news, journals and articles from all over the world.
Even before the pandemic made telehealth a hot topic, people with minor urgent health needs had started to turn to companies that offer on-demand video chats. Some insurers and employers support this, hoping it might reduce in-person care, including emergency department visits. But a new study casts some doubt on whether that will actually happen.
Read moreNew study quantifies the effects of increasing the number of primary care physicians in areas with physician shortages
Increasing the number of primary care physicians in such regions could boost population life expectancy
More primary care physicians could mean fewer deaths in these shortage regions
Research from Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Sciences at UC San Diego suggests that light-intensity physical activity, including shopping or a casual walk, may protect against mobility disability in older women.
Read morePeople who take opioid medications for chronic pain may have a hard time finding a new primary care clinic that will take them on as a patient if they need one, according to a new “secret shopper” study of hundreds of clinics across the country.
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Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine will expand a statewide program to prevent driving under the influence of alcohol, cannabis and prescription drugs.
Read moreHow much time do primary care physicians actually spend one-on-one with patients? Analysis of timestamp data from electronic health records (EHRs) provides useful insights on exam length and other factors related to doctors’ use of time, reports a study in the January issue of Medical Care. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
Read moreThe number of people dealing with mental distress caused by enduring months of pandemic, economic disruption and political turmoil is rising fast. And America’s primary care clinics are the front line for many of those mental health concerns. A new online toolkit aims to help primary care clinics cope with this influx, and draw from the expertise of mental health specialists and researchers.
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UC San Diego was the first university in California to connect 40,000 student health records to the electronic health record platform of its top-ranked academic medical center, UC San Diego Health. The experience has created a model for other colleges.
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People with multiple depressive symptoms have an increased risk for stroke, with new findings showing that individuals who scored higher on a test designed to measure depressive symptoms had a higher stroke risk than those with lower scores.
Read moreThe COVID-19 pandemic has left many people with chronic health conditions relying on telemedicine rather than seeing their doctor in person when necessary or putting off important visits entirely because they fear being infected.
Ann M. Nguyen, an assistant research professor at Rutgers Center for State Health Policy at the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, who recently published a paper on safety measures at physician offices, discusses what people should know about visiting their doctor and why putting off appointments that need to be done in person could lead to other health problems.
Despite increased use of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans have had significantly fewer consultations with primary care doctors and markedly fewer assessments of common cardiac risk factors.
Read moreA new online toolkit can help primary care providers and their teams respond to the mental health challenges their patients may be facing because of the COVID-19 pandemic, including traumatic stress reactions, abuse potential, substance use and insomnia
Read moreHealthQuarters today announces a new venture with Mount Sinai Health System to expand access to world-class health care services.
Read moreDecades of effort have improved the chances that patients will get the scans, routine tests and medicines that can do them the most good – and avoid the ones that won’t help them at all.
But in the push toward evidence-based medicine, a new study says, a key step has mostly gotten overlooked: helping doctors stop or scale back – or deintensify – treatment once it has started.
UC San Diego Health continues to expand health care services by opening a new clinic located at 6030 Village Way in Pacific Highlands Ranch. The clinic offers primary care and women’s health services.
Read morePrimary care providers have experienced a rise in responsibilities with little or no increase in the time they have to get it all done, or reduction in the number of patients assigned to them. In two new papers, researchers look at issues facing them and offer frameworks for improvement.
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UC San Diego Health is ranked first in San Diego and sixth in California, placing it among the nation’s best hospitals, according to the 2020-2021 U.S. News & World Report. Eight common procedures and conditions were also rated “high performing.”
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UC San Diego Health now offers a telemedicine clinic to help patients with COVID-19 recover at home.
Read moreA new survey of U.S. primary care physicians from researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that nearly one-third, 32.9 percent, do not think treating opioid use disorder with medication is any more effective than treatment without medication.
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FAU Medicine, a primary care practice in Boca Raton is now offering “virtual visits” (telehealth) with its physicians. These virtual visits can be related to preventive care, check-ups, follow-ups or acute illnesses, including supporting patients who are concerned about the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Read moreMost resident physicians training in internal medicine do not feel adequately prepared to manage obesity in their patients, a new survey from a California residency program finds. The results were accepted for presentation at ENDO 2020, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, and will be published in a special supplemental section of the Journal of the Endocrine Society.
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For the third year in a row, the University of North Carolina School of Medicine was ranked first in the country for primary care education as a part of U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 edition of “America’s Best Graduate Schools.”
Read moreRates of diagnosed attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in veterans receiving care in the VA health system more than doubled during the past decade, reports a study in the March issue of Medical Care. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
Read moreNew guidelines recommend aspirin use in primary prevention for people ages 40 to 70 years old who are at higher risk of a first cardiovascular event, but not for those over 70. Yet, people over 70 are at higher risks of cardiovascular events than those under 70. As a result, health care providers are understandably confused about whether or not to prescribe aspirin for primary prevention of heart attacks or strokes, and if so, to whom.
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Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest not-for-profit health system in Texas, opened its newest full-service hospital today in Austin. Austin, located at 5251 W. U.S. Highway 290, Austin, TX 78735, becomes the System’s first hospital within Austin city limits. In addition to the hospital, a multi-specialty medical clinic will be located on the same campus as part of a comprehensive model of care.
SAD, or seasonal affective disorder, is a type of depression that is related to changes in seasons. There are methods, like light therapy, that can help.
Read moreNational analysis reveals alarming decline in primary care use. Primary care is associated with better health outcomes than episodic, inconsistent care.
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When Michigan expanded its Medicaid program to cover more low-income residents, its leaders built in special features to encourage enrollees to understand their health risks, and incentivize them to prevent future health problems, or find them early. According to two new studies, that effort has paid off.
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UC San Diego Health opens a new clinic in Eastlake that offers express care and imaging capabilities with primary care opening late 2019.
Read moreIn the first retrospective cohort study of the functional medicine model, Cleveland Clinic researchers found that functional medicine was associated with improvements in health-related quality of life. The study was published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open.
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Three primary care physicians from Western Connecticut Medical Group (WCMG) analyzed new research about several widely known “magic” health numbers and shared their health and wellness recommendations.
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A Veterans Health Administration program that added mental health specialists, care managers or both in primary care clinics significantly improved access to mental health and primary care services to veterans with behavioral health needs. The practice also resulted in 9% higher average annual costs for each patient.
Read moreSafety tips for outdoor activities, heat and sun, and water safety By Jay D’Orso, MD, Pediatrics and Internal Medicine, Western
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