http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A quality improvement platform developed at Boston Children's Hospital could help health care provider groups continuously improve their medical practice, curbing costs and improving patient outcomes. Successful outcomes associated with the platform, called Standardized Clinical Assessment and Management Plans (SCAMPs) and supported by a consortium of Massachusetts payers, are featured in the May issue of Health Affairs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-medical-innovationquality-platform-featured-health.html Health Mon, 06 May 2013 16:00:05 EST news287059528 Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have developed a method of predicting which patients with heart disease would benefit more from surgery and which would benefit more from angioplasty. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-team-method-options-heart-disease-surgery.html Cardiology Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:01:09 EST news285868858 Many pregnant women with sexually transmitted infections aren't getting the treatment they need when they visit emergency rooms, according to a new Michigan State University study that highlights a wholly preventable risk to unborn children and raises questions about current medical guidelines. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-pregnant-women-sexually-transmitted-infections.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 08 Feb 2013 09:31:30 EST news279538204 A new study has found that adults with diabetes in Ontario are getting significantly fewer government-funded eye exams than they were a decade ago, a key component of high-quality diabetes care essential to preventing diabetes-related eye complications. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-people-diabetes-ontario-government-funded-eye.html Diabetes Mon, 07 Jan 2013 16:15:03 EST news276797693 People with Type 2 diabetes have two to four times the risk of cardiovascular disease compared to people without the disease. The best way for doctors to predict which diabetes patients are at the greatest risk for heart disease is to use a coronary artery calcium (CAC) test in addition to the most commonly used assessment tool, according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-heart-calcium-scan-diabetes-related-death.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 20 Dec 2012 16:06:04 EST news275241955 In an age when physicians are often short on time and deluged with information, printed reminders about screening tests, vaccinations and other health topics can help them provide care that more closely reflects current medical guidelines and evidence-based medicine, finds a new review from The Cochrane Library. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-doctors-health.html Health Wed, 12 Dec 2012 08:56:11 EST news274524957 Studies reporting the results of industry sponsored clinical trials present a more favourable picture of the effects of drugs and medical devices than those reporting on non-industry sponsored trials, according to a new Cochrane systematic review. The researchers call for a rethink of the way that industry bias is handled in medical guidelines and reviews. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-industry-sponsorship-bias-clinical-trials.html Other Tue, 11 Dec 2012 19:00:12 EST news274465731 As the use of Twitter and other social media by physicians and patients rises, more and more physicians seem to forget to do what many consider crucial for building doctor-patient trust: disclose potential conflicts of interest. However, physicians are not entirely at fault: prominent medical societies have failed to lay out comprehensive guidelines for physicians on when and how to disclose a conflict of interest when utilizing social media. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-physicians-disclose-conflicts-social-media.html Other Mon, 12 Nov 2012 05:44:52 EST news271921485 (Medical Xpress)—Most doctors treat Lyme disease with antibiotics for two to four weeks after diagnosis, but if symptoms persist after that, medical guidelines recommend against antibiotic retreatment. That recommendation may not be warranted. A newly published statistical review of the four studies upon which those guidelines are based reports flaws in design, analysis, and interpretation that call into question the strength of the evidence against retreatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-lyme-retreatment-guidance-flawed.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 30 Aug 2012 13:26:42 EST news265551994 Heart calcium scans are far superior to other assessment tools in predicting the development of cardiovascular disease in individuals currently classified at intermediate risk by their doctors, according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-coronary-artery-calcium-scan-effective.html Cardiology Tue, 21 Aug 2012 16:00:04 EST news264782195 A recent international study led by researchers from McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) examines the complex and controversial interplay of conflicts of interest between physician experts, medicine and the pharmaceutical or medical device industry. The results of the analysis, which are published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, aim to advance the management of conflicts of interest in medical guidelines. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-ethics-framework-urged-conflicts-medicine.html Other Wed, 13 Jun 2012 13:49:41 EST news258814140 Common respiratory measurements are not effective in determining which asthma patients are able to significantly decrease their use of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) medications without risk of flare-ups or exacerbations, according to a new study conducted by researchers in the United Kingdom. The study also showed that nearly three-quarters of asthma patients can safely decrease, or step-down, their use of ICS medications once their symptoms are under control. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-asthma-patients-tolerate-doses-steroids.html Immunology Tue, 22 May 2012 10:40:01 EST news256899993 (Medical Xpress) -- People who are at an increased risk of developing bowel cancer, because they have a family history of the disease, are failing to have adequate screening, a University of Melbourne study has found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-analysis-australians-bowel-cancer-under-screened.html Cancer Fri, 17 Feb 2012 06:20:01 EST news248679883 The Neurocritical Care Society is releasing a comprehensive set of guidelines this week to guide physicians and hospitals on how to optimally care for patient's ruptured brain aneurysms. One of the strongest recommendations is that all patients receive specialized care at high-volume stroke centers that treat at least 60 cases per year. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-proven-benefits-brain-aneurysm-patients.html Neuroscience Mon, 19 Sep 2011 14:37:44 EST news235661854 A study at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center found that nearly all patients with high-grade, non-invasive bladder cancer are not receiving the guideline-recommended care that would best protect them from recurrence, a finding that researchers characterized as alarming. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-bladder-cancer-patients-rarely.html Cancer Mon, 11 Jul 2011 04:14:27 EST news229576437