News by Subject Business & Economics

For most surgical procedures, Medicare provides physicians a single bundled payment that covers both the procedure and related postoperative care over a period of up to 90 days. But a mounting body of evidence suggests that surgeons do not provide most of that postoperative care, suggesting changes are needed to make Medicare payments more equitable.

Despite a recent FDA awareness campaign about the hazards of vaping, promotional Instagram posts are 10,000-fold more prevalent than the FDA's #TheRealCost hashtag, shows a recent study. A deep learning analysis of vaping Instagram images further suggests that 70% contain devices and products that are popular among the youngest, beginner e-cigarette users.

A two-year pilot project led by Rick Stouffer, MD, shows how the cardiovascular health of the most vulnerable patients can be improved with free medications.

Results of a new study show that a large number of physicians in the US may have received marketing payments from pharmaceutical companies that produce stimulant medications. Led by researchers at Boston Medical Center's (BMC) Grayken Center for Addiction, the first of its kind study found that one in 18 physicians received some form of pharmaceutical marketing about stimulants, most often in the form of food or beverage.

A project taking the first steps towards ending the use of horses to treat diphtheria has succeeded. Funded by the PETA International Science Consortium Ltd. and carried out at the Institute of Biochemistry, Biotechnology, and Bioinformatics at the Technische Universität Braunschweig in Germany, the project created human antibodies capable of blocking the poisonous toxin that causes diphtheria. The results were published Friday in Scientific Reports (a Nature research journal).

Researchers found that when default settings, showing a preset number of opioid pills, were modified downward, physicians prescribed fewer pills. Fewer pills could improve prescription practices and protect patients from developing opioid addictions.

Adults with food insecurity (i.e., inadequate access to food because of financial constraints) are 10% to 37% more likely to die prematurely from any cause other than cancer compared to food-secure people, found new research in CMAJ.

An inexpensive program to help surgery patients get physically and mentally ready for their upcoming operation may help reduce overall costs and get them home faster, according to new research involving hundreds of patients in 21 hospitals.

Thirty-seven states require minors to either notify their parents or go before a judge before having an abortion. New research shows as many 13% are denied in court.