Family Caregivers, Simple Touch Techniques Reduce Symptoms In Cancer Patients
Family caregivers can significantly reduce suffering in cancer patients at home through use of simple touch and massage techniques. These findings were recently reported at the 6th International Conference of the Society for Integrative Oncology. The study, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, evaluated outcomes of a 78 minute DVD instructional program and illustrated manual in a sample of 97 patients and their caregivers. The multi-ethnic sample represented 21 types of cancer (nearly half with breast cancer ) and all stages of disease. Caregivers included spouses, adult children, parents, siblings and friends. The project was conducted in Boston, MA, Portland, ME, and Portland, OR using English, Spanish and Chinese languages.
Investments In IT Spur Health, Technology Sectors
The Maryland state government will invest $10 million in a statewide health information exchange, a move that complements federal incentives to buy electronic medical records that have been channeled through the stimulus bill, Baltimore Business Journal reports. The exchange - tentatively titled CRISP, for Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients - will allow health care providers to quickly share patient information between different organizations, including clinics, hospitals and nursing homes. Maryland insurers plan to provide additional incentive payments for doctors to adopt records on top of the federal money (Dash, 8/5). Such investments in health IT by the federal government "are likely to drive lots of growth" in the technology sector, The Wall Street Journal's blog, Digits, reports.
Tips For Finding The Best Long-Term Care: New Book By MU Expert
America's 77 million aging baby boomers and their families soon will face decisions about their long-term care needs. A new book co-authored by Marilyn Rantz, an eldercare expert at the University of Missouri, explains how consumers can find the best eldercare options in their communities. "Making the right choice for long-term care often is a difficult and discouraging task for older adults and their families and friends, " said Rantz, author and professor in the MU Sinclair School of Nursing. "Consumers often are perplexed by the maze of options and the difficulties with finding the right services. This guide will make choosing long-term care much easier.
Study Shows That Competitive Bidding Benefits Insurance Companies And Forces Many Seniors To Use Out-of-State Providers
The American Association for Homecare hosted a media conference call yesterday, unveiling a new economic study that exposes severe flaws in the Medicare competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment and services. The bidding program is set to re-start this October. The study, released today by Brian O'Roark, PhD, of Robert Morris University, found that the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services drastically misread the marketplace and that the current competitive bidding program reduces overall competition and hurts the quality of patient care. The full report and a summary of findings are available at http://www.aahomecare.org. "There is nothing competitive about this misconceived program, " said Tyler J.
Treatment For Chronic Illness Must Be Less Disruptive In The Daily Lives Of Patients
A paper published today on bmj.com reports that many patients with complex chronic illnesses are overwhelmed by their treatment. The authors explain that the burden is caused by the healthcare systems themselves. In order to be effective, care must be less disturbing in the daily lives of patients. Professors Carl May, Victor Montori, and Frances Mair write: "Chronic disease is the great epidemic of our times, but the strategies we have developed to manage it have created a growing burden for patients". This treatment burden leads to poor observance, wasted resources, and poor results. For instance, this is illustrated by the case of a man being treated for heart failure in UK primary care.
MRSA May Accompany Hospital Patients Into Home Health Settings
Infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ( MRSA ) appears relatively common among patients discharged from the hospital into home health care, according to a report in the August 10/24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. In addition, about one-fifth of infected patients may transmit the organism to other people in their households. MRSA is common in hospitals in most countries, and as the incidence of infection increases new patterns of spread are emerging, according to background information in the article. "Thus, in the last decade, community-acquired MRSA strains have caused hospital outbreaks and sometimes replaced older strains previously responsible for hospital-acquired MRSA infections, " the authors write.
Today's Editorials And Opinions
Reform Madness The Daily Show So the debate has seems to have boiled down to one side screaming so loud and so angrily that they've drown out the other side's incoherence (Stewart, 8/11). Health Debate Isn't About Health The Wall Street Journal The health debate, which now has moved beyond the Beltway and into raucous town halls across the land, is so intense in part because it's not really about health care at all. On a deeper level, it's about the role of government in America's economy (Seib, 8/11). Debunking Medicare Myths The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post What should be a national debate on health care reform has devolved into a national shouting match, much of it over reform myths, not realities.
Nursing Home Interventions Improve Quality Of Care, Reduce Staff Turnover
A study recently released by the UNC Institute on Aging has identified three workplace interventions that are improving quality of care and reducing staff turnover in North Carolina's nursing homes. Thomas R. Konrad, PhD, research professor of health policy and management at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and a senior scientist at the Institute on Aging, is a co-author of the study. Previous research has shown that high levels of turnover and worker shortages may compromise both the availability of frontline workers and the quality of care, potentially putting nursing home residents at risk. The study, conducted in North Carolina nursing homes between 2004 and 2007, examined the impact of three programs funded by civil monetary penalties - funds collected from nursing homes for deficiencies in care.
Admiral Nurses - Still Waiting For The Promised DH Urgent Review Of Anti-Psychotics 'The Drug Of Last Resort' For People With Dementia, UK
The charity for dementia and Admiral Nurses strongly supported the call for a change in practice when, in June 2008, the Department of Health (DH) announced it was to undertake an urgent review of the prescribing of anti-psychotic drugs for people with dementia. The DH stated that the review would assess the scale of inappropriate prescribing, and the reasons behind misuse of this type of medication. Anti-psychotic drugs have significant risk factors for people with dementia a particularly vulnerable group, many of whom are resident in care homes where specialist knowledge of drug treatments is often lacking. "More than one year on we are still waiting for this review into this important issue on which both carers and professionals alike need clear guidance, " says Ian Weatherhead, Lead Admiral Nurse for Admiral Nursing DIRECT - a national helpline operated exclusively by Admiral Nurses, who are specialists in dementia care.
Caregivers Of People With Diabetes: Diet And Exercise Plans, Managing Blood Sugar Levels And Reliable Online Information Cited As Top Concerns
The Hormone Foundation, the public education affiliate of The Endocrine Society, in collaboration with the National Alliance for Caregiving, released key findings from a first-of-its-kind survey aimed at better understanding the daily needs and struggles of unpaid caregivers of people with diabetes. The online survey completed by 1, 002 respondents in April 2009 found that the major challenges in caring for those with diabetes include exercise and diet compliance, patient depression and maintaining target sugar levels. Caregivers reported that the physician is their top information source, followed by the Internet. However, while 73 percent of caregivers reported using the Internet to obtain diabetes information, many expressed frustration in evaluating the quality and reliability of online content.