Philadelphia City Councilman Brian J. O'Neill said that Fox Chase Cancer Center's planned $800 million, 25-year expansion was not threatened by delays that have pushed final passage of needed legislation into 2008.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced healthcare professionals should defer giving most children the Hib vaccine booster shot because of a vaccine shortage.
A study has found that doctors who specialize in the general care of hospital patients, or hospitalists, reduce the average hospital stay by 12 percent. The study also found, however, that hospitalists only modestly lower treatment costs.
A former Pfizer Inc. official has accused the company of illegally boosting sales of its top-selling drug Lipitor through a campaign of misleading educational programs for doctors. The former official claims that the educational campaign was a key part of a marketing strategy that "led thousands of physicians to prescribe Lipitor for millions of patients who did not need medication."
Most cancer specialists do not respond to the emotional concerns of their patients with expressions of empathy and support, according to a study. The finding suggests that cancer patients' quality of life might be improved if doctors were better trained to recognize and address cancer patients' emotional concerns.
Uninsured cancer patients are nearly twice as likely to die within five years as those with private coverage, according to research conducted by scientists with the American Cancer Society. People without health insurance are less likely to get recommended cancer screening tests, the study also found.