Genomic testing in oncology to improve clinical outcomes while optimizing utilization: the evolution of diagnostic testing.

Cancer care is costly, particularly when chemotherapy and its supportive costs are considered. Yet, chemotherapy is not the right course for every patient. Patients with cancer need appropriate treatment that will give them the best possible outcome.

Spinal drop metastasis in myxopapillary ependymoma: a case report and a review of treatment options.

Myxopapillary ependymoma (MPE) is a World Health Organization grade I ependymoma that is quite rare and generally thought to be benign. Possible drop metastasis from MPE has been reported three times in the literature; in each case there were cotemporaneous additional MPE lesions. We report the case of a man who had a piecemeal gross total resection of a MPE at L1-L3 followed by adjuvant external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) who presented sixteen months later with a lesion in the thecal sac consistent with drop metastasis.

Local control rates with five-fraction stereotactic body radiotherapy for oligometastatic cancer to the lung.

Objective: To report our institutional experience with five fractions of daily 8-12 Gy stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for the treatment of oligometastatic cancer to the lung.

Methods: Thirty-four consecutive patients with oligometastatic cancers to the lung were treated with image-guided SBRT between 2008 and 2011. Patient age ranged from 38 to 81 years.

Mental health performance measurement in corrections.

Correctional facilities have become, by default, one of the largest providers of mental health care for patients with serious mental illness. In its 2002 Report to Congress, the National Commission on Correctional Health Care has reported that most facilities do not provide quality mental health care, nor do they conform to nationally accepted guidelines for mental health screening and treatment. This article describes the product of a consensus panel of correctional health care experts, charged to develop performance measures, based on nationally accepted standards, for selected elements of psychiatric treatment behind bars, aimed to improve the quality of care.

Voluntary electronic reporting of medical errors and adverse events. An analysis of 92,547 reports from 26 acute care hospitals.

Objective: To describe the rate and types of events reported in acute care hospitals using an electronic error reporting system (e-ERS).

Design: Descriptive study of reported events using the same e-ERS between January 1, 2001 and September 30, 2003.

Setting: Twenty-six acute care nonfederal hospitals throughout the U.