But as they exit, there is less competition and hence, less incentive to innovate for the surviving firms. Over time, consumers and economic growth may be hurt."
Commenting from the annual Conference of Parties (COP21), Gail Whiteman, Chair of the Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business at Lancaster University, had the following to say about the floods in Cumbria: “Liz Truss’ comment about how the flood defenses in Cumbria were only breached because of extreme weather conditions is rather short sighted. Thanks to climate change, extreme weather is the new normal. And that is hugely problematic.