Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Urology for March 2014. 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.
CDC: Invasive Cancer Diagnoses Down Slightly in 2010
FRIDAY, March 28, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Cancer incidence declined from 2009 to 2010, according to a report published in the March 28 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Urinary Incontinence Ups Risk of Depression in Older Women
FRIDAY, March 28, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Older women with urinary incontinence may be at increased risk for depression and work disability, according to research published in the April issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
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NCHS Estimates Health Insurance Coverage for 2013
THURSDAY, March 27, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- In the first nine months of 2013, 6.7 percent of children and 20.5 percent of adults were uninsured, according to a study published online March 27 by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
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1 in 25 Inpatients Has Health Care-Associated Infection Daily
WEDNESDAY, March 26, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- There were an estimated 648,000 patients with 721,800 health care-associated infections in U.S. acute care hospitals in 2011, according to research published in the March 27 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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White House Extends Affordable Care Act Enrollment Deadline
WEDNESDAY, March 26, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Americans who've started applying for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act but can't complete the process by the March 31 enrollment deadline will be given an extension.
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Genetic Variants Modify Bladder Cancer Prognosis
WEDNESDAY, March 26, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Certain genetic variants may modify bladder cancer prognosis, according to a study published online March 26 in BJU International.
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AMA Introduces Medical Education Initiative
WEDNESDAY, March 26, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The American Medical Association's (AMA) Accelerating Change in Education initiative is being introduced in 11 medical schools in an effort to shift the focus of education toward real-world practice and competency assessment, according to an AMA report.
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Americans Seem Unprepared for Health Insurance Exchanges
WEDNESDAY, March 26, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Individuals in the United States seem not to be sufficiently informed about the health insurance exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to a study published online March 24 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Patient Request Impacts Doc Prescribing Behavior
MONDAY, March 24, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Patients requesting specific medications are more likely to be prescribed those medications, according to research published in the April issue of Medical Care.
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No Survival Benefit From PADT in Localized Prostate Cancer
MONDAY, March 24, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- For most men with clinically localized prostate cancer who have not received treatment with curative intent, primary androgen-deprivation therapy (PADT) does not reduce risk of mortality, according to research published online March 17 in in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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Practices Can Take Steps to Improve Care Transitions
FRIDAY, March 21, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Implementation of a rigorous process can improve transitions of care, according to an article published March 10 in Medical Economics.
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USPSTF Recommendations Have Led to Decrease in PSA Screening
FRIDAY, March 21, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Prostate-specific antigen screening has decreased since publication of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations against screening, according to a study published in The Journal of Urology.
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Insurers Must Offer Same-Sex Couples Spousal Benefits
MONDAY, March 17, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Health plans that offer benefits for heterosexual couples must do the same for same-sex married couples, the Obama administration says.
Other Health Highlights: March 17, 2014
Rx Expenditures Expected to Rise in 2014
MONDAY, March 17, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Drug costs are projected to rise 3 to 5 percent across all care settings in 2014, according to a study published in the March 15 issue of the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy.
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Chronic Hyperglycemia Tied to Worse Surgical Outcomes
FRIDAY, March 14, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Chronic hyperglycemia (A1C >8 percent) is associated with poor surgical outcomes, as measured by an increased hospital length of stay (LOS), according to a study published in the March issue of Diabetes Care.
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Improving EHR Interoperability Is a National Priority: HHS
FRIDAY, March 14, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Interoperability of electronic health record (EHR) systems is a national priority of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, according to an article published March 4 in Medical Economics.
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Stereotactic Body Radiation Less Costly, More Toxic Than IMRT
FRIDAY, March 14, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- For Medicare beneficiaries with prostate cancer, stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is less expensive than intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), but is associated with more genitourinary toxicity, according to a study published online March 10 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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AMA: CMS Wants Physician Input on Practice Transformation
WEDNESDAY, March 12, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Physicians are being given the opportunity to describe what resources they need in order to transition to value-based models of care, according to a report published by the American Medical Association (AMA).
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White House: More Than Four Million Have Signed Up for ACA
TUESDAY, March 11, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- More than four million Americans have signed up for health coverage through state and federal insurance marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act, the Obama administration announced Tuesday.
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Medicare Drug Plan Changes Withdrawn by White House
TUESDAY, March 11, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Proposed changes to the Medicare prescription drug program have been withdrawn by the Obama administration after strong opposition from patient groups.
Other Health Highlights: March 11, 2014
Study Compares Transvaginal Approaches for Vaginal Prolapse
TUESDAY, March 11, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- For women undergoing surgery for vaginal prolapse and stress urinary incontinence, outcomes for two common transvaginal approaches are comparable, and perioperative behavioral therapy with pelvic floor muscle training (BPMT) does not improve surgical outcomes, according to a study published in the March 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Discrepancies ID'd in Studies on ClinicalTrials.gov, Journals
TUESDAY, March 11, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly all clinical trials reported on ClinicalTrials.gov and published in high-impact journals report at least one discrepancy in cohort, intervention, or results, according to a research letter published in the March 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Patients Prefer Specific Info From Docs for Prostate Cancer
TUESDAY, March 11, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Although patients with prostate cancer endorse multiple sources of information, they report greatest satisfaction with information from the treating physician about patient outcomes, according to research to be published in the May issue of The Journal of Urology.
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Keeping Salaries Secret Harms Worker Performance
MONDAY, March 10, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Keeping salaries secret hurts worker performance and increases turnover of top talent, according to a study published online Jan. 13 in the Academy of Management Journal.
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Consultant Offers Tips for Evaluating Staff Pay
MONDAY, March 10, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Setting salaries and dealing with raises for a practice's staff can be tricky, according to an article published Feb. 24 in Medical Economics.
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AMA Grants Curriculum Efforts to Address Health Disparities
FRIDAY, March 7, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Medical schools are beginning to change their curriculum to address ways to eliminate health disparities, according to the American Medical Association (AMA).
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Gender Gap Exists in Domestic Duties of Working Physicians
FRIDAY, March 7, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Gender differences exist in domestic activities among career-oriented academic physicians with children, according to a study published online March 3 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Relative Value Units Useful In Evaluating Practice Finances
THURSDAY, March 6, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The Relative Value Unit (RVU) is a useful tool for managing practice finances, according to an article published Feb. 25 in Medical Economics.
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Drop in Compensation Gap for Primary Care Docs, Specialists
THURSDAY, March 6, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- From 2012 to 2013, there was a 5.7 percent increase in the median total cash compensation for primary care physicians, with a smaller gap seen for medical and surgical specialists, according to the results of a recent survey from SullivanCotter.
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Prostatectomy Cuts Mortality in Early Prostate Cancer
THURSDAY, March 6, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Surgical treatment reduces long-term mortality among men with localized prostate cancer compared with those who undergo watchful waiting, according to research published in the March 6 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Fewer Positive Margins With Robot-Assisted Prostatectomy
THURSDAY, March 6, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) is associated with improved surgical margin status compared with open radical prostatectomy (ORP) for intermediate- and high-risk disease and with less use of additional cancer therapy, according to a study published online March 4 in European Urology.
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Value-Based Insurance Plans Can Up Rx Adherence
WEDNESDAY, March 5, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Value-based insurance design (VBID) plans with certain features aside from solely lowering cost sharing can increase medication adherence, according to a study published in the March issue of Health Affairs.
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Article Offers Guidance on Discussing PSA With Patients
WEDNESDAY, March 5, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Discussion of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening should focus on current guidelines and emphasize shared decision making, according to an article published Feb. 11 in the Urology Times.
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Gap in Regulatory Coverage Affects 5 to 16 Percent of Trials
WEDNESDAY, March 5, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Human subjects protections (HSP) policies do not provide regulatory coverage for all clinical trials, while up to about a quarter of trials are considered overlap trials, according to a research letter published in the March 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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WHO Program Improves U.S. Medical Facility Hand Hygiene
WEDNESDAY, March 5, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- For U.S. health care facilities, participation in the World Health Organization (WHO) global campaign to improve hand hygiene practices is associated with improved hand hygiene, according to a study published in the March issue of the American Journal of Infection Control.
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Women-Specific Research Is Still Inadequate
MONDAY, March 3, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Women are still underrepresented in medical science and research, and sex differences are often ignored, according to a report published March 3 by the Brigham and Women's Hospital.
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DASH Diet May Lower Risk of Recurrent Kidney Stones
MONDAY, March 3, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet might be an effective alternative to the low-oxalate diet for reducing risk of kidney stone recurrence, according to research published in the March issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.
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CMS: No More Delays to ICD-10 Implementation Deadline
MONDAY, March 3, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- There will be no more delays to the Oct. 1, 2014, deadline for implementation of the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10), according to an article published Feb. 27 in Medical Economics.
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