Medicare Archives

CT colonography a front line colorectal cancer screening tool for seniors

A recent analysis of data collected in the National CT Colonography Trial conducted by the American College of Radiology Imaging Network confirms the efficacy of the exam as a front line colorectal cancer screening tool for seniors – Computerized tomographic (CT) colonography (CTC), also known as virtual colonoscopy, is comparable to standard colonoscopy in its ability to accurately detect cancer and precancerous polyps in people ages 65 and older.

Postoperative radiotherapy does not improve survival in lung cancer patients

Common postoperative radiotherapy does not improve survival in older people with lung cancer – Post-operative radiation therapy (PORT), a controversial yet frequently administered treatment for lung cancer, may not prolong life in older people with locally advanced disease.

30% of health spending yield no benefit to patients

High Level Of Waste In Health Spending, Says Medicare And Medicaid Boss – Donald Berwick — Berwick a national & world leader in transforming health care – House Democratic Caucus Chairman John B. Larson (CT) released the following statement on the resignation of Dr. Donald Berwick as Administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Medicare patients lead to long term institutionalization in a nursing home

Medicare patients at risk of long-term institutionalization after hospital stay — Discharge to skilled nursing facility a key factor, according to first national study – Confirming many elderly patients’ worst fears, a national study has shown that being hospitalized for an acute event, such as a stroke or hip fracture, can lead to long-term institutionalization in a nursing home.

Door-to-balloon time is 90 min in 91% of heart attack patients in US

Heart attack patients winning the race to angioplasty treatment – The period from hospital arrival to angioplasty is called “door-to-balloon” time (D2B). A new study showed that 91 percent of patients were treated in a D2B time of less than 90 minutes in 2010, compared with 44 percent in 2005.

Reducing drug funding to Medicare patients raises questions

Reducing drug funding to Medicare patients will lead many to stop taking their medications – The lack of financial assistance to cover the cost of drugs to Medicare beneficiaries could result in an additional 18,000 patients discontinuing one or more prescriptions for essential drugs a year and others to not take their required medications regularly.

Physicians accepting fewer patients with health insurance

Surprising drop in physicians’ willingness to accept patients with insurance — Despite the imminent expansion of insurance coverage under health care reform, patients’ access to care may become more restricted – There is a drop in physicians’ acceptance of health insured patients in past years in US. As a result, insured patients could face new obstacles to receiving the medical attention they need, and overall access to health care could actually contract. As required under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, millions of people will soon be added to the ranks of the insured. However, this rapid expansion of coverage is colliding with a different, potentially problematic trend that could end up hampering access to health care.

Many advanced breast cancer patients do not receive recommended treatment

Nearly half of women with advanced breast cancer in the US not receiving life-saving treatment – UT MD Anderson research finds use of post-mastectomy radiation therapy static despite evidence-based guidelines of its benefits – Forty-five percent of women with advanced breast cancer in the U.S. did not receive postmastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) despite the publication of evidence-based guidelines outlining PMRT as a potentially lifesaving treatment, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The study, published in the July issue of Cancer, found that PMRT use rates for women with advanced breast cancer have remained static since 1999.

Use of clot busters for stroke increased from 2005 to 2009

Use of clot busters for stroke increased from 2005 to 2009, but still low — American Heart Association rapid access journal report – The use of clot-busting drugs to treat acute ischemic stroke increased from 2005 through 2009 – but is still low, according to research reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Supportive of intent of ACO proposed rule, ACP expresses concern

Supportive of intent of ACO proposed rule, ACP expresses concern — Program sets bar too high for many internal medicine physicians – In a 10-page letter addressed to Donald Berwick, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, ACP today said: The ACP strongly supports the intent of the proposed rule, and believes that an ACO model has the potential of supporting such important care delivery goals as enhancing quality, efficiency, integration, and patient-centeredness.

Coronary artery bypass graft surgeries decreasing in US

Rate of Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgeries Decreases Substantially – Between 2001 and 2008, the annual rate of coronary artery bypass graft surgeries performed in the United States decreased by more than 30 percent, but rates of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI; procedures such as balloon angioplasty or stent placement used to open narrowed coronary arteries) did not change significantly.

Low health literacy linked to higher rate of death in heart failure patients

Low Health Literacy Associated With Higher Rate of Death Among Heart Failure Patients – An examination of health literacy (such as understanding basic health information) among managed care patients with heart failure, a condition that requires self-management, found that nearly one in five have low health literacy, which was associated with a higher all-cause risk of death.