HEALTHCARE
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EMPLOYMENT The standard external beam radiation therapy for prostate cancer is called intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is a newer treatment that delivers a greater dose of radiation per treatment than IMRT. As a result, patients receiving SBRT can complete an entire course of treatment in one to two weeks, compared to seven to nine weeks for IMRT. There have been few studies comparing the costs of these treatments, and their toxicity.
either SBRT or IMRT as a primary treatment for prostate cancer during 2008 to 2011.
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Gaylord Unit Partners with QU Med School
“All the reports we have about the toxicity of SBRT comes from pioneering institutions,” said first author James Yu, MD, assistant professor of therapeutic radiology at Yale Cancer Center. “But now that SBRT is being used nationally, it is important to determine the costs and complications on a national level.”
TECHNOLOGY REALESTATE
Yu, senior author Cary Gross, MD and their colleagues found that the mean per-patient cost to Medicare for a course of SBRT was about $13,600, compared to $21,000 for IMRT. The team found that at 24 months after the start of the treatment, there were increased side effects for SBRT compared to IMRT, due to urethral irritation, urinary incontinence, and obstruction. However, even when including the cost of treating complications, the overall medical costs due to SBRT were still lower than that of IMRT.
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MARKETING&MEDIA New Weapon Against Prostate Cancer?
Published March 10, the new study by researchers at the Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy and Effectiveness Research (COPPER) Center at Yale Cancer Center— compared IMRT to SBRT in a national sample of 4,005 Medicare patients aged 66 and older receiving prostate cancer treatment. Participants received
HEALTHCARE NEW HAVEN — A faster and less expensive form of radiotherapy for treating prostate cancer may come at a price, according to a new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers — a higher rate of urinary complications.
Author To Give Wellness Lecture NORTH HAVEN — Holly Atkinson, MD, medical correspondent and editor at HealthiNation, a digital health network, will deliver a lecture, “The Five Keys to Optimal Health,” in the Center for Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Quinnipiac University’s North Haven Campus. Atkinson will explore five dimensions of optimal well-being, offering practical advice from recent medical research mixed with advice for improving one’s emotional, social, intellectual, physical and spiritual well-being. An assistant professor of medicine at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine who holds degrees in both medicine and journalism, Atkinson has written the bestselling book Women and Fatigue. She wrote a regular health column for New Woman magazine and feature pieces for the South Beach Diet Newsletter. Atkinson earned her medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry and a master’s degree in journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She was graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Colgate University with a bachelor’s degree in biology. The talk will take place at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 8. Part of Quinnipiac’s Campus Cross Talk series, the event is free and open to the public. To learn more phone 203-582-8652. 34
Mothers’ Big Helper NEW HAVEN — Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital (YNHCH) and the Yale School of Medicine (YSM) have partnered to open the first center of its kind in the region — the maternal fetal medicine center and pediatric specialty center expansion — offering comprehensive services with complete coordination of care in order to help mothers-to-be achieve peace of mind throughout their pregnancy. The maternal fetal medicine center is the first and the only center in Connecticut that performs both the fetoscopic laser procedure for advanced twintwin transfusion syndrome, as well as serious complications associated
WALLINGFORD — Gaylord Specialty Healthcare, a long-term acute care hospital, has formed a five-year clinical affiliation with the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University. Under terms of the agreement, Gaylord staff will work with the leadership of the new QU medical school to recruit physicians as teachers, design clinical components of the curriculum, and create academic policies and procedures.
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“We are honored to be part of this new education affiliation agreement with Quinnipiac University School of Medicine,” said Steve Holland, MD, chief medical officer at Gaylord Hospital. “We look forward to this exciting opportunity to partner with Quinnipiac as we collectively work together to create a new approach to medical education.”
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“Gaylord Hospital shares our commitment to primary care and medical education,” said Bruce Koeppen, MD, founding dean of the School of Medicine. “I am confident that the physicians and staff at Gaylord Hospital will provide our students with a high quality clinical experience.” with identical twin pregnancies. YNHCH is also one of the very few centers in the world that treats twin anemia-polycythemia sequence patients with partial exchange transfusion. The center also treats congenital heart defects, fetal arrhythmias, airway lesions, intracranial abnormalities, fetal anemias, cleft lip or palate, clubbed feet, conjoined twins, spina bifida, intra-abdominal masses and many other conditions.
UrgentCare Franchise Opens in B-Port
Avenue, effective March 3. A fully staffed patient-care facility catering to any age, from pediatric to geriatric, Doctors Express says it is equipped to handle all types of medical emergencies from life threatening and painful physical conditions to preand post-treatment assessments and follow-up attention. Led by veteran Greenwich Hospital emergency room physician Steven Heffer, MD, the first Bridgeport office of the nation’s largest urgent-care franchise positions itself in the market
BRIDGEPORT — A new Doctors Express Urgent Care Center has opened for business at 161 Boston WWW.CONNTACT.COM