annals of internal medicine news from FierceHealthcare

Last week, a study appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggested that screening surgical patients for MRSA isn't particularly effective in blocking the spread of the disease. Read more...

A new study underscores that simple math errors by physicians can prove deadly when it comes to medications. In the study, which appeared in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers asked Read more...

While public policy is very much in favor of providing detailed data on hospital performance and quality, there's little evidence to suggest that this data actually affects patient decisions, Read more...

Digital mammography may be an amazing tool, but it's only cost-effective to use it with younger women or women with dense breasts, according to a new article appearing in the Annals of Internal Read more...

New research suggests that many doctors don't report fellow physicians for medical errors or even a lack of skills. The study, which appeared in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that 45 percent Read more...

Evidence is piling up, in study after study, that it just makes sense to limit work shifts for residents and interns. In today's example, which comes from the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers at Yale-New Haven Hospital collected data on treatment and outcomes …

Read more...

The number of U.S. medical students choosing primary care work is falling like a stone, largely because primary care doctors make so much less than specialists do, according to a new study by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). The study offers a similar cautionary note as a PCP study released last year by the American College of Physicians (ACP). The ACP found that the number of internal medicine trainees planning on PCP work fell from 54 percent in 1998 to 25 percent in …

Read more...

Doctors, maybe it's worth spending a few extra moments telling patients how they should take their medicines. According to a study which will be published next week in the Annals of Internal Medicine, patients with inadequate reading skills often make mistakes with their drugs because they have trouble reading prescription labels. At greatest risk are people with below sixth-grade literacy levels and people with multiple prescriptions to manage, researchers concluded. To …

Read more...

While consumers may assume that high-touch smaller practices can provide better care, a new study suggests that larger integrated physician groups perform better on a series of standard quality measures. The study, which appears in the current issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, examined three preventative care measures and three chronic disease management measures. The researchers based their findings on data collected from 119 California groups contracting with PacifiCare …

Read more...

Press Release: Larger Physician Practices May Provide Higher-Quality Care

Read more...