July 2008 Press ReleaseNews Briefs From the Journal CHEST, July 2008COPD PATIENTS CARRY LARGE ECONOMIC BURDENmedical resources than patients with asthma. A new study from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD, reviewed the medical claims of Medicaid patients aged 40 to 64 years. The analysis included a total of 3,072 patients with asthma, 3,455 patients with COPD, and 2,604 patients with combined COPD and asthma. Compared with asthma patients, COPD patients were 16 percent and 51 percent more likely to use physician services and inpatient services, respectively; and 60 percent less likely to use outpatient services. Furthermore, compared with asthma patients, COPD patients and COPD/asthma patients’ care cost 50 percent and 5 times more for total medical services, respectively. This study is published in the July issue of the journal CHEST. MEDICAL INTERPRETERS MAY ALTER INTENDED MESSAGEA new study suggests that medical interpreters may alter intended messages between non-English-speaking family members and physicians. Researchers from the University of Washington, Seattle, WA, reviewed 10 previously taped ICU family conferences in two hospitals in which a medical interpreter was used. Nine physicians and 70 family members were involved in the conferences. For interpreted exchanges between clinicians and family, there was a 55 percent chance that an alteration would occur. Alterations included additions, omissions, substitutions, and editorializations. More than 75 percent of the alterations were judged to have potentially clinically significant consequences on the goals of the conference. Of these, 93 percent was likely to have a negative effect on communication. Researchers offered several suggestions for improving ICU familyclinician communication in the context of medical interpretation, including preconference meetings between clinicians and interpreters. This study is published in the July issue of the journal CHEST. SPIROMETRY USE HIGHEST IN NEW YORK, LOWEST IN TEXASThe use of spirometry, a simple breathing test used in the diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), widely varies among geographic regions in the United States. Researchers from Hines VA Hospital, Hines, IL, used the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set 2006 spirometry performance measure to characterize the use of spirometry among 93,724 veterans 42 years or older who were newly diagnosed with COPD. Using the Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN) as a geographic unit, researchers found a more than threefold difference in the adjusted odds ratio of spirometry use between regions, with the lowest use (23 percent) seen in eastern Texas (VISN 17) and the highest use (45.2 percent) seen in southern New York state and New Jersey (VISN 3). Researchers also identified an inverse linear relationship between spirometry use and smoking rates by VISN, with VISN 3 having the lowest smoking rate (19 percent) and VISN 17 having one of the highest smoking rates (32 percent). Researchers concluded that additional research is needed regarding the cause of geographic variation in spirometry use in order to improve spirometry utilization in patients newly diagnosed with COPD. This study is published in the July issue of the journal CHEST. Contact:
|
 |
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|