Copyright 2012 Medical News TodayLatest Health News and Medical News posted throughout the day, every day.http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/primary_care/admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin)editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors)en-us Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241263.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241263.phpThere are ways in which patients who leave the hospital against medical advice wind up paying for that decision. Being saddled with the full cost of their hospital stay, however, is not one of them. Insurance companies know this. Patients who walk out may know this. But many physicians, according to a study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, do not...Primary Care / General Practice Sat, 04 Feb 2012 09:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241165.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241165.phpAccording to an investigation of GPs (general practitioners) in one region of South East England, burnout levels in UK general practice are high. The study is published in BMJ Open...Primary Care / General Practice Sat, 04 Feb 2012 09:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241214.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241214.phpA Missouri State Medical Association, led by two Saint Louis University pediatricians, aims to raise awareness about the importance of getting children vaccinated and change the way in which doctors respond to parents' fears of vaccines. The campaign is the focus point of Ken Haller, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, and Anthony Scalzo, M.D...Immune System / Vaccines Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241127.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241127.phpTwo Saint Louis University pediatricians are leading a Missouri State Medical Association statewide effort to change the way doctors respond to parents' fears of vaccines, and to raise awareness about the importance of getting children vaccinated. Ken Haller, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, and Anthony Scalzo, M.D...Immune System / Vaccines Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241158.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241158.phpAccording to an analysis of complaints in the latest edition of inpractice, the Medical Defense Union's journal that appears twice a year and is aimed at GP practice manager members covering topics like complaints, RCN indemnity changes and dealing with estranged parents, over 90% of 2,410 complaints made by GP members in the year April 2009/2010 seem to have been resolved locally...Primary Care / General Practice Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241043.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241043.phpAfter a Pulse investigation uncovered several safety alerts within the Government's NHS 111 pilots, as well as expressing concern that GP commissioners are being excluded from the rollout - the GPC has been prompted to call for the program to be put on hold...Primary Care / General Practice Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240932.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240932.php A national cross-sectional survey of 500 primary care physicians in the US finds their weight may influence obesity diagnosis and care. Among the findings, published earlier this month in the journal Obesity, is the suggestion that doctors whose BMI is in the normal weight range are more likely to to discuss weight loss with patients than overweight or obese colleagues...Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240859.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240859.phpA patient's body mass index (BMI) may not be the only factor at play when a physician diagnoses a patient as obese. According to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the diagnosis could also depend on the weight of your physician...Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240845.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240845.phpIn Denmark, implementing a national fast track system for cancer patients reduced the waiting time between a patient's initial meeting with a health care provider and their first treatment by four weeks when comparing 2010 to 2002, according to a study presented at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium, sponsored by AHNS, ASCO, ASTRO and SNM...Cancer / Oncology Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240754.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240754.phpAccording to BMJ Careers, In April 2012, 94.2% of the emerging clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in England will be able to take on primary care trust commissioning budgets as they passed the strategic health authority (SHA) risk assessment of their configuration. Just 5...Primary Care / General Practice Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240739.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240739.phpLifestyle counseling, practiced as part of routine care for people with diabetes, helps people more quickly lower blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol levels and keep them under control, according to a large, long-term study published in the February issue of Diabetes Care...Diabetes Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240711.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240711.phpPhysician referral rates in the United States doubled between 1999 and 2009, a new study finds, an increase that likely contributes to the rising costs of health care. The increase in referral rates coincides with an increase in chronic conditions such as Type 2 diabetes...Primary Care / General Practice Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240712.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240712.phpFamily companions who routinely accompany older adults to physician office visits could be helpful to health care quality improvement efforts, according to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health...Primary Care / General Practice Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240675.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240675.phpAn Indiana University School of Medicine study has determined that a patient's socioeconomic status has more influence than race on physician diagnosis of whether a child's injury was accidental or caused by abuse...Pediatrics / Children's Health Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240566.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240566.phpThe impact of efforts by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to notify the general public and health care providers about unanticipated risks from approved medications has been "varied and unpredictable," according to a systematic review of published studies about FDA warnings and alerts over the last 20 years...Regulatory Affairs / Drug Approvals Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240569.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240569.phpMore than 20 percent of U.S. adults receive periodic health examinations (PHE) each year, yet new research shows that patients who have an annual routine visit to their doctor may not receive recommended preventive screening tests and counseling services that could benefit their health...Preventive Medicine Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240516.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240516.phpThe amount of needless suffering caused by both acute and chronic pain in the United States is a major, overlooked medical problem that requires improved education at multiple levels, stretching from the implementation of new public health campaigns to better training of primary care physicians in pain management...Pain / Anesthetics Thu, 12 Jan 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240197.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240197.phpGreater access to features of high-quality primary care - comprehensiveness, patient-centeredness and extended office hours - is associated with lower mortality, according to a new national UC Davis study...Primary Care / General Practice Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240097.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240097.php Caring for the growing number of people with multiple health conditions The January/February issue of Annals takes an up-close look at multimorbidity, the coexistence of multiple chronic health conditions in a single individual, a phenomenon that is growing at an alarming rate and bankrupting the U.S. health care system...Primary Care / General Practice Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240092.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240092.phpThe growing number of people with multiple physical and mental chronic conditions are among the toughest - and costliest - to care for. The TEAMcare collaborative care program is a promising solution...Primary Care / General Practice Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240074.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240074.phpA new study from the Economist Intelligence Unit on healthcare provision for an aging population showed that the overwhelming majority of surveyed health professionals (81%) is concerned about the way they will be treated when they grow old, and remain skeptical whether current policies to address demographic shift caused by an aging population are realistic, comprehensive or s...Primary Care / General Practice Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240078.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240078.phpAbout 130,000 BMA Doctors and medical students across the UK will be questioned regarding the government's final offer in negotiations on the future of the NHS pension scheme in a major survey that has been launched by the BMA (British Medical Association). The BMA intends to learn whether the participants' views on the offer are acceptable or not...Primary Care / General Practice Thu, 05 Jan 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/239931.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/239931.phpThe lives of hundreds of women could be saved every year, thanks to a simple online calculator that could help GPs identify women most at risk of having ovarian cancer at a much earlier stage. Academics from The University of Nottingham and ClinRisk Ltd have developed a new QCancer algorithm using the UK QResearch database...Ovarian Cancer Tue, 03 Jan 2012 02:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/239820.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/239820.php 1. Sixth Edition of American College of Physicians Ethics Manual Addresses New Topics and Expands on Recurrent Issues The American College of Physicians (ACP) has released the sixth edition of its Ethics Manual...Primary Care / General Practice Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/239507.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/239507.php Patients are overwhelmingly interested in exploring the notes doctors write about them after an office visit, but doctors worry about the impact of such transparency on their patients and on their own workflow, a Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) study suggests. In a study published in the Dec...Primary Care / General Practice