Primary Care and Public Health: A Partnership to Change America’s Health: Healthcare Round-Up

Primary Care and Public Health: A Partnership to Change America’s Health. Everyone from U.S. Senators to major media outlets (USA Today, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal) and advocacy outlets is talking about the primary care physician shortage. This shortage could grow as the number of insured Americans increases thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Estimates of how many physicians would fill the gap range from just over 20,000, according to HRSA, to 45,000, according to the AAMC. Half a century ago, 50 percent of our nation’s physicians practiced primary care. How did we end up here? Read more at www.huffingtonpost.com

Don’t Sneeze: Office Etiquette For Flu Season. Mary Horowitz is escalating her war on germs this winter. She sometimes circles her employer’s offices after her co-workers have gone home, spraying light switches, keyboards and door handles with disinfectant. If colleagues cough or sniffle, she sprays the chair and surfaces they’ve touched as they’re leaving. Read more at www.wsj.com

Hospitals Aim to Better Match Blood Donors and Recipients. As researchers uncover more genetic variations in blood types, they are identifying new risks to patients needing transfusions. Hospitals and blood banks are turning to more precise genetic methods to screen blood donors and recipients to prevent a mismatch, which can be fatal. The first such test to be approved in the U.S., called PreciseType, which promises quicker, more accurate results than traditional lab testing methods, has been adopted by 15 health systems and 25 donor centers including the American Red Cross, which supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood. PreciseType and similar tests are already in use in Europe. Read more at www.wsj.com