News

Last week, the California Department of Public Health fined five hospitals a total of $675,000 after determining that the facilities failed to prevent unauthorized access to confidential patient medical records.

This week: measuring the impact of technology on physicians' personal and professional lives, EMRs and the usability factor,Health IT consultants for office-based physicians, and cloud computing in healthcare.

When it comes to healthcare reform, a former industry executive says we should be wary of top-down, Washington-driven reform that produces more bureaucracy, less freedom of choice, and higher costs.

Researchers studying a rare inherited pain disorder have identified a mutation that enhances the function of a specific ion channel as the cause. The results of the study were published in the June edition of the journal Neuron.

Using the Internet during patient visits can be a very useful tool, according to Dr. Pullen. Here, he describes some of his favorite websites to use while seeing patients.

The therapy helps children who have not responded to aggressive nutritional therapy grow.

In an effort to create a uniform and accurate method for determining brain death, the AAN has issued a revised guideline that provides physicians with a step-by-step process for determining brain death in adults.

The FDA is considering a series of proposals that would provide physicians and consumers with more detailed information about drugs that are in the development stages and still pending approval.

What's the connection between a low IQ in early adulthood and risk for attempted suicide later in life?

A team of scientists in Taiwan recently completed a study evaluating the combination of band ligation and nadolol to prevent a first variceal bleed due to cirrhosis, finding that the combination is not effective and may actually increase adverse events.

Research teams have come up with a possible explanation of why some commonly used drugs increase a patient's risk of breaking bones.

Taking certain nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may increase the risks of dying from heart-related causes, according to a study published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

Dr. Pullen examines the results of the recent CDC survey.

Dr. Pullen's latest blog entry discusses this frequently asked office question, how it can have several different meanings, and how the answer may change, depending on what the question is really asking.

Jerald Block, MD, a major in the army reserves who just finished serving a 3-month deployment as a psychiatrist for a combat stress control team, wrote us from western Iraq to explain his role in this position, the conditions he mostly treats, how technology has impacted his practice in both military and civilian roles, and what other psychiatrists can learn from his experiences.

Roughly one-quarter of all hospital patients were readmitted for the same conditions that prompted their initial hospitalization over a 2-year period, according to a report from the AHRQ.

An insomnia drug being developed by Merck & Co was significantly more effective at improving sleep than a placebo in a mid-stage study, according to data presented at the SLEEP 2010 24th Annual Meeting.

We spoke to Jay Parkinson, MD, recently to catch up on Hello Health, learn what new ventures he's involved in, and discuss his ideas on how to effectively improve the healthcare system.

A team of researchers has identified novel synaptic defects in an area of the brain that is involved in the emotional symptoms of Fragile X Syndrome.

Alcohol consumption and smoking are strongly associated with migraine and tension-type headaches in adolescents, according to a study published in Headache.

HHS is granting $83.9 million to help networks of health centers adopt EHRs and other health information technology systems, as part of the $2 billion allotted under ARRA to expand healthcare services to low-income and uninsured individuals.

Michael W. Weaver, MD, assistant professor of Neurosurgery, Temple University, explains the Vycor Medical's ViewSite Brain Access System.

Counties that have teaching hospitals experience a 10% rise in fatal drug errors during the month of July, according to research published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Dr. Pullen recounts one memorable cross-country flight when he was called on to assist not one, but two patients: a woman who was having an episode of angina and another who was having difficulty breathing due to emphysema.

When physicians spend the entire office visit typing data into the EMR, they may be hearing what the patient is saying, but they sure aren't listening.

For runners suffering with knee pain, a twice weekly hip strengthening regimen may prove effective at reducing, or eliminating, patellofemoral pain (PFP).

Apple is expected to unveil the latest edition of the iPhone today at the Worldwide Developers Conference, but rumors are flying that Steve Jobs and company may also be planning to announce some even bigger news.

The past few years, Apple's WWDC conference has been mostly directed at developers. But as Apple fanboys/girls have become increasingly interested in anything Apple-related, and with the anticipation of some iPhone 4G news, consumers have begun to come out in droves along with developers. For those of you who could not make it, we present the Cover It Live platform below, which will extract all conversations on Twitter related to this event, and will also include videos, pictures, and other resources our editors find relating to WWDC announcements and news.

Cigarette manufacturers will soon have to replace words like "light," "mild," and "medium" with colors to reflect the type of cigarette that the box contains.

A diet rich in fruit, vegetables and fish can lower a child's risk of asthma and wheeze, while eating burgers three or more times a week is associated with an increased risk, according to findings published in Thorax.