Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Allergy for April 2015. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Physician Compensation Up for Most Specialties
TUESDAY, April 28, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Physician compensation has gone up for almost all specialties, according to a 2015 report published by Medscape.
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CDC: Surveillance System Can Help Reduce Health Care Injuries
TUESDAY, April 28, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- A surveillance system for health care facilities can be used to identify and help reduce the number of preventable injuries among health care personnel, according to research published in the April 24 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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VNN1 Gene Potentially Useful Biomarker in Childhood Asthma
THURSDAY, April 23, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers say they've identified a gene that affects whether children with asthma respond to corticosteroids. The study was published online April 21 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
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Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Asthma Meds Ups ER Use
THURSDAY, April 23, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of asthma medications is associated with increased emergency department utilization among commercially insured patients, according to a study published online April 16 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
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EHR Data Mining Helps With Quality Improvement
WEDNESDAY, April 22, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Electronic health records (EHRs) are a valuable source of data that can be mined to help practices with quality improvement performance, according to a study published in Medical Economics.
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EHR Decision Support Ups Radiologic Test Appropriateness
TUESDAY, April 21, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Computerized clinical decision-support (CCDS) capabilities of electronic health records may improve appropriate use of diagnostic radiologic test ordering and reduce test use, according to a review published in the April 21 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Guidance Offered for Managing Conflict With Patients
MONDAY, April 20, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Good communication is key to managing conflict with patients, according to an article published April 1 in Medical Economics.
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Allergy Season Predicted to Be One of the Worst, but Shorter
FRIDAY, April 17, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Experts are predicting that this allergy season may be one of the worst in years.
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Suboptimal Prescribing Attitudes Could Signal Personal Distress
FRIDAY, April 17, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Medical students in personal distress may be more likely to have suboptimal attitudes about self-prescribing and personal responsibility for reporting impaired colleagues, according to a study published in the April issue of Academic Medicine.
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Ethical Implications for Looking Up Applicants on Facebook
THURSDAY, April 16, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Looking up students on Facebook and other social networking sites (SNS) is associated with ethical concerns, according to a perspective piece published in the March issue of the Journal of Graduate Medical Education.
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Medicare Spending Down in Year One of Pioneer ACO
THURSDAY, April 16, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Medicare spending is down in year one of the Pioneer accountable care organization (ACO) program, according to a study published online April 15 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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AMA Announces End of Sustainable Growth Rate Formula
WEDNESDAY, April 15, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Recently adopted legislation has repealed the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula, according to a report published by the American Medical Association (AMA).
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Lansoprazole Worsens Asthma Control in Poor Metabolizers
WEDNESDAY, April 15, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Children with poor metabolizer phenotype based on CYP2C19 have worse asthma control after six months of lansoprazole treatment, according to a study published online April 6 in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.
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Survey Looks at Patient Attitudes Regarding Informed Consent
WEDNESDAY, April 15, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Most U.S. adults would prefer to be asked for permission to participate in studies assessing usual medical practices, according to a study published online April 14 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Security Breaches of Health Records Up Over Past Decade
TUESDAY, April 14, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Breaches in data security exposed more than 29 million health records to potential criminal misuse between 2010 and 2013, according to a new study. Security breaches involving hacking have nearly doubled in recent years, rising to 8.7 percent in 2013 compared with 4.7 percent in 2010, according to the study, published as a research letter in the April 14 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Placebo Response May Depend on Individual DNA
TUESDAY, April 14, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- The strength of the placebo effect may depend on particular DNA, according to a report published online April 13 in Trends in Molecular Medicine.
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NSAID-Exacerbated Respiratory Disease Prevalent With Asthma
MONDAY, April 13, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Among people with asthma, the prevalence of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-exacerbated respiratory disease (NERD) is about 9 percent, and asthma morbidity is increased among those with NERD, according to a review published online April 8 in Allergy.
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Many Doctors Haven't Started Dealing With ICD-10 Revision
FRIDAY, April 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Most physicians have barely begun to deal with issues relating to documentation associated with the transition to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10), according to an article published in Medical Economics.
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Medical Debt Burden Higher in Texas, Florida
FRIDAY, April 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Significantly more adults in Florida and Texas struggle to pay medical bills or pay off medical debt over time compared with residents of New York and California, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report released Friday.
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Art Program Hones Med Students' Visual Observation Skills
FRIDAY, April 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- An innovative interdisciplinary program, Art Rounds, is effective for improving medical and nursing students' physical observation skills, according to a study published in the April issue of the Journal of Nursing Education.
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Pharmacists Raise Concerns for Patient Access to Generic Drugs
THURSDAY, April 9, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly all pharmacists have experienced upswings in the acquisition costs of generic drugs, with price spikes reported to be worse since 2013, according to a report published by the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA).
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Limited Time Available to Review Sunshine Act Data
WEDNESDAY, April 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Physicians have only 45 days to review and dispute reports regarding their financial ties to drug and medical device manufacturers reported under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, according to the American Medical Association (AMA).
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Case Report of Food Allergy Acquired Via Blood Transfusion
TUESDAY, April 7, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- The case of an 8-year-old Canadian boy suggests that it's possible, but still rare, for children to develop food allergies from blood transfusions. The report was published in the April 7 issue of CMAJ, the journal of the Canadian Medical Association.
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Med Students, Residents Rarely Perform Stethoscope Hygiene
TUESDAY, April 7, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Stethoscope hygiene is rarely performed by trainee physicians, according to a research letter published online April 2 in the Journal of Hospital Medicine.
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Online Human Milk Samples May Contain Cow's Milk
MONDAY, April 6, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- About 10 percent of online human milk samples tested were contaminated with cow's milk in a recent study published online April 6 in Pediatrics.
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Article Highlights Legal Issues Linked to Physician Extenders
FRIDAY, April 3, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- The use of physician extenders (PEs; mainly physician assistants and nurse practitioners) may bring added legal risks to a practice, according to an article published in Medical Economics.
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Patients May Be Modifying Meds Due to Trouble Swallowing
THURSDAY, April 2, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Some patients experience difficulties swallowing and modify medication dosage forms, without necessarily consulting health professionals, according to research published in the March issue of the Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research.
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Legal Issues of Removing Patient From Practice Explored
WEDNESDAY, April 1, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- The legal and ethical responsibilities of removing a patient from practice are discussed in an article published March 16 in Medical Economics.
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