Psychiatry

One of the largest and most costly problems facing the healthcare industry is that patients don't consistently take the medicine they've been prescribed. More accurately, between one-third and one-half of patients in the US do not take their medications as instructed, according to an August 2009 report released by the New England Healthcare Institute (http://bit.ly/xlZaW).

Some health care IT industry heavyweights have gone so far as to suggest that the iPad will be greatly utilized in the healthcare setting and revolutionize the way we do business. While I do think the iPad is incredibly shiny and is great computer replacement for your grandma, I think it's a bit of an exaggeration to suggest that it will ever be fully adopted by healthcare IT shops.

McDonald's and other fast food restaurants are catching heat from a variety of sources, but here's something new to add to the fast food naughty list: researchers say that it fosters impatience, at least as with respect to college students.

Modern medicine's technological advances now allow more people to live long enough to develop chronic diseases where the mortality is low but the morbidity high. Hyperchondriacs are acutely aware of this, and perceive great threats in their aging and the future. Hyperchondriacs have similar attributes to hypochondrial patients even as they lack the attendant "symptoms" of a physiologic illness.

An international study, led by University of Montreal researchers Julie Gauthier and Guy Rouleau, reveals that gene mutations in the SHANK3 gene may predispose individuals to schizophrenia.

Neurogenesis reduces the severity of a stroke and improves post-stroke functionality, according to the results of a new study by David Greenberg, MD, PhD, and fellow researchers at the Buck Institute for Age Research.

Google has just completed a major overhaul of Google Docs that includes redesigned spreadsheet, document, and drawing editors; group chat functionality; and the ability to collaborate with real-time character-by-character mark-up.

Several new studies from the Medical College of Georgia examine the role that a sedentary lifestyle and being overweight can have on a child's health.

In people who are depressed and anxious, the negative effects of depression may be modified, positively or negatively, by anxiety.

Yesterday, April 11, 2010, the Governor of Oregon, Ted Kulongoski, vetoed a bill that would have allowed psychologists to prescribe medication after completing two years of additional education.

As adolescent diabetics get older, the level of parental involvement in their lives decreases, resulting in increasingly poorer adherence to treatment regimens.

The highly coveted iPad was released last weekend, and those who were fortunate enough to acquire the new gadget have been quick to discuss what kind of impact it will have on just about any industry. But what kind of impact will the iPad have on healthcare?

Adult patients with ADHD may benefit more from meta-cognitive therapy than supportive therapy, researchers at Mount Sinai Medical Center report.

Early this morning, President Obama announced that there is no actual need for healthcare reform, and apologized for "making such a big deal about it before."

Raloxifene could become a new treatment option for post-menopausal women with schizophrenia.

Atrial fibrillation is independently associated with the risk for all forms of dementia, particularly in patients younger than 70.

Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, Pamela Hartzband, MD, and Jerome Groopman, MD, explore the changes, good and bad, that the Internet has brought to the practice of medicine.

Individuals across the country are either rejoicing, cursing, or anxious over the historic passing of healthcare reform legislation and for physicians and legal experts alike the question remains: What will these changes mean for the practice of medicine and patients' rights?

Study results published in the American Journal of Infection Control found that Twitter is often used to spread misleading or false information about key healthcare topics, with incorrect information from a single tweet able to reach hundreds of thousands of patients.

The Mood Disorder Questionnaire may not be the best tool for diagnosing bipolar disorder, according to a new study from researchers at Rhode Island Hospital.

HCPLive interviewed Ron Wince, president and CEO of Guidon Performance Solutions about the healthcare reform bill.

Currently, Alzheimer's disease cannot be definitively diagnosed until after death, when a brain autopsy is performed on a patient and evidence of beta-amyloid plaque deposits in the brain can be found.

We met cute. Classic Hollywood. America caught a glimpse of healthcare reform about a year ago--but only in passing, a little flirtatious hair-toss. Couldn't really see anything, veiled and shadowy, but God did she look great.

I have stayed away from saying much about the health care reform debate so far, but based on the healthcare reform plan passed yesterday, I'd have to say, "Gosh, that doesn't look too bad."

Sunday evening, the House of Representatives voted 219 to 212 to approve the Senate version of the health reform bill. Lost in all the hoopla surrounding backroom wheeling and dealing and arcane parliamentary procedures has been the response from the physician community, which has been decidedly mixed.

The healthcare sector will see an increase of 4 million jobs by 2018. Unfortunately, we'll continue to see shortages on the doctor's side, meaning that to take advantage of growth, doctors will need to cultivate a strong supporting cast. Here's how to do it.

The results of a new study suggest that children who exhibit bipolar-like symptoms may fare better with an emerging diagnostic approach.

A new website provides data on how healthy-or unhealthy-every county is.

A child's risk for bipolar disorder or schizophrenia may be directly impacted by having one or more parents with the condition.

The market for retail health clinics is expected to expand more than 30 percent by 2014, signaling a major opportunity for physicians. Here are three ways in which you can take advantage of this growth trend.