Family Practice News articles from August 2008

Family Practice News archives from August 2008

Medical homes to test fee per patient.(Practice Trends)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Imagine being able to spend all the time you need to with the 20-year-old patient who is overweight and smokes. While a sore throat may have prompted the visit, given the time, you might be able to successfully...

Top 10 most expensive diagnoses.(VITAL SIGNS)(Table)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Top 10 Most Expensive Diagnoses (in millions of dollars) Aggregate hospital costs ...

Sleep apnea raised all-cause mortality in a 14-year study: the hazard ratio for dying reached 6.24.(News)
August 1, 2008... BALTIMORE -- Moderate to severe sleep apnea significantly increased the risk of all-cause mortality, according to 14 years of follow-up data from a large community sample. "Sleep apnea is a disease of public health significance," said...

Feds use carrot approach to promote e-prescribing.(News)
August 1, 2008... Federal officials are urging physicians to begin electronic prescribing as soon as possible now that Congress has authorized bonus payments for the successful use of the technology. Under the recently enacted Medicare Improvements for...

FDA reforms communication about approvals.(News)
August 1, 2008... The Food and Drug Administration will no longer issue "approvable" or "not approvable" letters when a drug application is not approved, but will instead issue a "complete response" letter at the end of the review period, the agency announced...

Assay for HER2 status in breast cancer approved.(News)(SPOT-Light by Invitrogen Corp.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The Food and Drug Administration has approved a novel assay for assessing HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) status in breast cancer patients being considered for treatment with trastuzumab. The SPOT-Light test, manufactured by...

New diabetes drugs must meet heart health tests: the recommendations were intended for new drugs, and suggestions for existing drugs weren't as specific.(News)
August 1, 2008... SILVER SPRING, MD. -- At a meeting earlier this month, a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel agreed in a 14-2 vote that developers of new drugs or biologics for type 2 diabetes should be required to conduct a long-term study evaluating...

FDA panels reject suicidality warning for antiepileptic drugs.(News)
August 1, 2008... BELTSVILLE, MD. -- A boxed warning about an increased suicidality risk with the use of antiepileptic drugs should not be added to the labels of drugs in this class, but patients prescribed these drugs should receive information about this risk...

Tendinitis warning is added to fluoroquinolones.(News)
August 1, 2008... The Food and Drug Administration has announced that manufacturers of fluoroquinolone drugs will be required to add a boxed warning to the label and provide a medication guide for patients explaining the increased risk of tendinitis and tendon...

AMA apology for racial inequity is just a starting point, experts say.(News)(American Medical Association)
August 1, 2008... African American physicians are looking for action to back up the words of apology recently tendered by the American Medical Association for more than a century of racial inequity and bias. In accepting the AMA's apology, the National...

Joint commission rules target infection control.(News)
August 1, 2008... The Joint Commission has issued new requirements for hospitals in a bid to prevent infections from multidrug-resistant organisms, central line-associated bloodstream infections, and surgical site infections. The requirements, which are part...

Washington-based hospital is ahead of the curve in cutting central-line infections.(News)
August 1, 2008... The physicians, nurses, and other clinical staffers at Tacoma (Wash.) General Hospital aren't sweating the new Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations" requirements on central line-associated bloodstream infections that...

Implications of diabetes diagnosis.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... I take issue with Dr. Rhoda Cobin's claim that there were "few arguments against" the recent recommendation that women with polycystic ovary syndrome be screened for diabetes ("Glucose Tolerance Tests Urged for All With PCOS," Jan. 15, 2008, p....

Should hospitals be required to screen patients for infections at the time of admission? Screening holds the key to prevention.(Point/Counterpoint)
August 1, 2008... In 2007, 2.4% of all hospitalized patients had methicillin-resistant Stahylococcus aureus health care infections, according to a survey of U.S. hospitals. That means at least 880,000 patients a year are infected by one superbug. Action is...

Should hospitals be required to screen patients for infections at the time of admission? More data are needed.(Point/Counterpoint)
August 1, 2008... Hospitals have a long track record of preventing health care-associated infections. Still, no one knows better than the caring professionals who work in hospitals that we have to do more to protect patients from infection. There are three...

In atrial fib, quality of life shifts for spouses, too.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(atrial fibrillation)
August 1, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO -- Atrial fibrillation affects the quality of life of both patients and their spouses in equal measure, a survey of 264 patients and 94 spouses suggests. "When you're educating patients about atrial fibrillation, it's...

Postmenopausal women on statins are less prone to AF.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(atrial fibrillation)
August 1, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO -- Postmenopausal women with coronary heart disease were less likely to develop atrial fibrillation if they were taking statins, a secondary analysis of data on 2,673 patients found. The prevalence of atrial fibrillation was...

Data support assessing heart health in children with NAFLD.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
August 1, 2008... Overweight or obese children who have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease appear to be at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to study findings. This subset of overweight children also appears to have a high incidence of...

ABI undervalued in assessing cardiovascular risk.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
August 1, 2008... The ankle-brachial index, a measurement that is commonly used by vascular specialists but not by other providers, adds such important information to cardiovascular risk assessment that it could now be incorporated into that process routinely,...

Repeat measurements unveil masked hypertension.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
August 1, 2008... NEW ORLEANS -- "Masked hypertension," which is thought to affect about one in eight individuals, can be identified through repeated office blood pressure measurements in persons who show discrepancy between office and home blood pressure...

Note forearm bone density in prostate Ca patients.(Metabolic Disorders)
August 1, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO -- Checking bone mineral density in the forearm as well as the spine and hip in 181 men taking androgen deprivation therapy identified more patients with bone loss than did using densitometry on the spine and hip alone, according...

Watch for risks to bone health in continuous androgen deprivation.(Metabolic Disorders)
August 1, 2008... CHICAGO -- Six or more months of continuous androgen deprivation therapy was associated with significantly increased risk of fragility fractures and type 2 diabetes in an observational study of nearly 20,000 men aged 66 years and older with...

Atorvastatin tied to fewer cardiac events in diabetics.(Metabolic Disorders)
August 1, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO -- All statins may not be created equal as far as diabetes patients are concerned, according to a recent study. In patients with diabetes initiating statin therapy for the first time, those who took atorvastatin experienced...

Type 2 diabetes overtakes type 1 in Hispanic girls.(Metabolic Disorders)
August 1, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO -- From age 15 years onward, Hispanic females in the United States are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with incident type 2 diabetes than type 1 diabetes, according to an analysis of data from the Search for Diabetes in...

Glucose monitoring in type 2 diabetics is often inadequate.(Metabolic Disorders)
August 1, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO -- Only about 40% of patients who were newly prescribed oral antidiabetes drugs received a fasting plasma glucose test, according to findings in a recent study. In addition, only about half of patients received any hemoglobin...

Hyperglycemia postpartum may flag metabolic syndrome risk.(Metabolic Disorders)
August 1, 2008... Gestational impaired glucose tolerance, defined by a single abnormal value at 1 hour during the oral glucose tolerance test, is associated with many of the same adverse outcomes as gestational diabetes mellitus, including postpartum glycemia,...

Data reassure on pregnancy outcomes in diabetes.(Metabolic Disorders)
August 1, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO -- Pregnancy outcomes for women with diabetes who maintain excellent glucose control during their pregnancy are very good, and are similar to those seen in the general population, according to the results of a retrospective study....

Pneumococcal vaccine schedule questions persist.(Infectious Diseases)
August 1, 2008... ATLANTA -- Recommendations regarding use of the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine in high-risk children aged 24-59 months who previously received the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine remain to be finalized after discussion of...

Patches, food among new vaccine delivery methods.(Expert Commentary)
August 1, 2008... New vaccines in the pipeline offer needleless alternatives that will help alleviate the human pincushion problem as well as facilitate immunization in the developing world. Transdermal patches, oral administration via food or drink, and new...

HPV vaccine approval for older women delayed.(Infectious Diseases)(human papillomavirus)
August 1, 2008... The expanded approval of the currently marketed human papillomavirus vaccine to women aged 27-45 years is being held up, at least until the manufacturer addresses some outstanding issues. In a statement issued in late June the manufacturer...

Reimbursement woes loom over HPV vaccinations.(Infectious Diseases)
August 1, 2008... NEW ORLEANS -- Getting reimbursed is the top concern for physicians who offer the human papillomavirus vaccine, according to a survey by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston. Using a Web-based tool, Brigham resident Dr. Emily...

Acceptance of sunless tanning products is rising.(Skin Disorders)
August 1, 2008... KYOTO, JAPAN -- The use of sunless tanning products by American women is on the rise, with the most cited reason by users being the topical products safety as an alternative to sunbathing and tanning beds. This is a most welcome trend....

Mounting evidence points to psoriasis as an independent risk factor for CVD.(Skin Disorders)
August 1, 2008... MONTREAL -- Psoriasis is an independent risk factor for increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, according to a growing number of studies and new guidelines from the American Academy of Dermatology. Based on this evidence, it is...

Plaque psoriasis tied to arterial stiffness.(Skin Disorders)
August 1, 2008... KYOTO, JAPAN -- Severe chronic plaque psoriasis is associated with increased arterial stiffness independent of conventional cardiovascular risk factors, reported Dr. Giampiero Girolomoni. This arterial stiffness, a reflection of endothelial...

Ask new mothers about corporal punishment.(Mental Health)
August 1, 2008... HONOLULU -- Corporal punishment was being used by 1 in 7 mothers to discipline their 11-month-olds in a prospective study of 1,378 mothers. Dr. Esther K. Chung, primary investigator, said the findings suggest that physicians may want to...

Mental ills, pregnancy studied.(Mental Health)
August 1, 2008... Pregnancy does not raise the risk of developing any of the most prevalent mental disorders, with the notable exception of postpartum depression, according to the findings of a survey. Pregnant and postpartum women are widely considered to...

Prevalence of ADHD is up among older children.(Mental Health)
August 1, 2008... The percentage of adolescents being diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is on the rise, but prevalence rates remain constant among younger children, a new study shows. In children aged 12-17 years, the prevalence of...

Use of SSRIs, SNRIs is tied to upper GI bleeding.(Mental Health)(use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors elevate risk of gastrointestinal hemorrhage)
August 1, 2008... Antidepressants that block action on the serotonin reuptake mechanism seem to raise the risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding to the same degree that antiplatelet drugs do, according to data from a case-control study involving over 11,000...

Eating disorder classifications of adolescents shift over time.(Mental Health)
August 1, 2008... SEATTLE -- Sizable proportions of adolescents progress along a spectrum of eating-disordered behavior over time, highlighting the importance of early detection and intervention, Diann M. Ackard, Ph.D., said at an international conference...

Asthma drugs, anorectal atresia may be related.(Women's Health)
August 1, 2008... MONTEREY, CALIF. -- Women who take anti-inflammatories for asthma during the first trimester of pregnancy have an elevated risk of giving birth to an infant with anorectal atresia, according to results of a multicenter, case-control study of...

Screen, intervene to help pregnant substance abusers.(Women's Health)
August 1, 2008... CHICAGO -- Careful screening for substance abuse in pregnant women and recognizing that intervention can make a difference for these patients and their offspring are two important ways to improve obstetric outcomes. Physicians might also...

FDA to revise risk categories.(Drugs, Pregnancy, And Lactation)(United States Food and Drug Administration)
August 1, 2008... The Food and Drug Administration has proposed revisions to the longstanding system of pregnancy category labeling for all medications. The current system has classified the reproductive safety of medications across five risk categories--A, B,...

MRI increases mastectomy in early breast cancer.(Women's Health)(magnetic resonance imaging)
August 1, 2008... Preoperative magnetic resonance imaging may be a factor in the rising rate of mastectomy in women with early-stage breast cancer, a study suggests. Investigators reviewed 5,596 stage 0-II breast cancers in 5,463 women who underwent surgery...

Leptin, ghrelin levels eyed in amenorrheic athletes.(Women's Health)
August 1, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO -- Athletic teenage girls who are amenorrheic have higher ghrelin and lower leptin levels than do athletic girls who are eumenorrheic or girls who are nonathletic, according to a small study. The findings could help tease out...

Citalopram seems effective in the reduction of hot flashes in trial.(Women's Health)
August 1, 2008... CHICAGO -- Citalopram may be an effective option for reducing hot flashes, having performed twice as well as placebo in a randomized, placebo-controlled phase Ill trial conducted by the North Central Cancer Treatment Group. "Hot flash...

More young men have stage IV prostate cancer.(Men's Health)
August 1, 2008... CHICAGO -- Advanced prostate cancer is being diagnosed increasingly in younger men aged 60 years or less in the United States, despite the widespread availability of prostate-specific antigen testing, according to epidemiologic evidence...

Even low-grade prostate cancers need follow-up.(Men's Health)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... ORLANDO -- Metastasis occurs after surgical removal of low-grade prostate cancer in some men, suggesting that close follow-up is warranted. Although there is an overall 30% recurrence rate a decade after prostatectomy, a man with a Gleason...

Natalizumab cuts hospitalization rates in Crohn's.(Digestive Disorders)(Crohn's disease)
August 1, 2008... SAN DIEGO -- Treatment with natalizumab significantly reduced the rates of overall hospitalization and disease-specific hospitalization for adults with Crohn's disease, according to data from 1,373 adults presented at the annual Digestive...

Methotrexate failed to boost infliximab's benefit in Crohn's.(Digestive Disorders)(Crohn's disease)
August 1, 2008... SAN DIEGO -- Adding methotrexate to infliximab was not superior to infliximab alone in Crohn's disease, according to a presentation at Digestive Disease Week. Both drugs are effective on their own, but it was not known whether a...

Older age is a strong predictor of early mortality after GI bleeding.(Digestive Disorders)(gastrointestinal hemorrhage)
August 1, 2008... SAN DIEGO -- Older age was the strongest predictor of early mortality in adults with gastrointestinal bleeding after investigators controlled for medications and comorbidities, according to data from more than 1,000 adults treated at a single...

Risk factors predict acetaminophen hepatotoxicity.(Digestive Disorders)
August 1, 2008... Patients hospitalized for acetaminophen overdose had a 4.5% rate of acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity in a population-based study, according to Dr. Robert P Myers and his associates. In a multivariate analysis of residents of Calgary and...

Indeterminate liver failure is often due to acetaminophen.(Digestive Disorders)
August 1, 2008... SAN DIEGO -- As many as 18%-20% of cases of indeterminate acute liver failure may be the result of unrecognized acetaminophen toxicity, according to a presentation at the annual Digestive Disease Week. The etiology is unknown in about 15%...

Metformin improves weight loss, satiety in kids.(Obesity)
August 1, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO -- Metformin is associated with modest weight loss and some improvements in signs of metabolic syndrome in obese children with severe hyperinsulinemia, a government-sponsored randomized controlled trial has concluded. But...

Study shows favorable gastric banding outcomes in teen cohort.(Obesity)
August 1, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO -- Teens who underwent laparoscopic gastric banding surgery had improvements in hemoglobin [A.sub.1c], triglyceride, and C-reactive protein measures, according to 6-month follow-up results for 14 patients. The Lap-Band, made...

Mediterranean, low-carb diets found as effective as AHA diet.(Obesity)(American Heart Association)
August 1, 2008... Both the Mediterranean diet and the low-carbohydrate (Atkins) diet proved to be as safe and effective for inducing weight loss in moderately obese subjects as was the American Heart Association's low-fat, restricted-calorie diet, according to a...

MRSA infections are seen in patients on anti-TNF therapy.(Musculoskeletal Disorders)
August 1, 2008... PARIS -- Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections have been reported for the first time in patients with rheumatoid arthritis being treated with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors. In a poster presented at the annual European...

High coffee intake kicks up the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.(Musculoskeletal Disorders)
August 1, 2008... PARIS -- Heavy coffee drinking was associated with progression of undifferentiated arthritis to rheumatoid arthritis in an analysis of data from a Norwegian early arthritis clinic. The study included 280 patients aged 18-75 years with...

In older adults, running is not linked to knee OA.(Musculoskeletal Disorders)(osteoarthritis)
August 1, 2008... Long-distance running among older adults has no effect on the development of radiographic osteoarthritis, according a small, prospective study comparing a population of runners with community-matched controls. The study looked at 45...

Urate levels may be normal in gout.(Musculoskeletal Disorders)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... PARIS -- Serum urate levels are often normal during acute gouty arthritis attacks, according to Dr. Naomi Schlesinger. In a study of 339 patients, 29% of individuals on chronicallopurinol had a true-normal serum urate level, defined as 6...

Osteoarthritis knee pain eased by duloxetine.(Musculoskeletal Disorders)
August 1, 2008... PARIS -- Duloxetine once daily at 60 a 120 mg significantly improved knee osteoarthritis pain starting in week 1 of a 13 week placebo-controlled double-blind trial. Results of this positive study served as the partial basis for a recent...

Education key to preventing female athlete triad.(Sports Medicine)
August 1, 2008... SEATTLE -- Education and the collaborative efforts of a team of professionals are important for preventing the female athlete triad, according to Sharon H. Thompson, Ed.D. The definition of the female athlete triad has been expanded...

Ergogenic agents offer few benefits and plenty of risks.(Sports Medicine)
August 1, 2008... VANCOUVER, B.C. -- When it comes to improving performance in young athletes, the tried and true approaches--such as a balanced diet and adequate training--trump the energy drinks, supplements, and drugs. Although anabolic androgenic...

Celecoxib reduced lung lesion biomarker levels.(Pulmonary Medicine)(Clinical report)
August 1, 2008... CHICAGO -- Short-term treatment with high-dose celecoxib reduced expression levels for a biomarker associated with pre-cancerous lung lesions in a chemoprevention study of about 200 current and former smokers, according to data presented at the...

Look beyond asthma in assessing absenteeism.(Pulmonary Medicine)
August 1, 2008... HONOLULU -- Insight into what's happening at home may help to explain behavior problems and school absenteeism in children with asthma, according to studies presented at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies. Researchers...

Dopaminergics appear to impair impulse control.(Clinical Rounds)
August 1, 2008... CHICAGO -- Evidence continues to mount that dopaminergic therapy increases the odds of impulse control disorders in patients with Parkinson's disease. Dopamine agonist (DA)-treated patients had two- to threefold elevated odds of having a...

Drug improved sleep in fibromyalgia.(Clinical Rounds)(Clinical report)
August 1, 2008... PHOENIX -- Preliminary data on the off-label use of sodium oxybate suggest that it improved sleep in a randomized, placebo-controlled study of 151 patients with fibromyalgia who completed 8 weeks of treatment at 21 medical centers. The...

Diagnosing ICDs in Parkinson's patients is tricky.(Clinical Rounds)(impulse control disorders)
August 1, 2008... Impulse control disorders in Parkinson's disease are often undiagnosed as patients tend to deny or minimize their existence, according to Dr. Howard D. Weiss. Among 165 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's followed in community-based...

Doxycycline may ease daily persistent headache.(Clinical Rounds)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... BOSTON -- Doxycycline reduced headache frequency and intensity in a small, open-label investigation of patients with treatment-resistant new daily persistent headache who had elevated cerebrospinal fluid levels of tumor necrosis factor-[alpha]....

Physical activity slumps in kids.(Clinical Capsules)
August 1, 2008... Levels of moderate to vigorous physical activity show a "striking" decline between ages 9 and 15 years, according to a study of more than 1,000 children. At ages 9 and 11, almost all children in a national survey were well above the...

Vasopressin of no benefit in CPR.(Clinical Capsules)(cardiopulmonary resuscitation)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Adding vasopressin to standard epinephrine therapy was found to be "of no benefit" during advanced resuscitation for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, according to Dr. Pierre-Yves Gueugniaud of the University of Lyon (France) and his associates....

HIV mortality tracks general population.(Clinical Capsules)
August 1, 2008... Mortality rates in people infected with HIV are now approaching those of the general population, at least for the first 5 years of the infection, reported Krishnan Bhaskaran of the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit, London, and his...

Regulation would curb family planning services.(Practice Trends)
August 1, 2008... Reproductive rights advocates are mobilizing against an effort by the Bush administration to redefine abortion in a way that could limit access to family planning services. Last month, officials at the Department of Health and Human...

CMS issues PQRI payments.(Policy & Practice)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Physician Quality Reporting Initiative)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Physicians who successfully reported quality measures to Medicare in 2007 as part of the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative should be receiving their bonus payments this month. Officials at the Centers tot Medicare and Medicaid Services...

Drugs easy to get online.(Policy & Practice)(report of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Despite a decline in the number of Web sites advertising or selling prescriptions for controlled substances, 85% of sites selling such drugs in the past year did not require a prescription, according to a new report by the National Center on...

Claims by dead doctors paid.(Policy & Practice)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... In the past 8 years, Medicare has paid more than $76.6 million in durable medical equipment claims that contained the Unique Physician Identification Numbers of dead physicians, according to a congressional subcommittee investigation. The...

Pharmacies, PBMs merge networks.(Policy & Practice)(pharmacy benefit managers)(RxHub.net and SureScripts Systems Inc.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... RxHub, founded in 2001 by the nation's three largest pharmacy benefit managers, and SureScripts, formed the same year by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the National Community Pharmacists Association, announced that they will...

N.J. expands coverage.(Policy & Practice)(New Jersey)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) has signed a bill that will require all children in the state to have health insurance within a year. The bill also expands coverage to more low-income parents. The legislation is the first step toward universal...

Infection control experts renamed.(Policy & Practice)
August 1, 2008... Call them infection preventionists. In what it said was an effort to better articulate the expanding roles of its members, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology has offered a new moniker for its members. The...

Physicians urged to get in the pay-for-performance game.(Practice Trends)
August 1, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Physicians may never embrace pay for performance with open arms, but they need to get in the game. That was the message delivered by policy experts speaking at meeting of annum research meeting of Academy Health. Hospitals...

Medicare advisers protest agency plan to publish PQRI information.(Practice Trends)(Physician Quality Reporting Initiative)
August 1, 2008... WASHINGTON -- A panel of Medicare advisors warned agency officials against moving forward with a proposal to make public a list of doctors participating in a voluntary federal quality reporting effort. The Physician Quality Reporting...

New pediatric vaccines add up to costly burden.(Practice Trends)
August 1, 2008... HONOLULU -- A complex regimen of 21 vaccines added to the routine child immunization schedule since 2000 has left many health care providers shaking their heads. Dr. Andrew D. Racine took his frustration one step further, and took out his...

Keep an eye on direct-to-consumer testing.(Genomic Medicine)
August 1, 2008... In the last 3 years, the advent of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) has facilitated the discovery of more than 180 markers for risk of a growing list of common chronic diseases, such as cancers, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and...

Lessons for reform from our colleagues abroad.(Practice Trends)
August 1, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Analysis of other countries' health care systems has pointed out what might work--and what won't work--in efforts to reform the U.S. system. At the annual meeting of the American College of Physicians, ACP senior vice...

Has the time come for universal coverage?(Law & Medicine)
August 1, 2008... With Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), a staunch supporter of patient rights and health care, now battling brain cancer, the subject of health care in our nation becomes all the more poignant. In a two-part series, we will consider this...