BACKGROUND Since the early 1990s, specialty hospitals have been continuously increasing in number. A moratorium was passed in 2003 that prohibited physicians' referrals of Medicare patients to newly established specialty hospitals if the physician has ownership stakes in the hospital. Although this moratorium expired in effect in 2007, many are still demanding that the government pass new polic...

The perception of emergency medicine as a defined specialty may vary widely in different locations around the world. While no single emergency medical system can fulfil the needs of all countries, there are three main models of delivery: the European model, the Anglo-American model, and the neglect model. This article reviews aspects of emergency medical systems around the world and compares th...

With the increased focus and anticipated growth in specialty training and certification within the profession of pharmacy, it is important for the profession to step back and evaluate the manner in which its adopted education and certification systems interface. As a result of specialty practice development, significant growth is occurring in both postgraduate year two (PGY2) pharmacy residency...

© 1999 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors Technology: Intraoperative MRI Use: This mobile, 1.5 Tesla MRI system is placed into a standard neurosurgical operating room. It is used to plan accurate surgical corridors, confirm the accomplishment of operative objectives and detect acute complications such as hemorrhage and ischemia. History: Lesion localization is paramount for safe neur...

© 1999 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors Technology: Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor antagonists of platelets Use: The activation of platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptors results in rapid thrombosis through specific binding of its ligand, fibrinogen. The use of the Fab fragment of the mouse/human chimeric monoclonal antibody 7E3, now known as the pharmaceutical abciximab (ReoPro),...

Technology: Sonohysterography Use: With this technique, a refinement of transvaginal ultrasound imaging, saline is infused into the uterine cavity to enhance the imaging of the endometrium. The procedure was initiated because of the low sensitivity and specificity of transvaginal ultrasound for detecting endometrial pathology. In addition, the cost, inconvenience and radiation exposure associat...

Synthesis gas, that consists largely of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen, has been used in a process to make the commodity chemical, 2-hydroxybutyric acid. This news report discusses a proposal to alter regulations of materials and products involved in using synthetic biology to make chemicals. Genetic engineering can be complex and time consuming. This research paper describes an a...

Historically, though high infant mortality rates were recognized by the British medical community at least as early as the 1860s, the advent of neonatal intensive care is relatively recent. In 1898, Dr. Joseph B. De Lee (1) established the first premature infant incubator station at the Chicago, Illinois Lying-in Hospital. The first American textbook on prematurity was published in 1922 (2). It...

PURPOSE Aim of this study is to investigate the characteristics and performance of colorectal-anal specialty vs. general hospitals for South Korean inpatients with colorectal-anal diseases, and assesses the short-term designation effect of the government's specialty hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS Nationwide all colorectal-anal disease inpatient claims (n=292158) for 2010-2012 were used to in...