Authors
Latest:
Continuity of Opioid Prescribing Among Older Adults on Long-term OpioidsAmong older adults with chronic noncancer pain on long-term opioid therapy, greater continuity of opioid prescribing was significantly associated with fewer opioid-related adverse outcomes.
Latest:
Intensive Care Management of a Complex Medicaid Population: A Randomized EvaluationThe authors present findings of a randomized evaluation of Medicaid patients at an academic medical center, which found that intensive care management was associated with reduced total medical expense.
Latest:
Variability of COPD Inhaler Coverage in Medicare Part DAlthough most Medicare Part D plans cover guideline-recommended outpatient chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) inhalers, the utilization controls applied to these therapies vary by plan type.
Latest:
Examining Developments in Multicancer Early Detection: Highlights of New Clinical Data from Recent ConferencesCancer remains the second leading cause of death in the United States despite decades of treatment advances. While death rates have fallen for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers, death rates remain high for the majority of malignancies, primarily given the late stage at which they are diagnosed. The US Preventive Services Task Force currently recommends routine screening for just 4 cancers: breast, cervical, colorectal, and lung (for high-risk individuals); for prostate cancer, recommendations support individual decision making. However, cancers without recommended screening tests account for 71% of cancer deaths in the United States. In addition, screening rates remain below national goals, with numerous barriers to population-based screening. Recently, initial results of studies on blood-based multicancer early detection tests, which rely on measurement of a range of analytes, demonstrate the potential to identify multiple cancers in a single blood test and detect many cancers for which no screening tests are currently recommended. Blood-based tests have the potential to be more accessible and easier to disseminate than organ-specific tests. However, it remains unclear if their use can reduce deaths from these cancers. Other issues include cost-effectiveness, the impact of false-positive and false-negative results on patients and costs, and uptake among individuals and clinicians. Research and development of blood-based multicancer early detection tests continue.
Latest:
Older Adults’ Perspectives on Emergency Department Costs During COVID-19Most older US adults have concerns about emergency department visit affordability. Lower income, being uninsured, poor or fair physical/mental health, and younger age were associated with increased concerns.
Latest:
Are Work Relative Value Units Correlated With Operative Duration of Common Surgical Procedures?Work relative value units (wRVUs) correlate with operative duration of common surgical procedures. Reimbursement for physicians depending on wRVUs is fair for commonly performed surgeries.
Latest:
Patients’ Needs Following Emergency Care for Ambulatory Care–Sensitive ConditionsTo inform intervention development, we assessed for medication changes and patient care needs following treat-and-release Veterans Affairs emergency department visits for chronic ambulatory care–sensitive conditions.
Latest:
Economics of a Health System’s Direct-to-Consumer Telemedicine for Its EmployeesA direct-to-consumer telemedicine service resulted in lower per-episode unit costs for care within 7 days and only marginally increased the use of services overall.
Latest:
Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Accessibility of Taiwanese Medical CareThe COVID-19 pandemic disrupted access to routine medical care in community populations in Taiwan. The unmet needs should be emphasized as normal life resumes.
Latest:
Primary Care Case Conferences to Mitigate Social Determinants of Health: A Case Study From One FQHC SystemThis article describes perceived benefits, facilitators, and challenges of conducting interprofessional team case conferences in primary care settings to address patients’ complex social needs.
Latest:
An Accelerated Hospital Observation Pathway to Reduce Length of Stay for Patients With COVID-19For select patients hospitalized due to COVID-19, an academic urban hospital implemented an observation pathway that incorporated mobile health technology, reducing hospital length of stay by more than 2 days.
Latest:
An Accelerated Hospital Observation Pathway to Reduce Length of Stay for Patients With COVID-19For select patients hospitalized due to COVID-19, an academic urban hospital implemented an observation pathway that incorporated mobile health technology, reducing hospital length of stay by more than 2 days.
Latest:
Investigating Real-world Consequences of Biases in Commonly Used Clinical CalculatorsClinical calculators that do not include demographic variables may be biased, and their equity should be understood in the context of clinical guidelines.
Latest:
Standardized Total Knee Arthroplasty Pathway Improves Outcomes in Minority PatientsIn a minority-predominant patient population, a standardized pathway for total knee arthroplasty was associated with improved outcomes with no change in postoperative complication rates.
Latest:
Osimertinib Demonstrates Overall Survival Benefit as Adjuvant Lung Cancer TreatmentOsimertinib (Tagrisso; AstraZeneca) now has shown a statistically significant and clinically meaningful overall survival benefit in both the early adjuvant and late-stage metastatic settings.
Latest:
Patient Perspectives on Technology-Based Approaches to Social Needs ScreeningPatients are essential stakeholders in designing systems to capture social needs. The authors present key findings from patient interviews regarding social needs screening through technology-based modalities.
Latest:
Assessing the Impact of Transplant Case Management on Clinical OutcomesThis article examines the effect of a transplant case management program on clinical outcomes following transplant surgery.
Latest:
Contributor: Modern Medicine Meets House Calls—Caring for the Patient With Diabetes in 2020Physicians agree that telehealth leads to better and more consistent patient care for patients and their families and provides many more touchpoints for patients with diabetes—all of which should continue after the pandemic in order to provide these patients with the best care going forward.
Latest:
Trends in Sepsis and Pneumonia During COVID-19: Lessons From BPCIAThe authors analyzed cost and utilization changes for sepsis and pneumonia non–COVID-19 episodes prior to and during the pandemic, and during the pandemic for patients with and without COVID-19.
Latest:
Patient-Centered Oncology Care: Impact on Utilization, Patient Experiences, and QualityPractices implementing a patient-centered oncology care pilot had improved quality, but utilization and patient experiences did not differ from comparison practices.
Latest:
Value-Based Payment, the Safety Net, and Rethinking RiskSafety-net providers can benefit from demonstrations of condition-specific and defined-scope-of-practice alternative payment models that account for the nonfinancial as well as financial risks that providers face.
Latest:
Contributor: How to Remedy Low Health Literacy and Amplify SDOH Programs at ScaleRyan Bosch, MD, FACP, founder and president of Socially Determined, outlines steps for improving health literacy.
Latest:
Behavior-Based Diabetes Management: Impact on Care, Hospitalizations, and CostsThe Diabetes Care Rewards program offers a business case for health plans to promote engagement through use of contingent incentives, thus improving health outcomes and lowering costs.
Latest:
Collaborative Care Implementation: Lessons LearnedThe authors drafted a “Shared Values of Collaborative Care” document with fundamental principles to make better group decisions in implementing collaborative care.
Latest:
Managed Care COVID-19 Outcomes in a Population Health ProgramData from 38,193 patients showed that managed care patients have COVID-19 risk factors similar to those of the general population and that a population health program decreased mortality.
Latest:
Transition-to-Dialysis Planning, Health Care Use, and Mortality in End-Stage Renal DiseaseA planned transition to dialysis was associated with improved outcomes and lower mortality. These findings may inform care coordination policies for end-stage renal disease.
Latest:
Contributor: Opportunities for Provider Engagement, Intervention, and Coordination Highlighted in CVS Health StudyAs providers strive to deliver seamless, collaborative, and deeply engaging care, advances focused on treating the whole health of a person, wherever they are in their care journey, will be necessary as the health care system continues to evolve to meet the needs of patients and providers alike.
