Health News
- Online Database Lets You Check On Your Surgeon; Some Surgeons Say Methodology Used In Analysis Of Data Isn't Adequate
A new online database is available to help consumers choose a surgeon, but surgeons are pushing back and asking for a peer-reviewed study of the data. The searchable database, "Surgeon Scorecard," was created by ProPublica, a nonprofit journalism organization,...
- Lung Cancer Gets Much Less Research Funding Than Other Cancers, But Is Deadlier, Especially In Kentucky
Lung cancer takes more lives annually than breast, prostate, and colon cancers combined, but the disease "generally doesn't get the public attention or research dollars in proportion to its lethality," Arielle Densen, co-founder of Lung Cancer Free...
- New Type Of Artificial Knee, Designed For Individual Patients, Is Being Implanted At St. Joseph East In Lexington
Saint Joseph East hospital in Lexington is Kentucky's first hospital to offer a customized total knee replacement system in which each the knee implant is made to match the individual patient?s anatomy, says a news release from ConforMIS, manufacturer...
- Markey Cancer Center At Uk Says Its Patients Have Higher Survival Rates Than Those Treated Elsewhere In Ky. And The Nation
"Patients at the University of Kentucky's Markey Cancer Center who have certain types of cancer have higher rates of survival than patients with the same cancers treated elsewhere in the state or even the nation according to new data released today,"...
- Prostate Cancer Screening At Northwest Hospital
In 2010, nearly 218,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and more than 32,000 men will die from it. If you are a man over the age of 50, it's likely time for a prostate exam. September is National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. A screening,...
Health News
Health care decisions by and for Medicare patients differ widely by place; Lexington big in back surgery, low in mastectomy
All medicine involves decisions and, according to a new series of nine reports published by the Dartmouth Atlas Project, those decisions differ drastically by location for Medicare patients. In the East South Central region -- Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi), the variation between how things are diagnosed and treated can change when one crosses county lines.
An example, with numbers but without explanation: The total knee replacement rate in Harlan is 3.3 per 1,000 Medicare beneficaries; in Bardstown, it's 13.8. As the report goes on to note: "If you have heart disease and live in Huntsville, Ala., you are half as likely to undergo balloon angioplasty than if you live in Hattiesburg, Miss., and twice as likely to undergo back surgery if you live in Lexington, Ky." The greatest variation in the region was seen in mastectomy, ranging from a low of 0.3 percent per 1,000 female Medicare beneficiaries in Lexington to 2.1 per 1,000 in Tupelo, Miss.
The point, researchers say, is that providers and patients need to work together to determine care. The report looked at rates for early-stage breast cancer, stable angina, low back pain, arthritis of the knee or hip, carotid artery disease, gallstones, enlarged prostate, and early-stage prostate cancer. Read the report here.
An example, with numbers but without explanation: The total knee replacement rate in Harlan is 3.3 per 1,000 Medicare beneficaries; in Bardstown, it's 13.8. As the report goes on to note: "If you have heart disease and live in Huntsville, Ala., you are half as likely to undergo balloon angioplasty than if you live in Hattiesburg, Miss., and twice as likely to undergo back surgery if you live in Lexington, Ky." The greatest variation in the region was seen in mastectomy, ranging from a low of 0.3 percent per 1,000 female Medicare beneficiaries in Lexington to 2.1 per 1,000 in Tupelo, Miss.
The point, researchers say, is that providers and patients need to work together to determine care. The report looked at rates for early-stage breast cancer, stable angina, low back pain, arthritis of the knee or hip, carotid artery disease, gallstones, enlarged prostate, and early-stage prostate cancer. Read the report here.
- Online Database Lets You Check On Your Surgeon; Some Surgeons Say Methodology Used In Analysis Of Data Isn't Adequate
A new online database is available to help consumers choose a surgeon, but surgeons are pushing back and asking for a peer-reviewed study of the data. The searchable database, "Surgeon Scorecard," was created by ProPublica, a nonprofit journalism organization,...
- Lung Cancer Gets Much Less Research Funding Than Other Cancers, But Is Deadlier, Especially In Kentucky
Lung cancer takes more lives annually than breast, prostate, and colon cancers combined, but the disease "generally doesn't get the public attention or research dollars in proportion to its lethality," Arielle Densen, co-founder of Lung Cancer Free...
- New Type Of Artificial Knee, Designed For Individual Patients, Is Being Implanted At St. Joseph East In Lexington
Saint Joseph East hospital in Lexington is Kentucky's first hospital to offer a customized total knee replacement system in which each the knee implant is made to match the individual patient?s anatomy, says a news release from ConforMIS, manufacturer...
- Markey Cancer Center At Uk Says Its Patients Have Higher Survival Rates Than Those Treated Elsewhere In Ky. And The Nation
"Patients at the University of Kentucky's Markey Cancer Center who have certain types of cancer have higher rates of survival than patients with the same cancers treated elsewhere in the state or even the nation according to new data released today,"...
- Prostate Cancer Screening At Northwest Hospital
In 2010, nearly 218,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and more than 32,000 men will die from it. If you are a man over the age of 50, it's likely time for a prostate exam. September is National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. A screening,...