Health Tips ... from UPI

DRUG ERRORS MAY BE DUE TO WORKLOAD

Beginning-of-the-month increases in pharmacy workloads may contribute to the spike in deaths attributed to errors in prescription drugs, a U.S. study finds. "Government assistance payments to the old, the sick and the poor are typically received at the beginning of each month. Because of this, there is a beginning-of-the-month spike in purchases of prescription medicines," says sociologist David Phillips University of California at San Diego. "Pharmacy workloads go up and error rates go up as well. Our data suggest that the mortality spike occurs at least partly because of this phenomenon." The study, published in Pharmacotherapy, advised both patients and clinical staff to be especially careful to check the accuracy of their prescriptions at the beginning of each month.

ALTERNATIVE FOR UTERINE FIBROID TUMORS

For some women with uterine fibroid tumors a hysterectomy is the only option, but Dallas doctors offer a less invasive procedure. Instead of a hysterectomy, the University of Texas at Southwestern Medical Center offers uterine fibroid embolization or UFE, a minimally invasive procedure that shrinks the non-cancerous uterine fibroid tumors so they are less likely to cause symptoms. It requires an overnight hospital stay and about seven to 10 days for recovery -- much less than a hysterectomy. "The primary benefit is that it is a uterine-sparing procedure for those women who want to retain their uterus," says Dr. Shellie Josephs. "It is effective in treating symptoms of heavy bleeding, with a patient satisfaction rate of 90 percent or higher."

PSYCHOTHERAPY EFFECTIVE OVER COMPUTER

Psychotherapy may seem very personal but Boston researchers find patients who used computer video for therapy were satisfied. The Harvard Mental Health Letter reports studies are showing psychotherapy can be effective even when the doctor is "seeing" the patient via phone calls or computer video. Another study finds symptoms improved in depressed patients who received cognitive behavioral therapy by phone. The authors note that long-distance treatment opens up new doors for patients who might be unable -- because of disability or agoraphobia -- or unwilling -- because of busy schedules or long travel time to go to a doctor's office for therapy.

SECONDHAND SMOKE LINKED TO CERVICAL CANCER

Exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke increases the risk of developing cervical tumors, Baltimore researchers find. "An association between active cigarette smoking and cervical cancer has been noted in numerous studies, but less is known about the potential link between passive smoking and the development of cervical neoplasia," says senior author Anthony J. Alberg, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "When these new data for cervical cancer are considered in light of similar results from previously published studies, our findings suggest that passive smoking may be firmly linked with cervical cancer." The findings are published in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

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(EDITORS: For more information ON ERRORS, contact Inga Kiderra (858) 822-0661 or ikiderra@ucsd.edu. For UTERINE FIBROID, Scott Maier at (214) 648-3404 or scott.maier@utsouthwestern.edu.For PSYCHOTHERAPY, subscription information is available at (877) 649-9457. For SECONDHAND SMOKE Kenna Lowe at (410) 955-6878 or paffairs@jhsph.edu)