Otosclerosis: An update on diagnosis and treatment.

Otosclerosis is a complex and progressive disease of pathological bone remodeling that affects the otic capsule of the temporal bone, resulting in hearing loss. Although traditional diagnostic methods are still used, improvements in technology and research have paved the way for additional diagnostic techniques and advancements. The traditional treatment of otosclerosis, stapes surgery, is now being augmented or replaced by innovations in hearing aid technology and cochlear implants.

Why Increasing Numbers of Physicians with Disability Could Improve Care for Patients with Disability.

Erroneous assumptions among health care professionals about the daily lives, preferences, values, and expectations of persons with disability can contribute to documented health care disparities, faulty communication, and substandard quality of care affecting this heterogeneous population. Efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities have focused on expanding diversity in the physician workforce. Would expanding the numbers of physicians with disability benefit patients with disability? Increasing the number of physicians who identify as "disabled" is one strategy for proactively confronting disability-related barriers affecting patients, but such efforts will likely face substantial challenges.

The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: PAs and NPs in outpatient surgery.

Background: This study aimed to determine the prevalence and occupational characteristics of physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) in outpatient surgical subspecialty clinics.

Methods: The 2007 and 2008 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) databases were queried for the number and characteristics of office visits seen by different provider types (PAs or NPs, physicians, or both) in various surgical subspecialties.

Results: More than 250 million weighted sample visits were analyzed.

A Lower-Cost Option for Intrauterine Contraception.

In March 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Liletta (Actavis, Dublin, Ireland), a new intrauterine device for contraception.

Population Variations in Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment and Outcomes, Northern California, 1998-2009.

Objective: To assess variations in rheumatoid arthritis treatment and outcomes at the community level from 1998 through 2009.

Methods: The study used computerized data from 16 Kaiser Permanente Northern California Medical Centers. Mixed modeling was used to assess patterns across time and clinic.

AACN CSI Academy, part 3: Introducing the Massachusetts CSI Nursing Delirium Collaborative.

In the final installment of our three-part series, we reveal how the Boston cohort of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) Clinical Scene Investigator (CSI) Academy launched a collective to improve patient safety and quality outcomes related to delirium.

Assessing the learning needs of oncology nurses.

The Nurse Oncology Education Program (NOEP) is a nonprofit organization of the Texas Nurses Foundation that develops and provides education for nurses in all fields of practice on cancer prevention, detection, treatment, and survivorship. To meet the most current educational needs of nurses, NOEP conducts a biannual needs assessment survey to better understand its audience and inform its course development. The 2013 NOEP needs assessment survey used a convenience sample of licensed nurses throughout the United States.

Factors associated with fear of lymphedema after treatment for breast cancer.

Purpose/objectives: To identify demographic and treatment characteristics associated with postoperative fear of lymphedema.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Outpatient breast clinic at a comprehensive cancer center in the northeastern United States.

Cancer genetics and genomics: essentials for oncology nurses.

Cancer genetics and genomics are rapidly evolving, with new discoveries emerging in genetic mutations, variants, genomic sequencing, risk-reduction methods, and targeted therapies. To educate patients and families, state-of-the-art care requires nurses to understand terminology, scientific and technological advances, and pharmacogenomics. Clinical application of cancer genetics and genomics involves working in interdisciplinary teams to properly identify patient risk through assessing family history, facilitating genetic testing and counseling services, applying risk-reduction methods, and administering and monitoring targeted therapies.

A feasibility study of low-cost, self-administered skin care interventions in patients with head and neck cancer receiving chemoradiation.

Current evidence for the management of radiation skin toxicities demonstrates equivocal outcomes using a variety of interventions, leaving substantial gaps in knowledge. Skin toxicities can lead to treatment delays, infection, pain, and increased costs for the patient. Patients with head and neck cancers receiving chemoradiation (N = 100), a population particularly vulnerable to disruptions in skin integrity, were enrolled into a prospective, descriptive study.

Saving billions of dollars--and physicians' time--by streamlining billing practices.

The U.S. system of billing third parties for health care services is complex, expensive, and inefficient.

Postponing medication administration.

This is the eighth in a series of articles from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston describing one general medical unit's experiences with Transforming Care at the Bedside (TCAB). An initiative begun by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, TCAB was developed as a way to improve care on medical-surgical units, patients' and family members' experience of care, and teamwork among care team members, and to increase nurse satisfaction and retention. The TCAB philosophy engages all care leaders, but empowers bedside nurses to generate ideas and solutions for change.

One-hour, off-unit meal breaks.

This is the fifth in a series of articles from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston describing one general medical unit's experiences with Transforming Care at the Bedside (TCAB). An initiative begun by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, TCAB was developed as a way to improve care on medical-surgical units, patients' and family members' experience of care, and teamwork among care team members, and to increase satisfaction and retention of nurses. The TCAB philosophy engages all care leaders but empowers bedside nurses to generate ideas and solutions for change.

Is your medical/surgical patient withdrawing from alcohol?

Look beyond the stereotype. Any hospitalized patient could be dependent on alcohol-and at risk for alcohol withdrawal syndrome.