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Telemedicine has been used to connect patients in rural areas with providers, and to obtain quick access to a neurologist when patients present with symptoms of stroke.
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Women with gestational diabetes who received telephone-based management from a nurse had a lower risk of high birth weight for newborns in a study conducted by the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research.
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Entering an overly complete history and examination on a patient presenting with a minor or simple complaint is one danger with electronic medical records (EMRs), especially when time-stamping makes such a lengthy examination unlikely, warns John Davenport, MD, JD, physician risk manager of a California-based health maintenance organization.
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While generally citing continued reductions in key health care associated infections (HAIs), a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveillance report also revealed some outliers with high infection rates.
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When hospitals hire more nurses with four-year degrees, patient deaths following common surgeries decrease, according to new research by the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in Philadelphia, as reported in the March issue of Health Affairs. Less than half the nations nurses (45%) have baccalaureate degrees, according to the most recent data available (2008).
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Compliance with the bloodborne pathogen standard from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is an ongoing issue, and now apparent lack of compliance has resulted in a proposed $68,000 fine for a surgery center regarding claims that it failed to protect workers exposed to bloodborne pathogen hazards.
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Few ideas I come up with or speak about are original. Sometimes I think they are, but I might have heard them from a doc, nurse, Seinfeld show, or a conference.
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Technological advancements in medicine have allowed patients suffering from musculoskeletal conditions such as hip and knee pain to regain mobility and live relatively pain-free. But some high-risk surgical devices that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are not required to go through clinical trials, where a product is tested to determine its safety and effectiveness.
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In recent discussions, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), for the first time, proposed equalization between hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) for certain procedures, according to the ASC Association.
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While many women are hearing about the claimed advantages of robotic surgery for hysterectomy, thanks to widespread marketing and advertising, robotic surgery is not the best minimally invasive approach for hysterectomy, according to James T. Breeden, MD, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).