ALMOST HALF OF EMERGENCY CARE GOES UNPAID
The rate of payment for emergency care has dropped to 53 percent in recent years, new data reveal. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland said this trend threatens the ability of emergency rooms to provide care to all patients, regardless of their ability to pay. The most striking declines in payment, they said, are among privately insured patients. "Our findings question the common misperception that the uninsured are solely responsible for the financial crisis facing many emergency departments," said Alexander Tsai, lead researcher. From 1996 to 1998, payment rates dropped from 60 percent to 53 percent. Among the privately insured, rates dropped from 75 percent to 63 percent.
ADHD OFTEN MISSED IN GIRLS
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is often hidden, missed or ignored in girls. In families where boys and girls have been diagnosed with ADHD, the disorder is caught in girls two to four years later than in boys. Dr. Patricia Quinn, who edited "Gender Issues and ADHD," said girls commonly experience ADHD differently than boys do. In girls who have the neurological disorder, ADHD manifests itself as anxiety, disorganization and forgetfulness. Girls who go untreated could have life-long problems such as low self-esteem, poor academic and professional performance, and a hard time with relationships. Quinn's book is the first clinical guide to diagnosis and treatment of ADHD in women and girls.
DRUG ADS CAN BE HELPFUL BUT STILL OPPOSED
A new survey finds direct-to-consumer advertising prompted people who see them to seek medical advice but some doctors oppose the ads on hospital televisions. Of 3,000 adults, researchers from Harvard University in Boston, and Harris Interactive in Rochester, N.Y., discovered 35 percent sought medical advice as a result of seeing a drug ad. A quarter of these participants received a new diagnosis. Researchers found no short-term negative side effects. However, Commercial Alert, a Portland, Ore., non-profit organization, and a number of health care professionals have protested running the Patient Channel in hospitals. In a letter, they said General Electric's channel "was designed to give (drug companies) access to a captive audience at a time of maximum vulnerability and emotional distress."
SURGERY BETTER THAN DRUGS IN TREATING EPILEPTIC SEIZURES
A new study has found surgery can be more effective in treating disabling seizures for a certain type of epilepsy when compared to drugs. The analysis, published in the journal Neurology, urges patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy to consider surgery as a desirable option for treatment. In the past, researchers said surgery often was considered a last resort. "As many as 200,000 patients nationwide who are treating disabling seizures with antiepileptic drugs potentially could lead happier, more productive lives with surgical intervention," said Dr. Jerome Engel, professor of neurology and neurobiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, where the study was conducted. Engel also said the risks of surgery are comparable to those of drug therapy.
(EDITORS: For more information about ER PAYMENTS, contact George Stamatis at 216-368-3635 or [email protected]. For ADHD, Maria McCarthy at 212-727-1742. For DRUG ADS, Gary Ruskin at 503-235-8012 or Jon Gardner at 301-656-7401. fOR EPILEPSY, Dan Page at 310-794-2265 or [email protected])
