Dr. Samuel R.G. Finlayson from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical School published an editorial Wednesday to accompany a study that found that nonwhite, Medicaid-eligible and uninsured patients in California are more likely to undergo high-risk surgeries at less-experienced hospitals. In the editorial, Finlayson explored explanations for this trend, opining that "quality to a patient [means] a lot more than a lower surgical mortality rate, especially when the patient does not expect to die." Finlayson suggested that the ethnic and cultural makeup of a hospital's staff and a patient's familiarity with the hospital are often important factors. The researchers, from UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, the UCLA School of Public Health, the Rand. Corp. and the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center, studied 719,608 Californian patients who had surgery between 2000-2004. The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Tuitions for both public and private universities rose at a rate higher than the national rate of inflation, according to College Board's annual study, "Trends in College Pricing," published Tuesday. Though college cost increases are less severe this year, the national average tuition for four-year public universities rose by 35 percent in the past five years -- the highest increase in the past 30 years. Costs for private four-year universities rose 11 percent in the last five years, resulting in a national average tuition of $22,218. The report found that the ever-increasing costs of a college education are accompanied by a decline of federal and state financial aid, such as the average Pell Grant amount decreasing last year for the first time in ten years.
The results of a new study found that 75 percent of college undergraduates in the United States have at least one risk factor for Hepatitis C and that a high number are not well-educated about their vulnerability to the disease. The risk factors for Hepatitis C, a liver disease, include tattoos and sharing body jewelry. The study was presented at the 71st annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology in Las Vegas.
