Giuliana Grossi

According to data from HHS' Office of Minority Health, Asian Americans are 60% less likely to utilize mental health services, even though 16.8% of those in the community experience mental illness.

The Center on Health Equity & Access offered novel insights on transgender health and pulmonary medicine with late-breaking data and expert interviews from the American Thoracic Society annual meeting.

The data refute the rapid-onset gender dysphoria hypothesis by showing that the initially higher depressive symptoms reported by youths transitioning from cisgender to transgender or gender diverse were not significant after accounting for exposure to LGBT violence, the researchers wrote.

In a scientific session at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2024 International Conference titled "An Inconvenient Truth: Health Disparities and Health Care Inequality in Respiratory Medicine," a number of experts discussed the various areas within the field that are impacted by disparities.

Study authors shared late-breaking data in a session on clinical trial results in pulmonary medicine at the American Thoracic Society 2024 International Conference.

In a keynote presentation at ATS 2024, Hannah Wunsch, MD, MSc, of Weill Cornell Medicine, delved into how the history of breathing support dating back to the 1700s has set the stage for ventilation advances still being made today.

New data reveal that starting furoate/umeclidinium/vilanterol (FF/UMEC/VI) without delay not only significantly reduces exacerbations and health care costs but also enhances adherence and persistence for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) compared with other therapies.

During a session at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2024 International Conference, experts presented the most impactful data from the last year on acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), childhood asthma, health equity, and lung cancer.

Fatima Rodriguez, MD, MPH, from Stanford University, and Matthew DeCamp, MD, PhD, from the University of Colorado, joined Michael Howell, MD, MPH, of Google, on the stage at ATS 2024 to discuss artificial intelligence (AI) in health care.

The US Senate hosted a panel addressing physician and health care shortages and efforts to increase minority representation in the medical field. An expert discussed initiatives to prevent senior homelessness. Advocates called for the repeal of the Comstock Act. Regulatory reforms are called for to improve rural cancer patients' access to pharmacies. Research reveals the impact of denials on patient access to immunology treatments.

The application of artificial intelligence in medicine is anticipated as a highlight of ATS 2024, with sessions exploring its applications in research, radiological interpretation, and pediatric pulmonology.

In a joint letter addressed to Congress, Healthcare Across Borders, Take Back the Court Action Fund, and UltraViolet Action called out the resurgence of the Comstock Act, urging immediate action to repeal this century-old law that threatens reproductive rights and public health in the US.

The senate hearing held by the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I, Vermont), chairman of the committee, and ranking member Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD, (R, Louisiana), addressed the critical issue of physician and health care worker shortages, as well as the maternal health crisis, in the US.

Chris Pagnani, MD, medical director and founder of Rittenhouse Psychiatric Associates in Philadelphia, explains the importance of offering college students consistent care via telehealth while collaborating with their campus counseling centers.

This week's topics include frameworks for improving health equity nationwide, addressing social determinants of health, discussing CMS's Medicare rules, investigating breast cancer treatment refusal, and exploring HIV and major depressive disorder in underrepresented groups.

Results featured at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy 2024 annual meeting revealed a pattern of prior authorization rejections that could delay necessary therapeutic treatments for various patient groups.

In the series debut episode of "Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity," Mary Sligh, CRNP, and Chelsea Chappars, of Allegheny Health Network, explain how the Urban Health Outreach program aims to improve health equity for individuals experiencing homelessness.

In this interview, Chris Pagnani, MD, PC, emphasizes the benefits of telemedicine and its role in improving accessibility, particularly in the realm of mental health care.

This week, the Center on Health Equity and Access highlights a variety of gaps that exist in health care, spanning women's health, the rising rate of metabolic disease, and policy for LGBTQ+ and immigrant populations. The consensus among featured experts points to comprehensive care models.

In this interview, Chris Pagnani, MD, PC, shares how telemedicine is transforming mental health care by making psychiatry accessible for patients, especially for those in health care deserts.

Promising results presented at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy 2024 annual meeting support the safety and efficacy of bimekizumab treatment in patients with active psoriatic arthritis who had previously shown inadequate response or intolerance to tumor necrosis factor inhibitors.

In a presentation at the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health Women’s Health Summit, Shelly Lanning, cofounder and president of Visana Health, addressed the need for comprehensive approaches in women’s health care and their coverage options.

Joanne Mizell shares insurer strategies in addressing the escalating rates of metabolic diseases, highlighting the importance of holistic treatment methods like lifestyle modification programs, which integrate nutrition, physical activity, and community engagement.

Results from a study presented at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy 2024 annual meeting demonstrated sustained efficacy of bimekizumab compared with placebo in patients with non-radiographic and radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) at week 52.

Racial disparities in end-of-life care, the role of wellness and faith in minority health, award-winning research on health disparities, societal factors impacting cardiometabolic health, and rising mental health challenges among US youth are all covered this week in the Center on Health Equity and Access.

While behavioral health care utilization has been rising, the treatment landscape has been worsening. New findings show that 20% of youths did not receive any form of treatment within 3 months of their initial behavioral health diagnosis.

In addition to sharing research related to disparities and inequities in the cardiometabolic space, Rashon Lane, PhD, MA, Sutter Health, discussed “how we might need to think differently about how we are intervening on disparities.”

With the high burden of metabolic disease increasing in the US, Sophia Humphreys, PharmD, Sutter Health, explains how this impacts health equity.

In an interview during The American Journal of Managed Care®'s Institute for Value-Based Medicine® event, held with Sutter Health, Ryan Stice, PharmD, BCPS, explains the impact virtual population health teams can have on improving access to care for patients with cardiometabolic conditions.

The Center on Health Equity and Access provides the latest developments related to the progress, challenges and gaps in health care with new research, ongoing meetings, and expert insights.