February 13, 2012
MONDAY, Feb. 13 (HealthDay News) — Young adults in states that allow them to stay on their parents’ health insurance until age 26 have better access to health care, according to a new study.
The findings suggest a potential positive impact from a provision of the Affordable Care Act, the U.S. health care law passed in 2010 that requires private insurers to support children on their parents’ health insurance policies through age 26, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers said in a Mount Sinai news release.
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February 9, 2012
By Maureen Salamon
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Feb. 9 (HealthDay News) — A shocking new national survey suggests that nearly all orthopedic surgeons may order unnecessary tests, referrals or hospitalizations to avoid being sued, to the tune of $2 billion a year.
The report is the first of its kind to demonstrate that “defensive medicine” — practiced to help exonerate doctors from malpractice accusations but adding no benefits to patient care — is common among orthopedic surgeons across the United States, the study authors said.
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February 8, 2012
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthDay News) — More Americans are buying the generic forms of medications, and this practice has made their prescriptions more affordable, according to a new report.
But even though some out-of-pocket drug costs may have declined, paying for prescription drugs remains an obstacle for people with low incomes, public insurance and those with chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and mental disorders, noted the researchers at RAND Corp., a nonprofit research organization.
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February 2, 2012
THURSDAY, Feb. 2 (HealthDay News) — A new medication that helps prevent strokes in people with the abnormal heart rhythm disorder known as atrial fibrillation poses less risk of bleeding in the brain than a commonly used drug, research comparing rivaroxaban (Xarelto) and warfarin suggests.
Anti-clotting medications, also called blood-thinners or anticoagulants, include warfarin (Coumadin) and aspirin, among others. In patients with atrial fibrillation, these drugs can reduce the risk of ischemic stroke, which occurs when a vessel becomes clogged by a blood clot. But the drugs can also cause excessive bleeding because they make it harder for blood to clot.
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February 2, 2012
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Feb. 2 (HealthDay News) — Be wary of buying the cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins on the Internet, British researchers say.
Common statins such as Lipitor, Crestor or Zocor may not be the same as advertised and sites often don’t include warnings about side effects or even require a prescription, the researchers noted.
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January 30, 2012
By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Jan. 30 (HealthDay News) — Americans are slowly starting to embrace some key components of the controversial health care reform act signed into law by President Barack Obama nearly two years ago, a new Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll found.
To be sure, Americans remain sharply divided over the legislation, with slightly more than one-third (36 percent) of adults saying they want the law repealed and 21 percent saying they want it to remain as is. Another 25 percent would like to see only certain elements of the law modified, the poll found.
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January 25, 2012
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 25 (HealthDay News) — Doctors are more likely to use high-cost MRI scans to diagnose peripheral neuropathy than cheaper — and more effective — glucose tolerance tests, a new U.S. study has found.
In people with peripheral neuropathy, the nerves that carry information to and from the brain don’t work properly. Symptoms of the disorder include tingling, burning or less feeling in the arms or legs, and can range from mild to severe.
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January 19, 2012
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 18 (HealthDay News) — Antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are associated with an increased risk of falls in nursing home residents with dementia, a new study finds.
Researchers in the Netherlands analyzed data about daily prescription medicine use and falls among 248 nursing home residents with dementia. The dataset collected between Jan. 1, 2006 and Jan. 1, 2008 included 85,074 person-days.
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January 6, 2012
By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, Jan. 6 (HealthDay News) — If the current shortage of some drugs used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has left you searching for something else for your child to take, experts suggest you choose a substitute carefully because the effects of these medications can vary widely.
For example, “generics can sometimes be less bioavailable [how much of the drug is absorbed into the bloodstream], and that can make it harder to get an exact dose match between medications,” explained Dr. Eric Hollander, director of the Autism and Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Program at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.
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January 2, 2012
By Denise Mann
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Jan. 2 (HealthDay News) — New research suggests that the combination of poverty and having diabetes during pregnancy significantly raises the risk of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a woman’s offspring.
Children born to such moms are as much as 14 times more likely to have ADHD by the age of 6, the study found. ADHD is a behavioral disorder characterized by difficulty focusing, impulsive behaviors and hyperactivity.
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