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

Issue Brief Examines Disparities In Unmet Dental Care Needs Among Children
"Trends in Child Health 1997-2006: Assessing Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Unmet Dental Care Needs," Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies: The issue brief examines disparities in the reporting of unmet dental care needs because of cost over the past 12 months among black, Hispanic and white children younger than age 18. The brief compares the unmet dental care needs among the racial/ethnic groups of children overall and among children of various racial/ethnic groups in families with similar sociodemographic characteristics, such as family type, poverty status and health insurance coverage. Hispanic children are the most likely to have dental care needs that are unmet because of cost, according to the brief. In addition, the brief analyzes several indicators of child health -- including low birthweight, health status, unmet dental care needs, ADHD/ADD diagnosis and asthma diagnosis -- to provide additional details of disparities in child health (Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, May 2009).
generic viagra online
HHS Secretary Sebelius Announces Senate Confirmation Of Assistant Secretary For Health Dr. Howard Koh
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that the United States Senate unanimously confirmed Dr. Howard Koh as the next Assistant Secretary for Health at HHS.
News of the day
California Primary Care Physician Shortage Affecting Clinics That Serve Minority Populations
A shortage of primary care physicians in California "is driving community clinics to find innovate ways" to provide care to an increasingly linguistically and culturally diverse patient population, New America Media reports. According to New America Media, primary care physicians are in short supply nationwide because many medical students are pursuing more lucrative specialty fields that have higher reimbursement rates. Marty Lynch -- executive director of LifeLong Medical Care, a not-for-profit primary health care facility that operates nine health centers in Berkeley, Oakland and Marin County -- said he has tried unsuccessfully to hire minority primary care physicians and nurses. Lynch said it is "very difficult to find primary care providers" to provide care for minorities. Meanwhile, the demand for health services is on the rise, Jane Garcia, CEO of La Clinica de la Raza, said. The clinic has provided health services in the Bay Area at 27 satellite clinics for 38 years.The clinic for the last two years has partnered with neighboring community colleges to train medical assistants to work at their clinics to meet demand for diverse staff. "We"re training our own community members," Garcia said. She added that in the current economy, the "silver lining" is that "health care is one of the few sectors that more people will be choosing careers in" (Sundaram, New America Media, 5/18).
Nutrition

Impact Of Surgeon And Hospital Volume On Outcomes Of Radical Prostatectomy

UroToday.com - In the online edition of Urologic Oncology, Dr. Michael Cookson and his colleagues at Vanderbilt University reviewed the impact of surgeon and hospital volume on outcomes of radical prostatectomy (RP). They concluded that better outcomes are associated with higher volume surgeons and centers. The report is a literature review. Regarding hospital volume, there were no randomized trials identified, but 13 papers addressed the topic. Eight of the 13 addressed length of hospital stay, and all found that high-volume hospitals had a shorter mean length of stay. One meta-analysis reported a length of stay decrease of 0.9 days in high-volume centers. Another large multi-institution database found a 3.8 day LOS and 18.6% ICU admission rate in low-volume centers compared to 2.1 day LOS and 1.3% ICU admission rate in high-volume centers. Hospital readmission rates were also higher in the lowest volume quartile hospitals compared to the highest quartile. Five of 6 studies that evaluated complication rates found decreased peri-operative complication rates in high-volume hospitals, one study reporting 27% in these institutions compared with 32% in low-volume institutions. The difference in one multi-institutional cohort was 10%. The meta-analysis found a 1.21% decrease in complications for every additional 10 cases performed per year. Death was also lower in high volume hospitals; 0.04% in the highest volume quartile compared with 0.3% in the lowest volume decile. After adjusting for clinical variables, the oncologic efficacy of RP in higher volume hospitals was superior, with longer time to recurrence and lower incidence of secondary cancer treatments. Eight studies reported on the impact of surgeon volume on RP outcomes. Higher surgeon volume is associated with lower complication rates (26% vs. 32%), shorter LOS, lower incontinence rates (by 4%). Surgical margin rates in a single institutional study were lower with increasing surgical experience. However, individual surgeon was also an independent predictor of margins status, suggesting that volume alone is not the sole factor involved. The likelihood of biochemical recurrence was 17.9% for a surgeon who had performed only 10 prior cases and 10.7% for surgeons who had performed 250 prior cases. This suggested that 250 may represent a volume threshold, as no significant decrease in BCR was noted after this number of cases. Regarding annual volume, one study showed that a surgeon performing at least 20 cases in the 2 years before surgery had a higher progression-free survival rate than men treated by surgeons who had 10-19 cases or 0-9 cases in the 2 years before surgery. All these data may drive changes in care of radical prostatectomy patients at the individual surgeon and hospital level or via regionalization of certain procedures at high-volume centers. Barocas DA, Mitchell R, Chang SS, Cookson MS Urol Oncol. 2009 Apr 21. (Epub ahead of print) 10.1016/j.urolonc.2009.03.001 Written by UroToday.com Contributing Editor Christopher P. Evans, MD, FACS UroToday - the only urology website with original content written by global urology key opinion leaders actively engaged in clinical practice. To access the latest urology news releases from UroToday, go to: www.urotoday.com Copyright © 2009 - UroToday


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

© Copyright 2009