http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Surgical infections associated with pacemakers and defibrillators led to 3-fold increases in hospital stay, 55-118% higher hospitalization costs, 8 to 11 fold increase in mortality rates, and double the mortality after 1 year compared to pacemaker and defibrillator implantations where no infection occurred. Surprisingly, more than one-third of the excess mortality occurred after hospital discharge. These findings, from a new study in Medicare beneficiaries of more than 200,000 pacemaker and defibrillator implantations with and without infection, were presented today at a poster session at the American College of Cardiology 60th Annual Scientific Session by researchers from the Mayo Clinic, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and TYRX, Inc. http://phys.org/news221138641.html Medicine & Health Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:24:13 EST news221138641 (AP) -- Arizona's cash-strapped Medicaid program is considering charging patients $50 a year if they smoke, have diabetes or are overweight. A spokeswoman for the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System said Friday that the fee is intended to rein in health care costs by pushing patients to keep themselves healthy. http://phys.org/news220987255.html Medicine & Health Sat, 02 Apr 2011 18:50:01 EST news220987255 The United States should pay close attention to how the United Kingdom carries out plans to assess a new drug's worth using factors that go beyond clinical and cost effectiveness, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. http://phys.org/news220873615.html Medicine & Health Fri, 01 Apr 2011 10:47:37 EST news220873615 Bariatric surgery is an especially cost-effective therapy for managing Type 2 diabetes in moderately and severely obese patients. These findings and others were presented today at the 2nd World Congress on Interventional Therapies for Type 2 Diabetes, hosted by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College. http://phys.org/news220637029.html Medicine & Health Tue, 29 Mar 2011 17:04:14 EST news220637029 Researchers with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health have found high rates of the multi-drug resistant pathogen, carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) among the patient population in long-term acute care hospitals compared to general acute care hospitals across the county. These findings are particularly important because CRKP was thought to be contained to East Coast facilities and communities. These findings will be presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) on April 3 in Dallas. http://phys.org/news220182957.html Medicine & Health Thu, 24 Mar 2011 10:56:44 EST news220182957 A new study in the journal Health Services Research shows that diabetes patients who do a better job of taking their medication have slightly lower health care costs. http://phys.org/news219670689.html Medicine & Health Fri, 18 Mar 2011 13:00:02 EST news219670689 Maxwell Mehlman, professor of law and medicine, says there's no evidence that reducing a victim's compensation will save money. http://phys.org/news219669815.html Medicine & Health Fri, 18 Mar 2011 12:23:56 EST news219669815 Microsoft's billionaire co-founder Bill Gates on Thursday warned that US state politicians are pitting young against old in their heated budget battles. http://phys.org/news218394487.html Other Sciences Thu, 03 Mar 2011 17:08:18 EST news218394487 Cost-effectiveness analysis should play a bigger role in the American health care system, argued a University of Chicago researcher Friday at the annual conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. http://phys.org/news217259709.html Medicine & Health Fri, 18 Feb 2011 14:40:02 EST news217259709 Cancer survivors die of non-cancer-related causes at much higher rates than the general public. In 2008, the U.S. economic burden of cancer totaled over $228 billion but only 41% of these costs involved direct cancer care. The majority of expenses were attributed to increased morbidity, lost productivity, and premature mortality. A commentary published in the March 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association examines the current evidence supporting nutrition recommendations for preventing cancer recurrence and managing chronic conditions prevalent in cancer survivors, as well as improving quality of life and decreasing health care costs. The commentary also describes knowledge gaps and suggests future nutrition research directions. http://phys.org/news217231958.html Medicine & Health Fri, 18 Feb 2011 06:13:18 EST news217231958 (AP) -- CT scans, MRIs and other pricey imaging tests are often more for the doctor's benefit than the patient's, new research confirms. http://phys.org/news217094715.html Medicine & Health Wed, 16 Feb 2011 16:05:42 EST news217094715 (PhysOrg.com) -- Many of Michigan's local government leaders think fringe benefits given to their jurisdictions' employees are too generous, but they are not overpaid, a new University of Michigan study finds. http://phys.org/news216415140.html Other Sciences Tue, 08 Feb 2011 19:19:18 EST news216415140 Many elderly Australians are either admitted to hospital suffering malnutrition, or become malnourished while in hospital, which increases hospital length of stay and health care costs. http://phys.org/news216383795.html Medicine & Health Tue, 08 Feb 2011 10:37:00 EST news216383795 As mental health care costs and problem gambling rates continue to rise, University of Missouri researchers are developing a personalized feedback tool that could serve as an effective and inexpensive way for people with addictive behavior-related problems to get the help they need. http://phys.org/news216309691.html Medicine & Health Mon, 07 Feb 2011 14:10:01 EST news216309691 Focused programs and public health policies can help reduce the burden of alcohol in Canada, which contributes significantly to acute and chronic diseases, social problems and trauma, states an analysis in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). http://phys.org/news216309616.html Medicine & Health Mon, 07 Feb 2011 14:00:28 EST news216309616 Saving thousands of lives and reducing health care costs might be a matter of just picking up the phone. http://phys.org/news213958173.html Medicine & Health Tue, 11 Jan 2011 08:50:52 EST news213958173 Researchers from Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, WA, have found that clinical decision support systems can help reduce inappropriate medical imaging, including unnecessary computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, according to a study in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology. http://phys.org/news213342531.html Medicine & Health Tue, 04 Jan 2011 07:20:02 EST news213342531 (AP) -- You paid your Medicare taxes all those years and think you deserve your money's worth: full benefits after you retire. http://phys.org/news212933661.html Medicine & Health Thu, 30 Dec 2010 12:40:01 EST news212933661 Private insurers appear to be more effective in controlling health care spending differences between two Texas cities than Medicare, according to researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health. Researchers found that sharp disparities in per-capita Medicare healthcare spending between McAllen and El Paso were significantly diminished when private insurance paid for health care costs in the under-65 population. http://phys.org/news210945402.html Medicine & Health Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:30:09 EST news210945402 From hotel-style room service to massage therapy to magnificent views, hospitals are increasingly touting their luxury services in a bid to gain market share, especially those in competitive urban markets. An important new article, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, raises crucial questions about the role of amenities in hospital care, explaining that how we decide to value the patient experience can have a significant effect on health care costs. http://phys.org/news210519804.html Medicine & Health Thu, 02 Dec 2010 13:44:27 EST news210519804 Health care costs and expenditures are expected to rise over the next decade or two and governments need methods to publicly finance these costs, states an analysis in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). http://phys.org/news210257296.html Medicine & Health Mon, 29 Nov 2010 12:48:25 EST news210257296 (AP) -- Medicare's new chief called for more steps to improve patient safety Tuesday, in the wake of a government report that said one in seven hospitalized Medicare patients is harmed during their stay. http://phys.org/news209208633.html Medicine & Health Wed, 17 Nov 2010 10:00:01 EST news209208633 Failure to have a prescription filled can undermine medical treatment, result in increased health care costs and potentially have devastating results for the patient. An editorial in the Nov. 16 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine highlights the problem and issues a call to action. http://phys.org/news209129790.html Medicine & Health Tue, 16 Nov 2010 11:50:01 EST news209129790 (AP) -- A headache awaits people who use those tax-free health spending accounts to pay for over-the-counter allergy relievers, heartburn blockers and other drugstore remedies. Starting next year, you'll need a prescription for the drugs to qualify. http://phys.org/news209064296.html Medicine & Health Mon, 15 Nov 2010 17:29:29 EST news209064296 An Indiana University study found that Indiana spends more on the health care consequences of substance abuse than on its prevention. http://phys.org/news208411422.html Medicine & Health Mon, 08 Nov 2010 04:03:51 EST news208411422 A national survey finds most physicians believe Medicare reimbursement is inequitable, but there appears to be little consensus regarding proposed reforms, according to a report in the October 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. http://phys.org/news207243090.html Medicine & Health Mon, 25 Oct 2010 17:20:05 EST news207243090 Patients were misdiagnosed with pneumonia at an alarming rate when they were readmitted to the hospital shortly after a previous hospitalization for the same illness, according to two Henry Ford Hospital companion studies. http://phys.org/news206972345.html Medicine & Health Fri, 22 Oct 2010 13:40:02 EST news206972345 (PhysOrg.com) -- New research by UC oral and maxillofacial surgeons suggests that treating isolated lower jaw fractures on an outpatient basis has the same outcome and significantly lowers health care costs. http://phys.org/news205082326.html Medicine & Health Thu, 30 Sep 2010 16:19:03 EST news205082326 About 17 percent of all visits to hospital emergency departments across the United States could be treated at retail medical clinics or urgent care centers, potentially saving $4.4 billion annually in health care costs, according to a new RAND Corporation study. http://phys.org/news203052975.html Medicine & Health Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:20:01 EST news203052975 Hospitalizations for three common waterborne diseases cost the health care system as much as $539 million annually, according to research presented today at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases. http://phys.org/news198341855.html Medicine & Health Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:57:50 EST news198341855