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Facts drawn from the pages of American Medical News, linked back to the story.
- A third of Americans skip physician visits because of cost. (Dec. 27)
- Most people with Alzheimer's also have other chronic diseases. (Dec. 20)
- More than 12% of businesses offer flexible spending accounts. (Dec. 13)
- 40% of patients don't take drugs as prescribed. (Dec. 6)
- About 50,000 adults die of vaccine-preventable diseases every year. (Nov. 29)
- Data breaches cost U.S. hospitals nearly $6 billion a year. (Nov. 22)
- Only 5% to 25% of patients have advance directives. (Nov. 15)
- Enrollment in high-deductible health plans topped 10 million in January 2010. (Nov. 8)
- 78% of U.S. office-based physicians are in small practices. (Nov. 1)
- More than a third of those treated for mental health disorders rely solely on primary care doctors. (Oct. 25)
- More than 4 million IVF-conceived children have been born. (Oct. 18)
- A 15% increase in residency positions would produce another 4,000 physicians annually. (Oct. 11)
- Two-thirds of doctors using smartphones can't connect them to a practice or hospital EMR. (Oct. 4)
- 2010 brought news that the number of uninsured Americans had topped 50 million. (Sept. 27)
- Obesity kills more Americans every year than AIDS, cancer and accidents combined. (Sept. 20)
- 98% of firms with 200+ workers, but less than 50% of those with 3-9, offer health insurance. (Sept. 13)
- Nearly 1.5 million patients received hospice care in 2008, up from 950,000 in 2003. (Sept. 6)
- 80% of patients expect to be treated by a physician when they go to an emergency department. (Aug. 30)
- 90% of physicians say their patients express concern about paying for care. (Aug. 23)
- Only 5% of medical liability lawsuits make it to trial. (Aug. 16)
- Primary care physicians treat 80% of the nation's dementia patients. (Aug. 9)
- The first documented facial prostheses date to mid-16th century Europe. (Aug. 2)
- California had 1,496 reported cases of pertussis from January to July of 2010. (July 26)
- Fewer than 50% of hospitals have computerized physician order entry systems. (July 19)
- Defensive medicine costs about $60 billion annually. (July 12)
- Pa. hospitals contributed $89.8 billion to the state's economy in 2008. (July 5)
- In June 2010, at least 22 states and 15 medical specialties reported physician shortages. (June 28)
- Teaching hospitals see a 10% spike in fatal medication errors in July. (June 21)
- The federal government pays for 57% of Medicaid costs on average. (June 14)
- 75% of Indiana medical liability cases reviewed by pretrial screening panels end in the doctor's favor. (June 7)
- 10% of hospices have policy on deactivating pacemakers. (May 31)
- Family physicians address an average of 3 problems at every patient visit. (May 24)
- Most patients do not read or understand forms about informed consent. (May 17)
- Prescription noncompliance is linked to more than 200,000 deaths each year. (May 10)
- Nearly half of U.S. adults have hypertension, hypercholesterolemia or diabetes. (May 3)
- 1 million students get health insurance through their colleges. (April 26)
- Half the states require insurers to get approval before raising premiums. (April 19)
- The U.S. has 79.4 physicians per 100,000 residents. (April 12)
- Physician liability premiums in Missouri are 17% lower than in states without damage caps. (April 5)
- By March 2010, 14 states had challenged the constitutionality of the health reform law. (March 29)
- Most medical practices have 5 or fewer doctors. (March 22)
- 11.5% of U.S. parents have refused at least 1 immunization for their children. (March 15)
- Hypertension accounts for 1 in 6 deaths among U.S. adults. (March 8)
- 80% of the nation's least-healthy counties are rural. (March 1)
- 12 million doses of H1N1 vaccine expired Feb. 15, 2010. (Feb. 22)
- 2 in 3 adults are overweight or obese. (Feb. 15)
- Health programs represent the single largest outlay of federal spending. (Feb. 8)
- 35 states have laws that protect physicians who say "I'm sorry." (Feb. 1)
- More Americans are infected with chronic viral hepatitis than with HIV. (Jan. 25)
- More than half of U.S. hospitals reduced staff in 2009. (Jan. 18)
- Adverse drug events lead to 4 million patient visits each year. (Jan. 11)
- ICD-10 has 155,000 codes, the current system has 16,000. (Jan. 4)
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