Author: Dr. Clemens

Uncategorized Published - 1 December, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
Anesthesia Management: Efficacy and safety of pregabalin for treating painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy: a meta-analysis

Published in Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 2014 Oct Authors: Zhang SS et al BACKGROUND: Pregabalin is considered to be an effective treatment for painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), but controversy exists about its efficacy and safety. We performed a meta-analysis to systematically assess the efficacy and safety of pregabalin for managing pain associated with DPN. METHODS: […]

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Uncategorized Published - 28 November, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
Anesthesia Management: Americans’ Trust in Doctors Is Falling

I wanted to share this bad news with our readers. We need to turn this around! Americans’ trust in the medical profession has plummeted in recent years, and lags well behind public attitudes toward doctors in many other countries, according to a new report. That lack of trust comes from how Americans’ perceive doctors’ motivations, […]

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Uncategorized Published - 28 November, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
Anesthesia Management: Statins and Pain in Older Cancer Patients

Authors: Turner JP et al., J Am Geriatr Soc 2014 Oct 62:1900 In patients older than 80, statin use was associated with higher odds of general pain. Determining whether statins are responsible for nonspecific aches and pains can be difficult, especially in elders. Australian researchers explored this association in a cohort of 385 older cancer […]

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Uncategorized Published - 28 November, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
Anesthesia Management: Hospice Tied to Less Healthcare Utilization and Lower Costs in Patients with Poor-Prognosis Cancer

This is for our readers who treat terminal pain patients. Patients with poor-prognosis cancer who enter hospice use less intensive medical care and incur lower costs, compared with patients who don’t receive hospice, according to a retrospective JAMA study. Researchers studied Medicare beneficiaries who had a poor-prognosis cancer and died in 2011. Nearly 20,000 beneficiaries […]

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Uncategorized Published - 28 November, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
Anesthesia Management: 4 Ways to Lower the Cost to Collect from Self-Pay Patients

Applying the power of data analytics to prioritize and segment accounts is one strategy to rein in its billing costs. Here are the tactics: 1. Handling Collections Internally As part of its strategy to work more effectively with self-pay patients bring the collections process in-house a instead of using a third-party vendor. 2. Using Data […]

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Uncategorized Published - 28 November, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
Anesthesia Management: Investigators: Government fails to provide adequate data on Medicare provider cost and quality

I thought this was interesting so I wanted to share with our readers. With many seniors facing high medical bills, a congressional investigation has found that federal government websites meant to give Medicare patients basic consumer tools instead fail to provide adequate information on out-of-pocket costs, and even quality of care. The nonpartisan Government Accountability […]

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Uncategorized Published - 27 November, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
Anesthesia Management: Happy Thanksgiving to our readers

Hopefully our readers realize how blessed we are to live in the greatest country ever.   I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving  with your family.  

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Uncategorized Published - 26 November, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
Anesthesia Management: 100 healthcare statistics to know

The term “healthcare” encompasses a wide variety of issues ranging from insurance coverage controversies and workforce compensation trends to prescription drug administration and health information technology.  This list of 100 healthcare statistics to know covering a wide variety of industry topics. Hospital & Physician Facts 1. There are 5,723 hospitals in the U.S., according to […]

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Uncategorized Published - 26 November, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
Anesthesia Management: How reducing healthcare spending affects economic growth: 4 things to know

Real gross domestic product fell 2.9 percent at an annual rate during the first quarter of this year, according to a Bureau of Economic Analysis estimate released. One significant driver of that GDP increase was a 1.4 percent drop in real healthcare spending at an annual rate. Although the slowdown in healthcare spending growth can […]

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Uncategorized Published - 26 November, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
Anesthesia Management: Will high deductibles cost insurers more money?

The rise in plans sold on health insurance exchanges with high deductibles brings a new concern–consumers who postpone needed care because of the cost. Those decisions could mean the high-deductible health plans backfire on insurers and could lead to even more medical use and greater expenses in the future, The New York Times reported. Some […]

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