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Medicare Fee-for-Service And HMO Heart Attack Patients Receive Same Followup Care But Drugs Are Under-Prescribed For Both
Type of Medicare coverage may make no difference when it comes to the likelihood that elderly beneficiaries being seen by doctors for post heart-attack care will receive effective treatment, according to a new study supported by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Findings reported by a team of Harvard Medical School researchers indicate that patients in Medicare's traditional fee-for-service program were approximately just as likely as those in Medicare HMOs to be prescribed three drugs proven effective for improving the survival of older patients who have had heart attacks -- beta blockers, which slow the heart rate and prevent abnormal heart rhythms; ACE inhibitors, which improve heart function; or cholesterol-lowering drugs, which reduce atherosclerosis. more
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Teen Drug Treatment Effective: Drug And Alcohol Use Dropped, School Performance Improved
The first large-scale study designed specifically to evaluate drug abuse treatment outcomes among adolescents found that community-based treatment programs can reduce drug and alcohol use, improve school performance, and lower involvement with the criminal justice system. The study, which is published in the July, 2001, issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, evaluated the treatment outcomes for nearly 1,200 adolescents, ranging in age from 11 to 18, who were enrolled in one of 23 community-based treatment programs in four cities -- Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Portland - between 1993 and 1995. more
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Combination Of Interferon/Ribavirin More Effective At Reducing Hepatitis C Viral Load In HIV-Infected Persons
A clinical study has revealed that interferon/ribavirin combination therapy is more effective than interferon monotherapy at reducing hepatitis C viral load in HIV-infected persons in the first 12 weeks of treatment. The study also showed that combination therapy appears to be as safe as monotherapy and does not exacerbate anemia in co-infected patients. more
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States With High Air Pollution Fail To Track Asthma
With nationwide rates of asthma at epidemic levels, a new report released today by the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) shows that 12 of the 20 states with the highest air pollution known to affect asthma do not track the disease at state and community levels. Nationwide, more than half (27) of the states have no ongoing tracking and monitoring of asthma, a disease that affects more than 17 million Americans -- nearly 5 million of whom are children. more
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UK Researchers Say Male Contraceptive A Reality "Within Four Years"
A male contraceptive "pill" which could be effective for up to three years is being developed in Britain. The contraceptive is delivered through tiny rods placed under the skin of the arm it is impossible for men to forget to take. more
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