Healthcare
The Pump Handle
Category archives for Healthcare
Public health takes on the opioid abuse and overdose problem, building on strengths as conveners, educators
Posted by The Pump Handle on November 30, 2012 A decade ago, only about 10 percent of the patients at Cincinnati’s Center for Chemical Addictions Treatment were admitted for opioid addiction and abuse. During the treatment center’s last fiscal year, that number was up to 64 percent. The numbers reflect a startling trend in Ohio and throughout the nation — a trend that public health workers are taking to task.
Gastric bypass surgery and the importance of long follow-up times
Posted by Liz Borkowski on November 29, 2012 A new study finds that one-third of the subjects whose diabetes went into remission following gastric bypass surgery developed the disease again within five years.
Physicians take lead role in confronting opioid misuse, but still face hurdles
Posted by The Pump Handle on November 16, 2012 Since 2000, overdose deaths due to prescription painkillers in Utah have increased by more than 400 percent. By 2006, more Utahans were losing their lives to prescription drug overdoses than to motor vehicle crashes. For Dr. Lynn Webster, a longtime pain management physician, the startling numbers were a call to action.
Getting smarter about antibiotics — in some settings, at least
Posted by Liz Borkowski on November 14, 2012 It’s Get Smart About Antibiotics Week, and new research finds that antibiotic prescription-filling rates vary substantially from state to state in the US.
Chronic pain patients caught in the middle of growing opioid abuse problem
Posted by The Pump Handle on November 9, 2012 It took six years of going from doctor to doctor to doctor for Penney Cowan to finally receive a diagnosis for her chronic pain: fibromyalgia. Doctors had told her she’d just have to learn to live with the pain — a condition that some days made it hard to lift a cup of coffee. So when she decided to join the pain program at Ohio’s Cleveland Clinic, she didn’t have high hopes. She says she expected the effort to fail.
Hurricanes, healthcare, and elections
Posted by Liz Borkowski on October 31, 2012 When it comes to disaster preparedness and to healthcare, the two presidential candidates have fundamentally different approaches.
Despite record of saving lives and money, poison centers face uncertain funding future
Posted by The Pump Handle on October 26, 2012 Earlier this year, federal officials put their foot down: New Hampshire could no longer use federal preparedness money to supports its poison control efforts. The directive sent state lawmakers scrambling to find extra funds. Without new money, New Hampshire callers to the Northern New England Poison Center would get a recording telling them to call 911 or go to the emergency room.
Is the ACA bad for business? Not so, say researchers and business owners
Posted by The Pump Handle on October 19, 2012 At Palm Beach Groves in Lantana, Fla., a small, seasonal business that ships fresh citrus nationwide, employees have regularly voted between getting a raise or keeping their employer-based health insurance. Health coverage always wins, as many employees’ ages and pre-existing conditions would have made it nearly impossible to get coverage on their own. But a new report finds the Affordable Care Act is on target to help prevent this scenario.
Report illustrates worrisome trend of painkiller abuse among injured workers
Posted by The Pump Handle on October 12, 2012 Researchers studying workers’ compensation claims have found that almost one in 12 injured workers who begin using opioids were still using the prescription drugs three to six months later. It’s a trend that, not surprisingly, can lead to addiction, increased disability and more work loss – but few doctors are acting to prevent it.
New Health Wonk Review is up
Posted by Liz Borkowski on October 11, 2012 The latest Health Wonk Review features posts on healthcare issues in the presidential debates, efforts to contain US healthcare spending, and other healthcare topics.