Culture

TORONTO, Ont., Oct. 11, 2011—A total of 606 Canadian physicians were disciplined by their provincial medical licensing authorities between 2000 and 2009, researchers at St. Michael's Hospital found.

The majority of disciplined physicians were men (92 per cent) who had been practicing medicine for a long time (an average of 28.9 years) and were independent practitioners (99 per cent), according to Dr. Chaim Bell.

WASHINGTON — There is some evidence about the potential value of cognitive rehabilitation therapy (CRT) for treating traumatic brain injury (TBI), but overall it is not sufficient to develop definitive guidelines on how to apply these therapies and to determine which type of CRT will work best for a particular patient, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

Even after women have separated from an abusive partner, the violence still costs Canadians an estimated $6.9 billion a year, according to research at the University of British Columbia.

Led by UBC Nursing Prof. Colleen Varcoe, the study – published in a recent issue of Canadian Public Policy – is the first in Canada to comprehensively identify the spectrum of economic costs for services used by women who leave a violent partner.

Patients with diabetes face daily challenges in managing their blood glucose levels, and it has been postulated that patients could benefit from a system providing continuous real-time glucose readings. Today, The Endocrine Society released a clinical practice guideline (CPG) providing recommendations on settings where patients are most likely to benefit from continuous glucose monitoring (CGM).

The repeal of the U.S. military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy and the legalization of gay marriage in New York state represent great strides for the rights of homosexuals but a Tel Aviv University researcher says those actions are at the tail end of social progress that was already occurring.

A new non-invasive technique for measuring how well the heart and blood vessels function in patients already suffering from coronary artery disease could, in a single test, identify which abnormally narrowed blood vessels are the most likely to lead to further cardiovascular complications. According to Dr.

Businesses looking for a sign on how to prosper in a down economy need look no further than their own indoor and outdoor signage.

That's because University of Cincinnati analysis of a market research survey of more than 100,000 North American households found that shoppers are drawn into stores and make important quality inferences on the basis of signs.

Since the start of 2011, the active ingredient ticagrelor can be prescribed in Germany in addition to acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) to avoid blood clots in patients with acute ischaemia of the cardiac muscle. The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has now examined whether ticagrelor offers advantages to patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in comparison with conventional drugs.

Car pool lanes should not exist. They never worked as intended and having 33% or 25% of highways blocked off for 7% of people has led to higher emissions and more accidents. Some governments, like California, issued a mandate and subsidy for automobile companies and certain owners by also letting hybrid cars use car pool lanes, which also did not help. Now, the end of the ridiculous law is going to slow down traffic even more, according to transportation engineers at the University of California, Berkeley.

It has become increasingly clear that patients in the United States are starting dialysis at higher and higher levels of kidney function. A team of researchers, led by Dr. Ann O'Hare, University of Washington associate professor of medicine and affiliate investigator at Group Health Research Institute, set out recently to find out what this means for patients, and how much earlier patients are starting dialysis compared with past practices.

Experts have written about health care disparities between Latinos and non-Latino whites, mostly from a policy standpoint. They've also looked at the same disparities from the perspective of the patient, in terms of access, use and the quality of health care.

But how do the physicians feel about the quality of care they provide? What challenges do doctors face in treating Latino patients, compared with physicians whose patients are primarily white and non-Latino?

CHICAGO – Three randomized controlled trials published Online First today in Archives of Internal Medicine examine the effectiveness of behavioral and educational interventions for patients with poorly controlled diabetes. All three reports are part of the journal's Health Care Reform series.

The clean energy economy of the future hinges on a lot of things, chief among them the availability of the scores of rare earth elements and other elements used to make everything from photovoltaic panels and cellphone displays to the permanent magnets in cutting edge new wind generators. And right out of the gate trouble is brewing over projected growth in demand for these minerals and the security of their supplies.

Research which claims to show that the introduction of patient choice in the NHS reduced deaths from heart attacks is flawed and misleading, according to a report* published in The Lancet today (Monday).

The original study was used by the Government to advance its controversial Health and Social Care Bill 2011 and was the basis for the Prime Minister's statement that 'competition is one way we can make things work better for patients'.

Contrary to the traditional views of the music industry, removal of digital rights management (DRM) restrictions can actually decrease piracy, according to new research from Rice University and Duke University.