| News for nurse practitioners
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- NP-staffed clinics part of health care reform trend
NP-staffed walk-in clinics -- which aim to provide basic health care services for all patients and could help expand preventive medicine services without burdening physicians -- have exploded in drugstores and retail stores in the U.S. The trend is one of several efforts to reform the health care system outside of the conventional medical industry. Financial Times (free content)
(12/6)      
- Studies link childhood obesity to heart-disease risk
Excess weight in children could lead to heart disease later in life, and the rate of heart disease could increase by 16% when today's teens are middle-aged, according to two studies in The New England Journal of Medicine. The risk of heart problems increased with any extra weight in childhood, but the heaviest older children had the highest risk in adulthood, researchers said. Yahoo!/Associated Press
(12/5), The Washington Post
(12/6)
- Study: Flu raises heart attack, stroke risk
A new study shows the flu and other serious respiratory infections double the risk of heart attack or stroke in the week following infection. Researchers emphasized that heart patients should get flu vaccinations. Reuters
(12/5)
- Teen, unmarried birth rates rise
Pregnancies among teenagers and unmarried women in the U.S. have risen, with the teenage birth rate increasing in 2006 for the first time since 1991, and the rate among single women hitting an all-time high of 38.5% of all live births. Rates for black and Hispanic women were considerably higher than those for whites. Reuters
(12/5)
- Report: Deaths from methadone overdose on the rise
The number of methadone-related deaths has increased 390% from 1999 to 2004, according to a new report from the Justice Department's National Intelligence Drug Center. The report found that most of the deaths occurred when methadone, a prescription drug to control heroin addiction, was taken with alcohol or other drugs. Yahoo!/Associated Press
(12/5)
| Pharmaceutical News | | |
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- Avastin fails to win FDA panel support
An FDA advisory panel voted 5-4 Wednesday against approving Genentech's cancer drug Avastin as a first-line treatment for patients with recurrent or metastatic breast cancer. A National Cancer Institute study showed no significant difference in overall survival for patients who took Avastin with Taxol compared to those taking Taxol alone. The Wall Street Journal (free content)
(12/6), NYTimes.com
(12/6)
| Emerging Trends, Products and Technologies | | |
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- Survey: Many medical practitioners lack business acumen
A new survey found that health care providers in the St. Louis area tend to fall short on the business side of their practice, with fewer than 15% of those surveyed saying they planned to take advantage of tax and Medicare rebates for which they were eligible. Other problem areas included fraud, unnecessary expenses and a lack of succession planning. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
(12/5)
- SureScripts: E-prescribing to nearly triple in 2008
A new SureScripts report estimates its network will process 100 million prescription and refill requests next year, nearly triple the 35 million requests in 2007. However, the report also noted only 6% of U.S. providers use e-prescribing, and only 2% of prescriptions and renewals are electronically prescribed. Health Data Management
(12/4)
| Health Policy and Legislative News | | |
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- Texas plan would extend coverage to state's poor
Texas has submitted a plan to the federal government that seeks to use funding, which would traditionally go toward hospitals that treat the poor and uninsured, to help low-income adults buy private health insurance. State officials hope the policies, which would charge co-payments and might offer leaner benefits than Medicaid, will offer affordable primary and preventive care to poor adults. The Dallas Morning News (free registration)
(12/5)
| AANP News | | |
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Co-pay assistance for underinsured
Help raise awareness about co-payment assistance. The HealthWell Foundation provides financial assistance to underinsured individuals living with chronic or life-threatening illnesses such as cancer, asthma and autoimmune disorders. HealthWell has helped more than 40,000 patients afford their prescription drug co-payments, premiums and other out-of-pocket health care costs. Learn more and help patients apply at www.healthwellfoundation.org. To receive quarterly news updates, please e-mail support@healthwellfoundation.org.
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December issue of JAANP now available online
The latest scholarly research related to NPs is published monthly in JAANP. December's issue includes Part One of a Special Article on the development of "medication clinical algorithms" used to help reduce the fall risk in the elderly. Members can access articles, sign up for e-mail alerts and more online. Learn more about JAANP online.
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