http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Hospital readmissions are a costly problem for patients and for the United States health care system with studies showing nearly 20 percent of Medicare patients are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge at an annual cost of $17 billion. Preventing avoidable readmissions could result in improved patient care and significant cost savings. In a new model developed at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), researchers help clinicians identify which medical patients are at the greatest risk for potentially avoidable hospital readmissions so extra steps can be taken to keep those patients healthy and out of the hospital. The model is published in the March 25, 2013 online edition of JAMA Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-hospital-readmission.html Health Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:07:02 EST news283450016 In addition to improving life quality and diminishing pain, total hip replacement (THR) is associated with reduced mortality, heart failure, depression and diabetes rates in Medicare patients with osteoarthritis, according to a new study presented today at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). The procedure also is cost effective with the 7-year costs of THR only $6,366 higher than the cost of treating an osteoarthritis patient for hip pain without THR. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-hip-heart-failure-depression-diabetes.html Surgery Fri, 22 Mar 2013 01:20:01 EST news283106809 Colonoscopy is one of the most effective cancer screening procedures available. Colon cancer grows very slowly and can be treated if caught early through screening. But, perhaps because of this success, older Americans are undergoing screening colonoscopies despite recommendations against screening in adults aged 76 and older. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-colonoscopies-medicare-patients-potentially-inappropriate.html Cancer Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:09:03 EST news282409737 Medicare patients who enrolled in hospice received better care at a significantly lower cost to the government than those who did not use the Medicare hospice benefit. The data indicate that annual savings to Medicare could amount to $2.4 million to $6.4 million, if 1,000 additional Medicare beneficiaries chose to enroll in hospice 53-105 days before death, or 15-30 days prior to death. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-medicare-patients-hospice.html Health Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:00:07 EST news281616163 (HealthDay)—"Sequestration" is Washington-speak for the approximately $85 billion in annual federal spending cuts mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011. Those cuts were originally set to take effect on Jan. 1, but were delayed in the deal to avert the so-called "fiscal cliff" of tax increases and budget reductions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-fiscal-standoff-financial-pain-health.html Health Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:20:01 EST news281292642 In an analysis of data on patients who underwent bariatric surgery 2004-2009, there was no significant difference in the rates of complications and reoperation for Medicare patients before vs. after a 2006 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services policy that restricted coverage of bariatric surgery to centers of excellence, according to a study appearing in the February 27 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-bariatric-surgery-complications-restricting-coverage.html Surgery Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:00:01 EST news281108373 The authors estimate nearly 40,000 extra admissions to hospital as a result of income inequality over the three year study period. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-strong-link-income-inequality-readmission.html Health Thu, 14 Feb 2013 18:40:02 EST news280086291 (HealthDay)—Approximately one-third of patients with normal results on their first and second colonoscopies after undergoing curative resection for colorectal cancer undergo subsequent surveillance colonoscopies within two years, which is earlier than recommended by current guidelines, according to research published in the January issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-overuse-surveillance-colonoscopy-resection.html Cancer Fri, 01 Feb 2013 11:10:01 EST news278938107 (HealthDay)—Hospital nurses with good work environments who are caring for fewer patients have significantly fewer elderly Medicare patients with heart failure, acute myocardial infarction (MI), and pneumonia who are readmitted to the hospital within the first 30 days, according to research published in the January issue of Medical Care. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-staffing-medicare-patient-readmissions.html Health Fri, 04 Jan 2013 15:40:01 EST news276530008 (HealthDay)—The House of Representatives settled on an 11th-hour agreement late Tuesday night that has averted the widespread tax increases and spending cuts that would have gone into effect January 1. This agreement occurred 21 hours after the U.S. Senate did its part to steer the country clear of the "fiscal cliff." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-house-senate-avert-medicare.html Health Wed, 02 Jan 2013 13:04:19 EST news276354244 Older people often worry about dementia and while some risks are known, for example alcoholism or stroke, the effects of illness are less clear. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Critical Care looks at illness requiring hospitalization and treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) and finds that infection or severe sepsis, neurological dysfunction, such as delirium, or acute dialysis are all independently associated with an increased risk of a subsequent diagnosis of dementia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-dementia-hospitalization-affects-elderly.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Sun, 16 Dec 2012 19:00:01 EST news274902701 In the first national survey of enrollment policies at hospices, researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Yale University have found that the vast majority of hospices in the United States have at least one enrollment policy that could restrict access for terminally ill Medicare patients with high-cost medical needs. The study, which is published in the December issue of Health Affairs (http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/31/12/2690.abstract), calls for reform of Medicare reimbursement rates and hospice eligibility requirements. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-prohibitive-reimbursement-restrict-hospice-enrollment.html Health Tue, 04 Dec 2012 09:38:24 EST news273836295 Although patients may feel anxious waiting weeks from the time of their first doctor visit to evaluate their breast until they have breast cancer surgery, new findings from Fox Chase Cancer Center show that these waits are typical in the United States. Results were published on Monday, November 19 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-medicare-patients-weeks-breast-cancer.html Cancer Mon, 19 Nov 2012 16:00:10 EST news272541115 (Medical Xpress)—National economic events, like the Great Recession of 2007-09, can have a far-reaching ripple effect through the economy. In a recent study, researchers at the College of William & Mary found that healthcare is not immune. Their findings are featured in the November issue of Health Affairs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-link-higher-medicare-joblessness.html Health Mon, 19 Nov 2012 07:50:01 EST news272532878 For elderly patients receiving home healthcare after a hospital stay, "social environmental factors"—particularly care provided by a family member or other informal caregiver—have a significant impact on the risk of repeated hospital admissions, reports a study in the October-December issue of Advances in Nursing Science. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-social-environmental-factors-affect-rehospitalization.html Health Mon, 12 Nov 2012 13:25:55 EST news271949133 (AP)—Lawyers for Medicare patients say the Obama administration has agreed to a change that would help people with severe chronic illnesses like Alzheimer's keep receiving rehabilitation services, even if they're not getting better. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-disabled-patients-benefit-medicare.html Other Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:15:29 EST news270224114 Heart attack patients in states that require health care providers to report the outcomes of procedures to open blocked arteries are less likely to receive those live-saving treatments than similar patients in states without public reporting mandates, according to a new study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-heart-patients-medical-disclosure-side.html Cardiology Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:30:01 EST news269260672 In an analysis that included nearly 100,000 Medicare patients who had experienced a heart attack, the use of a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI; procedures such as balloon angioplasty or stent placement used to open narrowed coronary arteries) was lower for patients treated in states with public reporting of PCI outcomes compared with patients treated in states without public reporting, with these differences being particularly large in the highest-risk patients, according to a study in the October 10 issue of JAMA. However, the researchers found that there was no difference in overall heart attack survival rates between states with and without public reporting. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-procedures-angioplasty-states-outcomes.html Cardiology Tue, 09 Oct 2012 16:25:07 EST news269018695 (Medical Xpress)—A new clinical study spearheaded by the dean of UCLA's School of Nursing has found a direct correlation between pressure ulcers—commonly known as bedsores—and patient mortality and increased hospitalization.   The research is believed to be the first of its kind to use data directly from medical records to assess the impact of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers on Medicare patients at national and state levels.   According to the study, featured as the lead article in the current issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, seniors who developed pressure ulcers were more likely to die during their hospital stay, to have longer stays in the hospital, and to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of their discharge. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-hospital-bedsores-patient-mortality.html Health Tue, 02 Oct 2012 07:36:44 EST news268382195 (AP)—Medicare is changing the way it does business with hospitals and the result could be fewer patients going back into the hospital after they were discharged. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-medicare-fines-hospitals-readmitted-patients.html Health Sun, 30 Sep 2012 06:38:18 EST news268205887 Medicare patients 65 years and older who underwent cataract surgery had a lower odds of hip fracture 1 year after the procedure when compared with patients with cataract who did not have cataract surgery, according to a study in the August 1 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-older-patients-hip-fracture-cataract.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:00:01 EST news262968183 The use of diagnostic imaging in Medicare patients with stage IV cancer has increased faster than among those with early-stage (stages I and II) disease, according to a study published July 30 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-diagnostic-imaging-stage-iv-cancer.html Cancer Mon, 30 Jul 2012 16:00:04 EST news262872279 "Repeal of Medicare's Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) is essential, but repeal by itself will not move Medicare to better ways to deliver care," David L. Bronson, MD, FACP, president of the American College of Physicians (ACP), today told the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health. "We need to transition from a fundamentally broken physician payment system to one that is based on the value of services to patients, building on physician-led initiatives to improve outcomes and lower costs." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-internists-physician-led-quality-solution-medicare.html Health Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:32:32 EST news262351914 Patients who are frequently hospitalized account for a disproportionate amount of health care spending in the United States. Working with a $6.1 million grant, a new University of Chicago Medicine program will test whether an updated version of the traditional general practitioner can reduce spending while also improving care for these patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-stronger-doctor-patient-relationship-costliest-patients.html Health Wed, 18 Jul 2012 14:45:47 EST news261841491 A new study of 1,400 Medicare-aged patients reinforces CT colonography as a screening tool for colon cancer, adding to the continued debate over Medicare coverage of the procedure. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-medicare-ct-colonography.html Cancer Sun, 01 Jul 2012 06:11:39 EST news260341884 Although use of hospice services is increasing dramatically, a study led by Regenstrief Institute investigator Kathleen T. Unroe, M.D., MHA, an assistant research professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine, has found that nonwhite Medicare patients with heart failure are 20 percent less likely to enroll in hospice than their white counterparts. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-impact-enrollment-disenrollment-hospice.html Health Mon, 25 Jun 2012 12:00:01 EST news259843487 Older adults may be at increased risk of being hospitalized for lung and heart disease, stroke, and diabetes following long-term exposure to fine-particle air pollution, according to a new study by researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). It is the first study to look at the link between long-term effects of exposure to fine particles in the air and rates of hospital admissions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-long-term-exposure-air-pollution-hospitalization.html Health Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:00:05 EST news253890717 (HealthDay) -- Medicare patients who have advanced non-small cell lung cancer appear to get no survival benefit from adding the drug Avastin to standard chemotherapy, researchers from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-avastin-benefit-older-lung-cancer.html Cancer Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:47:39 EST news253892752 Higher-spending hospitals do have better outcomes for their emergency patients, including fewer deaths, according to a Vanderbilt study released as a working paper through the National Bureau of Economic Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-higher-spending-hospitals-deaths-emergency-patients.html Health Tue, 03 Apr 2012 11:17:27 EST news252670641 (HealthDay) -- In the past decade there has been a decrease in prolonged length of stay following radical cystectomy in the United States, while rates of transfer to a facility have remained stable, with insurance status and the surgical institution affecting discharge patterns, according to a study published in the April issue of The Journal of Urology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-post-radical-cystectomy-discharge-patterns.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:40:01 EST news252245584