Read article – Cites comments by William Weeks, professor of psychiatry, community and family medicine, and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, about a recent study that found if male doctors were able to do as well as their female counterparts when treating elderly patients in the hospital, they could save 32,000 lives a year.
Articles by: Geisel Communications
Does It Matter if Your Doctor Is a Man or a Woman? – U.S News & World Report via Associated Press
Read article – Quotes Lisa Schwartz, professor of community and family medicine and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice; and H. Gilbert Welch, professor of medicine, community and family medicine, and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice; about a recent study of older patients hospitalized for common illnesses that found patients who got most of their care from women doctors were more likely to leave the hospital alive than those treated by men. Schwartz and Welch were not involved in the study. (Additional coverage: The Washington Post, The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and more)
Beyond Opioids: Surgeons Explore New Approaches to Pain Control – General Surgery News
Read article – Quotes Richard Barth, professor of surgery, who recently led a study that recommended cutting down the number of opioids prescribed after surgery. “I suspect we are going to see a major change in the number of opioids prescribed. There are lots of things we can do, with local anaesthetics in wounds that can be used as well as taking even some medications prior to surgery and using nonopioid alternatives like acetaminophen to help,” says Barth.
Why Are Americans With Severe Mental Illness Dying 25 Years Younger Than Their Peers? – Quartz
Read article – Stephen Bartels, professor of psychiatry, community and family medicine, and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, is quoted about how Americans with severe mental illness die on average 25 years younger than their peers, not from suicide or drug abuse, but from preventable physical ailments like smoking and obesity. “This really is the largest recognized health disparity in the United States,” says Bartels. “A tragic part of the stigmatization of mental illness is the marginalization of these individuals.”
Over-Regulation Restricting Vermont Health Care – Vermont Watchdog
Read article – Quotes Jared Rhoads, a research project manager at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, about a new study he co-authored on openness and access in health care systems, which has ranked Vermont as one of the most restrictive states in the country. Rhoads said the bad score reflects “state officials’ obsession for insurance regulation.”
These Maps Show How Americans Are Dying Younger. It’s Not Just the Opioid Epidemic – Vox
Read article – Quotes Jonathan Skinner, professor of community and family medicine and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, and the James O. Freedman Presidential Professor in Economics, about a study published in JAMA by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation that maps out mortality trends by county and cause from 1980 to 2014.
What’s the Most Common Cause of Death in Your County? – CNN
Read article – Ellen Meara, professor of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and adjunct professor of economics, is quoted about about a new study published by JAMA that revealed the major causes of death for counties across the United States. “It is unique in its ability to track cause-specific death rates in small areas over a long time period, three decades,” says Meara, who was not involved in the study.
Rise in Infant Drug Dependence Is Felt Most in Rural Areas – The New York Times
Read article – Quotes Alison Holmes, associate professor of pediatrics, about how the opioid epidemic sweeping through rural America has increased the number of drug-dependent newborns, and is putting a greater strain on hospital neonatal units.
The Worst Kind of Insomnia – The Wall Street Journal
Read article – Cites a recommendation by Michael Sateia, professor of psychiatry, emeritus, about how to treat a type of insomnia called early morning awakening, or waking up at 4 in the morning and not being able to fall back to sleep.
Silver Linings: Remote Rehab—Telehealth Helps Seniors Recover in Rural Areas – New Hampshire Union Leader
Read article – Quotes Stephen Bartels, professor of psychiatry, community and family medicine, and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, about the use of telehealth in rural areas. “We don’t have enough therapists in this state to have them drive two hours to help someone who is frail living in a log cabin,” Bartels said. “In rural areas, this is the future.”