by Andy Miller, KFF Health News Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain After years of debilitating bouts of fatigue, Beth VanOrden finally thought she had an answer to her problems in 2016 when she was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune disorder. For her and millions of other Americans, that’s the most common cause of hypothyroidism, a...
Tag: <span>patients</span>
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Patients squeezed in fight over who gets to bill for pricey infusion drugs
by Samantha Liss, KFF Health News Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Health insurers and medical providers are battling over who should supply high-cost infusion drugs for patients, with the tussle over profits now spilling into statehouses across the country. The issue is that some insurers are bypassing hospital pharmacies and physician offices and instead sending more complex drugs...
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May Someday Do Your Patients’ Lab Work
Julie Stewart June 28, 2023 A smartwatch can tell a lot about a person’s health, but for guarding against big threats like diabetes and heart disease, blood tests remain the gold standard – for now. Someday, a wearable patch could give patients and doctors the same information, minus the poke in the arm and the schlep to...
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Helping GPs identify patients with persistent somatic symptoms earlier
by Leiden University Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Medical psychologist Willeke Kitselaar has developed a model that helps identify patients with persistent somatic symptoms earlier, based on an extensive large medical database. “I advise GPs to ask patients to fill in a questionnaire about both physical and mental symptoms at an earlier stage.” Kitselaar’s Ph.D. defense takes...
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Long-Term Beta-Blocker Use May Not Benefit Certain Patients, Studies Find
By Cyra-Lea Drummond, BSN, RN Published on June 23, 2023 Fact checked by Nick Blackmer Key Takeaways Beta-blockers are a tried-and-true class of medications prescribed to patients who have experienced a heart attack or have heart failure. New research shows that long-term beta-blocker use may not improve outcomes in certain patients, particularly those whose heart function is only...
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When doctors sugarcoat the truth, patients get shortchanged
By Eve Glicksman June 24, 2023 at 8:00 a.m. EDT (Melinda Beck for The Washington Post) “There’s a 99 percent chance this is nothing,” said my internist encouragingly, referring me to a cancer specialist after I’d had repeated abnormal blood counts. The oncologist I saw next reviewed my unusual symptoms, promptly asked about a tiny...
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Early Axial Spondyloarthritis Diagnosis in Referred Patients Remains Stable in Most
Cristina Ferrario June 05, 2023 MILAN, Italy — Most people with recent-onset chronic back pain who are referred to a rheumatologist and then diagnosed with definite axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) maintain that diagnosis over the next 2 years, but for those with residual diagnostic uncertainty for axSpA, particular characteristics may help to identify those who will or will...
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Patients overwhelmingly prefer immediate access to test results, even when the news may not be good
BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER BOSTON – In April 2021, new federal rules went into effect mandating that healthcare providers make nearly all test results and clinical notes immediately available to patients. Evidence suggests that patients may gain important clinical benefits by reviewing their medical records, and access through electronic patient portals has been advocated...
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Are Your Patients Using This Anti-COVID Secret Weapon?
Lisa Jhung January 10, 2023 If your patients vowed to start exercising this year, here’s another incentive to help them stick to their guns: They could protect themselves from potentially devastating COVID-19 outcomes like hospitalization and even death. The evidence is piling up that physical activity can lower the risk of getting very sick from COVID. The CDC,...
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New test can help patients with cystic fibrosis
AARHUS UNIVERSITY IMAGE: THE MAIN ACTORS BEHIND THE STUDY ARE (FROM LEFT) PROFESSOR JENS LEIPZIGER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOMEDICINE AT AARHUS UNIVERSITY, CONSULTANT SØREN JENSEN-FANGEL, CONSULTANT MAJBRITT JEPPESEN AND CONSULTANT PEDER BERG FROM AARHUS UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL. PHOTO: AU CREDIT: AARHUS UNIVERSITY Researchers have developed a simple urine test to measure the severity of the...