Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles

Access To Dentistry Not Just About Numbers, Says British Dental Association
The Department of Health must start to think beyond simple numerical measures of access to dentistry if it is serious about reducing the oral health inequalities of England"s population, according to the British Dental Association (BDA). The BDA"s message comes after figures published today by the NHS Information Centre demonstrated a small recovery in the number of people able to access NHS dental care.
generic viagra online
Importance Of 'Moral Values' Replaced By Economy, Health Care For Voters, Washington Post Columnist Says
Since the 2004 election, issues relating to the economic recession and health care have replaced "moral values" as the most important political topics in the U.S., columnist E.J. Dionne writes in a Washington Post opinion piece. He cites a survey released in May by the Pew Research Center that offered respondents the same list of issues that appeared on the 2004 exit poll and found that the importance of moral values had decreased by more than half. Dionne writes that concern over the economy and jobs had more than doubled on the survey, while issues such as health care and education also had "gained substantial ground." According to the survey, "The drop in concern over moral values was particularly sharp among older working-class voters who have been trending Republican for years," Dionne writes.According to Dionne, "Conservative moral values voters have become the heart of the Republican coalition, and if their ranks are shrinking, so is the GOP"s base." He writes that it "is no accident that President Obama takes every opportunity to shift the public debate to issues -- the economy, health care and education -- that the populist conservatives ... find appealing."According to Dionne, "[f]ew recent survey findings are more enlightening about what"s happening in American politics -- and what is likely to happen to the debate over the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor." He adds that it is "striking that while some antiabortion groups issued stinging press releases against Sotomayor, her views on abortion remain a mystery -- to the consternation of abortion-rights supporters." According to Dionne, "Both sides in the abortion debate want to have a confrontation that Sotomayor may not give them the opportunity to stage." He adds that the "vast majority of Americans are not clamoring for this particular battle" (Dionne, Washington Post, 6/1).
News of the day
Recent Studies And Surveys
Georgetown Policy Report: Long-Term Care in Health Care Reform: Policy Options to Improve Both - Policy - Long-term care reform belongs in health care reform -- "The well-being and financial security of families depend not only on access to affordable medical services, but also on access to affordable, reliable long-term care - the daily assistance and supports that many individuals need because of serious medical conditions or disabilities." This policy brief presents four policy options that merit serious consideration in the current health care reform discussion. ... The first two options would improve long-term care for people with low incomes and limited financial res. These options would modernize Medicaid in important ways, tailoring services better to individual needs and using res more effectively. The third and fourth options aim to strengthen long-term care protections for the broader population; one with better coordination of medical and long-term care for Medicare enrollees; the other by establishing insurance protection for people of all ages and incomes" (Komisar, Tumlinson, Feder, Burke, 7/16). (Note: KHN"s coverage of aging and long term care issues is supported by a grant from The SCAN Foundation.)
Public Health

Better Patient Outcomes From Minimally Invasive Stroke Treatment Than Surgical Operation

While minimally invasive coil treatments for those with a ruptured brain aneurysm have proved to be a more effective technique than traditional surgical operation in selected patients, the superior procedure is drastically more expensive, according to new research from the Zeenat Qureshi Stroke Research Center at University of Minnesota Medical School. Using outcomes from more than 2,000 patients - half of whom underwent minimally invasive endovascular coiling for brain aneurysms - and economic data gathered from a variety of hospitals throughout the United States, it is clear the minimally invasive procedure has better patient outcomes -including qualify of life - than the neurosurgical counterpart. Minimally invasive treatments on average cost about $72,000 more than surgical treatments for each quality-adjusted life years gained (including costs stemming from disability, hospitalization, retreatment, and rebleeding) - partly because multiple follow-up treatments are necessary within the first year of endovascular treatments, as opposed to one major surgical operation. Coiling is a technique that involves placing a small catheter into the aneurysm and filling it with platinum coils. The catheter is introduced through a blood vessel in the groin and advanced under X-ray all the way into the brain blood vessels. With accrual of additional years with better outcome status, the cost-effectiveness of endovascular coiling would most likely progressively improve and eventually reverse direction, said Alberto Maud, M.D., principal investigator of the study. "The minimally invasive treatment is better tolerated in selected critically ill patients with ruptured brain aneurysms. The procedure is effective in preventing a second rupture but currently limited in terms of cost due to the need for additional follow-up procedures to treat new aneurysm growth," Maud said. "However, a new generation of devices promises to provide more permanent obliterations for aneurysms. It should be noted that despite additional treatments, patients treated with endovascular treatment continued have lower rates of death and disability than those treated with open surgery." The research is published in the May issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery. Other benefits of minimally invasive surgery include less time in hospital and lower chance of disability, said Adnan I. Qureshi, M.D., senior investigator of the study, who is also the director of the Minnesota Stroke Initiative. Currently about 30 to 40 percent of all patients with aneurysms are treated with minimally invasive procedures, he said. Intracranial aneurysms impact about 2 percent of the general population worldwide and are present in 10 million people in the United States. Until recently, the predominant treatment was open operation. However, endovascular treatments have increased as the technique has improved. Other investigators included Drs. Lakshminarayan, Suri, Vazquez, and Lanzino. The study was funded by Zeenat Qureshi Stroke Research Center. Nick Hanson University of Minnesota


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009