That's a steep decline, but the numbers are still troubling, researchers say. Like Americans in general, fewer U.S. nurses are smoking than ever, but the habit's effects on those who do are still devastating, according to a new study.  The UCLA School of Nursing study found that the rate of smoking among nurses has fallen from 33.2 percent in 1976 to 8.4 percent in 2003.

And for those hospitals without dedicated units, telemedicine can bridge gap, study says. Stroke patients treated at community hospitals with specialized stroke care and telemedicine support from major stroke centers are more likely to survive and live independently than patients treated at hospitals without stroke units, a German study finds.

Chemotherapy figures alone may differ by almost $37,000 per patient, study finds. The cost of treating colorectal cancer can vary by tens of thousands of dollars per patient.

Trauma treatment similar regardless of ethnicity, U.S. study finds. The care of trauma patients in the United States is roughly the same no matter what the patient's race or ethnicity, a new study finds.

Human-to-human transfer caused by contact with blood, respiratory secretion. The first Chinese case of a tick-borne disease called granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA), which then led to person-to-person transmission of the disease, is described in a study by researchers at China's National Institute of Communicable Disease Control and Prevention.

Report also cites drug given to U.S. troops to protect them from nerve gas. Gulf War illness, dismissed by some as a psychosomatic disorder, is a very real illness that affects at least 25 percent of the 700,000 U.S. veterans who took part in the 1991 Gulf War.

Study says quality years could be extended with more elder-care funds. Citizens in the 15 established European Union countries have a longer life expectancy and more healthy life years (HLYs) after the age of 50 than those in the 10 newer EU nations, a new study shows.

Innovative approach could give heart attack victims, other patients more time, developers say.  U.S. government scientists say they have developed a technology that can rapidly send an icy slush directly into the body to cool and to protect specific organs during certain health emergencies.

Changes since last year mean seniors should shop wisely, experts say. With the enrollment period for Medicare's Part D prescription drug coverage program for 2009 kicking off Nov. 15, experts are advising seniors to choose a plan carefully because premiums and covered medications can vary from plan to plan.

Medical errors and wasted time are other common problems, international survey finds. Chronically ill patients in the United States spend more out-of-pocket money, skip needed care, and report more medical errors than patients in seven other industrialized countries, a new survey finds.

Hospitals that perform the heart procedure more often do better, study finds. Heart attack patients who undergo emergency coronary angioplasty at community hospitals are more likely to survive if they're treated at facilities that do more than 83 such procedures a year, researchers report.

March of Dimes says 18 states plus Puerto Rico and District of Columbia get failing grades. When it comes to premature birth rates, the United States rates a "D," and 18 states plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia get failing grades.

Patients with the condition see doctors far more frequently, study finds. Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure have many more doctor visits and take more medications than those without heart failure, researchers are reporting.

14% for whites, 19% for blacks, 21% for Hispanics and 27% for others, study says. Minority children waiting for a heart transplant have a higher death rate than white youngsters, say researchers who analyzed eight years of data from the United Network of Organ Sharing.

Mental health issues may affect 20% of recent returnees, but help is available. In earlier wars, it was known as shell shock. In later military combat -- Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan -- the emotional scars veterans brought back with them got new names for old problems: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, substance abuse.

Study found some low-risk patients can wait for tests. No one doubts the need to rush to the hospital if someone is having a heart attack or even chest pains, but do doctors and nurses need to keep rushing once the person has been admitted?

But study questions if MRIs, CT scans are always worth the cost. The use of MRI and CT scanners in the United States has more than doubled since 1995. But that hasn't necessarily resulted in better health care or fewer deaths, according to a study by researchers at Stanford and Harvard universities.

More bystander CPR, faster patient-to-doctor time would boost survival rates, survey finds. Ninety percent of U.S. emergency physicians believe that resuscitation practices aren't very effective and support a number of strategies designed to improve resuscitation for people who suffer sudden cardiac arrest, according to a survey released Friday by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP).

Substituting cheaper drug for more expensive one should be transparent, experts say. Most prescription drug users would be unhappy if one of their medications was switched to another in the same class without their knowledge or their doctor's approval, a new survey shows.

But mortality rate has declined over past 3 decades, study shows.  The risk of sudden death after a heart attack has improved significantly over the past three decades, but the first 30 days remain a period of great danger, an historical study shows.

Called magnetic resonance elastography, it could eliminate need for biopsies, study finds. A new imaging technology called magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is highly accurate in identifying liver diseases and can help eliminate the need for liver biopsies, according to Mayo Clinic researchers.

Pain management, discharge instructions not rated high in survey. Patients in many U.S. hospitals are not satisfied with their care, Harvard researchers report.

Report points to globalization, drug resistance and climate change as culprits. At least 170,000 Americans die each year from infectious diseases, and that number could increase dramatically during a major disease outbreak.

Study found those who received blood that was 29 days or older faced twice the risk. Hospital patients who receive a transfusion of stored blood that is 29 days or older face double the risk for developing one or more serious infections compared to those who get "fresher" blood, new research indicates.

Study found 1 in 7 from Iraq, Afghanistan who sought medical care were victims. Shedding light on the challenges facing women in the military, a new study shows that more than one in seven female Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seeking VA medical care reported experiencing sexual trauma during their service.

Experts say soaring health costs and medical crises fuel many foreclosures, bankruptcies.  Since 1999, Keith and Deborah Krinsky of Magalia, Calif., have seen their health insurance deductible soar from $1,000 to $10,000.

While not possible to protect all, studies show shots cut deaths, hospital visits. The more people who get the flu vaccine, the better it is for everyone, according to two new studies.

Journalist Gail Sheehy's painful passage through U.S. health system echoes that of many caregivers. In her long struggle to care for her gravely ill husband, journalist and Passages author Gail Sheehy recalls one defining moment.

Researchers suggest increased exposure to government ads brought no added value. Television ads that ran between 1999 and 2004 as part of the U.S. government's "National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign" do not appear to have dissuaded teens from smoking marijuana, a new study suggests.

Study finds therapy reduces new infections, cuts outlays. Using the standard drug therapy of pegylated-interferon and ribavirin would be a cost-effective way of treating all U.S. prisoners who have hepatitis C, a new study says.

Heart association says cooling body, checking arteries lowers risk of further injury. Getting a heart beating again is only the first step in saving a life after a sudden cardiac arrest, a new report shows.

Leadership has to come from White House to offset growing complacency, presidential panel says. America has grown complacent in its war on cancer, so it must redouble its efforts to defeat this often-deadly disease. And the leadership for this campaign must come directly from the White House.

Better results came when clot-busting drug was easily available, Canadian study shows. Changing the rules about prescribing a clot-preventing drug made a difference in the lives of heart patients, a new Canadian study finds.

More than 3 million children fall into this category, study suggests. So say researchers who found that more than 3 percent of U.S. children and adolescents are uninsured or underinsured at some point during any given year -- despite having at least one parent with health insurance.

Lack of insurance could play a major role, study suggests. Blacks and Hispanics are more likely to die in U.S. emergency rooms after a trauma than white patients are, researchers report.

Gradual steps may benefit families but not the patient, and doctors need to communicate that more, study suggests. Almost half of the patients who die in the intensive care units of hospitals do so after a prolonged withdrawal of life support, a process doctors refer to as "stuttering," a new study found.

Misuse of chemicals contributes to hospital-acquired infections, study says. Improper use of chemical disinfectants might actually make the bacteria they are trying to kill stronger and more resistant over time, a new report says.

Only about half receive recommended tests for colon, breast, cervical disease, study finds. Screening rates for colorectal, breast and cervical cancer among older Medicaid patients are below national objectives, a new study suggests.

If all centers performed as well, over 237,000 lives might have been saved, survey finds. The death rate at top-ranked U.S. hospitals is 70 percent lower than at the lowest-ranked hospitals, according to a study that examined 41 million patient records at the nation's approximately 5,000 hospitals over three years.

Poorer access to care may all play a role, experts say. Infant victims of abuse whose families don't have private health insurance are almost four times more likely to die, compared with abused babies who are privately insured, a new study finds.

Transition from flip-flops, sandals to traditional shoes may be culprit, specialists say. With the transition from summer to fall, doctors note an increase in bunions among their female patients, according to the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons.

Since testing is often on those already on drugs, some diagnoses could be wrong, study says. A new study questions the commonly held belief that intestinal Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infections are always preceded by antibiotic use.

Study suggests poor self-care partly to blame. In a group of Medicare beneficiaries who have diabetes, being depressed was associated with a higher death rate, according to a new study.

They're not prepared to counsel patients on medical budgeting, study finds. Few doctors are adequately prepared to help patients navigate newer, so-called "consumer-directed" health plans, a new survey finds.

Used in passports, library cards, they helped reduced mislabeling of tissue specimens. The risk and number of errors during biopsy analysis can be drastically reduced by instituting labeling systems for specimen bottles, a new study says.

Less likely to feel distress, more likely to enjoy better quality of life, study finds. End-of-life discussions between a doctor and a terminally ill patient do not result in more distress for patients. In fact, they result in less aggressive medical interventions and enhanced quality of life in a patient's final days, a major new study found.

Getting out of bed sooner helped quality of life after discharge, study finds. The best medicine for intensive care unit (ICU) patients may be getting them out of bed and moving as soon as they're able, a new report says.

50% reduction in risk seen 2 years later in Canadian study. Being vaccinated against pneumonia halves the risk of having a heart attack two years later, a new Canadian study finds.

Doctors often don't disclose less obvious mistakes, even if they cause harm, study finds. Only about half of U.S. pediatricians surveyed in a new study said they'd disclose a medical error to the family of a child under their care.

Simple adjustments also save money, since side effects can affect length of stay, study says. Simple changes to hospital procedures can significantly reduce the side effects children suffer while on opiates to relieve pain, a new study reveals.

Overall, 1 in 5 Americans lives with at least one disability, CDC says.  An estimated 43 million Americans -- one in five people -- have some type of disability, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Availability varies widely, and South comes out worst, researchers say. There's a new medical specialty called palliative care, and it's become widespread enough to warrant a new state-by-state report card on its availability and quality.

Commonwealth Fund says both want to widen availability of health insurance, but by vastly different means. Both presidential candidates want to make health insurance available to more Americans, but each has proposed a vastly different route to reform, a new report shows.

An estimated 250,000 such illnesses occur each year, CDC says. U.S. health officials are giving nearly $3 million to the American Hospital Association to help reduce so-called central line-associated bloodstream infections in hospital intensive care units.

Study finds real benefit to continued treatment, but insurance companies often balk at cost. People with complex mental disorders or personality disorders would benefit from long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy that lasts at least a year or longer, according to new research.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new test that can detect skin infections, including antibiotic-resistant infections such as the so-called "superbug" MRSA, in less than an hour, the test's manufacturer said Monday

Study raises questions about disparities in outcomes, but offers no concrete answers. Elderly Americans who live in low-income ZIP codes are more likely to die after surgery than those who live in higher-income ZIP codes, according to new research.

Over-55 bettors more likely to ask casinos to bar them, fearing self harm if they can't stop. Older problem gamblers who ask to be barred from casinos are three to four times more likely than younger gambling addicts to do so because they're afraid they'll commit suicide if they don't stop betting, according to a new study.

 As food-safety problems continue to rock the United States, resulting in massive recalls, illness and even death, the federal Food and Drug Administration remains underfunded and understaffed to protect consumers, a new government report concludes.

Hospital residents say poor transfers of care as serious as medication-related errors. The process of transferring the care of a hospitalized patient from one resident to another tends to cause some amount of harm to the patient, a new study suggests.

Open enrollment for Part D begins Nov. 15, so review your plan, agency officials say. In 2009, 97 percent of Medicare beneficiaries will have access to a drug plan with premiums that are the same as this year's or even lower, Medicare officials announced Thursday.

Latest warning follows high-profile dosing errors. In the wake of several high-profile medication errors, some of them fatal, involving widely used blood thinners, the Joint Commission has released an alert recommending strategies to reduce these errors.

Salt solutions, topicals containing papain face seizure after adverse events reported. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned companies making unapproved eye wash solutions and a widely used but unapproved skin cream to stop making and marketing the products or face enforcement actions.

Ancient therapy bested antidepressant for relieving hot flashes in study. Lifesaving treatments for breast cancer come at a cost -- many women experience hot flashes, fatigue, night sweats and more.

But deductible for hospital, hospice care will increase, agency says. Good news for millions of American seniors: Medicare's standard Part B monthly premium in 2009 will remain the same as in 2008, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said Friday.

Producers must provide safety and efficacy data before market approval.  The prospect of foods and other products from so-called genetically engineered animals moved a step closer to reality Thursday, as U.S. regulators said producers of such animals will have to prove they are safe to eat.

But poverty and lack of insurance are the real barriers, experts say. Spanish-speaking Hispanics in the United States have difficulty accessing the health-care system, University of North Carolina researchers report.

Analysis finds comprehensive packages touted 3 times as often as stand-alone drug offerings. Insurers last year placed three times more ads and spent twice as much money to promote more comprehensive Medicare Advantage plans than they did for stand-alone Medicare drug plans, according to a new study.

Prior history of mental health problems, sedative use contribute to risk, study says. About 20 percent of intensive care unit survivors experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Better treatment of sickest patients can save more than $300 a day, study says. Taking better care of seriously ill patients can actually save hospitals more than $300 a day, according to a U.S. study.

A new kind of paint that releases titanium dioxide when exposed to fluorescent light and a green dye for wounds that gives off toxic molecules when activated by near-infrared light could both kill the deadly superbug known as MRSA, two new studies claim.

Users mostly seek preventive care or assistance with easy-to-treat illnesses, study says.  Typical clients of retail health clinics in the United States include patients who don't have regular health care providers and are seeking preventive care or help for easy-to-treat illnesses, says a study by the nonprofit RAND Corporation.

Findings urge push for broad-based admission policies that reflect ethnic variety. Attending medical schools with high levels of racial and ethnic diversity may better prepare white medical students to care for minority patients, U.S. researchers say.

A national campaign to teach parents how to protect kids from skin infections caused by dangerous methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria was launched this week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Uninsured patients tend to stay on these more expensive brand name drugs, study found. Doctors who hand out drug companies' free samples to uninsured patients may actually be costing those patients more money over the long term, a new study finds.

Officials want stronger labeling about fungal infection risk. Federal health authorities have asked the manufacturers of four widely used immunosuppressive drugs to bolster safety warnings on the risk of developing opportunistic fungal infections.

Experts develop sequence of instructions they say could help doctors evaluate risks. Vaccine safety experts say that almost all kids who are allergic to vaccines can receive vaccinations with close monitoring and a set of standard precautions.

Study finds only 5% of Californians took benefit of nation's 1st such law, passed in 2004. Few parents with chronically ill kids have made use of California's pioneering paid family leave program, and most of them are not even aware it exists, according to researchers at the Rand Corp.

Industry's $5B a year marketing campaigns may provide less bang for the bucks. The research, published Tuesday in the online British Medical Journal, found that despite the billions that are being spent on direct-to-consumer drug marketing campaigns, the advertising is having a modest effect at best on sales.

Study found it predicted outcome months after patient went home. Older patients who sleep during the day while in rehabilitation have less functional recovery, new research shows.

Study shows family wishes, doctor preferences often enter into decisions. End-of-life and other critical medical decisions that arise when patients can't make their own choices are often complex affairs, new research shows.

Tight glucose control doesn't significantly reduce the risk of in-hospital death among critically ill patients. But, it is associated with an increased risk of hypoglycemia (abnormally low blood sugar), according to a study that challenges the common practice of tight glucose control for this group of patients.

France is doing it. Britain, the Netherlands and Norway are on their way. And hospitals elsewhere should be doing it, too, namely moving toward all single rooms in newly built hospitals, argue the authors of a paper in the Aug. 27 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

More children now covered by government-sponsored programs, Census Bureau reports. The number of Americans without health insurance dropped by more than 1 million people in 2007, the first annual decline in seven years, U.S. Census Bureau officials announced Tuesday.

Rapid benefits tied to fact it was directed at adults, not youth, study finds. California's state tobacco program resulted in a 50-to-1 return on investment over 15 years, say researchers from the University of California, San Francisco.

And they spend billions out of pocket for what they do receive, new report shows. Uninsured Americans will spend $30 billion out of pocket for health care, and receive $56 billion in uncompensated care in 2008, new research shows.

Unhealthy proximity to major roads is public health concern future planners should address. More than 30 percent of U.S. public schools are within a quarter mile of major highways, which puts them in the "air pollution danger zone," says a University of Cincinnati study.

In 2007, about 3.4 million Americans enrolled in the Medicare Part D drug plan reached a gap in their prescription coverage known as the "doughnut hole," leading some of them to stop taking prescribed drugs, says a Kaiser Family Foundation study released Thursday.

It means different things to youngsters, so sex ed should be added to lineup, study says. One reason why abstinence-only programs don't do much to prevent teen sexual activity is because abstinence can mean different things to teens than it does to adults, according to a University of Washington study.

New numbers show the problem is getting worse, not better, even for middle class. Working-age Americans are facing mounting problems when it comes to affording health care, a result of what analysts are calling a "perfect storm" of economic woes.

29% of patients had problems with size of devices used to prevent deep vein clots, study finds. Compression stockings are used incorrectly in 29 percent of patients and sized incorrectly in 26 percent of patients, according to U.S. researchers.

Confusing information, complex language makes site hard to use, researchers say. A majority of seniors who visit the Medicare Web site find getting the information they need a frustrating experience, University of Miami researchers report.

Authors of new study say aim is to generate awareness of the problem. Older trauma patients are less likely to be transported to an official trauma center for immediate care than younger patients, a new study found.

The $28 monthly rate is lower than initially projected, officials said. The average monthly premium for Medicare's prescription drug plan will increase to an estimated $28 in 2009, three dollars more than this year's monthly premium, Medicare officials announced Thursday.

Distance problems, astigmatism becoming more common, study finds. About half of all American adults don't have the 20/20 vision physicians consider optimal because they are nearsighted, farsighted, or have an irregular corneal curve known as astigmatism, a large, new study reports.

They don't use CRT pacing devices as they should or follow published guidelines, study finds. Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) can help heart failure patients' hearts beat more efficiently and effectively, but most U.S. hospitals don't use it as it should be used, a new report finds.

Analysis may aid in guiding recommendations on who should get screened and when. One in five men in their 40s has had a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test in the past year, and young black men are more likely than young white men to have undergone the test, a new analysis shows.

Less than quarter of victims get to hospital quickly enough to limit damage, study shows. Most people who have strokes don't act quickly enough to get the clot-dissolving treatment that can limit brain damage, a new study finds.

Many are frustrated with the inefficiency and cost of the current system, survey finds. The vast majority of Americans are dissatisfied with the U.S. health care system, and 82 percent think it needs to be overhauled, a new survey found.

As America grows older, that's an average of 4 a year per person, CDC report says. Americans made about 1.1 billion visits to physician offices and hospital outpatient and emergency departments in 2006, which works out to an average of four visits per person per year, according to statistics released Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Heart association seeks policy, social changes that boost healthier eating, exercise. Reducing the high rate of obesity in the United States requires a comprehensive, population-based strategy, says a new American Heart Association (AHA) scientific statement.

But it may not be much more effective than placebo, one expert says. A topical spray reduces the pain of placing intravenous (IV) lines in children, Canadian researchers report.

As numbers rise, CDC officials wonder if another food might be contributing. Experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now say they're no longer sure that the nationwide salmonella outbreak is due to tomatoes alone, or some other food source.