Health

Most patients with depression who are treated by primary care physicians do not receive care consistent with quality standards, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

Physicians had high rates of adherence to just one third of the 20 measures of quality that researchers examined and had low rates of adherence to nearly half of the treatment recommendations studied, according to the report in the September 4 edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine. [continue reading…]

CHICAGO—An estimated 8.7 percent of U.S. children age 8 to 15 meet diagnostic criteria for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, but fewer than half receive treatment, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

“Despite widespread concern that the rate of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is on the rise, the national population-based prevalence of ADHD in U.S. children has not been firmly established,” the authors write as background information in the article. ADHD is characterized by hyperactivity, impulsive behavior and an inability to pay attention to tasks; the condition affects social behaviors and achievement at school and work. [continue reading…]