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Most Common Brain Cancer May Originate In Neural Stem Cells
Findings in mice suggest greater hope for targeting brain cancer, but also greater caution in pursuing stem cell treatments for degenerative diseases

Make Sure Your Baby Is Seeing The Most Important Things In Their World
When should a parent schedule a comprehensive eye assessment for a baby? Clinical research has shown that at 6 months, the average baby has reached a number of critical developmental milestones, making this an appropriate age for the first eye and vision assessment.
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Pope, Obama To Hold Meeting After G-8 Summit
Pope Benedict XVI has agreed to meet with President Obama at the Vatican on July 10, according to White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs, the AP/Boston Globe reports. The Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesperson, on Wednesday said that the pope will hold an afternoon meeting with the president and first lady Michelle Obama after the conclusion of the Group of Eight industrialized nations summit meeting, a break with a Vatican tradition of holding midday meetings. The AP/Globe reports that the Vatican "clearly sought to accommodate" the president"s schedule, an indication that Benedict is interested in meeting with Obama despite his support for abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research.Some U.S. bishops have publicly attacked Obama"s support of abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research, which has fueled anticipation of a meeting between the president and the pope. Most recently, dozens of bishops denounced the University of Notre Dame"s decision to invite Obama to deliver its commencement address and receive an honorary degree. However, L"Osservatore Romano, the Vatican"s daily newspaper, said that Obama"s speech showed that he is looking for common ground on issues related to abortion. Obama also received a positive review from the newspaper after his first 100 days in office. An editorial in the paper said that Obama had not confirmed the "radical" direction on ethical questions he had discussed as a candidate (Simpson, AP/Boston Globe, 6/24).
Medical Devices

Psychiatric Facilities Encouraged To Use "Mystery-Patients" To Improve Services

Mental health services could be improved by planting trained consumers pretending to be patients, or "mystery patients," to identify problems, according to a commentary in the July 2009 issue of Psychiatric Services, a journal of the American Psychiatric Association. The concept is similar to the long-standing practice of using "mystery shoppers" in retail stores for market research. Pseudo-patients have also been used for some time in general medicine to improve services. Arthur Lazarus, M.D., M.B.A., author of the recommendations, is the senior director of clinical research for AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, past-president of the American Association of Psychiatric Administrators, and an authority on healthcare practice and administration. Medical mystery patient programs are typically geared to identify problems in the delivery of health services-not to assess the quality of medical care. The types of functions they can help assess and improve include telephone etiquette and wait times, interpersonal skills and efficiency of office staff and clinicians, and adherence to policies, Dr. Lazarus said. Some programs have been used to identify staff training needs and to reward superior employees. "Although there is little empirical evidence for beneficial outcomes of mystery shopping in mental health settings, there is reason to believe that positive results can be achieved as they have been in general medicine," argues Dr. Lazarus. In particular, notes Lazarus, people with mental illnesses "who may be unassertive or easily intimidated or may lack the capacity to advocate for change, medical mystery shopping may be an ideal method to improve the quality of psychiatric services." Lazarus points out that this method has proved to be "highly valuable, if controversial" in improving patient satisfaction and standards of care. Prime targets in mental health would include state psychiatric hospitals, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals, community mental health centers, and mental health services in primary care. The method is not without objections and obstacles, including staff resistance to mystery patients for ethical reasons, use of res by mystery patients that are needed by real patients, and the potential for third parties to get patient-identifying information. Dr. Lazarus argues these obstacles can be overcome with proper design and planning. Use of mystery patients must be implemented carefully to be effective. For example, it requires staff buy-in and staff awareness up front that pseudo-patients will be used. The intent of the effort needs to be clear - receiving constructive feedback and improving services, not conducting a "sting" on employees. While questions remain about the use of medical mystery patients in mental health care, Dr. Lazarus contends that in a climate of increased competition for medical services, psychiatric facilities should be looking for ways to improve. American Psychiatric Association


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