Family Practice News articles from January 2005

Family Practice News archives from January 2005

Technology helps revive house calls.(News)
January 1, 2005... ORLANDO, FLA. -- House calls are no longer a thing of the past. Technology, which was largely responsible for the demise of physician house calls, is now the catalyst for their revival, Thomas A. Cornwell, M.D., said at the annual meeting...

Many Americans favor federal price controls on medical costs.(Vital Signs)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... VITAL SIGNS Many Americans Favor Federal Price Controls on Medical Costs Prescription drugs 60% Hospital charges 55% Physician bills 48% Note: Based on a nationwide survey of 1,012 adults conducted Aug. 10-15,...

Diabetes screens are too common in elderly patients: strongest predictor of screening was age.(News)
January 1, 2005... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Screening for diabetes occurs most commonly among the elderly--the age group least likely to benefit from early detection and treatment of the metabolic disorder, John P. Muench, M.D., said at Wonca 2004, the conference of the...

ABFP addresses 'Process B' recertification failures.(News)(American Board of Family Practice)
January 1, 2005... The American Board of Family Practice is revising its recertification exam to address those physicians whose practices do not include the full spectrum of conventional family medicine. Steadily increasing failure rates in "'first time"...

Female sex dysfunction patch nixed.(News)
January 1, 2005... GAITHERSBURG, MD. -- A federal advisory panel unanimously recommended against approval of a testosterone patch for treating hypoactive sexual desire in surgically menopausal women on estrogen therapy, calling for more long-term safety studies...

Liability, malpractice top 2005 health agenda.(News)
January 1, 2005... While medical liability and health care reform remain the top issues for many physicians this year, of particular urgency is a fix to Medicare's flawed payment formula, which threatens cuts of up to 5% in 2006 and cumulative cuts of 30% through...

Feds order flu vaccine from German facility.(News)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Federal health officials continue to seek solutions to the U.S. influenza vaccine shortage, including procuring up to 4 million doses from GlaxoSmithKline, the Health and Human Services Department announced. GlaxoSmithKline began shipping...

Surgery no better than rehab for low back pain.(News)
January 1, 2005... CHICAGO -- There is no clear evidence that spinal surgery is more effective than an adequate rehabilitation program for chronic low back pain, James Wilson-Macdonald, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the North American Spine Society. ...

A question of values.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... I was surprised by your recent choice of contributor for the Guest Editorial ("The Values Debate in Health Care," Dec. 15, 2004, p. 11). Leonard D. Schaeffer was scheduled to receive a payment (cash and stock options) estimated at $337...

Bearing the costs.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... According to Arthur Levin, director of the Center for Medical Consumers, "It certainly isn't fair to be asking patients to underwrite the cost of doing business with physicians" ("Liability Surcharge Keeps FP Practicing," Nov. 1, 2004, p. 1)....

Banish the horizontal filing cabinet.(Guest Editorial)
January 1, 2005... Do you have stacks and stacks of "important" tasks piled on your desk? If so, you're far from alone. A majority of the physicians' desktops I've seen are littered with letters, folders, journals, charts, mail, books, and other paraphernalia,...

Is CABG associated with an increased risk of neurocognitive degeneration?(Pro & Con)(coronary artery bypass grafting)
January 1, 2005... YES Surgery--specifically, coronary artery bypass grafting represents a traumatic insult to the brain, particularly by reducing oxygen supply to the brain and increasing the stress response. There are well documented studies that report...

Studies identify risk factors for atrial fibrillation.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
January 1, 2005... NEW ORLEANS -- Taller stature boosted the risk of atrial fibrillation while better blood pressure control cut the risk in a pair of studies presented at the annual scientific sessions of the American Heart Association. Taller height was...

Cardiac prevention should target midlife women.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... ATLANTA -- Better cardiac disease awareness and prevention programs that target younger women are needed, according to at least two studies presented at a prevention conference on heart disease and stroke sponsored by the Centers for Disease...

Enterococcal endocarditis carries good prognosis.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
January 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Enterococcal native valve endocarditis has a clinical picture distinct from that of other types of endocarditis and is generally associated with a better prognosis, Jay R. McDonald, M.D., reported in a poster presentation at the...

Are ACE inhibitors needed in all CAD patients?(Cardiovascular Medicine)(coronary artery disease )
January 1, 2005... NEW ORLEANS -- No sooner had the ink dried on new American College of Physicians practice guidelines calling for ACE inhibitor therapy in patients with coronary artery disease than the document was rendered outdated by a new megatrial. The...

PET/CT may prove to be an alternative to angiography.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
January 1, 2005... PHILADELPHIA -- The race to find clinical cardiology applications for combined PET/CT technology is officially on, now that the results from the first round of studies have been presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear...

Coronary calcium flags CAD risks in diabetics.(Metabolic Disorders)(coronary artery disease)
January 1, 2005... NEW YORK -- A coronary calcium score was an effective, initial screen for coronary artery disease in asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes in a study of 510 patients. Coronary calcium "may be the most cost effective and feasible way"...

Cardiovascular risk profiles improve statin compliance for diabetic patients.(Metabolic Disorders)
January 1, 2005... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Giving patients with diabetes printed reports with individualized cardiovascular risk profiles helped the patients improve their cholesterol levels in a randomized study. "It's like a report card. It makes a difference when...

Acarbose cost effective in delaying diabetes.(Metabolic Disorders)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... MUNICH -- Treating patients with impaired glucose tolerance who also have a high risk of cardiovascular disease with acarbose is cost-effective when balanced against the savings in terms of cases of type 2 diabetes and its cardiovascular...

T3 therapy called not ready for prime time.(Metabolic Disorders)(Triiodothyronine therapy )(Panel Discussion)
January 1, 2005... VANCOUVER -- Triiodothyronine therapy is most definitely not a treatment whose time has come, a panel of experts agreed at a satellite symposium held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Thyroid Association. Despite more...

Metformin may reverse PCOS in some girls: two randomized trials show improvement in weight, lipid profiles of prepubertal patients.(Metabolic Disorders)
January 1, 2005... NEW ORLEANS -- Metformin appeared to reverse the features of polycystic ovary syndrome when given to prepubertal girls with a history of low birth weight and precocious puberty in two small randomized studies. When metformin was withdrawn...

Estrogen used to suppress growth in adolescence linked to later infertility.(Metabolic Disorders)
January 1, 2005... High-dose estrogen therapy for tall stature in adolescent girls appears to reduce fertility later in life, according to a retrospective cohort study. Estrogen has been used for years in the United States, Europe, and Australia to limit the...

Growth hormone increases adults' exercise capacity.(Metabolic Disorders)
January 1, 2005... NEW ORLEANS -- Physiologic doses of growth hormone can increase exercise capacity in adults with growth hormone deficiency, as well as improve their body composition and lipid levels, Jostein Hallen, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the...

Are fluoroquinolones overprescribed for CAP?(Infectious Diseases)(community-acquired pneumonia)
January 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Inconsistent and unclear guidelines may be contributing to overprescribing of fluoroquinolones to treat community-acquired pneumonia, said Conan MacDougall, Pharm.D., and colleagues in a poster presentation at the Interscience...

Short antibiotic course works for most mild to moderate pneumonia.(Infectious Diseases)(community-acquired pneumonia)
January 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Three days of antibiotics were as effective as 8 days for curing or substantially improving patients with mild to moderate, community-acquired pneumonia in a controlled study with 119 patients done in the Netherlands. ...

Quinolones compare in elderly with pneumonia.(Infectious Diseases)
January 1, 2005... SEATTLE -- Elderly patients with community-acquired pneumonia who took moxifloxacin were more likely to have symptom relief by day 3-5 of therapy than were those who took levofloxacin, results from a prospective trial have found. ...

Boostrix stacks up to current pertussis vaccines.(Infectious Diseases)
January 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- GlaxoSmithKline's candidate reduce&antigen content tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis booster vaccine for adolescents compares favorably with other currently licensed vaccines, Leonard Friedland, M.D., reported at the annual...

Parasite may be the cause of new-onset seizures.(Infectious Diseases)
January 1, 2005... MIAMI BEACH -- Public health officials are stepping up efforts to combat cysticercosis, a parasitic infection with dire neurologic consequences that is on the rise in the United States, according to James H. Maguire, M.D., chief of the...

Sneak peak: CDC updates travelers' health book.(Infectious Diseases)(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
January 1, 2005... MIAMI BEACH -- The next edition of "Health Information for International Travel," also known as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's "'Yellow Book," will be more clinically oriented and will include new chapters on specific...

Daily TB meds = fewer relapses.(Infectious Diseases)(tuberculosis patients)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Daily treatment may be superior to the standard three-times-weekly treatment for preventing early relapse in tuberculosis patients. In a nested case-control study of 12,183 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis who completed treatment in 1...

Gonorrhea associated with prostate cancer risk.(Infectious Diseases)
January 1, 2005... SAN FRANCISCO -- African American men with a history of gonorrhea were more likely to develop prostate cancer than were those without gonorrhea in a case-control study of 836 African American men, reported Aruna V. Sarma, Ph.D. The...

Bicillin labels changed to avoid confusion.(Infectious Diseases)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... King Pharmaceuticals Inc. and the Food and Drug Administration are warning physicians about the inappropriate use of Bicillin C-R (penicillin G benzathine and penicillin G procaine injectable suspension) for the treatment of syphilis. ...

Contact dermatitis? Consider patients' clothing.(Skin Disorders)
January 1, 2005... BETHESDA, MD. -- Formaldehyde resins found in permanent press clothes may cause some cases of contact dermatitis. "Clinically, you have to have a high index of suspicion whenever anyone comes in with a chronic eczematous rash," Ryan...

Chronic urticaria.(Drug Update)
January 1, 2005... Antihistamines are the mainstay of treatment for chronic idiopathic urticaria. Determining which to use depends on symptom severity, cost, tolerability, and other factors. Most allergists initiate treatment with a nonsedating antihistamine or...

HPV may play role in skin carcinogenesis.(Skin Disorders)(human papillomavirus infection )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... VIENNA -- Cutaneous human papillomavirus infection may play a role in the development of skin cancer, Ingo Nindl, Ph.D., reported at the annual meeting of the European Society for Dermatological Research. Infection by the same HPV variants...

Registry mandated for isotretinoin use.(Skin Disorders)
January 1, 2005... The Food and Drug Administration will scrap isotretinoin's handful of voluntary risk management programs in favor of one mandatory, more restrictive system like that used for thalidomide. Although many physicians are relieved that...

Study shows tacrolimus better for atopic dermatitis.(Skin Disorders)
January 1, 2005... NEW YORK -- Tacrolimus proved to be more efficacious and no more irritating than pimecrolimus in the first large head-to-head comparison of the two topical immunomodulators in patients with atopic dermatitis, Dr. Alan B. Fleischer Jr. said at...

High Th2 cytokine levels may contribute to superinfections in atopic dermatitis.(Skin Disorders)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... VIENNA -- Levels of some of the skin's key innate antimicrobial peptides are abnormally low in patients with atopic dermatitis, perhaps accounting for the high rate of bacterial and viral superinfections in this population, Jurgen Harder, M.D.,...

Derm Dx.(Skin Disorders)
January 1, 2005... A 77-year-old man presented with a subcentimeter lesion in his left groin. A punch biopsy was performed, and the initial diagnosis was Merkel cell cancer. Two months later, a follow-up examination revealed a 1-cm-by-l-cm raised nodular mass in...

Adverse reactions seen with cosmetic fillers.(Skin Disorders)
January 1, 2005... BELFAST -- In the burgeoning world of injectable cosmetic fillers, nothing is actually inert, Debjani Sahni, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the British Association of Dermatologists. The new so called biologically inert fillers have...

Dual regimen optimizes hair-loss treatment.(Skin Disorders)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... NEW YORK -- Two drugs may be better than one for treating androgenetic alopecia in men. The drugs are oral finasteride (Propecia) and topical minoxidil (Rogaine), Kenneth J. Washenik, M.D., said at a dermatology conference sponsored by New...

Concerta 72 mg, Allegra-D 24 hour.(New & Approved)
January 1, 2005... Concerta 72-mg Regimen (methylphenidate HCl extended-release tablets, McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals/ALZA Corp.) The Food and Drug Administration approved a new dosing regimen for Concerta (methylphenidate HCl) Extended-Release...

Meds + therapy produce loss in binge eaters: remission was achieved by nearly two-thirds of the combination group vs. about one-third of controls.(Mental Health)
January 1, 2005... LAS VEGAS -- Adding a weight-loss medication to cognitive-behavioral therapy for binge eating disorder produced a higher remission rate and greater weight loss than cognitive-behavioral therapy alone in a randomized, double-blind,...

Compulsive exercise in men poses challenge.(Mental Health)
January 1, 2005... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Anorexia nervosa in males is often accompanied by compulsive exercising, which tends to be driven more by a desire for muscularity than a desire to lose weight, Theodore Weltzin, M.D., said at an international conference...

Maternal obesity, depression predict bulimia outcomes.(Mental Health)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Maternal obesity and depression play a significant role in the long term recovery of patients with bulimia nervosa, Aimee J. Arikian reported at an international conference sponsored by the Academy for Eating Disorders. In...

One-blastocyst transfer as successful as two.(Women's Health)
January 1, 2005... PHILADELPHIA -- Results of two new U.S. studies may help dispel fears that single blastocyst transfer results in poor pregnancy success rates. The studies were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine....

Egg and ovarian tissue freezing not for healthy women.(Women's Health)
January 1, 2005... PHILADELPHIA -- Egg and ovarian tissue freezing should not be marketed or offered to healthy women as a means to defer reproductive aging, according to a new report issued by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Although the...

Most at-risk women ineligible for tamoxifen.(Women's Health)
January 1, 2005... Tamoxifen probably won't prevent many cases of breast cancer in women at risk for the disease because most are ineligible for treatment and those most likely to be eligible are the least likely to develop cancer, according to Carmen L. Lewis,...

Speculum gel doesn't compromise cytology.(Women's Health)
January 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Gel lubrication to ease the pain of vaginal speculum insertion does not adversely affect the quality or viability of cervical samples, William Griffith, M.D., reported at the annual meeting of the Association of Reproductive...

Depo-Provera gets black box for BMD loss with long-term use.(Women's Health)(bone mineral density )
January 1, 2005... The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has added a black box warning to Depo-Provera to emphasize the potential for bone mineral density loss with long-term use of the injectable contraceptive. Depo-Provera has been used throughout the world...

Long-term irritable bowel therapy.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Alosetron provides significant long-term relief for women with symptoms of severe, chronic, diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome, reported William D. Chey, M.D., of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and his associates. ...

Endometritis and BV linked.(Clinical Capsules)(Bacterial vaginosis)
January 1, 2005... Bacterial vaginosis-associated organisms found frequently in women with pelvic inflammatory disease also were strongly associated with endometritis, Catherine L. Haggerty, Ph.D., of the University of Pittsburgh and her colleagues reported. ...

HIV: what women don't know.(Clinical Capsules)(Human Immunodeficiency Virus)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Many women aged 50 years and older lack appropriate knowledge about HIV transmission and prevention, according to findings published in the September issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Nearly two-thirds of women...

Elective induction and C-section rate.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Elective induction does not adversely affect the C-section rate or maternal fetal morbidity, said David J. Bonilla, M.D., and colleagues in a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists'...

New capsule detects esophagitis, Barrett's.(Digestive Disorders)
January 1, 2005... ORLANDO, FLA. -- A new video capsule for imaging the esophagus appears to detect esophagitis and Barrett's esophagus just as well as traditional endoscopy in patients with chronic symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease, according to the...

Patency capsule screens for strictures in small bowel.(Digestive Disorders)
January 1, 2005... ORLANDO, FLA. -- A new diagnostic capsule can verify the presence of small bowel strictures seen on radiology and determine when it is safe to use video capsule endoscopy, Cristiano Spada, M.D., reported at the annual meeting of the American...

Capsule endoscopy may be safe with pacemaker, defibrillator.(Digestive Disorders)
January 1, 2005... ORLANDO, FLA. -- New data suggest that product labeling stating that capsule endoscopy is contraindicated in patients with implantable pacemakers or defibrillators may be unnecessary, Manish S. Patel, M.D., reported at the annual meeting of the...

Colonoscopy may be best for screening women.(Digestive Disorders)
January 1, 2005... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Colonoscopy may be the preferred method of screening for colorectal cancer in women because many of their cancers occur in the right colon, Philip S. Schoenfeld, M.D., reported at the annual meeting of the American College of...

Infliximab safe in Crohn's with strictures, stenosis.(Digestive Disorders)
January 1, 2005... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Results from two studies shed new light on the medical and surgical management of patients with Crohn's disease. Infliximab and other treatments used for Crohn's disease do not cause or worsen intestinal strictures,...

Paroxetine eases irritable bowel syndrome effects.(Digestive Disorder)
January 1, 2005... PARIS -- Treatment with paroxetine led to a significant improvement in the clinical status of patients with irritable bowel syndrome in a randomized, placebo-controlled study with 74 patients. Results from open-label studies had suggested...

Esomeprazole no better than placebo for reflux laryngitis.(Digestive Disorder)
January 1, 2005... NEW ORLEANS -- The proton pump inhibitor esomeprazole was no more effective than placebo in resolving signs and symptoms of suspected reflux laryngitis in a 16-week multicenter study. "Although this study shows there is no response, I don't...

Apnea and hypoxia are rarely associated with reflux.(Digestive Disorder)
January 1, 2005... NEW ORLEANS -- Sleep apnea and hypoxia are rarely associated with gastroesophageal reflux and probably are not important causes of increased acid exposure, Anthony DiMarino Jr., M.D., reported at the annual Digestive Disease Week. "The...

Monthly bisphosphonate as effective as daily.(Musculoskeletal Disorders)
January 1, 2005... SEATTLE -- Monthly dosing of the bisphosphonate ibandronate appears to be just as effective as daily dosing, according to the findings of a controlled study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research....

Strength and flexibility for older patients, part 3: knees.(Exercise Rx)
January 1, 2005... The looseness or tightness of the leg and hip muscles can have an enormous impact on knee pain. The quadriceps and hamstrings maintain about 30% of the knee joint's stability. If a patient complains of knee pain and avoids moving the knee...

Exercise, dairy intake linked to Parkinson's in men.(Musculoskeletal Disorders)
January 1, 2005... LONG BEACH, CALIF. -- Regular physical activity seems to confer a protective effect against the onset of Parkinson's disease in men but not in women--and that's not the only gender-related difference to emerge in recent studies of the disease....

Team approach, routine visits boost asthma care.(Clinical Rounds)
January 1, 2005... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Asthma remains the single largest cause of disability in noninstitutionalized children in the United States, but there are numerous steps that can be taken to improve patient care, Thomas Irons, M.D., said at the annual meeting...

About one-third of asthmatics report poor sleep quality.(Clinical Rounds)
January 1, 2005... SEATTLE -- About 30% of patients with asthma report that their sleep quality is either "fairly bad" or "bad," according to one of the largest studies to use objective sleep measurements in this patient population. "Sleep quality is...

Montelukast, fluticasone propionate similarly cut ED visits for asthma.(Clinical Rounds)(emergency department )
January 1, 2005... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Medicaid patients with asthma responded similarly to monotherapy with either montelukast or fluticasone propionate in a study presented as a poster at the 100th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society. ...

Supplement labels soon to be improved.(Clinical Rounds)
January 1, 2005... LONG BEACH, CALIF. -- Dietary supplements will soon bear labels worded a whole lot more like the ones on over-the-counter medications and a whole lot less like the text of infomercials. In a move designed to protect consumers by requiring...

Alert issued on patients who wake during surgery.(Clinical Rounds)
January 1, 2005... The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations has put hospitals on notice that they need to develop and put into place a policy that educates staff about the potential for "anesthesia awareness." In issuing its alert,...

Etodolac: a forgotten COX-2 NSAID?(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Etodolac significantly reduces the number of clinically significant upper GI events, compared with naproxen, in patients who do not use low-dose aspirin, reported Rick A. Weideman, Pharm.D., of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Dallas, and...

Elderly have less collateral circulation.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Aging decreases collateral circulation to infarct-related arteries, which may explain why the elderly have a particularly poor short-term prognosis after acute MI, said Toshiya Kurotobi, M.D., of Osaka Minami National Hospital, Kawachinagano,...

Generalized social phobia tx.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... For adults with generalized social phobia, fluoxetine and comprehensive cognitive-behavior therapy (CCBT) were more effective than placebo. But combining the two therapies was no more effective than monotherapy, reported Jonathan R.T. Davidson,...

Metaanalysis of hemorrhoid removal.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Conventional hemorrhoidectomy provides a more effective, long-term cure for hemorrhoids than stapled hemorrhoidopexy but has greater postoperative pain and a longer rehabilitation, according to a metaanalysis of 15 randomized trials. ...

AMA delegates focus on imported drugs.(Practice Trends)(American Medical Association)
January 1, 2005... ATLANTA -- Delegates to the American Medical Association's interim meeting last month made a bold move to support prescription drug importation by wholesalers and pharmacies, provided that certain safety conditions are met. "Prescription...

Challenges of running a practice.(Policy & Practice)(American Express survey)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Many physicians in private practice wish they could spend less time running their practice--and more time practicing medicine, an American Express survey of 663 physicians indicated. Twenty-six percent of physicians who respondented described...

Payments for the elderly.(Policy & Practice)(health care goods and services usage)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... U.S. seniors spent an average of $11,089 out of pocket on health care goods and services in 1999, but nearly half that amount was reimbursed by Medicare, and another 15% was paid for by Medicaid, according to a report by the Centers for...

Medicaid prescription drug charges.(Policy & Practice)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The Medicaid program is being overcharged for prescription drugs, George M. Reeb testified to the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations. Mr. Reeb, who is the assistant inspector general for the Centers for...

Guidance on inpatient status.(Policy & Practice)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... To help physicians do a better job of admitting patients to the hospital, CMS should simplify its use of the terms "observation" and "inpatient admission," a federal advisory panel has recommended. The Practicing Physicians Advisory Council...

Historic fraud case in Missouri.(Policy & Practice)
January 1, 2005... In the largest fraud settlement reached in the Eastern District of Missouri, Gambro Healthcare will pay more than $350 million in criminal fines and civil penalties to settle allegations of health care fraud in the Medicare, Medicaid, and...

Malpractice: no. 3 issue for voters.(Policy & Practice)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Medical malpractice reform was one of the top three health care issues for voters who participated in a survey sponsored by the Federation of American Hospitals, ranking behind the uninsured, and before reimportation of drugs from Canada. Most...

Surviving without liability insurance--1 year later.(Practice Trends)
January 1, 2005... For a little more than a year, Mark Macumher, M.D., has been conducting a health policy experiment--operating his medical practice without liability insurance. "The most surprising and rewarding thing is the response I get from the...

Beware of the recruiting prohibitions under Stark II law.(Practice Trends)
January 1, 2005... BALTIMORE -- The newest round of regulations implementing the Stark self-referral legislation has two provisions of particular interest to doctors: one on physician recruitment and the other on in-office ancillary services, several speakers...