Growth House NewsThe latest news on quality improvement for care for the dying.Bill introduced to improve access to investigational drugs by terminally ill patients- May 23, 2008 Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kans.) and Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.) have introduced the Access, Compassion, Care, and Ethics for Seriously Ill Patients Act (ACCESS) to make it easier for terminally ill patients to use treatments in the investigational phase of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.http://www.revolutionhealth.com/blogs/valjonesmd/are-fda-regulators-pr-13871 OIG Presents Ways to Improve Quality of Nursing Home Care- May 17, 2008 Lewis Morris, Chief Counsel to the Inspector General, testified before Congress on ways to improve the quality of nursing home care.http://medicareupdate.typepad.com/medicare_update/2008/05/on-may-15-2008.html Nursing home enforcement needs to get tougher, study says- May 16, 2008 Center for Medicare Advocacy review of nursing home enforcement decisions shows that serious deficiencies often get only modest fines and penalties, calls for tougher action.http://www.medicareadvocacy.org/SNF_08_05.15.DABdecReport.htm Inspectors Often Overlook Serious Deficiencies at U.S. Nursing Homes, GAO Report Finds- May 15, 2008 State nursing home inspectors miss or minimize deficiencies such as malnutrition, severe bedsores, overuse of medications and abuse that pose threats to patients, according to a report by the Govenment Accountability Office .http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/15/washington/15health.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=deficienc... Clock Ticking To Stop Medicare Physician Cuts That Hurt Seniors- May 11, 2008 The American Medical Association (AMA) urged Congress to take immediate action to avert looming Medicare physician payment cuts that will harm seniors' access to care.http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106954.php BMJ poll shows importance of palliative care- May 6, 2008 A British Medical Journal (BMJ) poll says palliative care is the area in which doctors can make the greatest difference to patient care.http://makingadifference.bmj.com Size of the Medicare funding shortfall exceeds that of the mortgage crisis- May 6, 2008 American Enterprise Institute study says that if Medicare is to pay all of its bills over the next seventy-five years, $36 trillion in general taxes, measured in today's dollars, must be transferred to the trust funds.http://www.aei.org/docLib/20080416_0322979HPOBate_g.pdf "Slow medicine" helps elderly be heard at lifes end- May 6, 2008 Grounded in research at the Dartmouth Medical School, slow medicine encourages physicians to put on the brakes when considering care that may have high risks and limited rewards for the elderly.http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/05/health/05slow.html?_r=1&bl&ex=1210132800&en=... Health care meets online social media- May 6, 2008 California Healthcare Foundation issues report on online social media and Health 2.0.http://www.chcf.org/documents/chronicdisease/HealthCareSocialMedia.pdf FDA approves Relistor for treatment of opioid-induced constipation- May 6, 2008 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Relistor (methylnaltrexone bromide) subcutaneous injection for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation in patients with advanced illness who are receiving palliative care, when response to laxative therapy has not been sufficient.http://www.wyeth.com/news?nav=display&navTo=/wyeth_html/home/news/pressreleases/2008/1... |