http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (HealthDay)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration plans to conduct a new survey involving 2,000 health care professionals to examine their views on direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription medications. The survey has been approved by the White House Office of Management and Budget. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-fda-survey-doc-attitudes-dtc.html Health Mon, 13 May 2013 12:41:03 EST news287667656 A world first trial has found intervention by general practitioners (GPs) in cases of domestic violence made impacts on women's symptoms of depression but not their quality of life. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-local-gp-intervention-positive-women.html Health Thu, 18 Apr 2013 07:30:28 EST news285489022 Patients with type 2 diabetes who tailor their own treatment in cooperation with their doctor can reduce their risk of complications such as heart attack with up to 20 percent. This is the result of a new Danish study from the Research Unit for General Practice, University of Copenhagen. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-diabetes-patients-treatment.html Diabetes Mon, 08 Apr 2013 16:20:01 EST news284656109 More and more hospitals and general practitioners in the Netherlands are collaborating in urgent care facilities: a single point of contact (instead of two) for acute patient care outside office hours. Depending on the patient's medical needs upon intake, he will be referred to the hospital's emergency room or to the GP. This makes healthcare in the Netherlands more efficient, cheaper and better. Scientists at the University of Twente's CTIT research institute have developed a simulation model which gives insight into patient waiting times and the utilization of available equipment and treatment rooms. The simulation model helps the urgent care facility make better choices. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-urgent-facility-benefit-additional-gp.html Health Fri, 05 Apr 2013 09:10:02 EST news284370823 University of Adelaide researchers are hoping to better understand why some sufferers of Parkinson's disease experience a marked reduction in blood pressure after they've eaten a meal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-meal-induced-falls-blood-pressure-parkinson.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Wed, 03 Apr 2013 06:25:22 EST news284189110 Although smoking prevalence has declined in the United Kingdom over recent decades, it has changed little among people with mental health disorders, remaining substantially higher than the national average. Yet a study published in the journal Addiction, presenting work carried out for a report released today by the Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Psychiatrists called 'Smoking and Mental Health', suggests that general practitioners (GPs) are missing opportunities to help smokers with mental health disorders to quit. Though smokers with mental health problems are more likely than other smokers to receive cessation support from their GP over the course of a year, this reflects the increased frequency of their consultations. Overall, the total proportion of smokers with poor mental health (indicated by a recorded diagnosis or a prescription for a psychoactive medication) who are prescribed a smoking cessation medication in any one year is low: approximately one in ten is prescribed a smoking cessation medication, and only half are advised to quit. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-opportunities-smokers-mental-illness.html Addiction Wed, 27 Mar 2013 20:00:07 EST news283629426 A new study has found that Spanish nurses trained specifically to resolve acute health problems of low complexity provide care of comparable quality to that of general practitioners. Published early online in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, the findings suggest that nurses may be able to take on some of the care generally provided by physicians. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-nurses-doctors-health-problems-complexity.html Health Thu, 21 Mar 2013 00:00:02 EST news283024435 Younger doctors are more likely than older generations to train and work in the same region as their home before entering medical school. New research published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine investigating the geographical mobility of UK-trained doctors, reveals that 36% attended a medical school in their home region. 34% of hospital consultants and GP partners settled in the same region as their home before entering medical school. The geographical distribution of doctors is an important factor in the equitable distribution of health services. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-younger-doctors-closer-home.html Other Wed, 13 Mar 2013 10:53:40 EST news282390813 No attention is being paid to what the oversupply of doctors in metropolitan areas is costing Australian taxpayers, according to new research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-the-cost-of-care.html Health Fri, 01 Mar 2013 07:40:04 EST news281345214 Nationwide, more than one-quarter of hospital-based general practitioners who take over for patients' primary care doctors to manage inpatient care say their average patient load exceeds safe levels multiple times per month, according to a new Johns Hopkins study. Moreover, the study found that one in five of these physicians, known as hospitalists, reports that their workload puts patients at risk for serious complications, or even death. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-hospital-patient-unsafe-physician-survey.html Health Mon, 28 Jan 2013 16:00:04 EST news278591353 (HealthDay)—For patients with one of five common cancers, 43.6 percent receive at least one prescription of opioids in the last three months of life, according to a study published in the Dec. 10 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-percent-cancer-patients-opioids-life.html Medications Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:40:01 EST news274633899 Researchers at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, have found an association in the United States between a higher density of neurologists and neurosurgeons and a decreased risk of death from stroke. The findings of their study are described in the article "Association of a higher density of specialist neuroscience providers with fewer deaths from stroke in the United States population. Clinical article," by Atman Desai, M.D., and colleagues, published today online, ahead of print, in the Journal of Neurosurgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-neurologists-neurosurgeons-deaths.html Surgery Fri, 30 Nov 2012 00:00:02 EST news273435916 (Medical Xpress)—A study examining the appropriateness of referrals to the Royal Perth Hospital emergency department by the national telephone triage service healthdirect has spotlighted the lack of access to after-hours health care. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-healthdirect-highlights-lack-after-hours.html Health Mon, 05 Nov 2012 09:37:27 EST news271330638 At least one in three patients with depression won't respond well to a series of treatments and experts in the field have joined together to outline practical treatments to tackle the issue, in the Medical Journal of Australia Open. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-stubborn-depression.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 03 Oct 2012 07:26:44 EST news268467989 More than 70 per cent of doctors faced verbal or written aggression and almost a third confronted physical aggression in the workplace over a 12-month period, according to new research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-doctors-subjects-patients-physical-aggression.html Health Mon, 17 Sep 2012 08:27:47 EST news267089227 Among most women in Pakistan, there is limited awareness of breast cancer occurrence, detection, and screening practices, or the importance of self-breast exams and clinical breast exams, according to a study in the August issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology. In Pakistan, breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women and the incidence is rising. It is usually diagnosed in later stages and often at a younger age compared with populations in the West. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-barriers-breast-health-pakistan.html Cancer Wed, 01 Aug 2012 12:30:01 EST news263041326 Medical staff struggle to spot problem drinking in their patients unless they are already intoxicated, according to research by the University of Leicester. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-clinicians-overlook-alcohol-problems-patients.html Addiction Wed, 01 Aug 2012 11:04:06 EST news263037838 (Medical Xpress) -- General practitioners (GPs) lack the knowledge and ability to adequately provide long-term contraceptive care to women in their practices, according to new research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-gps-knowledge-gap-hinders-uptake.html Health Tue, 17 Jul 2012 06:22:36 EST news261724949 (Medical Xpress) -- New research by medics at Trinity College Dublin suggests that folic acid plays a vital role in preventing a major birth defect. This is in addition to the established protection against neural birth defect such as spina bifida The findings published in the July 2012 edition of the leading primary care journal, the British Journal of General Practice show that the risk of having Cleft Lip and Palate (CLP) was more than four times higher if mothers had not taken folic acid in the first trimester. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-links-mothers-lack-folic-acid.html Health Thu, 05 Jul 2012 06:12:51 EST news260687519 The new UK alcohol strategy includes a plan to ensure that General Practitioners (GPs) advise heavy drinkers to cut down. There is good evidence that this can reduce how much people drink. The big question is, what should GPs say to their patients? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-gps-drinkers-daily.html Health Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:09:39 EST news252155370 (HealthDay) -- A majority of primary care physicians report ordering lung cancer screening tests for asymptomatic patients, according to research published in the March/April issue of the Annals of Family Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-asymptomatic-lung-cancer-screening.html Cancer Tue, 13 Mar 2012 04:50:01 EST news250832227 (Medical Xpress) -- Primary care providers fail to recognize anxiety disorders in two-thirds of patients with symptoms, reports a new study in General Hospital Psychiatry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-primary-doctors-anxiety-disorders.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:03:46 EST news249123820 Levels of burnout in UK general practice are high, suggests a study of general practitioners (GPs) in one area of South East England, published in BMJ Open. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-high-burnout-uk-family-doctors.html Health Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:30:03 EST news247150161 Guidelines for clinical management of patients with low back pain (LBP) encourage health care practitioners to advise staying active and returning to work. Despite this, most practitioners believe work factors can cause or exacerbate LBP, and a recommendation for a "short break from work" to allow healing is common. A new study in the December issue of Pain by researchers from the Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London finds that practitioners perceive their role in returning patients to work as limited, and believe that at least some aspects of work are detrimental to patients' recovery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-guidelines-contrary-practitioners-pain.html Health Wed, 14 Dec 2011 09:53:56 EST news243078813 Malcolm Oswald, a doctoral student in Bioethics and Medical Jurisprudence in the School of Law, is a co-author of the new guide, entitled, Making Difficult Choices - Ethical Commissioning Guidance to General Practitioners. The document is aimed at all GPs but particularly those who will have a role as commissioners in clinical commissioning groups in England. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-doctoral-student-ethical-guidelines-gps.html Other Fri, 04 Nov 2011 09:14:39 EST news239616873 Most people are rather vague when reporting on food and drink consumption, smoking and exercise habits. General practitioners, however, are skilled at interpreting phrases such as "I only have a few drinks rarely...each week" and "I get to the gym regularly" and can estimate based on symptoms and a person's physical appearance just how precise those claims are. However, it is crucial for healthcare research and epidemiology that relies on patient self-reporting that we find a more objective, rather than intuitive, way to identify bias in self-reporting. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-bias-medical.html Other Mon, 17 Oct 2011 09:36:03 EST news238062956 Emissions from livestock farms cause asthma and COPD patients living nearby to experience more exacerbations, according to research presented today at the European Respiratory Society's Annual Congress in Amsterdam. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-environmental-health-livestock-farming.html Health Tue, 27 Sep 2011 07:20:01 EST news236324765 Fears that Canada's aging population could lead to skyrocketing health care costs and doctor shortages may be greatly exaggerated, according to two studies by researchers at the University of British Columbia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-gray-tsunami-overblown.html Health Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:00:10 EST news233846888 New research from the University of Leicester demonstrates that general practitioners (GPs) are struggling to correctly identify people in the early stages of dementia resulting in both missed cases (false negatives) and misidentifications (false positives). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-gps-early-dementia-.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 20 Jun 2011 10:36:08 EST news227784936 Patients posting their opinions about doctors on online ratings websites are much less likely to discuss physicians with low perceived quality and are more prone than offline populations to exaggerate their opinions, according to a paper being presented at a healthcare conference sponsored by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-physician-rating-websites-biased.html Other Tue, 14 Jun 2011 11:43:46 EST news227270608