http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have for the first time determined how often emergency medical helicopters need to help save the lives of seriously injured people to be considered cost-effective compared with ground ambulances. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-cost-effectiveness-helicopter-trauma-victims.html Health Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:44:31 EST news286126942 Obesity alone may not diminish outcomes or increase the risk of complications in total knee replacement (TKR) patients, according to two research studies presented today at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). However, TKR replacement patients may face significantly longer hospital stays and related costs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-obesity-affect-knee-outcome-complication.html Surgery Thu, 21 Mar 2013 01:00:04 EST news283024764 The value of medical treatment can be far greater than the cost of the treatment finds a study in BioMed Central's open access journal Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation. Improved physical function leads to measurable gains in employment, improved household income, and fewer days missed from work. This improvement in employment is matched by a reduction in the necessity of disability benefits. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-indirect-musculoskeletal-disorders.html Health Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:02 EST news282498667 (HealthDay)—The total cost of diabetes in the United States jumped from $174 billion in 2007 to $245 billion in 2012, a new report shows. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-diabetes-climbing.html Diabetes Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:50:01 EST news281804522 Women's issues play a major role in the health of the nation and should be a key consideration for policymakers as they design and set up the new insurance exchanges, according to a report co-authored by policy experts at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS). The report offers a checklist for the state-based health insurance exchanges, one that will help ensure that women, children and family members can get the services they need to prevent costly and debilitating medical problems. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-women-health-priority-state-exchange.html Health Tue, 05 Mar 2013 14:47:08 EST news281717222 What is the cost of rare diseases such as Friedreich's Ataxia? By analyzing direct and indirect costs of care research in BioMed Central's open access journal Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases calculated that conservatively this rare disease costs between £11,000 and £19,000 per person per year. Proper understanding resource allocation is important in minimizing the effect of Friedreich's Ataxia on people's lives while maximizing their quality of life. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-rare-diseases-friedreich-ataxia.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 27 Feb 2013 19:00:11 EST news281207540 (HealthDay)—A program to administer asthma medication each day to urban children with asthma reduces symptoms and is cost-effective, according to research published online Feb. 11 in Pediatrics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-urban-school-based-asthma-treatment-cost-effective.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 12 Feb 2013 12:50:01 EST news279891921 Parenting infants and toddlers can be challenging, and for generations, mothers have turned to other moms for advice. Now, with the availability of the Internet, mothers are consulting each other using modern venues: online message boards. Research from the University of Missouri indicates online discussion boards provide safe environments for mothers to anonymously express child-rearing concerns and receive support from other moms. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-online-message-boards-outlets-mothers.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 09 Jan 2013 15:38:52 EST news276968326 Physicians with the least experience spend significantly more money treating patients than physicians who have the most experience, according to a new RAND Corporation study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-less-experienced-physicians-costly-more-experienced.html Health Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:00:05 EST news271337346 Angioplasty costs were higher in hospitals not equipped with emergency back-up heart surgery, compared to those hospitals that are, according to late-breaking clinical trial research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-non-emergency-angioplasty-higher-hospitals-back-up.html Cardiology Mon, 05 Nov 2012 09:12:27 EST news271329115 (Medical Xpress)—The medical costs of obesity for the current cohort of children and adolescents in Maine could reach an estimated $1.2 billion over the next 20 years, according to a new study by a University of Maine economist. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-combining-economics-childhood-obesity.html Overweight and Obesity Mon, 05 Nov 2012 07:28:39 EST news271322910 A new report by the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute shows that the length of the average hospital stay in the United States has increased at the same time as use of medical imaging scans has declined. It is unclear if the trends are related, but potentially important, as hospital admissions are among the largest, and fastest growing, health care costs. More research is needed to assess the potential negative impact of government and private insurer imaging reductions on overall medical costs and patient safety. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-declining-medical-imaging-hospital.html Other Tue, 23 Oct 2012 12:37:22 EST news270214629 France on Monday unveiled a package of reforms designed to increase access to abortion, including 100 percent reimbursement of medical costs by the state social security system. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-france-percent-abortion.html Health Tue, 02 Oct 2012 04:18:54 EST news268370329 (AP)—A group campaigning against obesity predicts that more than half the people in 39 U.S. states will be obese—not merely overweight, but obese—by 2030. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-group-states-obesity-percent.html Overweight and Obesity Tue, 18 Sep 2012 11:14:01 EST news267185634 According to a study in the Sept. issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology, overall non-invasive diagnostic imaging (NDI) costs to Medicare Part B dropped 21 percent from 2006 to 2010. The study reveals that medical imaging is not a driver of escalating Medicare costs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-non-invasive-diagnostic-imaging-medicare-significantly.html Health Tue, 04 Sep 2012 00:00:03 EST news265893441 (HealthDay) -- A small study gives a snapshot into the financial anxieties that plague many patients with advanced cancer and their spouses, even as they struggle against the disease itself. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-financial-cancer-patients-burden.html Cancer Wed, 06 Jun 2012 14:20:01 EST news258208039 Care for patients with fecal incontinence costs $4,110 per person for both medical and non-medical costs like loss of productivity, according to new research from the University of Michigan. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-patients-fecal-incontinence-person-year.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 31 May 2012 16:49:21 EST news257701706 UC Davis researchers have found that workers' compensation insurance is not used nearly as much as it should be to cover the nation's multi-billion dollar price tag for workplace illnesses and injuries. Instead, almost 80 percent of these costs are paid by employer-provided health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and other disability funds, employees and other payers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-occupational-injury-illness-paid-private.html Health Fri, 25 May 2012 17:22:05 EST news257185225 A new study published in Spine shows that early treatment by a physical therapist for low back pain (LBP), as compared to delayed treatment, was associated with reduced risk of subsequent healthcare utilization and lower overall healthcare costs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-early-physical-therapist-treatment-healthcare.html Health Fri, 25 May 2012 14:58:32 EST news257176701 (HealthDay) -- For patients presenting with dyspnea, the additional measurement of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels increases the certainty of diagnosis of heart failure and accelerates initiation of appropriate treatment, but does not reduce medical costs, according to a study published online May 2 in the Journal of Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-peptide-ups-diagnosis-heart-failure.html Cardiology Tue, 15 May 2012 13:55:11 EST news256308905 A Loyola University Medical Center study has found that binge drinking may slow recovery and increase medical costs for survivors of burn injuries. The study was presented during the 44th Annual Meeting of the American Burn Association in Seattle. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-binge-drinkers-minor-complications.html Health Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:30:01 EST news254665896 (Medical Xpress) -- Obesity now accounts for almost 21 percent of U.S. health care costs -- more than twice the previous estimates, reports a new Cornell study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-obesity-accounts-percent-medical.html Health Thu, 05 Apr 2012 05:47:18 EST news252823567 Organizations in the Chicago area report an increase of health-improvement and wellness programs according to a survey conducted in September 2011 by Aon Hewitt in partnership with Rush Health. The survey results will be released at the 9th annual Employer Symposium at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago on Thursday, March 22. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-employer-sponsored-wellness.html Health Thu, 22 Mar 2012 10:56:31 EST news251632575 An extensive study of country-specific risk of hip fracture and 10-year probability of a major fragility fracture has revealed a remarkably large geographic variation in fracture risk. Even accounting for possible errors or limitations in the source data, there was an astonishing 10-fold variation in hip fracture risk and fracture probability between countries. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-vast-geographic-variation-hip-fracture.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 21 Mar 2012 09:25:09 EST news251540660 Employees who participated in a health-improvement program had fewer medical costs than non-participants, according to a new report in the American Journal of Health Promotion. In addition, three year employer savings outpaced the program costs with a return on investment (ROI) of almost $3 to $1. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-employee-wellness-significant.html Health Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:12:43 EST news250330355 Stroke-related language impairment adds about $1,703 per patient to medical costs the first year after stroke, according to research reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-post-stroke-language-impairment-thousands-medical.html Cardiology Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:30:01 EST news248634419 A new drug candidate may be the first capable of halting the devastating mental decline of Alzheimer's disease, based on the findings of a study published today in PLoS One. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-alzheimer-drug-candidate-disease.html Medications Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:11:35 EST news243101466 States that have shifted funds away from tobacco control programs may be missing out on significant savings, according to a new study co-authored by San Francisco State University economist Sudip Chattopadhyay. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-states-substantial-tobacco.html Health Mon, 28 Nov 2011 05:20:43 EST news241680000 The Finnish government and major insurance companies announced Wednesday they will pay for lifetime medical care for children diagnosed with narcolepsy after receiving the swine flu vaccine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-finland-vows-narcolepsy-kids-swine.html Health Wed, 05 Oct 2011 08:43:17 EST news237022981 Cancer is one of the leading causes of death and morbidity worldwide, and its economic burden grows year by year. In 2008, the worldwide cost of cancer due to premature death and disability, excluding direct medical costs, was estimated to be US$895 billion. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-unequal-access-cancer-longer-tolerated.html Cancer Mon, 26 Sep 2011 07:12:01 EST news236239905