Tag Archives: Patients

‘I’m kind of scared’: Surgery for cancer patients and others cancelled as hospitals brace for possible COVID-19 wave

Janice Ense never actually got to talk to her doctor, or anyone else for that matter. While she was out on Monday, an assistant left Ense a voicemail message announcing that the unfolding COVID-19 crisis had forced the postponement of her kidney cancer surgery. The operation was supposed to take place next Thursday at Toronto’s… Read More »

Can a new generation of weight-loss drugs finally help patients win at the losing game?

In 1992, a University of Rochester pharmacologist named Michael Weintraub published a study on a drug combination that appeared to produce never-before-seen weight loss. By week 34, his subjects — 121 volunteers — lost, on average, 30 pounds. What’s more, they rated the fenfluramine-plus-phentermine regimen not only more helpful than placebo, but also not terribly “bothersome.” The tiny study… Read More »

Health care intervention: Treating high-need, high-cost patients: Study found focusing on patients’ values instead of problems offered better results – Science Daily

Patients with complex needs — serious mental and physical health problems and substance use disorders — flock to emergency rooms costing the health care system billions every year. A new study suggests a nontraditional approach to these patients can significantly improve their daily functioning and health outcomes. In crisis and with nowhere else to turn,… Read More »