Medical News

NOVEMBER 21, 2002, SALEM, OR—SecureRX Stop Prescription Fraud! Now you can protect yourself against RX prescription document fraud.

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Teterboro, NJ ? One year after U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, BEI Medical Systems? Hydro ThermAblator? (HTA?) has an overall satisfaction rate of 95.5 percent with the 151 women available for a follow-up investigation. Results gained from test subjects, all between 30 and 50 years old, revealed that 92.1 percent of them had a substantial reduction in their heavy menstrual bleeding, called menorrhagia, and nearly half had complete cessation of menses.

Dr. Stephen Corson, medical director at BEI Medical Systems, is not surprised by the study?s latest results. “The HTA device was carefully designed to be a safe and very thorough method of destroying the uterine lining responsible for menorrhagia,” Corson says. “We are optimistic that more doctors will utilize the HTA as they become better aware of its obvious superiority. “

For nearly 20 years, endometrial ablation has been a viable option for the 2.5 million women who visit gynecologists each year with life-altering menorrhagia. However, many of the current global techniques are flawed. The article “Hysteroscopic Endometrial Ablation Using Free Heated Saline for the Treatment of Menorrhagia” in The Journal of the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists states that these other methods “can be difficult to learn and frequently result in incomplete ablation. They also may result in complications such as perforation, damage to other organs, bleeding, air embolism, and infection. In addition, use of nonphysiologic distending solutions ? may result in fluid overload.”

After extensive research, the HTA was developed to address these concerns. The system is user friendly, employs rigorous safety measures, and ablates the entire uterine lining. The 10-minute, outpatient procedure requires no incisions. The technique can be safely and easily performed in a physician?s office under local anesthesia, decreasing patient anxiety. A hysteroscopic sheath is then inserted through the cervical canal and into the uterine cavity. The cervix forms a seal around the sheath before heated saline is allowed to circulate freely throughout the uterine cavity. The procedure can be viewed on a monitor by the physician and patient through the use of a hysteroscope.

For more information please contact Suzi Bruno or Jim Llewellyn at (818) 995-1290.
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Paris May 15, 2004–An educational website providing nephrologists with an exclusive Internet resource dedicated to iron therapy in the field of nephrology, will be launched during the ERA-EDTA Annual Congress, in Lisbon, Portugal (15 May to 18 May 2004). IronTherapy.Org (ITO), the result of a collaborative effort on the part of world-renowned physicians, is a non-profit website seeking to educate physicians and healthcare professionals worldwide by providing them with exclusive high quality medical information on iron therapy in the nephrology setting.

?We all know that correcting anemia improves survival, reduces morbidity and dramatically improves the quality of life in patients with chronic renal failure. Therefore, it is fundamental that all clinicians treating anemia have a clear insight into iron metabolism,? explains Iain C. Macdougall, Consultant Nephrologist and Honorary Senior Lecturer, at King’s College Hospital in London.

ITO is an educational effort to share knowledge by providing a response to the need for wider dissemination and better implementation of good medical practices in nephrology. ?Only a minority of patients begin dialysis with adequate iron status,? explains ITO editor Donald Silverberg, a Senior Nephrologist at Tel Aviv Medical Centre, in Israel.

In order to meet these objectives, the ITO editorial team searches medical databases weekly for newly published articles concerning iron therapy in nephrology. These articles are rated by the ITO Editorial Board, who also write reviews on the most important articles. Weekly news items, and a forum where nephrologists can raise questions and share their experience. An events section will keep users abreast of international events.

In order to facilitate consultation ITO is divided into three sections: hemodialysis, CAPD and predialysis, allowing users to conduct specific searches in a selected area. Access to ITO remains free of charge, providing nephrologists worldwide with a valuable educational resource.

For Roland M. Schaefer, Professor at the Department of Medicine at the University of M?nster in Germany, ?ITO is a long-awaited source of valuable information that will enable clinicians to be permanently up-to-date and will enable them to improve their practice and the quality of life of patients with chronic renal failure?.

During the EDTA symposium doctors will be invited to register on IronTherapy.org at the ITO stand (table 8, pavilion 3), the first hundred registrants will receive a special gift.

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Dateline: October 31, 2002 San Diego, CA
Contact Name: Matt Haley
Contact Phone: 888-575-6341 Ext. 12
Contact Fax: 858-391-2759
October 31, 2002, San Diego, CA ? Medical Device Group, has just received FDA 510K approval on their patented ?Triplex Adapter.? This disposable ventilator adapter is the answer to streamlining patient care, and decreasing chances for hospital acquired infections.
Clifford Wright, CEO and inventor of the Triplex Adapter says that ?Medical Device Group is determined to meet today?s challenges with tomorrows solutions; the Triplex adapter is just another solution that meets today?s challenge.?
Up until now, a respiratory therapist would normally spend up to one hour two times per day or more, testing and verifying outputs, and draining the accumulated fluids from the circuit, and changing the circuit as needed.
The Triplex Adapter (which connects to any ventilator circuit) allows the caregiver to easily and efficiently take measurements, manually resuscitate, and more, all without the removal of the tubing inserted into the patients? airway.
“It’s amazing to see how excited respiratory therapists become,? says Matt Haley, President of Sales. “We’ve been showing a prototype at national medical trade shows; most every therapist says that this product is way overdue.?
Medical Device Group, Inc. will continue to invent, produce and manufacture medical products that will revolutionize modern healthcare. Medical Device Group?s web page can be viewed at www.medicaldevicegroup.com.

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Orlando, FL December 24 2003–Here’s a new diet you’re sure to love. Imagine melting away the pounds with the world?s most pleasure packed calorie burning exercise-Making Love. Thesis Laboratories breakthrough diet formula, PassionSlim?, is now available for individuals seeking to experience rapid weight loss in a playful, fun and romantic manner.

Vigorous sex can burn calories at a heart-pumping pace ? as much as 90 calories an hour for women and up to 120 calories an hour for men. The PassionSlim diet is designed to utilize your body?s incredible sexual energy while you restrict caloric intake resulting in intense, explosive, natural weight loss. Dieters can lose inches in just 2 days.

?Both men and women want to look and feel sexier and more attractive to their mates? says a company spokesman, ?The support of a loved one is often an important factor in dieting success. By making dieting a fast, fun and romantic adventure, individuals who might otherwise lack sufficient motivation to lose weight, now have an effective alternative to strenuous exercise and stimulant based diet products.? The PassionSlim diet encourages users to enjoy romantic fun with their partner for dieting motivation and support as well as a method of burning calories.

The PassionSlim diet is a special blend of essential vitamins, antioxidants, minerals and other ingredients scientifically formulated in a great tasting, drink mix. The safe, non-stimulant formula provides nutritional support and promotes sexual function, while user restricts caloric intake for rapid weight loss without unwanted side effects.

Whether you?re looking to kick start your diet, or want to slim down quickly for a special occasion PassionSlim can help you lose inches in days, naturally. In short, new Passionslim suggests dieters make love, lose weight.

For additional information or to order visit www.PassionSlim.com or call 1-877-547-7546.

Thesis Laboratories introduces and markets innovative, high-quality nutraceutical and lifestyle products. Thesis Laboratories is headquartered in the state of Florida, USA.

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Waltham, Mass. June 24 - The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) today released its Physician Practice Environment Index for 2002, and the results indicate a continued worsening of the work environment for doctors throughout the state.

The MMS Physician Practice Environment Index, a statistical evaluation of selected factors that shape the overall environment in which physicians provide patient care in the state, declined 3.9 percent for 2002. The 3.9 percentage point drop is the second largest decline ever in the number and marks the ninth consecutive year that the index has fallen since 1993.

?Physicians in the Bay State continue to face enormous challenges,? said Thomas E. Sullivan, M.D., president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, which represents more than 18,000 Massachusetts physicians and medical students.

?Plunging reimbursements, the increasing costs of doing business and overwhelming administrative inefficiencies are affecting physicians of all specialties in all regions of the state. On top of all this, the huge jump in medical liability insurance premiums is like the proverbial ?straw that breaks the camel?s back.? This nine-year decline is taking its toll on the physician workforce population, and the news is not good for doctors. And if it?s not good for doctors, it?s not good for patients as well.?
   

Three factors dominated the 3.9 percent decline for 2002: professional liability insurance rates, up 12.5 percent; the number of applications to Massachusetts medical schools, down 9.9 percent; and the ratio of housing prices to physician incomes, up 7.9 percent.

Soaring premiums for professional liability insurance has now become the main driver of the changes in the index. And while not included in the 2002 index, malpractice insurance rates will jump another 20 percent on average for 2003.

The US Physician Practice Environment also continued its decline, but at a slower rate of 1.5 percent - a rate over 60 percent less than the statewide index. The US Index has declined for six years in a row.

Economist James M. Howell, Ph.D., president of The Howell Group, who developed the index with the Medical Society, said this continued, rapid descent in the practice environment for doctors is especially distressing to the health care system overall.

?The health care system is composed of many parts,? said Howell, ?but at the center of it all is the physician, and if the core of the system is eroding, then all of us need to sit up and take notice. What should be a great cause for concern are three factors: first, that we?ve had nine straight years of decline; second, that since 1999, the rate of decline has accelerated; and third, that the Massachusetts index is falling much more rapidly than the rest of the nation.?

The cost of maintaining a practice was also a big factor in the sharper Massachusetts decline versus the US. Total practice costs in Massachusetts, which includes costs of medical malpractice insurance, jumped by 1.9 percent in 2002, compared to 1.1 percent nationwide.

For the 10-year period 1992-2002, the Massachusetts Index has fallen 22.6 percent, while the US index has declined 15.3 percent. However, since 1999, just four years ago, the rate of decline in both Massachusetts and the US indexes has accelerated because of the rising malpractice insurance rates.

From 1999-2002, for example, the Massachusetts Index dropped 4.5 percent - three times the rate for previous seven years. For the same period, the US Index fell 2.7 percent, versus 1.1 percent for the previous seven years.

Also telling are the increases in the cost of maintaining a physician?s practice. Including liability insurance premiums, the total cost of maintaining a practice jumped 66 percent in Massachusetts from 1992-2002, versus 48.4 percent for the US. Within that same period, liability insurance costs have risen 74.3 percent in Massachusetts, versus 68.3 percent for the US.

?The significance of all this, of course,? said Dr. Sullivan, ?is how it affects patient care. The results of the Index, coupled with the findings of our recently-released Physician Workforce Study (available at http://www.massmed.org/pages/workforce03.asp ) that showed shortages in critical specialties and problems with retention and recruitment of physicians, demonstrates that patient care is severely at risk.
   

?As more and more physicians leave the state and as it becomes harder and harder to recruit doctors to Massachusetts, due to adverse practice conditions, patients are finding it more difficult to get access to care. Waiting times and travel distances both become longer.?

The Massachusetts Medical Society developed the index to measure the impact of nine indicators representing three major factors that influence the practice environment for physicians:

?Supply of Physicians, including the number of applications to Massachusetts Medical Schools, the percentage of physicians over 55, and the number of employment ads in the New England Journal of Medicine;
?Practice Financial Conditions, including New England median physician income, ratio of housing prices to median physician income, and professional liability costs;
?Physicians Work Environment, including physician cost of maintaining a practice, mean hours per week spent in patient care, annual number of visits per emergency department.

A full copy of the index report is available at http://www.massmed.org/pages/mmsindex.asp

The Massachusetts Medical Society, with 18,000 physicians and student members, is dedicated to educating and advocating for the physicians and patients of Massachusetts. Founded in 1781, the MMS is the oldest continuously operating medical society in the country. The Society owns and publishes The New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal Watch family of professional newsletters, AIDS Clinical Care, and produces HealthNews, a consumer health publication.

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Contact: Kate Clegg
August 18, 2003   
   

216.765.8020 (x105)
kate@m1pr.com

82% of Cancer Patients Say They Have No Way To Track Treatment

CLEVELAND, OH ? Journal Specialties, Inc. spoke with 75 patients diagnosed with serious illnesses and noted that 82% of the patients they talked to had no way to record and track their treatment. These conversations occurred between May 2003 and July 2003.

Journal Specialties is a newly formed company that is introducing the first product in the market, My Recovery Record?, whereby patients and family members can responsibly track their complete recovery.

“Any serious treatment is a huge emotional drain not only on the patient, but their families and care givers,” says company founder and My Recovery Record? creator Lily Akers-Reaman. “This is why My Recovery Record? is not just for the patient, but for the whole recovery team.”

“We are in a healthcare crisis in this country,” Lily Akers-Reaman continues. “And patients and their families must take a more active role in their own treatment.”

The Treatment Tracker, an undated 52-week journal, makes up the heart of My Recovery Record? as it not only allows the user to mark down appointments and treatments, but also helps the user to capture feelings and thoughts throughout the process. Some have referred to this as their only “trophy” of success in recovery.

My Recovery Record? is now available for purchase at www.myrecoveryrecord.com and costs $14.95, or $12.95 each when you purchase a 3-pack. A portion of all sales of My Recovery Record? will be donated to various medical support and research charities.

About Journal Specialties, Inc.
Journal Specialties, Inc. was founded in 2002 to develop specialized journals and related materials for niche markets including healthcare, energy, agriculture, and others. For more information, visit www.journalspecialties.com.

About My Recovery Record?
My Recovery Record? is a 176-page reference and journal for patients, family members and advocates who are undergoing long-term treatment for serious conditions and diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, physical rehabilitation, or other chronic illnesses. It has areas for patients to track their medical history, contact information of all their recovery team members and hospital services, and the “Recovery Reference,” which explains who’s who in the recovery process demystifying the experience and reducing the fear and uncertainty.

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