Soon, three iPhone applications will be available for patients who want to search for clinical trials from their iPhone. A year ago StopWatch’s Clinical Trials was the only game in town, but now Healogica has launched a similar application and Trial X says they are not far behind. Using the new $0.99 app from Healogica, [...]
Renowned “Brat Pack” director and writer John Hughes died of a heart attack while walking in Manhattan. He was 59 years old. Symptoms include chest discomfort.
Every day millions of patients make weighty decisions about their health, usually they rely heavily, if not entirely, on their doctor’s opinions. But do the doctor’s give out enough information so the patients can form useful opinions themselves? And do doctors listen to the patients about their preferences? Recent research suggests many don’t, as this [...]
What do you need to know before you join a clinical trial? Some patients are so desperate they think taking part in a clinical trial is better than nothing, but not all trials are useful. On the other hand, joining a trial might give you new options and gives researchers useful information that could bring [...]
Health care reform is moving again, but many experts still question whether in the end, it will be real reform that encourages higher quality care and lowers overall costs. The House Energy and Commerce Committee finally voted and approved the health care reform bill that had been stalled as moderate democrats objected to some of [...]
Given that suicides by veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars could outnumber the combat deaths, the Veteran’s Administration (VA) has been under a lot of pressure to do more prevention. The VA recently launched a Suicide Prevention Website. The site is not ideal, but there is plenty of information there and some useful downloads. [...]
Who should get priority access to swine flu (H1N1) vaccine this fall? An advisory committee has decided: pregnant women, people who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age, health care and emergency services personnel, persons between the ages of 6 months through 24 years of age, and people from ages [...]
A study just published in The New England Journal of Medicine illustrates how growing health care costs, added to stagnant wages, are making middle class Americans poorer and poorer. The most affluent households, the study finds, will be able to absorb the steady growth in health care costs. Middle income families, however, are starting to [...]
Physician and novelist Abraham Verghese is pleading for real doctors to to get involved in the discussions about health care reform, before the lobbyists get their way. In an essay in The Wall Street Journal, he writes: “Before we are irretrievably sucked into Washington’s political maneuvering, we desperately need doctors and nurses to speak for [...]
The American Heart Association’s “Pocket First Aid and CPR” iPhone application sells for $3.99. Built using JiveMedia technology, the app provides a quick reference through video and detailed instructions on how to perform first aid for CPR, choking, bites, bruises, burns, seizures, diabetic emergencies, and more. You can also enter your and your loved ones’ [...]
