Index 2008: Facts by issue date

Facts drawn from the pages of AMNews, linked back to the story.

2007 index

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July 14

1. In 35 states there are no limits on how high insurers can raise a patient's premium if he or she becomes ill.
2. Nearly 1 million Medicare beneficiaries receive hospice care.
3. 79% of the public believes personal health records would help people manage their health.
4. 52 million prescriptions are written every year for albuterol inhalers.
5. 20% of people with multiple sclerosis have a family history of the disease.
6. 45% to 65% of MS patients develop cognitive impairments within 10 years.
7. New York trains 16,500 medical residents, the most of any state.
8. 89% of applicants for individual health insurance policies are offered coverage.
9. In 2006, 9% of Americans bought individual health insurance rather than getting coverage from employers.
10. There are more than 3,000 hospices in the U.S.
11. CFC-propelled albuterol inhalers no longer will be sold in the U.S. after Dec. 31, 2008.
12. 65% of albuterol in the U.S. is HFA-propelled; the rest is CFC-propelled.

July 7

1. Bad debt levels averaged 17.7% among for-profit hospitals for the last quarter of 2007.
2. Medicare spends about 20 cents to recover each dollar in overpayments.
3. More than 95 million Americans do not read well enough to understand a prescription label.
4. Colorado has roughly 800,000 uninsured.
5. A 2007 study said 87% of health care workers didn't plan to get vaccinated against pertussis.
6. 75% of hospitals say they have inadequate physician on-call coverage.
7. From 1988 to 2008, 75,000 patients died while awaiting organ transplants.
8. During a 3-year pilot of Medicare audits, the average overpayment per physician was $100 to $200.
9. Only 4% of doctors have an electronic health records system.
10. 54% of internists treat patients with limited English proficiency at least once a day or a few times a week.
11. 2 years of schooling are required for the doctor of nursing practice degree, versus 5 to 7 years for medical training.
12. In 2006, an estimated 150,000 Americans received medical care overseas.
13. Nearly half of medical procedures done in 2006 on Americans overseas were for necessary surgeries.
14. Medical procedures done overseas can cost 20% less than if done in the U.S.
15. 5% to 35% of hospice patients have intractable symptoms in the last week of life.

June 23/30

1. 43% of Massachusetts hospitals have too few family physicians; 54% don't have enough internists.
2. 40,000 people in the U.S. become infected with HIV each year.
3. 40% of people with sleep apnea have type 2 diabetes.
4. 250,000 people in the U.S. don't know they're infected with HIV.
5. Treating sleep apnea can improve blood glucose levels.
6. Hispanics make up 32% of California's population but only 5% of doctors.
7. 34% of the 42,000 physicians in Michigan are IMGs.
8. Most people who use the Internet for health information are searching about specific diagnoses or symptoms.
9. 95% of Massachusetts tax filers say they have health insurance.
10. The District of Columbia has the highest AIDS case rate in the U.S.
11. Blacks account for 7% of California's population and 3% of physicians.
12. 40% of the California's minority physicians are in primary care, compared with 30% of nonminority physicians.

June 16

1. A shopping center turned medical mall in Mississippi logs 250,000 patient visits each year.
2. There are 1,000 retail clinics in the U.S., with 500 more expected to open by the end of 2008.
3. 6.2 million people in the U.S. have undiagnosed diabetes.
4. In 2005, 73% of ED directors reported problems with inadequate on-call coverage.
5. Minnesota will require all doctors to send prescriptions electronically by 2011.
6. 3 in 1,000 deliveries involve serious perinatal injuries.
7. The median medical education debt is $140,000.
8. Several California physicians have converted retail spot for their practices.
9. 200 vendors are marketing electronic record systems.
10. A medical home pilot is under way in southeastern Pennsylvania.

June 9

1. The first telephone paging system was created, with doctors in mind, in 1949.
2. California ranks last in the nation for Medicaid physician payment.
3. Medi-Cal is the second largest state-funded program in California.
4. Federal law bans discrimination by insurers and employers based on genetic information.
5. At least 2.6 million Medicare enrollees are eligible for drug subsidies but don't get them.
6. The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports now has an adult version of its fitness challenge.
7. More than half of infected patients in an influenza epidemic could require ventilators.
8. Medical educators have identified 26 skills needed for basic geriatric care.
9. There are only 7,100 geriatricians in the U.S.
10. Blacks, Hispanics and American Indians make up 25% of the U.S. population but only 7% of physicians.

June 2

1. More than 70% of U.S. pharmacies have e-prescribing connectivity.
2. 3.8 million Floridians lack health insurance.
3. Only 12% of adults have the skills to proficiently manage their medical care.
4. Good Samaritan laws vary from state to state.
5. 27 million doses of flu vaccine remained unused in the 2007-08 flu season.
6. Overall effectiveness of the 2007-08 flu vaccine was 44%.
7. 70% of general surgery residents pursue fellowships.
8. A campaign promoting e-prescribing is targeting patients.
9. From 1981 to 2005, the number of general surgery residency positions remained nearly unchanged.
10. The number of general surgeons in the U.S. per 100,000 population dropped 26% from 1981 to 2005.

May 26

1. 80% of hospitals reporting data security breaches said an employee was responsible for the breach.
2. More than 40,000 women die from breast cancer each year.
3. Delayed diagnosis of breast cancer is the top reason for successful liability suits.
4. Breast cancer is among the most commonly diagnosed cancers in women.
5. The FDA spends $11 million a year to inspect foreign drugmakers.
6. Foreign drug manufacturing plants are inspected about once every 13 years.
7. Only 3% of med students plan to practice in a rural area or small town.
8. Since 1992, there has been a 400% increase in the number of foreign establishments named in generic drug marketing applications.
9. Only 9% of doctors practice in rural areas, which have 20% of the U.S. population.

May 19

1. 61% of businesses with 10-199 employees offered health benefits in 2007, down from 69% in 2001.
2. 41 states prohibit genetic discrimination.
3. Genetic tests are available for more than 1,500 conditions.
4. 85% of Americans think that, without a law, employers would discriminate over genetic data.
5. 14% of physicians have minimally functional EMRs.
6. The average cost of an EMR system is $20,000.
7. Physicians receive only 11 cents for every dollar saved through an EMR.
8. 53% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who met criteria for PTSD or major depression sought care in 2007.
9. A third of the 1.6 million troops deployed since 2001 in Iraq and Afghanistan return with a form of mental illness.
10. 11% of child patients have adverse drug events during a hospital stay.
11. More than a third of harmful pediatric drug mix-ups at hospitals are due to improper dosing.

May 12

1. 80% of large companies offer some type of wellness program.
2. Insurers won't pay claims with old IDs after May 23.
3. The typical Oregon patient who seeks assisted suicide is white, college-educated, enrolled in hospice care and insured.
4. Doctor disciplinary actions are down for the third year.
5. 341 terminally ill patients have died under the Oregon assisted-suicide law.
6. A third of U.S. hospitals have palliative care teams.
7. The median medical school debt is $140,000.
8. Almost 14% of Kentucky's population was uninsured between 2004 and 2006.
9. Employer incentives for workers participating in wellness programs are on the increase.
10. At April's end, only 20% of Medicare claims were submitted with NPIs only.
11. Serious disciplinary actions against doctors dropped 20% from 2004 to 2007.
12. Med school graduates pay 9% to 12% of their income to school loans.

May 5

1. Lack of insurance was related to 22,000 adults' deaths in 2006.
2. 15% of anorexics are men.
3. Misconduct from lawyers in two medical liability cases resulted in orders for new trials.
4. Some clay has antimicrobial properties.
5. Researchers are studying proteins in alligator blood as sources of new drugs to fight infections.
6. By 2030, there will be an estimated 8,000 geriatricians, but the nation will need 36,000.
7. 80% of preventive care occurs outside the context of an annual physical or gynecologic examination.
8. Nearly 30% of Medicare beneficiaries report trouble finding a primary care doctor.
9. Uninsured people ages 25 to 64 are 25% more likely to die than their insured counterparts.
10. 10% to 20% of anorexics die from complications of starvation or suicide.
11. 5% of anorexics fully recover with treatment; 40% relapse in the first year.
12. Hip replacements went up 48% from 1997 to 2004.
13. Knee replacements grew 63% from 1997 to 2004.
14. In March 2008, a Salmonella outbreak associated with cantaloupes sickened 50 people in 16 states.
15. One matching site has linked 74 organ donors and recipients.
16. The annual physical or gynecological exam is the most common reason patients visit their doctors.
17. 64 million Americans have annual physical or gynecologic exams, at a total cost of almost $8 billion.

April 28

1. As of 2007, 8.2 million Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans.
2. 30% of pharmacies are not able to receive electronic drug orders.
3. Only 36% of baby boomers can identify 65 as the age of Medicare eligibility.
4. Few countries vaccinate their children against mumps.
5. As of 2006, 87% of U.S. adolescents had received the 2-dose MMR vaccine.
6. Mumps can cause orchitis, encephalitis, hearing loss, pancreatitis, meningitis and inflammation of the ovaries.
7. 200,000 Hispanics in the U.S. have Alzheimer's disease.
8. 32% of the existing 7,600 work-site clinics have opened since 2000.
9. New York has awarded $105 to 19 health information technology projects.
10. Most measures of minorities' access to quality care have remained the same or worsened.

April 21

1. Global warming has expanded the allergy season.
2. The health sector represents about a sixth of the U.S. economy.
3. 24 states are considering expanding nurses' scope of practice.
4. Frontotemporal lobar degeneration generally strikes people in their 40s and 50s.
5. FTLD destroys areas of the brain that govern behaviors.
6. By 2015, about 200 nursing schools will offer doctorate of nursing programs.
7. Most patients would recommend their hospital to others.
8. Signs of early FTLD include personality transformations and movement disorders.
9. A quarter of medical schools have policy on financial conflicts of interest in research.

April 14

1. Only 8% of the work force is enrolled in consumer-driven health plans.
2. Pennsylvania has 767,000 uninsured adults.
3. The first wave of baby boomers will become eligible for Medicare in 2010.
4. 1 in 4 female adolescents has at least one sexually transmitted infection.
5. Chlamydia is a leading cause of infertility.
6. 9 million new TB cases are diagnosed each year worldwide; 5% are multidrug resistant.
7. The FDA rejects 30% to 40% of drug names submitted by manufacturers.
8. 38% of employers offer consumer-driven health plans.
9. 4 states do not have laws with conscience clauses related to abortion.
10. 95% of patients with nonresistant TB can be treated effectively with 6 to 9 months of drug therapy.
11. XDR-TB has a 1-year mortality rate of 25% in the U.S.
12. Drug name mix-ups harmed patients 1.4% of the time in 2008.

April 7

1. At least 9 states are exploring employer health insurance mandates.
2. More applicants participated in the 2008 National Resident Matching Program than ever before.
3. Women have accounted for nearly half of students entering medical school since 2002.
4. 738 couples participated in the 2008 National Resident Matching Program.
5. 46 states allow some form of judicial review of hospital privileging decisions.
6. Massachusetts is hiking premiums for its subsidized health plans by 10%.
7. 194 million Americans consumed low-calorie or sugar-free products in 2007, up from 78 million in 1986.
8. 1 in 4,000 children in the United States will develop mitochondrial disease by age 10.
9. Ibuprofen may interfere with aspirin therapy.

March 24/31

1. 20 million CT scans were done in 2005, up from 3 million in 1980.
2. 330 million Medicaid prescriptions not paid for by managed care plans were written in 2006.
3. 27 states have passed laws on school nutrition since 2003.
4. At least 17 states have added taxes to soda and junk food.
5. 36% of workers report dozing or nodding off while driving.
6. Newborn infants average more than 14 hours of sleep a day.
7. Early school starting times result in chronic weekday sleep loss for teens.
8. Only 31% of Americans can name all 5 symptoms of a heart attack.
9. Medical student empathy for patients begins to drop during the first year of medical school.
10. Female medical students scored higher than male students on empathy for patients.

March 17

1. About 5% of patients have an electronic personal health record.
2. Medicare's PQRI program includes 119 quality measures for doctors.
3. Nearly 7 million Americans abused prescription drugs in 2005.
4. 10% of adults will have some kind of addictive disorder in their lifetimes.
5. 70 million Americans experience pain every day.
6. 10 million people in the U.S. have osteoporosis.
7. Risk for low bone mass in increasing most rapidly among Hispanic women.
8. The CA-125 test for ovarian cancer produces many false-positive results.
9. 1 in 2 women and 1 in 4 men older than 50 will have a fracture related to osteoporosis.
10. A 2006 survey reported 21% of physicians older than 50 worked part time.
11. Including people 18 and younger adds 30 million to the list of who should get flu shots.

March 10

1. 11 states increased eligibility for Medicaid or SCHIP in 2007.
2. 218,000 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2007.
3. The average medical student debt is $140,000.
4. J-1 visas require IMGs to return to their home country for 2 years after completing a U.S. residency.
5. 100 U.S. medical schools offer some kind of spirituality course.
6. 76% of doctors believe in God, and 59% believe in an afterlife.
7. Depressed residents make 6 times more medication errors than residents who are not depressed.
8. More than 27,000 men died from prostate cancer in 2007.
9. The proportion of adults with work-based health insurance went from 68% in 2000 to 63% in 2005.
10. The number of IMGs entering the U.S. on J-1 visas dropped from 11,600 in 1996 to 6,000 in 2006.
11. A study of pediatric resident physicians in 3 children's hospitals found 20% were depressed.
12. 74% of pediatric residents in 3 children's hospitals experienced burnout.

March 3

1. The U.S. spends 16% of its gross domestic product on health care.
2. Much of the salt used in processed food does not contain iodine.
3. Tooth decay is 5 times more common in children than asthma.
4. All states have reported influenza activity this year, with 44 reporting widespread activity.
5. Florida had the highest medical liability insurance premiums in the U.S. in 2007.
6. Hispanics are 36% of California's population but 4% of its physicians.
7. 8 medical centers do more than 40 heart transplants a year.
8. 14% of doctors adopted minimally functioning EMR systems in 2007.
9. An estimated 51 million school hours are missed annually because of health problems affecting the mouth.
10. Untreated gum disease in diabetics can impede blood glucose control.
11. Iodine deficiency during pregnancy can affect fetal and newborn development.
12. Internists' liability premiums were 17% lower in states with noneconomic damage caps than in states without caps.
13. Ob-gyns' liability premiums were 26% lower in states with noneconomic damage caps than in states without caps.
14. Medical identify theft is often an "inside job."
15. Hospitals must do at least 10 heart transplants a year to qualify for federal reimbursement.

Feb. 25

1. Down syndrome can cause hearing loss, heart malformations, hypertension, digestive problems and vision disorders.
2. Down syndrome is the most common chromosomal condition.
3. 6 of the nation's 7 largest health insurers reported profit growth of 10% or more in 2007.
4. Down syndrome affects about 1 in every 800 children born in the U.S.
5. 21 million Americans have diabetes.
6. 65% of people with diabetes die due to cardiovascular causes.
7. Increased use of alcohol hand rubs not enough to stem hospital infections.
8. People who wash their hands more than 10 times a day are at increased risk of irritant contact dermatitis.

Feb. 18

1. Doctors and hospitals submitted 35 million fewer paper claims in 2006 than in 2005.
2. Health care bill collection costs 20% of what is actually collected.
3. 10% of fathers show signs of moderate or severe postpartum depression.
4. Some form of "baby blues" affects 8 of 10 women in the first two weeks after childbirth.
5. Postpartum depression affects 10% to 20% of new mothers.
6. The National Guideline Clearinghouse lists 342 guidelines on cardiovascular diseases.
7. More than one-third of resident physicians in Michigan in 2006-07 were IMGs.
8. 85% of all physician practices submit claims electronically.
9. 32% of businesses say it's "highly important" to offer wellness programs to control health care costs.
10. 45 studies have examined the impact of public reports on quality and safety.

Feb. 11

1. 54% of doctors accepted capitated payments in 1996-97, only 45% did in 2004-05.
2. Medical groups must offer reasonable accommodation for religious practices.
3. Half of the 1 million new shingles cases each year are in people 60 and older.
4. Anyone who had chickenpox is at risk for shingles.
5. People with schizophrenia are more likely to have Toxoplasma antibodies.
6. Courts in 20 states have recognized medical staff bylaws as enforceable.
7. Bills in 17 states seek to restrict pharmaceutical marketing.
8. Most practices that still accept capitation are on the West Coast and in the upper Midwest.
9. The shingles vaccine reduces the risk of shingles by 51% and of postherpetic neuralgia by 66%.

Feb. 4

1. 80% of the uninsured are from working families.
2. The U.S. gives free vaccines to more than half the children in the country.
3. The influenza vaccine was first used in 1945.
4. The anthrax vaccine in its modern form was developed in the 1940s.
5. The FDA strongly recommends against the use of OTC cold meds for kids younger than 2.
6. The main reason cited for not staying home when SARS was affecting Toronto was loss of income.
7. ED patients wait a median of 30 minutes to see a physician.
8. The number of ED visits is increasing, while the number of EDs is decreasing.

Jan. 28

1. Overall national health spending reached $2.1 trillion in 2006, up 6.7%.
2. 70% of family physicians, internists and pediatricians had net incomes of $200,000 or less in 2006.
3. The number of uninsured children increased by 1 million, to 8.7 million in 2006.
4. 10% of autism cases are caused by genetic syndromes, such as fragile X or Prader-Willi syndromes.
5. 17 Americans die every day waiting for an organ transplant.
6. Nearly half of doctors use placebos in clinical care.
7. Hospitalists trim 12% from the average hospital patient's stay.
8. The Minnesota Blues plan invites patients to vent on its online forum.
9. 109 specialty hospitals participate in Medicare.
10. The shortage of transplantable organs increases 5% each year.
11. Most doctors say placebos have therapeutic effects.
12. 22,000 physicians see themselves as hospitalists.
13. The term "hospitalist" was coined 10 years ago.

Jan. 21

1. 7% of the U.S. population has diabetes.
2. Scratching makes neurons stop for 5 to 10 seconds.
3. 90 million American adults have difficulty understanding essential medical information.
4. Itching becomes much more common with age.
5. 45 states allow physicians to refuse to provide abortions.
6. 10 osteopathic medical schools have opened in the U.S. since 1981.
7. 12 U.S. medical schools are in the process of being accredited.
8. The 2008 budget has only a 0.5% increase for NIH.
9. More than 14 million people have diabetes, and 6 million are undiagnosed.
10. Itching has hundreds of causes from bug bites to the side effects of chemotherapy.
11. The U.S. and China signed agreements in 2007 to inspect and certify Chinese drug, device and food imports.
12. Only 1 U.S. allopathic medical school has opened in 20 years.

Jan. 14

1. There were about 148 P4P programs as of March 2007.
2. Influenza peaks most often in February.
3. Chronic wounds cost the U.S. $20 billion to $25 billion a year.
4. OTC cough and cold meds have not been proven safe or effective for children younger than 2.
5. The vast majority of females are classified as low risk for heart disease.
6. California extended its whistle-blower protections to include hospital medical staff.
7. The University of California has 5 medical schools.
8. UnitedHealth Group insured 315,000 fewer people in 2007.
9. Medicare is requiring physicians to use new ID numbers starting March 1.
10. 45 iconic images are included in the art series "Great Moments in Medicine."
11. G-forces during re-entry from space sharply increase blood pressure in the brain.

Jan. 7

1. Texas has the highest percentage of uninsured in the U.S. at 24%.
2. Almost 7 million Americans abuse prescription drugs.
3. 1 in 20 Washington, D.C., residents is HIV positive.
4. COPD is the 4th leading cause of death in the U.S.
5. Americans get 62 million CT scans a year.
6. An abdominal CT delivers at least 50 times more radiation than does an abdominal x-ray.
7. The National Quality Forum has identified 28 medical errors as never events.
8. Physicians are producing videos for CME or patient education.
9. Congress passed a 0.5% Medicare pay increase, preventing a scheduled 10.1% cut.
10. Minnesota has the lowest percentage of uninsured at 8.5%.
11. New HIV infections in Zimbabwe dropped from 24% to 17%.
12. More than 12 million people have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
13. Almost 40% of COPD is missed by primary care physicians.
14. More than 100,000 people may have Chagas without knowing it.
15. Not all infants born to mothers infected with Chagas will acquire the disease.
16. The number of CTs performed in the U.S. yearly has increased by 95% since 1980.
17. CMS proposes to stop reimbursing for 8 hospital-acquired conditions.

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