The treatment setting for alcoholism is in for a major shift from specialize clinics to primary care offices because of new research and medications, according to a report in the December 5 Journal of the American Medical Association. But if the promise of office-based treatment of alcoholism is to become a reality, the nation's 337,000 general-practice physicians--and the healthcare system as a whole--will have to undergo some transformation themselves, addiction experts say.
The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee has another union representation victory after nurses at the 171-bed Whittier Hospital Medical Center in the Los Angeles area voted to join the union. The CNA will now now represent 300 Whittier Hospital RNs in contract negotiations.
Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital, a 25-bed facility in Manistique, MI, says it may close because of a dispute with the state over how long it allows some patients recovering from serious illness to stay. The hospital has filed a federal lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Community Health, as the department was fining the hospital $500,000 for violating state regulations.
A landmark affiliation agreement was approved by the Kansas Board of Regents and a University of Kansas physicians group. The agreement solidifies relationships among the University of Kansas Hospital, the University of Kansas Medical Center and Kansas University Physicians Inc. It also comes on the heels of an expansion of research and graduate medical-education ties between KU Medical Center and St. Luke's Hospital, a principal rival of KU Hospital.
Most doctors don't talk about breast reconstruction with women before cancer surgery, which may deprive them of key information that can sway their decision about whether to have the whole breast or just a lump removed, according to a study.
As some Atlanta black leaders protested the prospect of a white businessman leading the new Grady hospital board, a person close to the Pete Correll said Correll is not interested in the post. Some black leaders say they believe Correll would lead a white business takeover of the hospital that traditionally serves poor black people.