Position statement addresses difficult issue: allocating scare resources in COVID-19 era

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented pressure on societies worldwide, given the pandemic’s rapid, often deadly spread. In health care, the pandemic has raised the pressing question of how society should allocate scarce resources during a crisis. This is the question experts addressed today in a new position statement published by the American Geriatrics Society…

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Study reveals most critically ill patients with COVID-19 survive with standard treatment

Clinicians from two hospitals in Boston report that the majority of even the sickest patients with COVID-19–those who require ventilators in intensive care units–get better when they receive existing guideline-supported treatment for respiratory failure. The clinicians, who are from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, published their findings in the American…

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Cost-benefit analysis of funding a smoking cessation program before surgery

For patients undergoing surgery, smoking is linked with a higher risk of experiencing complications following their procedure, and quitting smoking before surgery may help reduce this risk. A new BJS (formerly British Journal of Surgery) study examined whether a smoking cessation intervention before surgery is economically worthwhile when funded by the National Health System (NHS)…

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Cancer survivors’ experiences with financial toxicity

Many cancer survivors with high medical copayments experience financial toxicity, an economic side effect of cancer treatment. A recent analysis of published studies found that few cancer survivors received financial information support from healthcare facilities during their initial treatment, even though cancer-related financial toxicity has multiple impacts on survivors’ health and quality of life. The…

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Work-related PTSD in nurses

A recent analysis of published studies examined the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among nurses and identified factors associated with work-related PTSD among nurses. The findings are published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing. For the analysis, investigators identified 24 relevant studies. The researchers found that PTSD is a world-wide issue affecting nurses and…

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