Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Ageism Endemic In Health Services, UK. Ageism is endemic in health services, argues a senior doctor in this week's BMJ.His warning follows a study published online last month, and appearing in this week's print journal, that found substantial undertreatment of stroke and mini-stroke (transient ischaemic attack) in patients over the age of 80, despite good evidence that older patients benefit from treatment. The authors concluded that the older patients were discriminated against. [click link for full article] [Seniors / Aging News From Medical News Today] 5:45:05 AM    comment [] Medicare Should Increase Oversight To Ensure Privacy, Security Of Beneficiary Information, GAO Report Suggests. Nearly half of insurers who sponsor Medicare Advantage plans experienced security breaches involving Medicare beneficiaries' private health records in the last two years, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Tuesday, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports. [click link for full article] [Medicare / Medicaid / Tricare News From Medical News Today] 5:44:42 AM    comment [] [Web Exclusives] The Rise In Spending Among Medicare Beneficiaries: The Role Of Chronic Disease Prevalence And Changes In Treatment Intensity. We examine the impact of the rise in treated disease prevalence on the growth in Medicare beneficiaries’ health care spending. Virtually all of this spending growth is associated with patients who are under medical management for five or more conditions. This is traced to both a rise in true disease prevalence and changes in clinical treatment thresholds. Using the metabolic syndrome as a case study, we find that the share of patients treated with medications has increased 11.5 percentage points in less than ten years. This raises important questions about the "fit" of how Medicare pays for services for complex medical management. [Health Affairs recent issues] 5:44:06 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2006 Norman G. DeLisle, Jr.. Last update: 10/26/2006; 8:46:56 AM.