Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Urology for September 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.
FDA Criticized Over Implanted Medical Device Approval Process
TUESDAY, Sept. 30, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Patients are receiving medical implants that may not have been rigorously tested before or after their approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, two new studies contend. The findings were published online Sept. 29 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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'Just-in-Time' Methodology Can Reduce Patient Waiting Times
MONDAY, Sept. 29, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Having trainee physicians review cases prior to clinic hours can reduce patient waiting times, flow times, and clinic session times, according to a study published online Sept. 16 in Pain Medicine. The management process studied was first popularized by Toyota in Japan.
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AMA Launches Three Programs for Physician Wellness
MONDAY, Sept. 29, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Physicians' personal health is a global concern and three initiatives are being developed to encourage positive change, according to a report from the American Medical Association (AMA).
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NIH Funds Study of Malpractice Risk, Cardiac Testing Incentives
FRIDAY, Sept. 26, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The National Institutes of Health has granted $2 million to study the effect of malpractice risk and financial incentives on cardiac testing.
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Experiences Trump Things, Even Before Purchase
FRIDAY, Sept. 26, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- People derive value from the anticipation of purchasing something, and this anticipation tends to be greater for an experiential purchase than for a material purchase, according to a study published online Aug. 21 in Psychological Science.
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Can Media Multitasking Alter Your Brain?
THURSDAY, Sept. 25, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Multitasking with smartphones, laptop computers, and other media devices could change the structure of your brain, according to a study published online Sept. 24 in PLOS ONE.
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Blood Test Might Predict Speed of Recovery From Surgery
THURSDAY, Sept. 25, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Measuring the activity of subsets of white blood cells immediately after surgery might reveal which patients are likely to recover quickly and those who won't, a preliminary study suggests. The report was published in the Sept. 24 issue of Science Translational Medicine.
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Most Doctors Are Over-Extended or at Full Capacity
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 24, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Most physicians report being over-extended or at full capacity, according to a survey conducted by Merritt Hawkins for The Physicians Foundation.
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Report Identifies Game Changers for U.S. Health Care
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 24, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Imagine if doctors and hospitals got paid for providing better care, not more care, and patients had better data for making informed health choices. A new report suggests that's the direction the U.S. health system is headed.
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Review: Desmopressin Offers Modest Benefit for Nocturia
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 24, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Desmopressin offers a modest benefit for treating nocturia in generally healthy adults, according to a systematic review published in the September issue of The Journal of Urology.
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FDA Warns Doctors of Danger From 'Fake' Drugs
TUESDAY, Sept. 23, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The number of "rogue" wholesale distributors selling fake or unapproved prescription drugs is growing, so doctors need to be vigilant when purchasing medicines, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned Tuesday.
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Generic Discount Drug Program Use Has Increased Over Time
TUESDAY, Sept. 23, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Use of the generic discount drug program (GDDP) for filling prescriptions with generic drugs has increased since its introduction, according to a research letter published online Sept 22 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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NIH Adds $10M to Encourage Gender Balance in Clinical Trials
TUESDAY, Sept. 23, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. National Institutes of Health is investing $10 million in additional funding in scientific trials to encourage researchers to consider gender in their preclinical and clinical studies.
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USPSTF: Behavioral Counseling Recommended to Reduce STIs
TUESDAY, Sept. 23, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- All sexually active adolescents and adults who are at increased risk for sexually transmitted infections should undergo "intensive" behavioral counseling to help prevent risky sexual behaviors (a B recommendation), according to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. The final recommendation statement was published online Sept. 23 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Redundant Antimicrobial Therapy Is Pervasive, Costly
MONDAY, Sept. 22, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Redundant use of antimicrobial therapy is pervasive in U.S. hospitals and is associated with considerable, potentially avoidable, health care costs, according to a study published in the October issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
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Systemwide Changes Needed to Restrain Health Care Spending
FRIDAY, Sept. 19, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Systemwide changes are necessary to prevent excessive health care spending, and so are tools to help consumers make better, more informed medical choices, according to a white paper published in June by Vitals.
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Presence of Peers Ups Health Workers' Hand Hygiene
FRIDAY, Sept. 19, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The presence of other health care workers improves hand hygiene adherence, according to a study published in the October issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
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Strategies Can Help Docs Lower Their Tax Burden
THURSDAY, Sept. 18, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Strategies are presented to help physicians lower their tax burden in an article published Sept. 2 in Medical Economics.
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CDC: Almost Everyone Needs a Flu Shot
THURSDAY, Sept. 18, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Less than half of all Americans got a flu shot last year, so U.S. health officials on Thursday urged that everyone 6 months and older get vaccinated for the coming flu season. "It's really unfortunate that half of Americans are not getting the protection from flu they could get," said Thomas Frieden, M.D., director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, during a morning news conference.
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FDA Panel: Limit Testosterone Drug Use
THURSDAY, Sept. 18, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- There is little evidence that testosterone replacement therapy effectively treats normally declining levels of the hormone in aging American males, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel said Wednesday.
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Initial Sonography OK for Diagnosing Nephrolithiasis
THURSDAY, Sept. 18, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- No significant difference in outcomes is observed between the use of ultrasonography or computed tomography (CT) for suspected nephrolithiasis, according to research published in the Sept. 18 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Internists Report Considerable EMR-Linked Time Loss
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 17, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Use of electronic medical record (EMR) systems is associated with considerable loss of free time per clinic day, according to a research letter published online Sept. 8 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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Doctors Promoting Transparency With Patients
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 17, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Efforts to increase transparency among doctors are underway, according to an article published in The Boston Globe.
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AACR: Targeted Drugs Among Successes Against Cancer
TUESDAY, Sept. 16, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- About 14.5 million U.S. cancer survivors are alive today, compared to just three million in 1971, the American Association for Cancer Research reported Tuesday.
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Over a Quarter of Hospital Orders Classified As Defensive
TUESDAY, Sept. 16, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- More than one-quarter of hospital medicine services were rated by ordering physicians as at least a partially defensive order, according to a research letter published online Sept. 15 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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ACP Releases Guideline for Tx of Female Urinary Incontinence
TUESDAY, Sept. 16, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The American College of Physicians (ACP) has presented evidence and provided clinical recommendations for the nonsurgical management of urinary incontinence (UI) in women. The clinical practice guideline has been published in the Sept. 16 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Male Pattern Baldness Tied to Prostate Cancer
MONDAY, Sept. 15, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Men with male pattern baldness may face a higher risk of developing an aggressive type of prostate cancer than men with no balding, according to a study published online Sept. 15 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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Watchful Waiting May Not Be Best for Black Men With Prostate CA
MONDAY, Sept. 15, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Watchful waiting may not be suitable for all men with early-stage prostate cancer, especially black patients, according to research published in Urologic Oncology.
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New Role of Patient As Consumer Requires Market Changes
FRIDAY, Sept. 12, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The new consumer retail market in U.S. health care is necessary and will benefit consumers, and as consumers take on more costs of care, access to information to help them make informed decisions is crucial, according to a recent white paper published by Vitals.
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Errata Frequently Seen in Medical Literature
MONDAY, Sept. 15, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Errata, including those that may materially change the interpretation of data, are frequent in medical publications, according to a study published in the August issue of The American Journal of Medicine.
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Physician Describes Impact of Malpractice Suit
THURSDAY, Sept. 11, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- A family doctor who was involved in a malpractice suit describes the impact on her practice of medicine in an article published online in the September/October issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.
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Fear About Disease Progression Prompts ER Returns
THURSDAY, Sept. 11, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Perceived inability to access timely follow-up care and uncertainty and fear about disease progression are the main reasons for return visits to the emergency department, according to a study published online Sept. 2 in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.
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Reanalyses of RCTs Can Lead to Different Conclusions
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 10, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- More than one-third of the small number of reanalyses of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) have implied conclusions different from those of the original articles, according to a study published online Sept. 9 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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For Some, Health Insurance More Costly Than Uninsured Penalty
TUESDAY, Sept. 9, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- For some young people in the United States, the cost of paying a penalty for not buying health insurance will be lower than the lowest-cost insurance, according to a study published online Sept. 9 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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ASCO/CCO Issue New Guidelines for Advanced Prostate Cancer
TUESDAY, Sept. 9, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Guidelines, issued jointly by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) in Canada, highlight recent advances in treating hormone-therapy-resistant advanced prostate cancer. The guidelines were published Sept. 8 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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Renal and Thyroid Cancers on the Rise in U.S. Children
MONDAY, Sept. 8, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The incidence of renal cancer and thyroid cancer is increasing among children and adolescents in the United States, according to research published online Sept. 8 in Pediatrics.
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Report Explores Patients' Portal Preferences
MONDAY, Sept. 8, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Patients want portals that include features such as appointment scheduling, viewing test results, and checking prescription refills, and are frustrated with unresponsive staff and poor interfaces, according to a report published by Software Advice.
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Health Care Spending Expected to Rise in 2014 Through 2023
MONDAY, Sept. 8, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- While health spending growth was slow in 2013, health spending is expected to increase in 2014 and remain higher through 2023, according to a study published online Sept. 3 in Health Affairs.
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High-Volume Surgeons Lead Use of Robotic Procedures
FRIDAY, Sept. 5, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- From 2003 to 2010 there was widespread adoption of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP), especially among high-volume surgeons, according to a study published online Aug. 26 in BJU International.
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Physical Activity Inversely Linked to Nocturia
FRIDAY, Sept. 5, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Men who are physically active are less likely to report nocturia, commonly associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), according to a study published online July 9 in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
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Blog: Seven Most Common Physician Social Media Misses
THURSDAY, Sept. 4, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The most common physician social media misses and missteps can be avoided, allowing doctors to take advantage of marketing opportunities on all major social media channels, according to the author of a recent Vitals blog.
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Little Evidence of Testosterone Drugs' Benefits or Risks: FDA
THURSDAY, Sept. 4, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- There is little evidence that testosterone drugs are either beneficial or pose serious health risks to men, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says in a review posted online Wednesday.
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AR-V7 Linked to Chemotherapy Resistance in Prostate Cancer
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 3, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer, detection of androgen-receptor splice variant 7 messenger RNA (AR-V7) in circulating tumor cells appears to be associated with enzalutamide and abiraterone resistance, according to a study published online Sept. 3 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Venous Thromboembolism Rare After Urological Procedures
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 3, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) are uncommon after urological surgery, according to a study published in the September issue of The Journal of Urology.
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