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The Young Physicians Initiative An Innovative Pre-Pipeline Program

Source: Young Physicians Initiative Less than 15% of American doctors come from underserved backgrounds and communities. Getting into medical school can be a long and difficult process, especially for these individuals, due to lack of access to medical mentorship and network. The Young Physicians Initiative (YPI) was created to address this …

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Modern Healthcare’s Top Women Leaders in Healthcare

Source: Advisory Board Modern Healthcare on Tuesday released its 2023 list of the “Top Women Leaders in Healthcare,” honoring female executives from all sectors of the industry who are developing policy, leading change, and improving healthcare delivery across the country. About the list To create the list, Modern Healthcare accepted nominations for …

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Celebrating a Decade of Health Justice Scholars at Tufts University School of Medicine

Source: TuftsNow Written by Kim Thurler February 16, 2023–Anita Mathews, M17, recalls her excitement a decade ago when, as an incoming MD/MPH student at Tufts University School of Medicine, she learned of a new program to develop physician leaders dedicated to providing healthcare to marginalized groups and transforming care in partnership with …

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March of Dimes Research Center Will Tackle Racial Disparities in Maternal Health

Source: Penn Medicine News Written by Christina Hernandez Sherwood February 14, 2023–The disparities are stark. Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women in the United States, which has the highest maternal mortality rate of any developed country. For years, the University of …

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The Future of ChatGPT And Other AI In Healthcare

Source: Forbes Written by Sahil Gupta February 6, 2023– The process of becoming a physician is notoriously arduous, requiring years of specialized study and training. Before applying for a medical license in the U.S., aspiring physicians must pass the three-step United States Medical Licensing Examination, which covers topics including basic sciences, …

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OB-GYN Clinical Trials Lack Racial, Ethnic Inclusivity

Source: Northwestern Written By Kristin Samuelson December 21, 2022–All non-white racial and ethnic groups are underrepresented in OB-GYN clinical trials, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study. Since clinical trials and scientific publications inform clinical care, failing to report the race and ethnicity of study participants and conducting homogenous, non-representative research …

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AAMC Specialty Report Explores The Choices of America’s Doctors

Source: AAMCNEWS Written By: Patrick Boyle, Senior Staff Writer More women are becoming doctors, doctors of different racial backgrounds are drawn to different areas of practice, and sports medicine continues to grow fastest of all specialties, according to a new report from the AAMC. Interest is booming in sports medicine and interventional …

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New Report Discusses Lack of Medical Worker Diversity And How To Fix It

Source: American Heart Association News Written By: Michael Merschel Racial and ethnic diversity among medical workers is critical to Americans’ health, but more needs to be done to recruit, train and support those professionals, a new report says. The report, published Thursday in the American Heart Association journal Circulation: Cardiovascular …

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Parexel Introduces Discussions on Diversity Research to Promote Diversity in Clinical Trials

Source: Parexel News Release BOSTON and Durham, N.C. May 20, 2021 — Parexel, a leading global clinical research organization (CRO), today announced the release of “Discussions on Diversity,” an in-depth research report and interactive microsite featuring patient, academic and physician voices highlighting the importance of diversity in clinical trials. The report, issued in …

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Why So Many Doctors Are Leaving The Workforce

Source: advisory.com Oct. 25, 2022 (Advisory Board) — A report published Thursday by Definitive Healthcare found that nearly 334,000 health care providers—including 117,000 physicians—left the workforce in 2021, with many citing burnout and pandemic-related stressors, Mari Devereaux writes for Modern Healthcare. Report findings and key details In the report, commercial …

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Telehealth Fills Care Gaps for Patients

New athenahealth Research Finds that Telehealth Fills Care Gaps for Patients WATERTOWN, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Use of telehealth, which increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, not only remains substantially above pre-pandemic levels but has also emerged as both a key diagnostic tool and treatment vehicle, according to new research from athenahealth. The …

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Hispanic Doctors Who Advanced Medicine

helping hand

In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we are recognizing the outstanding work of those who advanced the medical field. Dr. Helen Rodríguez Trías     Dr. Helen Rodríguez Trías was a public health expert and women’s rights activist. She served as the first Latina director of the American Public Health Association. Her understanding of how social and economic inequality shapes …

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Violet, The First Cultural Competence Credentialing Platform For Clinicians

PRESS RELEASE PR Newswire NEW YORK, Aug. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Violet, the first-ever cultural competence credentialing and upskilling platform for clinicians, announced today that it has raised $4.1M in seed financing, bringing their total raised amount to $5.3M. The round was led by SemperVirens along with industry-leading investors including Northwell …

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Medical Associations Pushing For Disability Training Programs

Medical organizations across the nation are calling for better training initiatives for future and current Doctors treating those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs). Presidents of the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Dental Association (ADA) said they would work to expand disability training for medical and dental students during …

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Some Physicians Are Uneasy as Colorado Collects Providers’ Diversity Data

Written By: Markian Hawryluk From KHN Shaunti Meyer, a certified nurse-midwife and medical director at STRIDE Community Health Center in Colorado, doesn’t usually disclose her sexual orientation to patients. But at times it feels appropriate. After telling a transgender patient that she is a lesbian, Meyer learned the woman had …

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Medical schools are reporting record increase in first-year Black students

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, medical schools are reporting a record increase in first-year Black students. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, Black medical student enrollment has increased by 21% in the past year. Currently, African-Americans account for just 5% of the entire physician population nationally, though about 14% …

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Medical Schools Advancing DEI Initiatives

Many medical schools and academic institutions recognize the importance of diversifying the Physician workforce and reducing health disparities. More organizations are establishing strong Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) cultures by implementing DEI committees, curriculum, and more. Most institutions create a Diversity and Inclusion committee/office with appointed officers who oversee and …

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Are medical schools doing a good enough job of making their incoming student enrollment more diverse?

According to the Association of Medical Colleges, the answer is yes, although the percentage of practicing minority physicians is still historically low compared to the overall population. “We have never seen such an increase within a short amount of time,” said Norma Poll-Hunter, who leads workforce diversity efforts at the Association …

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2022 Healthcare Tech Trends

Healthcare systems are increasingly relying on technology and Artificial Intelligence to improve patient care and workplace efficiency. According to the 2021 Future of Healthcare Report, almost 80% of Healthcare systems are planning to increase their investment in digital healthcare trends over the next five years. Some of the top emerging …

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Medical Professionals Weigh In On The Importance of Diversity in Health Care

To provide the best possible care for all patients and help minimize racial disparities, medical professionals need to acknowledge and recognize differences among varying populations. Diversity among physicians—pertaining to socioeconomic status, race, gender identity, and so on—is key. Many physicians already recognize that a commitment to diversity is critical, yet …

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Study Shows Clear Masks Improve Doctor Patient Communication

JAMA Surgery — During the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing masks has become necessary, especially within health care. However, to our knowledge, the consequences of mask wearing on communication between surgeons and patients have not been studied. Patients reported improved communication when surgeons donned a clear mask, suggesting that not seeing the …

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Doctors With Disabilities

A growing movement of current and future Doctors with disabilities is changing the culture of medicine. Lisa Meeks, a Psychologist and Researcher at Michigan Medicine specializing in disabilities in medicine and medical education co-authored a report which found that many Doctors still conceal their disabilities out of fear of stigma …

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America’s Medical Resident Report of race, gender, specialties, and other demographics.

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) released a report of America’s Doctors in training. The report discusses, race, gender, specialties, and other demographics. According to the report, in 2020, nearly 140,000 medical residents worked in health care systems across the United States. The number of active residents covered in …

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Doctors Propose New Climate Change Curriculum

Doctors are urging medical residency programs to include content about health impacts of climate change in curricula. Climate change increases risks of heat-related illness, infections, asthma, mental health disorders, poor perinatal outcomes, adverse experiences from trauma and displacement, and other harms. More numerous and increasingly dangerous natural disasters caused by …

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Doctors Call On Health Systems To Take Action To Reduce Racial Inequity

Doctors are calling on healthcare systems to take the lead advocating against police brutality, to diversify their work forces to better reflect their patient population, and to incorporate addressing racial health disparities as part of Physician training. Physicians writing in the New England Journal of Medicine discuss how systemic racism …

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Mother And Daughter Graduate Medical School At Same Time And Match At Same Hospital

Dr. Cynthia Kudji and daughter, Dr. Jasmine Kudji are making history together as the first-ever mother-daughter duo to graduate from medical school at the same time and match at the same hospital. According to The University of Medicine and Health Sciences (UMHS), Cynthia and Jasmine, both matched at LSU Health in Louisiana …

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Doctors Are Preparing To Resume Performing Elective Surgeries

Hospitals are preparing to start performing elective surgeries again since the Coronavirus outbreak began. Doctors are starting to perform elective surgeries again but it doesn’t mean everything is back to normal inside hospitals. Lifebridge Health chief clinical officer Dr. Matthew Poffenroth said, “We’re gradually going towards that direction but we’re …

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Hospitals Are Using Virtual Reality Simulations To Train Thousands of Doctors And Nurses

Some hospitals are implementing virtual reality simulations to train Doctors and Nurses with expertise in other areas such as knee surgery or neurology and retired professionals reentering the medical field. At Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles, more than 300 doctors have learned skills, such as how to assess a patient’s …

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Doctors using TV and Social Media To Ask For More Supplies

Covid-19 hospitalizations are increasing, as expected. Doctors, Nurses and health care experts are using television, radio and social media to sound alarms about supply shortages and other serious problems. ER Doctor Stephen Anderson in Auburn, Washington, said on ABC’s “World News Tonight”, “We need ventilators. I have ventilators this morning, …

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Specialties With the Highest and Lowest Rates of Burnout

Burnout is a major obstacle for Physicians that affects their happiness, relationships, career, and the care they provide. It has been described as long-term, unresolvable job-related stress that leads to exhaustion, cynicism, feelings of detachment from one’s job responsibilities, and lack of a sense of personal accomplishment. A new triennial …

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What Doctors Need To Know About The Coronavirus

A JAMA Viewpoint says, Human coronaviruses (HCoVs) have long been considered inconsequential pathogens, causing the “common cold” in otherwise healthy people. However, in the 21st century, 2 highly pathogenic HCoVs—severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)—emerged from animal reservoirs to cause global epidemics with alarming …

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More Doctors Getting Medical Licenses In All 50 States To Treat Remote Patients

A small but growing number of Physicians are getting their medical licenses in all 50 states. Telemedicine will allow these Doctors to treat patients in the most remote areas. Telemedicine means Doctors provide medical consultation through the web, smartphone applications, and video conferences.  But this practice requires Physicians to have …

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Medical Students With Disabilities Face Barriers in Medical Schools

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine (UCSF) released a publication that explores the current state of medical education for medical students and physicians with disabilities. This report is designed to increase awareness and understanding of the challenges and opportunities …

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Mothers in Medicine

Physician mothers feel significant pressure in balancing careers and family especially since many institutions don’t have a culture that is ideal for Doctors who have personal care-giving and parenting responsibilities. “When women take time off for maternity leave, which they absolutely should, … because institutions don’t have sound policies about …

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Diversity In The Medical Field Isn’t Growing Fast Enough

Amid growing racial and ethnic diversity in the United States, the medical profession isn’t growing with it.  Between 1978 and 2008, 88 percent of graduates of U.S. medical schools were white or Asian. Blacks, American Indians and Hispanics together made up the remaining 12 percent. According to the Washington Post, On average, black men in America …

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Almost Half of Adults in the United States Have Some Type of Cardiovascular Disease

According to the American Heart Association, coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke or high blood pressure are some of the cardiovascular diseases that nearly half of U.S adults have. The association’s annual report Heart and Stroke Statistics, showed deaths from cardiovascular disease are on the rise again, with 840,678 deaths recorded in 2016, up from …

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Lewis Katz School of Medicine Event: An Evening with Black Males in Medicine

An Evening with Black Males in Medicine event was intended to provide outreach, networking and mentorship. According to an article by Medium.com, 12 black male Physicians , all either graduates of Temple or in practice there ,  shared their wisdom with 21 aspiring Physicians at the undergraduate and post-baccalaureate levels whose questions ranged from …

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Experimental Peanut Allergy Drug Ready For FDA Review

An experimental peanut allergy treatment is ready for U.S. Food and Drug Administration review. According to research published in The New England Journal of Medicine, A phase three trial included 551 people, most ages 4 to 17 with a history of life-threatening reactions after eating peanuts. Participants were given the experimental drug derived from …

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Top 10 Highest Paying Specialties For Doctors

Medscape annually compiles the highest earning areas in medicine, surveying more than 20,000 physicians currently practicing medicine in the United States and comparing the data was against other studies, including one from the American Medical Association. See what areas of medicine earn physicians top dollar below. 1. Plastic Surgery ($501,000) The American Society …

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Microsoft Healthcare Team Wants To Move Doctors To The Cloud

Microsoft has been working on health-related initiatives for years, but is now bringing its efforts together into a new Microsoft Healthcare team.  It’s a bigger effort to create cloud-based patient profiles, push doctors to the cloud, and eventually have artificial intelligence analyzing data. The software maker has hired two industry veterans to …

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Artificial Intelligence Computer Can Diagnose Skin Cancer Better Than Doctors

According to researchers, a new A.I computer can diagnose skin cancer more accurately than doctors. The team, from Germany, the U.S. and France, behind the study published in the journal Annals of Oncology calibrated the specially programed device deep learning convolutional neural network (CNN) by showing it over 100,000 images of malignant and benign skin cancers, and inputting a diagnosis …

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Think Like a Doctor: Drowning on Dry Land Solved

By Lisa Sanders, M.D. via nytimes.com  On Thursday we challenged Well readers to unravel the case of a 67-year-old healthy retiree who suddenly developed knife-like chest pain and a worsening cough. Maybe this case was too easy because more than a quarter of you figured it out. The correct diagnosis is: Eosinophilic pneumonia, caused …

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Questions Raised About Clinical Trial of Popular Heart Drug

By Mary Brophy Marcus via www.cbsnews.com  New questions are being raised about the clinical trial of a widely used heart drug, and critics are calling for an independent investigation, after a medical device used during the study was later found to be faulty and recalled. The clinical trial tested a blood-thinning medication called …

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US babies should be tested for Zika virus, CDC says

By Franco Ordonez via www.miamiherald.com An obscure mosquito-borne virus that has already prompted warnings in Central America to avoid getting pregnant and is thought responsible for thousands of birth defects in Brazil has now reached the United States, according to health officials. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said U.S. …

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Why Kidney Transplants Are Harder To Get

By Kristen Schorsch via www.modernhealthcare.com Kidneys are by far the most in-demand organ for transplants. Yet Chicago-area hospitals are putting down their scalpels and taking on fewer cases. In 2015, local transplant centers collectively performed nearly two-thirds fewer kidney transplants than they did just five years ago. Meanwhile, the waiting list …

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Pregnant Women Should Consult Doctors On Travel: Brazil’s Health Ministry

Thomson Reuters via www.cbc.ca Brazil’s health ministry said on Monday pregnant women should consult their doctors before travelling to Brazil, but that no other travel restrictions were necessary because of the mosquito-borne Zika virus. The ministry said in a statement that a travel warning from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reinforced measures already …

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Do Not Prescribe Antibiotics For Common Cold, Doctors Urge

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD via www.medicalnewstoday.com A patient with a common cold should not be prescribed antibiotics, so say two medical bodies in the US, who – in a bid to reduce inappropriate use of antibiotics – have joined forces to advise about appropriate prescribing of antibiotics for acute respiratory tract …

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ISHLT Issues New List Of Criteria To Determine Patient Eligibility For Heart Transplant

www.news-medical.net To determine patient eligibility for heart transplant, the International Society for Heart Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) maintains a list of criteria, first issued in 2006, that acts as a guideline for physicians. A major 10-year update has now been issued and published in The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, which …

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Formerly Conjoined Twins Visit Doctors 13 Years After Landmark Operation

  GILLIAN MOHNEY via http://abcnews.go.com Known as the “Las Dos Marias,” formerly conjoined twin sisters Maria de Jesus and Maria Teresa Alvarez arrived at the Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA to bring cheer to the doctors and nurses who helped separate them more than 13 years ago. The identical twins were a …

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Long Hours, Grim Tasks: Doctors In Training Face High Risk Of Depression

By Megan Thielking via www.statnews.com Newly minted doctors embarking on the intense clinical training known as residency are at unusually high risk for depression. Nearly 29 percent of residents worldwide will experience depression during their residencies, according to a meta-analysis published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. That’s four times higher …

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WHO Suggest New C-section Recommendations

Written by Yvette Brazier via www.medicalnewstoday.com Researchers propose that for optimum safety, 19% of births should be by cesarian section, according to research published in JAMA. The cesarean section (C-section) is the most commonly performed operation worldwide. Rates of cesarean delivery vary widely from country to country, ranging from 0.6% in South Sudan …

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Health Systems Built For The 1% Face Big Population Health Gaps

Dave Chase via www.Forbes.com There is no better place to generate staggeringly high bills than at a hospital. For entirely rational reasons, healthcare providers invested vast sums of money on IT systems optimized to maximize billing opportunities. Unfortunately for hospital-based health systems, this is the polar opposite of what will …

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Lower survival Rates In Women With Breast Cancer Diagnosed With Depression

King’s College London via www.sciencedaily.com Women with breast cancer who subsequently had a recorded diagnosis of depression had a 45% higher risk of death from all causes, according to a study led by King’s College London. The researchers suggest this finding could help to target and support those women most at …

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The Doctor on a Quest to Save Our Medical Devices From Hackers

Kim Zetter via www.wired.com  THE INTERNET OF Things has introduced security issues to hundreds of devices that previously were off-limits to hackers, turning innocuous appliances like refrigerators and toasters into gateways for data theft and spying. But most alarmingly, the Internet of Things has created a whole new set of security vulnerabilities with life-threatening …

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Injured firefighter gets most extensive face transplant ever

A volunteer firefighter badly burned in a 2001 blaze has received the most extensive face transplant ever, covering his skull and much of his neck, a New York hospital announced Monday. The surgery took place in August at the NYU Langone Medical Center. The patient, 41-year-old Patrick Hardison, is still undergoing physical …

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5 Things to Know About the New HIV Treatment

By Christine Blank via formularyjournal.modernmedicine.com FDA approved Genvoya, marketed by Gilead Sciences, to treat HIV-1 infection. Here are the top 5 things to know about Genvoya: The drug is a fixed-dose combination tablet containing elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide (TAF). “Today’s approval of a fixed dose combination containing a new form of tenofovir …

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Turning Skilled Physicians Into Strong Leaders

By Keith L. Martin via medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com Any major change in an industry requires strong leadership. In the U.S., healthcare has undergone a significant transformation in the last decade and the evolution is far from complete. That said, among all the stakeholders involved in the medical field, physicians are the most likely candidates …

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‘Doctors for Diversity’ Moves Toward Equal Health Care

Katie Rice via www.dailytarheel.com Medical students and faculty talked about diversity’s central role in patient care at “Doctors for Diversity,” an event sponsored by the UNC School of Medicine and the Whitehead Medical Society in the Medical Biomolecular Research Building Tuesday. The event was organized by student members of the Resident Diversity Initiative and …

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Giving and Receiving: Physicians Find Fulfillment in Charitable Care

By: Katy Mena-Berkley via www.mdnews.com Religious institutions and organizations such as Doctors Without Borders have long facilitated physicians’ provision of philanthropic medical care and other services in areas impacted by disease, poverty and war. The providers come from myriad backgrounds: They are anesthesiologists, surgeons, OB/GYNs, psychiatrists and practitioners from virtually every …

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WHO: Processed meat can cause cancer; red meat probably can

www.cbsnews.com It’s official: Ham, sausage and other processed meats can lead to colon, stomach and other cancers – and red meat is probably cancer-causing, too. While doctors have long warned against eating too much meat, the World Health Organization’s cancer agency gave the most definitive response yet Monday about its relation to …

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Dramatic change to medical culture

By Merrill Matthews via www.philly.com California has joined four other states allowing physicians to write lethal prescriptions that dying patients can administer to themselves. Oregon was the first, blazing that trail in 1997. But with only five state “victories” in nearly 20 years, you can’t really call physician-assisted suicide legislation a …

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Kids More Likely to Get Mental Healthcare from Family Doctor Than Specialists

Written by Brian Krans via www.healthline.com New research shows that primary care providers are the only professionals treating mental health issues for one-third of children. More than a third of children who receive treatment for mental health issues get it from their primary care providers, such as a family doctor or …

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Physicians- Stand Tall Against Sexual Assault

Dr. Rani G. Whitfield via www.huffingtonpost.com  A doctor-patient relationship based on trust and effective communication is key to successfully managing the physical and mental health of my clients. Obtaining a thorough health history, narrowing down the possible diagnoses, ordering the correct test, stressing compliance with treatment regimens, and emphasis on follow …

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Five Ways to Increase Physician Engagement

By Jerry Shultz via healthcare-executive-insight.advanceweb.com While a great deal of attention rightfully focuses on patient engagement, many healthcare executives in both provider and payer organizations are also focusing on the impact of provider engagement on the success of effective population health management. When providers do not have access to relevant information, …

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How To Improve Doctors’ Bedside Manner

By Shefali Luthra via CNN A doctor’s training hasn’t historically focused on sensitivity. And too often, while juggling heavy workloads and high stress, they can be viewed as brusque, condescending or inconsiderate. A 2011 study, for instance, found barely more than half of recently hospitalized patients said they experienced compassion when …

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Doctors Urged To Screen Teens For Major Depression

Liz Szabo via www.usatoday.com Doctors should screen teenagers for major depression, a federal advisory group said Monday, but only if their young patients have access to mental health professionals who can diagnose them, provide treatment and monitor their progress. That’s a big “if.” Mental health services are in short supply for anyone, …

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Will Technology Replace The Physician to Diagnose and Treat Diseases?

Rajeev S Kapoor via www.linkedin.com In the past two weeks, we have delved into why physicians are now leaving their professions and taking their children with them. We have seen the negative, sobering statistics of patient-doctor relationships with healthcare reform regulations. We have noticed the move of doctors from medicine to …

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Understanding The Causes Of Sudden Death In Epilepsy: An Interview With Professor Sanjay Sisodiya

Interview conducted by April Cashin-Garbutt via www.news-medical.net What is sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP)? Currently, the accepted definition of SUDEP is the sudden unexpected witnessed or unwitnessed, non-traumatic and non-drowning death in people with epilepsy, with or without evidence of a seizure. It doesn’t necessarily have to be in the known …

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Helpful Physicians May Be Key To Successful Weight Loss

Written by James McIntosh via Medical News Today When participating in weight-loss programs, a helpful physician can improve the chances of success for people with obesity, according to the findings of researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, MD. Their study, published in Patient Education and Counseling, found that obese people participating in …

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Doctor-rating Websites Offer Helpful But Limited Advice

Written by Julie Corliss originally posted on: www.health.harvard.edu If you’ve ever used the Internet to find a health care provider, chances are you’ve run across doctor rating sites like Healthgrades.com or RateMDs.com. In addition, websites that offer reviews of everything from restaurants to repairmen (such as Yelp and Angie’s List) also feature …

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Printed Pills to Model Hearts: How 3-D Printing Is Changing Health

Gillian Mohney http: abcnews.go.com Quicker and faster 3-D printers have allowed not just amazing objects to be created, seemingly out of nothing, but have started to affect how doctors and medical providers treat patients. This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the approval of the first 3-D printed pill. …

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Dr. Forrest Bird, Inventor of Medical Respirators and Ventilators, Dies at 94

By Robert D. McFadden www.nytimes.com Dr. Forrest M. Bird, an eccentric aviator and inventor who studied high-altitude breathing problems of World War II pilots and later created medical devices that saved lives and aided thousands of people with respiratory ailments, died on Sunday at his home in Sagle, Idaho. He was …

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Doctors Go Online for Medical Information, Too

AMY DOCKSER MARCUS Wall Street Journal Beyond medical literature; families’ experiences with rare conditions Doctors who treat children with rare conditions sometimes seek guidance from online chat groups where families relate their experiences with the disorders. While gleaning medical information from the Internet is often considered unreliable, doctors may find …

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World’s First Mobile APP to Prevent Physician Burnout

Dike Drummond MD www.prnewswire.com “The epidemic of physician burnout must stop. We’ve packed 1547 hours of one-on-one physician coaching experience into the “Burnout Proof” Mobile APP, so the videos, audios and handouts inside are available to any physician 24/7. This is everything we should have learned in residency about stress …

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The 2015 Immunization Schedule for Adults

David K. Kim, MD www.physiciansweekly.com The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recently approved the most up-to-date recommendations for adult immunizations. ACIP’s schedule provides a summary of the organization’s key recommendations for using vaccines routinely. Based on three changes in the area of adult immunizations that occurred recently, the CDC’s …

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Blood Test For Early Stage Pancreatic Cancer Looks Promising

Catharine Paddock PhD www.medicalnewstoday.com A study that successfully differentiated patients with pancreatic cancer from those with another pancreatic disease using a new biomarker, could lead to a blood test that detects pancreatic cancer early enough for curative surgery to be feasible. Pancreatic cancer has a very poor survival rate and ranks …

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Physicians Have Responsibility To Help Families Make End-Of-Life Decisions

www.news-medical.net Contributor: Marissa Garey According to the Ambulatory Surgical Center of America (ASCOA), more than 60% of Americans would like their end-of-life preferences to be followed. Yet, granting this wish is difficult when the patient is unresponsive. While this topic is quite controversial, surrogates tend to seek guidance from a …

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Physician, Nurse Practitioner Jobs Lead Healthcare Surge

By Zack Budryk Contributor: Marissa Garey Through the year 2022, employment is predicted to augment, particularly in the healthcare industry. Health-support occupations, such as nurse practitioners and physicians, will be in constant demand, consequently improving job security. The recovery of the country’s labor market brought about 217,000 job opportunities by May …

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Coded Talk About Assisted Suicide Can Leave Families Confused

APRIL DEMBOSKY www.npr.org Physician-assisted suicide is illegal in most states in the U.S. But there are gray areas where doctors can help suffering patients hasten their death. The problem is nobody can talk about it directly. This can lead to bizarre, veiled conversations between medical professionals and overwhelmed families. Doctors …

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Carotid Artery Stenting Outcomes Vary Widely by Hospital

Salynn Boyles www.healthleadersmedia.com In-hospital outcomes among patients undergoing CAS in the US varied fourfold after adjusting for differences in patient risk factors in an analysis of data from a large, nationwide stenting registry. From MedPage Today. In-hospital outcomes among patients undergoing carotid artery stenting (CAS) in the U.S. varied fourfold after …

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U.S. Introduces New DNA Standard for Ensuring Accuracy of Genetic Tests

By ROBERT PEAR www.nytimes.com WASHINGTON — The federal government opened the door to a new era of genetic medicine on Thursday by introducing a standard way to ensure the accuracy of DNA tests used to tailor treatments for individual patients. Scientists have identified hundreds of genetic mutations that appear to increase …

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Physician Burnout Heavily Influenced by Leadership Behaviors

Alexandra Wilson Pecci http://healthleadersmedia.com Researchers find a “very strong relationship between [physician] satisfaction and burnout and the leadership behaviors of physician supervisors” in large healthcare organizations. Physician burnout is prevalent throughout the U.S. healthcare system—experienced by nearly half (46%) of physicians, according to data published in JAMA last year. But effective leadership …

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The prognosis for U.S. healthcare? Better than you think.

  Erika Fry fortune.com Bernard J. Tyson, chairman and chief executive of Kaiser Permanente—the $56 billion non-profit health insurer and hospital operator—is more optimistic about America’s healthcare system than he’s ever been. That’s saying something, given that the fate of the Affordable Care Act hangs in the balance pending a …

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One Doctor’s Quest to Save the World With Data

DANIELLE VENTON www.wired.com IN RWANDA, PEOPLE have to deal with all kinds of threats to their health: malaria, HIV/AIDS, severe diarrhea. But in late 2012, Agnes Binagwaho, Rwanda’s Minister of Health, realized her country’s key health enemy was  something far more innocuous. The thing causing the most harm to her people, the leading …

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Admitted to Your Bedroom: Some Hospitals Try Treating Patients at Home

By DANIELA J. LAMAS, M.D. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com When Martin Fernandez came into Mount Sinai Hospital’s emergency room one recent afternoon, with high fever and excruciating abdominal pain, he and his family were asked an unexpected question. Mr. Fernandez, 82, would have to be officially admitted to receive intravenous antibiotics for his urinary …

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Would Doctors Be Better If They Didn’t Have To Memorize?

JOHN HENNING SCHUMANN www.npr.org  Poor old Dr. Krebs. His painstaking Nobel-winning work on cellular metabolism, called the Krebs cycle, has made him the symbol for what’s ailing medical education. “Why do I need to know this stuff?” medical students ask me. “How many times have you used the Krebs Cycle lately?” senior doctors jokingly …

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Do Wearable Devices in Hospitals Pose Security Threats?

By Aleksandr Peterso www.physiciansnews.com Wearable tech has painted itself as the future of innovation for many different industries, but perhaps most notably for healthcare. Even now, wearable devices are seeing increased use at care facilities to track patient status, reduce response times, and improve care coordination. But wearable technology is still …

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FDA Ponders Putting Homeopathy To A Tougher Test

ROB STEIN www.npr.org It’s another busy morning at Dr. Anthony Aurigemma’s homeopathy practice in Bethesda, Md. Wendy Resnick, 58, is here because she’s suffering from a nasty bout of laryngitis. “I don’t feel great,” she says. “I don’t feel myself.” Resnick, who lives in Millersville, Md., has been seeing Aurigemma for years …

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Epic, Other EHR Vendors Agree To Waive Record-Sharing Fees

By Joseph Conn www.modernhealthcare.com After years of saddling their customers and outside firms with substantial fees for interfaces and other costs for interoperability, vendors of electronic health-record systems are now engaged in what looks like an interoperability price war. The federal government probably had something to do with it, after firing …

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Doctors See Benefits and Risks in Medicare Changes

By KATIE THOMAS and REED ABELSON www.nytimes.com Dr. Robert Wergin, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, made little effort to contain his glee Wednesday over the news that Congress had voted to end a reviled payment system for doctors, simultaneously averting a 21 percent physician pay cut and overhauling the way Medicare will pay doctors in …

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5 Recruiting Tips To Fight The Looming Physician Shortage

By Sean West www.fiercehealthcare.com Increased demand for services will only exacerbate the problems expected by the shortage of close to 90,000 physicians in the next 10 years, according to a new survey that examines 2015 trends in healthcare recruitment. Despite the factors behind the shortage–including the millions of newly insured consumers under the Affordable …

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Hospital Diversity Improvement Plans, Goals: 16 Things To Know

Written by Shannon Barnet www.beckershospitalreview.com While job areas related to patient care have experienced a long history of diversification, the same cannot be said of healthcare jobs in upper management, according to a report from the NAACP. Some hospitals and health systems have created programs to monitor diversity procurement but, overall, diversity …

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Time To Announce UV Tanning ‘Causes’ Skin Cancer, Doctors Urge

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD www.medicalnewstoday.com Doctors and researchers writing in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine argue it is time to push the message that UV tanning causes – as opposed to merely being associated with – skin cancer. They note that when the US Surgeon General finally announced that smoking causes lung …

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Thousand-year-old Anglo-Saxon Potion Kills MRSA Superbug

By Nick Thompson and Laura Smith-Spark www.cnn.com It might sound like a really old wives’ tale, but a thousand-year-old Anglo-Saxon potion for eye infections may hold the key to wiping out the modern-day superbug MRSA, according to new research. The 10th-century “eyesalve” remedy was discovered at the British Library in a leather-bound volume of Bald’s Leechbook, widely …

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Oldest Evidence Of Breast Cancer Found In Egyptian Skeleton

Reporting by Mahmoud Mourad; editing by John Stonestreet http://news.yahoo.com A team from a Spanish university has discovered what Egyptian authorities are calling the world’s oldest evidence of breast cancer in the 4,200-year-old skeleton of an adult woman. Antiquities Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty said the bones of the woman, who lived at …

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Increasing Use Of Minimally Invasive Surgery ‘Would Avert Thousands Of Post-op Complications’

Written by Honor Whiteman www.medicalnewstoday.com A new study conducted by researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine claims that health care costs and the number of postoperative complications across the US could be significantly reduced if hospitals were to increase their use of minimally invasive surgery for some common procedures. Lead researcher Dr. …

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Physicians, Patients Overestimate Risk of Death From Acute Coronary Syndrome

www.sciencedaily.com Both physicians and patients overestimate the risk of heart attack or death for possible acute coronary syndrome (ACS) as well as the potential benefit of hospital admission for possible ACS. A survey of patient and physician communication and risk assessment, along with an editorial, were published online last week …

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Doctors as Journalists: Conflict of Interest?

www.physiciansweekly.com On Gary Schwitzer’s website healthnewsreview.org, a debate about the role of physicians who work as journalists took place. It was sparked by an NBC News report on the changing of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome to its new name—Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease (SEID). The report featured commentary by Dr. Natalie Azar, …

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FDA Approves CPR Devices That May Increase Chance Of Surviving Cardiac Arrest

www.fda.gov The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the ResQCPR System, a system of two devices for first responders to use while performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on people whose hearts stop beating (cardiac arrest). The devices may improve the patient’s chances of surviving cardiac arrest. The Centers for Disease Control …

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Psychedelic Drug Use ‘Does Not Increase Risk For Mental Health Problems’

David McNamee www.medicalnewstoday.com An analysis of data provided by 135,000 randomly selected participants – including 19,000 people who had used drugs such as LSD and magic mushrooms – finds that use of psychedelics does not increase risk of developing mental health problems. The results are published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology. …

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Schools Reconsidering How Med School Applicants Are Evaluated

www.ama-assn.org The medical education overhaul continues—and not just with undergraduate med ed. Changes being launched now in medical schools are touching graduate medical education and pre-medical education, seeking to better prepare doctors for a health care system that is constantly changing. Academic physicians covered these innovations in an online video panel Tuesday …

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Childhood Sleep Disorders: How Do They Affect Health And Well-being?

Honor Whiteman www.medicalnewstoday.com Although around 25-40% of children and adolescents in the US experience some form of sleep disorder, such conditions are often overlooked, with a lack of realization of just how important a good night’s sleep is for a child’s present and later-life health. In line with National Sleep …

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Can Patients Chew Gum Immediately Before Surgery?

www.physiciansweekly.com A study presented at the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) meeting in October of last year found that patients who chew gum in the immediate preoperative period may safely undergo surgery. The authors, based at the University of Pennsylvania, found that gum chewing increases saliva production and the volume of …

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Doctors Perceived As More Compassionate When Giving Patients More Optimistic News

Honor Whiteman www.medicalnewstoday.com When receiving information about treatment options and prognosis, advanced cancer patients favor doctors who provide more optimistic information and perceive them to be more compassionate when delivering it. This is according to a new study published in JAMA Oncology. The study was conducted by researchers from the University …

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Alzheimer’s Protein ‘Can Accumulate In Young People’s Brains’

Catharine Paddock PhD www.medicalnewstoday.com Brains of older people with Alzheimer’s disease show characteristic abnormal clusters of faulty protein called amyloid. Now, for the first time, scientists have discovered amyloid can begin to accumulate in the brains of people as young as 20. The finding is surprising because it was thought …

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Can Family Secrets Make You Sick?

LAURA STARECHESKI www.npr.org In the 1980s, Dr. Vincent Felitti, now director of the California Institute of Preventive Medicine in San Diego, discovered something potentially revolutionary about the ripple effects of child sexual abuse. He discovered it while trying to solve a very different health problem: helping severely obese people lose weight. Felitti, …

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These Doctors Want To Tell You You’re Stupid If You Don’t Vaccinate Your Kids [VIDEO]

Jonathan Harris whatstrending.com Jimmy Kimmel made a good point. If you don’t believe what a doctor tells you about vaccines, why would you believe him about anything else? If he’s likely to intentionally poison your children so that he can line the pockets of GlaxoSmithKline, why would you go there …

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Woman Becomes Obese After Fecal Transplantation From Overweight Donor

Honor Whiteman www.medicalnewstoday.com A new case report published in the journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases reveals that a woman who was treated for a recurrent Clostridium difficile infection with the gut bacteria of an overweight donor quickly and unexpectedly gained weight herself following the procedure. The authors say the case suggests doctors should avoid …

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Most Doctors Give In to Requests by Parents to Alter Vaccine Schedules

CATHERINE SAINT LOUIS www.nytimes.com A wide majority of pediatricians and family physicians acquiesce to parents who wish to delay vaccinating their children, even though the doctors feel these decisions put children at risk for measles, whooping cough and other ailments, a new survey has found. Physicians who reluctantly agreed said they did so …

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