Daily Rounds: Mass. Primary Care Shortage; Insurers Revamp Cancer Care; Rep. Markey On Radiation Risks; Diabetes Buddies; Hormone Replacement Risks

Medical News: Mass. Primary Care Shortage: Lesson for National Reform? - in Public Health & Policy, Practice Management from MedPage Today "WASHINGTON — Massachusetts experienced a shortage of primary care physicians for the fifth year in a row in 2010 and half of primary care doctors in the state stopped accepting new patients, according to a study released Wednesday by the Massachusetts Medical Society." (medpagetoday.com)

Health Insurers Test New Payment Incentives for Cancer Care - NYTimes.com "The insurers have begun tightening oversight of the care provided to patients with many different types of cancer, hoping to lower expenses by experimenting with new ways to pay specialists." (The New York Times)

Markey raises concerns of radiation exposure by thyroid patients - The Boston Globe "US Representative Edward J. Markey is calling on federal regulators to strengthen measures to prevent patients treated for thyroid conditions from unintentionally exposing others to radiation in the days after taking radioactive iodine pills or liquid." (Boston Globe)

Diabetes studies point to value of peer support in controlling the disease and increase in hospitalizations - latimes.com "If you have diabetes, it may help to buddy up, a new study suggests. Peer support may help control the disease that accounts for an increasing number of hospitalizations." (Los Angeles Times)

Study Shows HRT Even Riskier Than Thought "Not only does prolonged use of hormone replacement therapy raise the risk of breast cancer, new research finds, but it also ups the risk for more severe forms of the disease and increases a woman's chances of dying." (omenshealth.gov)