Vaginal Brachytherapy Is Effective, has Fewer Side Effects, Gives Better Quality of Life
May 31st 2008Vaginal brachytherapy is as effective as external beam radiation therapy in preventing the recurrence of higher-risk endometrial cancer but with fewer side effects and results in superior quality of life, according to a Phase 3 study presented by Remi A. Nout, MD.
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Intervention Program Improves Sleep Quality During Chemotherapy
May 31st 2008Adherence to a four-point Individualized Sleep Promotion Plan (ISPP) intervention consisting of stimulus control, sleep restriction, relaxation therapy, and sleep-hygiene practices significantly lowered fatigue and increased sleep quality for patients undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy. Fatigue and sleep disturbances are the most frequently reported symptoms during adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. One-third of breast cancer patients report persistent fatigue and abnormal sleep/wake cycles, said Ann M Berger, PhD, RN, professor, College of Nursing, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha.
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Everolimus may Be Effective Second-line Option After Failure of First-line Tx in Renal-cell Ca
May 31st 2008Everolimus, an experimental oral agent that targets the mTOR protein, may represent an effective second-line option for patients with metastatic renal-cell carcinoma whose disease has progressed despite treatment with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor.
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Bevacizumab, docetaxel combination is effective first-line treatment for metastatic breast cancer
May 31st 2008Phase 3 trial results show that adding bevacizumab to docetaxel as first-line therapy for newly diagnosed HER2-negative, locally recurrent, or metastatic breast cancer resulted in significantly less disease progression. "This shows that the antiangiogenic approach to treating breast cancer is effective, regardless of which taxane drug it is combined with," said lead author David Miles, MD, professor, Mount Vernon Cancer Center, Middlesex, UK. Previous studies have shown that the combination of bevacizumab to paclitaxel doubled progression-free survival among patients with metastatic breast cancer.
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Cancer Is Independent Predictor of Increased Vulnerability in Elderly Persons
May 31st 2008Cancer is an independent predictor of increased vulnerability, functional limitations, geriatric syndromes, frailty, and fair or poor health status among older Medicare beneficiaries. "Up until now, a lot of this has been more opinion rather than numbers," said Gary R. Morrow, MD, professor of radiation oncology, University of Rochester Cancer Center. "This gives us a method to let us know if we have changed anything.
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Corporation’s age factors into health benefits
May 29th 2008National News-Small businesses are less likely to offer employee health benefits, especially if they’re the new kid on the block, according to a recent report from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Analysis finds that among firms with nine employees or fewer, those in business for 20 years or more are more likely to offer benefits.
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Kaiser completes national EMR rollout
May 29th 2008Oakland, Calif.-Nearly 9 million Kaiser Permanente members in nine states are now on the books with the plan’s HealthConnect electronic medical record system, which completed a four-year rollout recently. Installation cost $4 billion, including $1 billion for maintenance.
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Retailers expand $4 drug programs
May 29th 2008National News-Wal-Mart will offer generic medications for $10 for a 90-day supply, which previously cost $4 for a 30-day supply, offering more over-the-counter medications at $4. About 350 generics are covered. At the same time, Target’s prescription drug program now includes an expanded assortment of $4 prescription drugs, 90-day supply of these medications for $10 and OTC medications for $4 or less.
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Agreement on biosimilars emerges
May 29th 2008Washington, D.C.-There’s a lot of talk in Washington about the importance of enacting legislation to establish a pathway for FDA to approve “similar” or “follow-on” versions of biotech drugs. Biopharmaceutical companies have been pushing for compromise legislation this year, that is aligned with health insurers, pharmacy benefit managers, and public and private payers, who envision big savings.
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Istradefylline: An adenosine receptor antagonist for the treatment of Parkinson disease
May 1st 2008Istradefylline, a highly selective adenosine A2A receptor antagonist, is a new agent being investigated for the adjunctive treatment of the motor signs and symptoms of idiopathic Parkinson disease.
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Physicians urged to return to statins after announcement of ENHANCE results
May 1st 2008Experts urged a “return to statins” after hearing the final results of the Ezetimibe and Simvastatin in Hypercholesterolemia Enhances Atherosclerosis Regression (ENHANCE) trial, which demonstrated no slowing of carotid atherosclerosis progression with the addition of ezetimibe to simvastatin therapy.
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ONTARGET: ARB noninferior to ACE inhibitor in patients with cardiovascular disease
May 1st 2008According to results from the Ongoing Telmisartan Alone and in Combination with Ramipril Global Endpoint Trial (ONTARGET), the angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) telmisartan is as effective as the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor ramipril in preventing adverse cardiovascular events in high-risk patients with cardiovascular disease but without heart failure.
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Approximately 1.7 million healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) occur in US hospitals each year. These HAIs, which include pneumonia, bloodstream infections (BSIs), and urinary tract infections (UTIs), account for approximately 99,000 deaths and $5 billion in additional healthcare costs.
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CDER gains Woodcock as permanent chief
May 1st 2008Much to the surprise of most close FDA observers, Janet Woodcock, MD, agreed in March to resume control of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). Dr Woodcock headed CDER for 10 years before becoming deputy commissioner and, more recently, FDA’s chief medical officer. But when CDER director Steven Galson, MD, MPH, left last year, Dr Woodcock served as the temporary CDER chief. Now, after a long search for a replacement, she has decided to accept the position herself.
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CDHP savings modest, enrollment low
May 1st 2008Recent Milliman analysis of employer programs that offer employees a choice of consumer-directed health plans or non-CDHPs, shows that when offered as a new choice, CDHPs deliver a modest 1.5% in savings beyond non-CDHPs based on typical risk- and benefit-adjustment factors.
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Welcome Back: Network Health Plan tracking number of disenrolled members who return to plans
May 1st 2008Higher-than-expected enrollment has challenged the budget and the administration of public health coverage in Massachusetts ever since its universal health plan took effect in April 2006. Christina Severin, executive director of Network Health in Medford, Mass., a private plan that covers subsidized Commonwealth Care members as well as MassHealth Medicaid members, believes programs will continue to struggle until one particular problem is solved: enrollment churning.
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Captive insurance arrangements more common
May 1st 2008Many healthcare entities have explored certain alternative risk transfer arrangements as a means for insuring, or perhaps self-insuring, various exposures. The use of captive insurance arrangements has been a common approach, and thus, "protected cell companies" have become popular vehicles.
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Management systems keep hospitals from meeting goals
May 1st 2008A few hospital systems already are improving work process by implementing Lean and Six-Sigma management principles. Implementing Lean Sigma (a complementary combination of Lean and Six-Sigma) in a hospital setting is not about fixing problem employees who fail to improve their work. It's about fixing the broken systems and processes that hinder medical professionals from doing what they do best.
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Early Retirees: Consumer-driven options the plans of choice for young retirees
May 1st 2008As employers continue to cut back on health insurance for retirees (and might even stop offering it to new employees), early retirees are stuck in an expensive conundrum. More and more this group of retirees is turning to consumer-driven solutions.
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Demand grows for transparent quality measures
May 1st 2008The health-quality measurement bandwagon is picking up steam these days as both public and private payers struggle to deal with rising costs and the need to ensure quality care. Medicare has greatly enhanced its "Hospital Compare" Web site by posting the results of a patient survey on satisfaction with care during hospital stays.
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