Medical Health Blog

Hospital for Special Surgery, (HSS), a world leader in orthopedics and rheumatology, announced its support of the Arthritis Foundation and Ad Council newly launched campaign, “Moving is the Best Medicine,” to raise awareness of osteoarthritis, increase public health education and support breakthrough research. “Like the Arthritis Foundation, we are focusing our extensive clinical and research resources on raising awareness of the potentially debilitating effects of osteoarthritis in this country,” said Stephen Paget, M.D., physician-in-chief and chair of the division of rheumatology at HSS…

Research presented at the American Academy of Pain Medicine’s 26th Annual Meeting provides early published data analyzing information gathered from California’s prescription monitoring program, known as the Controlled Substances Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES). The analysis found a two-fold increase in the likelihood of individuals receiving opioids from multiple providers or “doctor shopping” when they were also being simultaneously prescribed a single additional class of a controlled substances, such as benzodiazepines or amphetamines…

Exactly one year after President Obama signed the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that 2.6 million more children were served by Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) at some point over the past year and released “The Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act One Year Later: Connecting Kids to Coverage,” a comprehensive review of the past year’s accomplishments in finding and enrolling children in health coverage…

Commenting on the paper The NHS: a new liberal blueprint published by Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Health Norman Lamb MP, The King’s Fund acting chief executive Dr Anna Dixon said: ‘This Liberal Democrat paper is further evidence of a growing consensus between the parties on health. We will go into the election with more fundamental agreement on the NHS than ever before…

New research shows that two different antimicrobial regimens for treating buruli ulcer (Mycobacterium ulcerans infection) are effective at treating early, limited disease. This is the conclusion of an Article published Online First (http://www.thelancet.com) and in an upcoming edition of The Lancet-written by Professor Tjip S van der Werf, University Medical Centre Groningen, Netherlands, and colleagues. Buruli ulcer is classed a neglected tropical disease…

Just in time for American Heart Month, Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute is offering a new blood test that can predict if a patient is at high risk for heart disease. Vanderbilt is among the first institutions in the country, and the only one in Tennessee, to offer this test. “We now have a novel way to check for the presence of significant coronary artery disease by looking at genes that are associated with heart disease,” said John McPherson, M.D., director of the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at Vanderbilt University Medical Center…

Patients and public given the opportunity to have their say on plans to promote high quality services The Care Quality Commission (CQC) launched a public consultation on proposals to promote high quality health and social care through a new approach to assessments in 2010/11. The assessments will apply to all 152 local councils, 392 NHS trusts and 24,000 adult social care providers…

Porter Adventist Hospital has received certification as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center by The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. The Certificate of Distinction, received in December after an on-site review in the fall, recognizes the exceptional efforts the Porter Stroke Program has made with a cohesive, multidisciplinary approach to foster better outcomes for stroke patients…

Patients with mild gallstone pancreatitis usually stay in the hospital for several days, waiting for the symptoms to subside, before undergoing surgery to remedy the condition. A new study from researchers at Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) indicates patients may no longer have to wait so long for surgery and could leave the hospital sooner…

The MRC unit in The Gambia has outlined new plans for the next five years, which will include focusing its science on three new themed areas: Child Survival, Disease Control and Elimination, and Vaccines. Recruitment of scientists to lead these three themed research areas is now underway, and theme leaders are expected to be appointed in February. In December, the unit’s plan, developed over the course of the last year, was reviewed and endorsed by the MRC’s Strategy Board and Council…