In a national survey of primary care physicians that the Archives of Internal Medicine published last month, nearly half agreed: Their own patients are getting too much care.
Many people taking common Alzheimer’s disease medications—cholinesterase inhibitors—are given medications with anticholinergic properties, which oppose their effects. Group Health Research Institute scientists investigated how often that happens and reported on the consequences in an “Early View” study e-published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Yoga classes were linked to better back-related function and diminished symptoms from chronic low back pain in the largest U.S. randomized controlled trial of yoga to date.
Opioids—a class of medicines commonly given for pain—were associated with a higher risk of pneumonia in a study of 3,061 adults, aged 65 to 94, e-published in advance of publication in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The study from researchers at Group Health Research Institute and the University of Washington (UW) also found that benzodiazepines, which are drugs generally given for insomnia and anxiety, did not affect pneumonia risk.
Last month, the federal government disclosed—then quickly abandoned—a plan to unleash “mystery shoppers” on 4,000 primary care practices across the United States. The goal? To see just how many providers refuse to take new Medicare and Medicaid patients.
Daniel C. Cherkin, PhD, and Karen J. Sherman, PhD, MPH, made headlines this week with their latest research on massage for back pain. Here, they reflect on their decade of investigating complementary and alternative medicine therapies
Massage therapy helps ease chronic low back pain and improve function, according to a randomized controlled trial in the July 5 Annals of Internal Medicine. The first study to compare structural and relaxation (Swedish) massage, the trial found that both types of massage worked well, with few side effects.
Land Acknowledgment
Our Seattle offices sit on the occupied land of the Duwamish and by the shared waters of the Coast Salish people, who have been here thousands of years and remain. Learn about practicing land acknowledgment.