http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Southern Illinois University researchers determined Medicare beneficiaries living in rural areas were 27% more likely than urban recipients to have total knee or hip replacement surgeries. Researchers found women were more likely than men to undergo total joint replacement surgeries. Differences in elective joint surgeries between white individuals and minorities in both rural and urban areas were observed, but were less pronounced in rural settings. Full findings appear in the in the December issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology. http://www.physorg.com/news178786083.html Medicine & Health Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:50:01 EST news178786083 In the next 25 years, the number of Americans living with diabetes will nearly double, increasing from 23.7 million in 2009 to 44.1 million in 2034. Over the same period, spending on diabetes will almost triple, rising from $113 billion to $336 billion, even with no increase in the prevalence of obesity, researchers based at the University of Chicago report in the December issue of Diabetes Care. http://www.physorg.com/news178525274.html Medicine & Health Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:22:07 EST news178525274 Purchasing prescription drugs in a three-month supply rather than a one-month supply has long been regarded as a way to reduce the cost of drugs for patients and third-party payers. New research from the University of Chicago quantifies the savings for the first time. http://www.physorg.com/news177919033.html Medicine & Health Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:40:01 EST news177919033 (AP) -- For three years, the federal agency in charge of preventing Medicare fraud repeatedly ignored internal watchdog warnings about swindlers stealing millions of dollars by scamming several programs, documents show. http://www.physorg.com/news177344286.html Medicine & Health Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:30:04 EST news177344286 (AP) -- Lillian Landry always said she wasn't afraid to die. So when death came last week, the 99-year-old was lying peacefully in a hospice with no needles or tubes. Her final days saw her closest friend at her side and included occasional shots of her favorite whiskey, Canadian Mist. http://www.physorg.com/news177186893.html Medicine & Health Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:40:01 EST news177186893 Almost a quarter of heart failure patients with Medicare are back in the hospital within a month after discharge, researchers report in Circulation: Heart Failure, a journal of the American Heart Association. http://www.physorg.com/news177098399.html Medicine & Health Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:00:12 EST news177098399 Physician bias might be the reason why African Americans are not receiving kidney/pancreas transplants at the same rate as similar patients in other racial groups. Dr. Keith Melancon, director of kidney and pancreas transplantation at Georgetown University Hospital and associate professor of surgery at Georgetown University Medical Center, and colleagues explore this phenomenon in the November issue of the American Journal of Transplantation. http://www.physorg.com/news176997185.html Medicine & Health Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:20:08 EST news176997185 Among eligible Medicare beneficiaries, increased use of carotid arterial stenting (CAS) procedures to treat carotid stenosis--the narrowing of the carotid artery--is associated with higher rates of mortality and adverse clinical outcomes, including heart attack and stroke, according to researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. http://www.physorg.com/news176809244.html Medicine & Health Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:43:21 EST news176809244 A vast majority of leaders in health care and health policy believe Medicare has been successful in providing access to care and stable coverage to the elderly and disabled individuals; however only a small percentage think the program has realized its potential to achieve other important goals, like using its leverage as the country's largest purchaser of services to control costs and promote a high performance health system. In the latest Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders survey, the experts surveyed favor sweeping changes to Medicare -reforms that would help control program costs and support broader health system reform. http://www.physorg.com/news176470687.html Medicine & Health Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:39:00 EST news176470687 Medical imaging cuts contained in the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule will restrict life-saving imaging care to large hospitals, produce longer commutes and wait times to receive care, and cause life threatening delays in diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other serious illnesses. http://www.physorg.com/news176449524.html Medicine & Health Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:20:03 EST news176449524 The proposed Medicare "bundled" payment system for dialysis is likely to reduce government reimbursements for dialysis units in certain regions of the United States and for some types of facilities, according to research being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, CA. http://www.physorg.com/news176098357.html Medicine & Health Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:15:57 EST news176098357 Residents can serve a vital role in educating Congress, the medical community, and the general public regarding the efficacy of cutting-edge technologies like CT colonography (CTC) as well as the importance of radiologists' training and education and the role that radiologists serve in the provision of quality health care, according to an article published in the November issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR). http://www.physorg.com/news175955551.html Medicine & Health Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:30:01 EST news175955551 Survivors and patients with cancers and heart disease, along with patient advocate organizations and physicians, today urged policymakers to enhance early diagnosis of deadly diseases by preserving access to advanced imaging, such as MRI and CT scans, in final health care reform legislation. http://www.physorg.com/news174751688.html Medicine & Health Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:00:04 EST news174751688 Expanding health coverage might not cost as much as policymakers assume. http://www.physorg.com/news173987309.html Medicine & Health Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:20:03 EST news173987309 (AP) -- Businessman Stewart Grill, 75, believes there's waste in Medicare. He's just skeptical Congress can find and eliminate it without touching what he likes about his government health care plan. http://www.physorg.com/news173715548.html Medicine & Health Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:00:01 EST news173715548 (AP) -- Millions of Medicare patients would be spared monthly premium increases next year under a bill passed by the House Thursday. http://www.physorg.com/news173033008.html Medicine & Health Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:20:01 EST news173033008 Technically speaking, an aneurysm is a dilation, or an enlargement, of a blood vessel to at least 50 percent beyond its normal diameter. So if a blood vessel is normally one inch wide, it is considered an aneurysm when it is greater than 1.5 inches wide. While finding out that you have an aneurysm can be concerning, the good news is that we continue to learn more about how aneurysms behave, which can help us determine if and when an aneurysm should be repaired, and the really good news is that we are continually developing new and less invasive ways to treat them. http://www.physorg.com/news171728197.html Medicine & Health Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:40:02 EST news171728197 Rocky Miller has just made a career change that's likely to turn a few heads. After years of selling motorcycles, the 60-year-old Plano, Texas, resident has launched a business, Slip Doctors, that will treat floors with a chemical that he says will make them more resistant to slips, slides and falls. http://www.physorg.com/news171654657.html Medicine & Health Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:30:01 EST news171654657 Minorities have poorer results and higher rates of unnecessary surgery from a common procedure used to remove plaque from inside the carotid artery, according to a UT Southwestern Medical Center doctor who is lead author of the study in the journal Stroke. http://www.physorg.com/news170419864.html Medicine & Health Tue, 25 Aug 2009 11:51:56 EST news170419864 (AP) -- It costs $1,400 to cover the oozing sore on the diabetic's foot with a piece of artificial skin, helping it heal if patients keep pressure off that spot. So when Medicare paid for the treatment but not the extra $100 for a simple walking cast to protect it, an artificial skin maker last year started giving free casts to some needy patients. http://www.physorg.com/news170349496.html Medicine & Health Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:40:02 EST news170349496 The program created to provide Medicare recipients with prescription drug benefits exceeded expectations during its first two years, extending pharmacy coverage to most seniors while reducing their overall spending on drugs, according to a new RAND Corporation study. http://www.physorg.com/news170331791.html Medicine & Health Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:40:01 EST news170331791 CyberKnife radiosurgery -- which uses narrow beams of radiation to kill several types of cancer -- is marketed as a less invasive, more convenient way to treat prostate cancer, a pitch that has proved convincing for about 3,000 men over the last six years. http://www.physorg.com/news168877328.html Medicine & Health Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:40:02 EST news168877328 (AP) -- President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats are looking ahead to a health care showdown on the House floor in September following a key committee's passage of sweeping overhaul legislation. http://www.physorg.com/news168346655.html Medicine & Health Sat, 01 Aug 2009 11:58:03 EST news168346655 In light of health care reform measures, Rush University Medical Center has launched a study of its program to help older adults transition from hospital to home. http://www.physorg.com/news167990847.html Medicine & Health Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:10:02 EST news167990847 (AP) -- Medicare's 3-year-old prescription drug plan has largely met its main goal of making lifesaving medicines more affordable for seniors, a new report found. http://www.physorg.com/news167503324.html Medicine & Health Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:20:06 EST news167503324 (AP) -- President Barack Obama is defending his relentless campaign for a health care bill before Congress's August recess, saying "the default in Washington is inaction and inertia." The Republican Party chairman assailed it as an "excessive push." http://www.physorg.com/news167380932.html Medicine & Health Tue, 21 Jul 2009 07:42:35 EST news167380932 As lawmakers debate how to pay for an overhaul of the nation's health care system, a new report from The Commonwealth Fund projects that including both private and public insurance choices in a new insurance exchange would save the United States as much as $265 billion in administrative costs from 2010 to 2020. Congressional leaders are attempting to keep 10-year federal budget costs of health care reform legislation under $1 trillion. http://www.physorg.com/news166941941.html Medicine & Health Thu, 16 Jul 2009 05:46:37 EST news166941941 New insights into how a Phase III Alzheimer's drug might work were among the advances in potential therapies targeting two abnormal brain proteins - beta amyloid and phosphorylated tau - that were reported today at the Alzheimer's Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD 2009) in Vienna. http://www.physorg.com/news166867134.html Medicine & Health Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:59:17 EST news166867134 The overall number of glaucoma surgical procedures appears to be increasing, but payments by Medicare for the procedures have been decreasing, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Ophthalmology. http://www.physorg.com/news166721547.html Medicine & Health Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:40:02 EST news166721547 After enrolling in Medicare Part D, seniors who previously had limited or no drug coverage spent more on prescriptions and less on other medical care services such as hospitalizations and visits to the doctor's office, according to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health study. Published in the July 2 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, the study also found that seniors who had relatively good drug benefits prior to enrolling in Medicare Part D spent somewhat more on prescriptions and, at the same time, increased their spending on other medical care services. http://www.physorg.com/news165688774.html Medicine & Health Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:40:01 EST news165688774