|
3. Obesity Linked to Functional Decline in Older Adults Previous studies have linked obesity to premature death in the general population. As these patientsage, the effect of obesity on mortality seems to decline, but othereffects may remain or worsen. Researchers analyzed data from 1994 -2000 Medicare surveys of 20,975 community-dwelling adults aged 65 years or olderto examine and compare the relationship between obesity andmortality and also obesity and functional decline associated withdaily living. Among older adults, obesity only caused highermortality when a patient's BMI was significantly above normalrange. However, the more elevated the BMI, the more likely thepatient was to experience functional decline within a two-yearperiod. According to researchers, these results suggest that olderobese adults may be an appropriate target group for interventionsto prevent or decrease disability. 4. Despite Government Incentives, Few Hospitals Able to AdoptElectronic Health Records Congress has allocated $30 billion to stimulate adoption andmeaningful use of electronic health records. Meaningful use isdefined by three central components: 1) electronic prescribing withdecision support; 2) automated quality measurement; and 3) healthinformation exchange (HIE). To be considered meaningful, providersmust purchase technology and comply with metrics related toimplementation. Regional health information organizations (RHIOs)are entities that facilitate clinical data exchange in a localarea. With grant support from the federal government, RHIOs givelocal providers an efficient way to exchange data with otherparticipating providers and stakeholders (laboratories, physicianpractices, public health departments, etc.) so they may comply withexpert-derived criteria for meaningful use of electronic records.In 2009, investigators surveyed 179-U.S.-based RHIOs to assess thestate of HIE. Of the 179 RHIOs surveyed, only 13 could supportmeaningful use of health information technology and none metexpert-derived criteria for the comprehensive HIE needed tosubstantially improve care quality and efficiency. The author of anopinion piece in the same issue says that "meaningful use" policiesare unrealistic from a provider's perspective. The authorrecommends that policy makers take a new approach that focuses onimproving usability and functionality before emphasizing widespreadadoption. The author of an accompanying editorial says that nomatter what the obstacles, it is time to leave paper records behindand move closer to full adoption of electronic records. He writes:"Our patients increasingly demand that we operate with at least thesame level of service as their banks, car rental companies, andonline retailers." According to the author, these demands areperfectly reasonable in 2011. 5. Early Release: AHRQ Presents "State of the Evidence" forManaging Pain Following Hip Fracture Following hip fracture , it is imperative to get patients mobilized as quickly aspossible. Patients who experience greater pain, are slower tomobilize, and have much poorer health outcomes and greater painthree to six months after injury. For this reason, pain managementis an important factor in recovery. Researchers reviewed 83published studies to determine the benefits and harms of drug andnon-drug pain management interventions following hip fracture.These interventions included: nerve blockade; spinal anesthesia;systemic analgesia; traction; multimodal pain management;neurostimulation; rehabilitation; and complementary and alternativemedicine. The evidence showed that most pain managementinterventions result in improvements in short-term pain, but fewstudies of long-term clinical importance were documented. Based onpublished research, nerve blockade seemed to offer the mosteffective pain relief and lowered the risk of delirium comparedwith usual care. Source: Angela Collom American College of Physicians Additional References Citations. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Wireless Security Surveillance Camera , Personal Transporter, and more. For more , please visit Personal GPS Trackers today!
Related Articles -
China Wireless Security Surveillance Camera, Personal Transporter,
|
