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Health News
One Year Later: What Have We Learned from H1N1?
It's been nearly a year since H1N1 arrived in the U.S. How has the healthcare system responded and is the nation any more prepared for a larger health crisis?
The good news from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is that "there's no evidence that the virus is mutating in such a way to cause a different spectrum of illness, or will cause more severe cases," says the CDC's Dr. Beth Bell, associate director of science for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. "And there's no evidence that the virus is resistant to antiviral medications and it's still a good match for the vaccine."
To read more, click here.
Hospitals Debate the Pros and Cons of White Coats for Doctors
The physician's white coat can be a godsend to any indecisive dresser; the doctor has a set uniform each day, not giving it a second thought. However, it can get complicated in the hospital with the variety of choices, as each article of clothing has its own symbolic meaningshort coat, long coat, no coat, tie, no tie, and scrubs.
To read more, click here.
Get Moving to Catch Early EHR Meaningful Use Incentives
Hospitals with electronic health records (EHR) may be eligible for meaningful use incentives as early as October 2010, and physicians follow soon after. What if a provider is hoping to take advantage of the incentives, but is still fully paper-based? Waiting for the release of final rules on the incentive program and EHR certification before moving forward may not be wise.
Providers should begin by looking into the reasons their facility doesn't have many of the components that make up an EHR, or lacks an electronic system altogether. For example, if providers haven't begun to invest in a system because of high up-front costs, they may be able to obtain funding that can help.
To read more, click here.
Trained Interpreters Improve Patient and Provider Satisfaction, Says Study
Even as the Joint Commission introduced standards for medical interpreters, a new study reveals that the use of trained language specialists to assist physician-patient communication dramatically improves satisfaction in emergency room settings with non-English speaking patients.
To read more, click here.
