This study leverages validated patient-reported outcomes measures to analyze the association between "financial toxicity" and quality of life and satisfaction among women undergoing ablative breast cancer surgery. Journal of the American College of Surgeons
Anaeze C. Offodile II, Christopher J. Coroneos, Yu-Li Lin, Chris Sidey-Gibbons, Malke Asaad, Brian Chin, Stefanos Boukovalas, Margaret S. Roubaud, Makesha Miggins, Donald P. BaumannDecember 21, 2020
The authors investigate the relationship between the number of freestanding emergency departments entering a local market and overall spending on emergency care. Academic Emergency Medicine: http://bit.ly/2pGwYMw
Freestanding emergency departments in Texas’ largest cities have not alleviated emergency room congestion or improved patient wait times in nearby hospitals, but they can reduce wait times in smaller communities, conclude the authors of this study.
The author determines that in 2016, freestanding emergency departments in Texas were more likely to be in areas that could yield high profits — i.e., areas with significantly higher household incomes — than in areas of high demand.
Regional air quality and health cost models are used to assess how reductions in soil nitric oxide (NO) emissions from the use of biochar could influence U.S. air quality and health costs.
Kenneth B. Medlock III, Caroline A. Masiello, Daniel Cohan, Ghasideh PourhashemJuly 26, 2017
Regenerative medicine and stem cell research are exciting new fields. But as the fields progress toward clinical therapies, controversies emerge. Hype surrounding stem cell research has caused an increase in their use in interventions that are not clinically proven. Furthermore, the regulatory agencies have a lot of difficulty dealing with cell therapies, which are distinctly different from drugs and medical devices they more commonly approve. To move the field forward, advocates, regulators and scientists need to come together to find new options for stem cell research oversight that protects both the patients and the research field.
Biotechnology scientists must be aware of the broad patent landscape and push for new patent and licensing guidelines, according to a new paper from the Baker Institute.
Despite the political nature of stem cell research, this area of science continues to flourish in the United States. In 2011, the NIH funded approximately US$1.2 billion in stem cell research — a steady increase from past years — with US$123 million devoted to human embryonic stem cells. According to the ISI Web of Science, more than 4,000 U.S.-authored stem cell publications were produced in 2011, accounting for approximately 38 percent of the world total. Approximately one-quarter of these publications were collaborations with authors from other countries.
In this article, the authors compare two different approaches to establishing stem cell policy: a defined policy (U.K.) and a changing policy (U.S.). The U.K. has a clear and precise policy, agreed upon and supported by lawmakers, scientists and the public. By contrast, U.S. federal policy is continuously being updated based on balancing political ideologies and advances in science, and it only regulates federal funding. By investigating these contrasting policy approaches, the authors hope to demonstrate the impact of policy on stem cell research and public opinion.