Medical practice

A Dallas-area anesthesiologist won a $6.3 million judgment this week against the anesthesiology firm where he once served as a shareholder. A jury awarded Dr. Neal Fisher $6.3 million from Pinnacle Anesthesia Consultants in the defamation and breach of contract case, which arose from Fisher's firing by the practice. Fischer had claimed that Pinnacle fired him after he expressed concern that Pinnacle services were being billed out-of-network. In the suit, Fischer said that when he …

More than half of U.S. physicians believe that religion and spirituality can have a positive effect on patients' health, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Chicago. The study, which drew on a 2003 survey of 1,100 doctors across all specialties, found physicians' own religious beliefs had a strong influence on their responses. Not surprisingly, religious physicians were more likely to say that religion influences health and has a positive impact. Seventy-six …

A new study has added to the growing concern over lack of geriatricians needed to care for a growing senior population. The study, done by researchers at the University of Cincinnati, projects that by the year 2030 roughly 70 million Americans will be older than 65. However, over the past 10 years the number of geriatricians has actually declined, from 8,800 to 7,100, with little to suggest that the trend will turn around. In fact, the percentage of students entering family …

A new study suggesting that stents don't help non-emergency cardiac patients more than drugs could soon change how insurers reimburse for such treatments, observers say. The recent New England Journal of Medicine study, which looked at 2,287 non-emergency patients, found that angioplasty and stenting didn't save lives or prevent heart attacks, though it did reduce chest pain. Right now, roughly 50 to 80 percent of angioplasties are performed on non-emergency patients, with …

A new study has concluded that pediatricians largely use family members, rather than professional translators, to convey health information to non-English-speaking patients. The Johns Hopkins study, which surveyed 1,829 pediatricians, found that 70 percent of pediatricians use bilingual family members as translators. Fifty-eight percent also call on bilingual staff members. Meanwhile, 40 percent used professional interpreters, and 35 percent provided translated written materials. Not …

If you're convinced that people won't settle for cut-rate retail clinic care, think again. Though some quality concerns remain, most U.S. residents who have visited a retail clinic are satisfied with the service they received, according to a new survey by The Wall Street Journal Online and Harris Interactive. The research, which surveyed 2,441 U.S. adults, found that five percent had visited a retail clinic. Nearly half (44 percent) visited for a vaccination, 33 percent …

Despite widespread beliefs to the contrary, drugs may be just as effective as angioplasties when it comes to treating non-emergency heart conditions, according to a new study. The study, which was presented at the American Cardiology Conference, concluded that while angioplasties are still indicated for heart patients in crisis, this procedure neither saved lives nor prevented heart attacks in non-emergency heart patients. What's more, the study suggests that angioplasty only provides a …

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt has unveiled a new initiative which would merge genetic and clinical data in an effort to individualize and improve patient care.  Leavitt's "Personalized Health Care" program would use the merged data to predict, and hopefully prevent, the onset of many diseases. Leavitt has said that this effort will be one of his top priorities for the next two years. The concept isn't as novel as it may sound--the VA is already combining …

A new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has concluded that Medicare providers and suppliers owe the U.S. government at least $1 billion in back taxes going back almost a decade. Federal researchers found that 21,000 outpatient providers and suppliers who billed Medicare over the first nine months of 2005, or roughly 5 percent, had failed to pay taxes. More than half of unpaid bills were for payroll taxes which were collected from workers but never sent to the IRS, the …

Despite state laws requiring disclosure of pharma firm payments to doctors, pharmaceutical companies don't seem to be operating much differently in Vermont and Minnesota than they do elsewhere. The study, which appears today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, was co-authored by Peter Lurie, deputy director of consumer advocacy firm Public Citizen's Health Research Group and Health Research Group director Dr. Sidney Wolfe.

The researchers concluded that …