A 40 percent decline in the death rate of diabetic American adults from heart disease and strokes is a sign that patients are taking better care of themselves and receiving improved treatment, according to a government study released on Tuesday. Overall death rates among diabetic adults dropped 23 percent from 1997 to 2006, according to the study by researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. The study examined data from 250,000 patients. Despite the significant decline in diabetic deaths from cardiovascular disease, the rate is still twice as high as those without the disease, the CDC said.
We asked Americans who actually use the health system quite a bit how they view the quality of care and its cost. When the results came back, we found that people who have a serious medical condition or who’ve been in the hospital in the past year tended to have more concerns about costs and quality than people who aren't sick. No big surprise there. But what was notable: 3 of 4 people who were sick said cost is a very serious problem, and half said quality is a very serious problem.
A new study finds that patients' opinions of the care they receive can be quite different from the actual quality of the medical care. More alarming is that opinions and experiences vary greatly by race. Researchers asked 374 women who had received treatment for early stage breast cancer at New York City hospitals about their opinions of the care they got. African-American women were less likely to report excellent care than Caucasian or Hispanic women, less likely to trust their doctor, and more likely to say they experienced racism during the process. There was, however, no difference in the actual quality of medical care they received, compared to Caucasian or Hispanic women.
Among hospital intensive care units (ICUs) with a daytime physician specially trained in critical care, adding a specialist to cover the night shift does not improve patients' survival, according to a new study. Among hospitals with ICUs that don't have a dedicated critical care physician during the day, however, the presence of such a doctor at night was tied to a smaller likelihood that patients would die. The results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, counter an argument from some in the medical community that ICUs need round-the-clock intensivists—doctors who specialize in critical care.
For the 25 million people in the United States with limited English proficiency, the potential for medical mishaps is multiplied. Too often, however, interpreter services at hospitals and other medical settings are inadequate. According to a study published in March, ad hoc interpreters make nearly twice as many potentially clinically significant interpreting errors as do trained interpreters. The study, published online in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, examined 57 interactions at two large pediatric emergency departments in Massachusetts. Researchers analyzed audiotapes of the visits, looking for five types of errors. They recorded 1,884 errors, of which 18 percent had potential clinical consequences.
Hospitals and clinics are preparing for a future in which almost half of the population will be obese. "Obesity is just rampant," said Trudy Ivins, bariatric program director at Memorial Hermann-Memorial City, who has helped the hospital incorporate furniture and equipment for heavier patients and their families throughout its facilities. The annual cost for obesity-related illnesses is estimated at $190 billion, but that doesn't count the price tag for plus-size furniture and equipment, which can cost 50 percent more than conventional equipment. Economists say those expenses ultimately will be passed on to everyone in the form of higher medical bills.