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. An important aspect of any product is how easily someone can use it for its intended purpose, also known as usability. Electronic health records (EHR) that are usable have the potential to improve patient care, which is why the National Institute of Standards and Technology has outlined formal procedures for evaluating the usability of EHR systems. http://phys.org/news251535568.html Technology Wed, 21 Mar 2012 07:59:35 EST news251535568 Nurses in Florida are falling behind national trends in terms of education — a direction that may affect patient safety and quality of care as well as the ability to educate the next generation of nursing professionals. http://phys.org/news217756881.html Medicine & Health Thu, 24 Feb 2011 08:40:01 EST news217756881 (PhysOrg.com) -- High-quality hospitals deliver lower-cost care to trauma patients, according to a study published in the Annals of Surgery. The study found high-quality hospitals have death rates that are 34 percent lower, while spending nearly 22 percent less on trauma patient care than average-quality hospitals, suggesting high quality can coexist with lower cost. http://phys.org/news217523092.html Medicine & Health Mon, 21 Feb 2011 15:05:09 EST news217523092 Efforts to keep hospital patients safe and continually improve the overall results of health care can't work unless medical centers figure out a way to get physicians more involved in the process. http://phys.org/news215804341.html Medicine & Health Tue, 01 Feb 2011 17:39:10 EST news215804341 (PhysOrg.com) -- Individual patient budgets should play a bigger part in health and social care according to a major new report edited by experts from the University of Birmingham and the Centre for Welfare Reform. It argues that putting individuals in control of their own care budget will improve outcomes and efficiency. http://phys.org/news213558703.html Medicine & Health Thu, 06 Jan 2011 17:52:19 EST news213558703 Doctors can be taught to listen better to individual circumstances that may affect patient care, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine. The findings are reported in the Sept. 15 issue of JAMA. http://phys.org/news203702169.html Medicine & Health Tue, 14 Sep 2010 17:40:02 EST news203702169 Fourth-year medical students who participated in an educational intervention were more likely to seek, identify and incorporate into care patient circumstances that may require variation from standard care, compared to students in a control group, according to a study in the September 15 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on medical education. http://phys.org/news203701851.html Medicine & Health Tue, 14 Sep 2010 17:00:01 EST news203701851 A Johns Hopkins review of nearly 150 randomized controlled trials on children — all published in well-regarded medical journals — reveals that 40 to 60 percent of the studies either failed to take steps to minimize risk for bias or to at least properly describe those measures. http://phys.org/news197904974.html Medicine & Health Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:20:02 EST news197904974 It has long been routine for individual medical professionals to go room-to-room on "rounds" to evaluate hospitalized patients. http://phys.org/news197031734.html Medicine & Health Tue, 29 Jun 2010 12:40:02 EST news197031734 (AP) -- Patients will be told when they're being treated by rookie doctors, who would get shorter shifts and better supervision under proposed work changes for medical residents. http://phys.org/news196534099.html Medicine & Health Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:10:03 EST news196534099 A study by investigators at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine published in this week's issue of JAMA found that public hospital comparison data reported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services does not accurately correlate with a patient's risk for surgical postoperative infection. The retrospective, cohort study of more than 400,000 patients from 398 hospitals nationwide examined the relationship between reported adherence to six infection prevention Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) measures and the probability of patient postoperative infection. http://phys.org/news196444652.html Medicine & Health Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:57:47 EST news196444652 Despite laws to protect NHS workers who wish to raise concerns about patient care, a BMJ investigation reveals that some NHS trusts still make it hard for staff to speak out. http://phys.org/news193466359.html Medicine & Health Wed, 19 May 2010 05:50:02 EST news193466359 The Indiana Network for Patient Care (INPC), one of the highest volume health information exchanges in the United States, is expanding beyond central Indiana to serve patients from southwestern Indiana and southeastern Illinois. http://phys.org/news187363387.html Medicine & Health Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:30:01 EST news187363387 Computer reminders to physicians regarding prescribing produce much smaller improvements than initially expected, found a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). http://phys.org/news187273893.html Medicine & Health Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:10:01 EST news187273893 Embedding clinical images to accompany findings described in a radiology text report enhances radiologists' communication with referring physicians and can improve patient care, according to a study in the March issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology. http://phys.org/news186647336.html Medicine & Health Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:00:02 EST news186647336 A new study by Mount Sinai researchers has for the first time found that patients with more difficult to treat forms of hepatitis C are half as likely to initiate treatment for the disease, when compared to patients with hepatitis C that is easier to treat. Marital status also affected whether patients chose treatment, as did whether or not they had other diseases. The study is published in the November 1 issue of Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. http://phys.org/news177000478.html Medicine & Health Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:00:04 EST news177000478 Seven medical imaging groups wrote a joint letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to formally request coverage of two fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) scans for a patient during the initial treatment evaluation. Currently, CMS covers only one FDG-PET study during initial treatment—a limitation that the groups believe is contrary to good clinical practice under certain circumstances. http://phys.org/news175190937.html Medicine & Health Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:09:40 EST news175190937 A new subsidy designed to increase access to life-saving antiretrovirals must remain focused on quality patient care if it is to succeed, argues Tido von Schoen-Angerer and colleagues in this week's open access journal PLoS Medicine. http://phys.org/news167380613.html Medicine & Health Tue, 21 Jul 2009 08:10:02 EST news167380613 History was made at 2:30 p.m. (EDT) on Wednesday, April 29, when more than 3,000 physicians in Indianapolis were sent a broadcast alert on swine flu (H1N1 virus) from the Marion County Health Department. The message was of critical importance to patient care; history was made in the way it was transmitted and received. http://phys.org/news160763110.html Medicine & Health Tue, 05 May 2009 17:25:46 EST news160763110 A new study conducted at the Hamot Medical Center in Erie, Pennsylvania, and published by Elsevier in the February 2009 issue of The Journal of Emergency Medicine shows that there is a lack of education and understanding in what sets a living will in motion in a pre-hospital setting. Education and implementation of code status designations can clarify this confusion. http://phys.org/news154694783.html Medicine & Health Tue, 24 Feb 2009 10:47:49 EST news154694783 With a long-held commitment to continuously improving the quality and safety of patient care, Mayo Clinic researchers are recommending a new technologically-advanced labeling system aimed at reducing specimen labeling errors in a high-volume gastrointestinal endoscopy center. That conclusion is based on the results of a study they are presenting at the 2008 American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) Annual Meeting. http://phys.org/news142499909.html Medicine & Health Mon, 06 Oct 2008 08:18:29 EST news142499909 We can learn from our mistakes, but how willing are we to talk about them? And what happens when those making mistakes are physicians, who are often expected to be infallible? http://phys.org/news142159251.html Medicine & Health Thu, 02 Oct 2008 09:40:51 EST news142159251