Health Highlights: May 14, 2008
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Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors ofHealthDay:
Few U.S. Adults Proficient at Managing Health Care
Only 12 percent of the 228 million adults in the United States have the health literacy skills to manage their own health care proficiently, according to the latestNews and Numbersreport from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research.
Health literacy skills -- which describe a person's ability to obtain and use health information to make appropriate health care decisions -- include weighing the risks and benefits of different treatments, knowing how to calculate health insurance costs, and being able to fill out complex medical forms.
People with poor health literacy skills may have worse health care outcomes and face an increased risk of medical errors.
A 2003 survey found that:
12 percent of American adults had proficient health literacy skills.53 percent had intermediate skills, such as being able to read instructions on a prescription label and determine the right time to take medication.22 percent had basic skills, such as being able to read a pamphlet and understand two reasons why a disease test might be appropriate despite a lack of symptoms.14 percent had below-basic skills, which means they could accomplish only simple tasks such as understanding a set of short instructions or identifying what's permissible to drink before a medical test.
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New Guidelines Urge Careful Monitoring of Heart Device Patients
People with implanted pacemakers, defibrillators and other devices to regulate heartbeat need to be monitored carefully after the devices begin working, a team of international experts recommended Wednesday.
Almost 2 million people across the globe have had the devices implanted, theAssociated Pressreported.
While much of the attention so far has been directed to who should get the devices and whether insurance companies would pay for them, the wire service said, experts in San Francisco at a meeting of the Heart Rhythm Society unveiled new guidelines designed to provide follow-up care for people who already have them.
