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IndicationsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's superfetation! Two babies! One uterus! Two due dates! Julia Grovenburg of Fort Smith, Ark., is pregnant with two fetuses that appear to have been conceived 2½ weeks apart, KFSM-TV reported. Dr. Michel Muylaert, her obstetrician, said in a letter to KFSM that Mrs. Grovenburg “was evaluated at UAMS in Little Rock for this condition, and they have confirmed the suspicion of superfetation.” The older fetus, a girl named Jillian, is due at the end of 2009. The younger fetus, a boy named Hudson, is due at the beginning of 2010. The Grovenburgs have prebooked psychiatric a...
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Richard Franki Source Type: journals

Poor Documentation Can Open the Door to LawsuitsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CORONADO, CALIF. — In his dual roles as an emergency physician and health care lawyer, Dr. Michael Frank has seen an increasing number of patients seeking copies of their medical records—and finding entries that are incomplete, inaccurate, or completely wrong. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: DOUG BRUNK Tags: Practice Trends Source Type: journals

Tips for Curbing Malpractice Insurance CostsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CORONADO, CALIF. — As general counsel and director of risk management for Canton, Ohio–based Emergency Medicine Physicians, Dr. Michael Frank fields his share of calls from partner groups asking for insight on how to keep a lid on malpractice insurance costs. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: DOUG BRUNK Tags: Practice Trends Source Type: journals

Group Points to Disparities as Reform ArgumentEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
A continued wide disparity in access to and quality of care across the United States argues strongly for a national health reform plan, according to executives at the Commonwealth Fund, who released a state-by-state survey of 38 health indicators. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: ALICIA AULT Tags: Practice Trends Source Type: journals

Doctors to Test Portal for Insurance InformationEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In November, physicians in Ohio and New Jersey will begin to test a single, online portal through which they can access health insurance eligibility and benefits information for most of their privately insured patients. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: MARY ELLEN SCHNEIDER Tags: Practice Trends Source Type: journals

From Europe to Africa: Moving to Make a DifferenceEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Dr. Timothy Meade first embraced the challenges of an international medical career when he went to practice medicine in Russia not long after completing his internal medicine residency at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. Dr. Meade earned his medical degree at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, in 1986. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Heidi Splete Tags: World Wide Med: Global Perspectives on Medical Practice Source Type: journals

Policy & Practice: Can't get enough Policy & Practice? Check out our new podcast each Monday. egmnblog.wordpress.comEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Medical practice revenues fell in 2008, possibly because of declining patient volumes and payments from people in financial hardship, according to the Medical Group Management Association. Medical practices responded by trimming overhead costs more than 1%, but that wasn't enough to offset shrinking revenues, the MGMA found in its 2009 practice cost survey. Multispecialty group practices saw a 1.9% decline in total medical revenue last year from 2008, with substantial drops in both the number of procedures and the number of patients. Bad debt in multispecialty group practices from fee-for-service charges increased 13% from...
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Jane Anderson Tags: Practice Trends Source Type: journals

Health Info Exchange Can Improve Patient CareEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
CHICAGO — The cooperative pooling and exchange of data on underinsured and uninsured patients has enabled a local alliance of health care providers to identify and stratify frequent users of emergency department (ED) services and create interventions targeted to the needs of subpopulations and individuals. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: SUSAN BIRK Tags: Practice Trends Source Type: journals

Genetic Factors Increase Risk of Severe West Nile VirusEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
VAIL, COLO. — The genetics of symptomatic West Nile infection has become a hot area of investigation with implications spilling over into clinical care. Infection with West Nile virus (WNV) adheres to the typical arbovirus pyramid: Roughly 80% of human infections are entirely asymptomatic, 20% result in the nasty and debilitating febrile illness called West Nile fever, and about 1 in 150 infections lead to severe CNS disease. The question is, what's different about those 20% or so who develop symptomatic infections? Dr. Kenneth L. Tyler asked at a conference on pediatric infectious diseases sponsored by the Children's H...
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: BRUCE JANCIN Tags: Genetics in Your Practice Source Type: journals

The MicrobiomeEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Dr. Murray is the Clinical Chief of Genetics at Brigham and Women's Hospital and an instructor at Harvard Medical School, Boston. You are never alone as you travel through this life; in fact, each of us is outnumbered on a cellular level by the microflora that travel with us. Estimates place the total number of microbial cells that we carry at a 10:1 ratio to the number of human cells. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: MICHAEL F. MURRAY Tags: Genetics in Your Practice Source Type: journals

Intervention Improved Outpatient HF CareEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
BOSTON — A performance-improvement intervention for the outpatient care of heart failure patients increased the use of evidence-based, treatment, the prospective IMPROVE-HF (Registry to Improve the Use of Evidence-Based Heart Failure Therapies in the Outpatient Setting) study. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: DIANA MAHONEY Tags: Cardiovascular Medicine Source Type: journals

Program Aids CVD CommunicationEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
WASHINGTON — Primary care physicians who have struggled to get a cardiovascular disease patient to adhere to a drug regimen may find practical advice in an online educational program aimed at improving physician/patient communication. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: HEIDI SPLETE Tags: Cardiovascular Medicine Source Type: journals

Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular DiseaseEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Dr. Golden (left) is professor of medicine and public health andDr. Hopkins is program director for the internal medicine/pediatrics combined residency program at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock. Write to Dr. Golden and Dr. Hopkins at our editorial offices or imnews@elsevier.com. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: WILLIAM E. GOLDEN, ROBERT H. HOPKINS Tags: The Effective Physician Source Type: journals

Impedance Monitoring Helpful in Heart FailureEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
BOSTON — Monitoring fluid build-up in the chest by intrathoracic impedance is more predictive of events in heart failure patients compared with daily weight monitoring, according to the findings of a multicenter, prospective, double-blind investigation. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: DIANA MAHONEY Tags: Cardiovascular Medicine Source Type: journals

Screen for CVD Risk in Mentally Ill PatientsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
VIENNA — A new joint position statement from three European medical organizations is aimed at reducing cardiovascular disease risk and improving diabetes care in people with severe mental illness, as well as improving their overall health. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: MIRIAM TUCKER Tags: Psychiatry Source Type: journals

Long-Term Glucocorticoid Use Doubles Risk of Low Bone MassEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
DENVER — Patients with rheumatic diseases who were on long-term glucocorticoid therapy were almost twice as likely to have low bone mass as were those with a rheumatic disease who were not on glucocorticoids, based on the results of a study of more than 200,000 patients with rheumatic diseases. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: KERRI WACHTER Tags: Rheumatology Source Type: journals

Botox May Reduce Frequency of MigrainesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PHILADELPHIA — OnabotulinumtoxinA appears to be a safe, effective, and well-tolerated headache prophylactic for patients with chronic migraine. Two large randomized, controlled trials showed that the toxin significantly reduced migraine frequency and improved headache-related disability over 24 weeks, Dr. David W. Dodick reported at the International Headache Congress. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: MICHELE G. SULLIVAN Tags: Neurology Source Type: journals

CDC's ‘Yellow Book’ Is OnlineEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The 2010 edition of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's “Yellow Book” on health information for international travelers is now available online (www.cdc.gov/travel) and in hard copy. The book, which always has a yellow cover, includes information on topics including jet lag, cruise ship travel, international adoptions, common respiratory conditions drug-vaccine interactions, and travelers' diarrhea. Some topics such as medical tourism are appearing in this edition for the first time. For more information, contact Elsevier at 1-800-545-2522 or www.us.elsevierhealth.com. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Tags: Infectious Diseases Source Type: journals

Web-Based STD Tool Makes Screening AccessibleEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
ESTES PARK, COLO. — The STD Wizard is a patient-friendly Internet tool for determining individual STD screening needs that is a particularly good fit for busy primary care medical practices. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: BRUCE JANCIN Tags: Infectious Diseases Source Type: journals

Psoriasis Linked With a Host of ComorbiditiesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PORTLAND, ORE. — Psoriasis patients face an increased risk of comorbidities ranging from depression to MI, but most don't know that. “People don't know what you don't tell them, so please educate your patients about these risk factors,” Dr. Theresa Devere said at the annual meeting of the Pacific Dermatologic Association. “We should all be educating and screening people for comorbidities of psoriasis. At the least, perhaps make a handout that lists what they may be at risk for.” (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: DOUG BRUNK Tags: Dermatology Source Type: journals

Metformin Investigated as Possible Anticancer TreatmentEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
VIENNA — The glucose-lowering drug metformin is increasingly showing an anticancer effect. The data come from studies conducted in both the diabetes and oncology research communities, according to expertswat the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: MIRIAM E. TUCKER Tags: Endocrinology Source Type: journals

Diabetes, Cancer Link Is New Research FocusEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
VIENNA — Both diabetes itself and insulin therapy are associated with an increased risk for cancer, but the question of whether insulin glargine—or insulin analogues in general—is associated with a further increased risk remains open, five speakers said at a special symposium, during the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: MIRIAM E. TUCKER Tags: Endocrinology Source Type: journals

FRAX 10-Year Hip Fracture Predictions Match IncidenceEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
DENVER — The FRAX 10-year fracture risk tool was fairly accurate in predicting the observed number of hip fractures that occurred among more than 5,000 participants of the Framingham Heart Study, according to data presented as a poster at the annual meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: KERRI WACHTER Tags: Endocrinology Source Type: journals

Alter Bone Care in Patients on GlucocorticoidsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
DENVER — People on long-term glucocorticoids have a significant risk for fracture at relatively high bone mineral density T scores, a finding that may lead to changes in the management of such patients. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: KERRI WACHTER Tags: Endocrinology Source Type: journals

Therapy, Vitamin D Reduce Falls, ReadmissionsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
DENVER — Extended physiotherapy significantly reduced the rate of falls among patients with a prior hip fracture, and high-dose vitamin D significantly reduced the rate of hospital readmissions in a study of 173 patients. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: KERRI WACHTER Tags: Endocrinology Source Type: journals

DCIS More Likely to Recur in Younger WomenEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Women younger than age 45 years who were treated with lumpectomy and radiation for ductal carcinoma in situ were 68% more likely to have a local recurrence than were older women, a large population-based study found. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: SHERRY BOSCHERT Tags: Women's Health Source Type: journals

Increased Risk for Depression Remains After MenopauseEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
SAN DIEGO — The risk of a major depressive episode more than doubles for women during and after the menopausal transition, compared with when they were premenopausal, results from a 9-year follow-up study showed. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: DOUG BRUNK Tags: Women's Health Source Type: journals

Dyspareunia in Menopause Is Undertreated: Overall, 22%–45% of women who are not using hormone therapy experience dyspareunia.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
SAN DIEGO — The prevalence of dyspareunia in menopausal women ranges from 11% to 45%, according to the best estimates in the medical literature. However, “the literature [on this topic] is terribly flawed,” Dr. Andrew T. Goldstein said at the annual meeting of the North American Menopause Society. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: DOUG BRUNK Tags: Women's Health Source Type: journals

Video Games: Rules RequiredEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Dr. Merlo is an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Florida, Gainesville. Is playing video games good or bad for our adolescent patients? (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: LISA J. MERLO Tags: Editorial Source Type: journals

Putting the Web to Use in PracticeEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Dr. Ziemkowski is the family medicine clerkship director at Michigan State University/Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies. He has no conflicts of interest with any of the Web sites mentioned. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: PETER J. ZIEMKOWSKI Tags: Editorial Source Type: journals

New Rules Address Use of Genetic InformationEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The federal government has issued new rules spelling out how it intends to police the use of genetic information by health plans. The regulations bar health insurers from increasing premiums or denying enrollment based on genetic information. The regulations implement certain provisions in the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which President Bush signed into law in May 2008. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: MARY ELLEN SCHNEIDER Tags: News Source Type: journals

News From the FDAEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the intrauterine device Mirena for the treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding in women who use intrauterine contraception as their method of pregnancy prevention. This is the first IUD that has been approved for this additional indication, the FDA said in a statement. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: From staff reports Tags: News Source Type: journals

Technique Can Reduce Sentinel Node Biopsies in Early Breast CaEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Adding ultrasound examination of axillary nodes and fine-needle aspiration of suspicious nodes prior to lumpectomy in women with early-stage breast cancer spared 17 (30%) of 57 women the need for sentinel node biopsy and a second surgery, a study of 274 patients found. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: SHERRY BOSCHERT Tags: News Source Type: journals

Ca Screening Critique Ignites Media ‘Firestorm’Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Controversy over the benefits of screening for breast cancer and prostate cancer hit the headlines and the blogosphere when the New York Times reported on Oct. 21 that the American Cancer Society is planning to temper its proscreening message for breast and prostate cancers, and a prominent representative of the society denied it on his blog. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: SHERRY BOSCHERT Tags: News Source Type: journals

VITAL SIGNS: Rhode Island Leads U.S. in Health Insurance MandatesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
(Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Tags: News Source Type: journals

Mammography Screening: A Cause of Overdiagnosis?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
SAN FRANCISCO — Several physicians from some of the Scandinavian countries that started the worldwide adoption of mammography screening for breast cancer have published articles in recent years saying that the benefits of mammography screening are exaggerated and its downsides are downplayed. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: SHERRY BOSCHERT Tags: News Source Type: journals

Internists Urge Increased Funding to Bolster FDAEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Saying that the Food and Drug Administration is chronically underfunded and unable to tackle all of the tasks that it is charged with, the American College of Physicians has issued a prescription for healing the agency. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: ALICIA AULT Tags: News Source Type: journals

Breast Ca Deaths Higher Without Routine Screening: Study confirms value of mammographyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
SAN FRANCISCO — Only 21% of Massachusetts women older than age 40 years were not in mammographic screening programs. Yet unscreened women accounted for 75% of breast cancer deaths in an analysis of data on 6,997 invasive breast cancers diagnosed in 1990–1999 and followed through 2007. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: SHERRY BOSCHERT Tags: News Source Type: journals

IFG, Diabetes: Same Risk of RetinopathyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
VIENNA — The 10-year prevalence of retinopathy was nearly identical among individuals with impaired fasting glucose as among those with overt diabetes at baseline in a longitudinal French study of 700 adults. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - November 1, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: MIRIAM E. TUCKER Tags: News Source Type: journals

IndicationsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
If you've been wondering what to do about that inch-long piece of plastic stuck in your lung, we've got good news. John Manley, a 50-year-old former home remodeler from Wilmington, N.C., had been coughing and experiencing fatigue and pneumonia spells for almost 2 years. It got so bad that he could barely leave the house, according to the Associated Press. After seeing several doctors, it was decided that he had a foreign object lodged in his left lung, but the best solution suggested was lung removal. When Dr. Momen Wahidi, director of interventional pulmonology at Duke University, heard about the case, he thought he could...
Source: Internal Medicine News - October 15, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Richard Franki Tags: Practice Trends Source Type: journals

Physicians Take the StageEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
When Dr. Marilyn Kellam started practicing internal medicine in 1985, she quickly realized that she could easily become a “serious workaholic” if she did not find an outlet for creativity. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - October 15, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Doug Brunk Tags: The Rest of Your Life Source Type: journals

Federal Requirements for EHR Adoption May Be EasedEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
WASHINGTON — A Health and Human Services Department advisory committee is moving to make it easier for physicians to meet federal requirements for adopting electronic health records. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - October 15, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: JOYCE FRIEDEN Tags: Practice Trends Source Type: journals

A Softer Look at EHR HardwareEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
DR. SKOLNIK, associate director of the family medicine residency program at Abington (Pa.) Memorial Hospital, is professor of family and community medicine at Temple University, Philadelphia. Dr. Notte is in private practice in Chalfont, Pa. They work with EHR Practice Consultants (www.ehrpc.com), helping practices move to EHR systems. Contact them at info@ehrpc.com. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - October 15, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: NEIL SKOLNIK, CHRISTOPHER NOTTE Tags: EHR Report Source Type: journals

Policy & Practice: Can't get enough Policy & Practice? Check out our new podcast each Monday. egmnblog.wordpress.comEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Physicians and other health care providers largely are satisfied with the performance of the Medicare fee-for-service contractors that process and pay the more than $300 billion in claims each year, according to an annual satisfaction survey. On a scale of 1 (low) to 6 (high), 32,000 randomly selected providers rated contractors at 4.54 in 2009, up very slightly from last year's average of 4.51, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. More than four of five providers scored contractors between 4 and 6, the CMS said. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - October 15, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Jane Anderson Tags: Practice Trends Source Type: journals

Spending on Alternative Medicine Tops $33 BillionEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Approximately 38% of American adults use some type of complementary and alternative medicine, and they spent nearly $34 billion on CAM products and practitioners over the past 12 months, based on data from the 2007 National Health Interview Survey presented in a telebriefing (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - October 15, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: HEIDI SPLETE Tags: Practice Trends Source Type: journals

Board Certification Exams Lack Genetics ContentEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
BETHESDA, MD. — Few board certification examinations require physicians to understand concepts related to genetic testing and counseling or how to take or interpret family history, according to an analysis of the content outlines of such exams for 43 medical specialties. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - October 15, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: JEFF EVANS Tags: Practice Trends Source Type: journals

Coordinated Care Would Cut Medicare ReadmissionsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
More coordinated care can reduce the rate of hospital readmissions among Medicare beneficiaries by more than 25%, a study has found. “Policymakers should take notice of this and other studies that demonstrate what's already working in some health care plans,” Len Nichols, Ph.D., director of the health policy program at the New America Foundation, a Washington think tank, said in a statement. “It's time to move away from the current fee-for-service payment system toward one that emphasizes value rather than volume, enhances the value of primary care, and holds providers accountable for quality and efficiency.” (Sou...
Source: Internal Medicine News - October 15, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: JOYCE FRIEDEN Tags: Practice Trends Source Type: journals

Aggressive Treatment of PainEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This article is meant to be educational and does not constitute medical, ethical, or legal advice. It is adapted from the author's book, “Medical Malpractice: Understanding the Law, Managing the Risk” (2006). For additional information, readers may contact the author at siang@hawaii.edu. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - October 15, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: S.Y. TAN Tags: Law & Medicine Source Type: journals

Marrow Lesions Tied to Knee OA With ExerciseEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
MONTREAL — The presence of bone marrow lesions in pain-free knees may be a marker for an increased risk of future osteoarthritis among people who participate in vigorous activity. However, it's not known whether a modified exercise program could reduce this risk, Dr. Anita Wluka said at the World Congress on Osteoarthritis. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - October 15, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: KATE JOHNSON Tags: Rheumatology Source Type: journals

PAD Prevalence High in Rheumatoid ArthritisEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
COPENHAGEN — Patients with rheumatoid arthritis have a substantially higher prevalence of peripheral artery disease than do similar people without rheumatoid arthritis, based on a case-control study with 101 subjects. (Source: Internal Medicine News)
Source: Internal Medicine News - October 15, 2009 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: MITCHEL L. ZOLER Tags: Rheumatology Source Type: journals