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Reimagining the Inpatient Palliative Care Consult: Lessons From COVID-19

Digital innovations in palliative care during COVID-19 have changed how hospitalized patients receive palliative care. We propose an approach to implement new models at scale.

The Effect of Medicaid Reimbursement for Psychiatrists on the Health Care Burden of Serious Mental Illness

This analysis compared health care resource utilization and costs for Medicaid patients with serious mental illness between US states with low vs high reimbursement rates for psychiatric services.

Collaboration to Transition Members to Preferred Formulary Dipeptidyl-Peptidase-4 Inhibitor

A collaboration between a drug plan and clinical pharmacists led to nearly 50% of members successfully switching to a preferred dipeptidyl-peptidase-4 inhibitor.

State Medicaid Budgetary Implications of New Cancers

The authors used Medicaid claims data to quantify program spending, use of services, and enrollment patterns among Medicaid beneficiaries newly diagnosed with a metastatic vs a nonmetastatic cancer.

Adolescent Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Decade of Rising Surgical Cost

Adolescent anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery can preserve health and restore function of the knee joint, but the surgical cost has outpaced inflation.

Out-of-Pocket Spending for Cardiac Rehabilitation and Adherence Among US Adults

Among commercial and Medicare supplemental beneficiaries with cost sharing, higher out-of-pocket spending for the first cardiac rehabilitation session was associated with lower program adherence.

Value-Based Care Interventions and Management of CKD Progression

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 3b or 4 experienced slower decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate 20 months after enrollment in a value-based kidney care program.

Home Health Care Delivery, Outcomes Vary by Payment Model: Rachel A. Prusynski, DPT, PhD

Rachel A. Prusynski, DPT, PhD, discusses her study on how payment models affect home health care delivery and patient outcomes.

Blood Pressure Control Among Adherent vs Nonadherent Medicare Patients With Hypertension

This study evaluated whether adherence to a hypertension quality measure correlates with actual blood pressure control. Findings reveal misalignment between adherence metrics and clinical outcomes.

Musculoskeletal Quality Collaborative Improves Value-Based Health Care Delivery Across Hospital System

Implementation of surgeon-led Musculoskeletal Quality Collaborative protocols reduced high-cost consumable utilization without compromising patient safety. Systemwide collaboratives can reduce high-cost consumable utilization while maintaining low infection rates.

Temporal Shift in Prevalence of Heart Failure Diagnoses and Comorbidities Within 2 US Integrated Health Systems

The analysis highlighted a shift in heart failure diagnoses, with hypertensive heart disease with and without chronic kidney disease as prevalent diagnoses, underlining coding variability and implications for research.

Improving Outcomes and Mitigating Costs Associated With CAR T-Cell Therapy

Safety vs Price in the Generic Drug Market: Metformin

The generic drug market focuses on price. However, multiple generic metformin drugs have been recalled due to poor drug quality. The authors examine price and quality after these recalls.

Hospital Partnership and Patient Outcomes Among Postacute Patients With Stroke

This article explores the patient-sharing relationships between acute hospitals and postacute hospitals and how these relationships influence patient discharge outcomes.

Factors Associated With Unplanned Admissions Among Patients With Chronic Conditions

This study identified risk factors for unplanned admissions among patients with multiple chronic conditions to inform focused interventions.

Challenges of Fracture Risk Assessment in Asian and Black Women

Differences in bone density and FRAX fracture risk scores among Black and Asian women yield greater discordance in fracture risk estimation compared with White women.

How AI and Machine Learning Can Bring Quality Improvements in Biopharma

Association Between Screening for Suspected COVID-19 Cases and Outcomes of Patients Revisiting the Emergency Department

Patients who revisit the emergency department shortly after discharge are at high risk for complications and death, exacerbated by COVID-19 screening workload. Detection efforts impact outcomes.

Medicare Coverage of Buprenorphine-Naloxone Film Surrounding Generic Entry

Medicare plans are replacing brand-name buprenorphine-naloxone film with its generic equivalents, resulting in a decrease in out-of-pocket cost faced by enrollees with opioid use disorder.

Medicare Advantage in Rural Areas: Implications for Hospital Sustainability

This retrospective cohort study of rural hospitals found that Medicare Advantage penetration increased substantially from 2008 to 2019 and was associated with greater hospital sustainability.

Contributor: A Crisis in Public Health—Addressing the Exodus From Our Essential Workforce

Public health professionals are the backbone of our health system, and their contributions are vital to the well-being of our communities. As a society, we must value their work, provide the support they need, and ensure that public health remains a rewarding and viable career choice.

Premium Tax Credits in the American Rescue Plan and Off-Marketplace Enrollees

We estimate that the median 2021 premium tax credit for off-marketplace enrollees in California would be $311 if they switched to marketplace plans, with wide variation by age and plan size.

Investigating Real-world Consequences of Biases in Commonly Used Clinical Calculators

Clinical calculators that do not include demographic variables may be biased, and their equity should be understood in the context of clinical guidelines.

Hospitalization Patterns Among Older Patients With Cancer With and Without Dementia

Dementia was more prevalent in older patients with some cancer types, and comorbid dementia in this population was associated with unplanned or unnecessary hospitalization.

Choosing Wisely Interventions to Reduce Antibiotic Overuse in the Safety Net

This study evaluates the impact of Choosing Wisely–based interventions on antibiotic prescribing for viral respiratory tract infections in a real-world safety-net setting.

ASCO 2023: Solid Tumors

Coverage of clinical trial results presented across a range of solid tumor cancers, including breast, ovarian, colorectal, and non-small cell lung cancer, among other types; as well as important findings in genomic testing.

Scaling Care Coordination Through Digital Engagement: Stepped-Wedge Trial Assessing Readmissions

This evaluation looks at a postdischarge digital engagement (PDDE) program using causal inference methods to examine the impact of PDDE on readmission.

Improving Glycemic Control in Diabetes Through Virtual Interdisciplinary Rounds

Patients with diabetes whose providers received advice from remote, virtual interdisciplinary rounds had a greater 1-year reduction in hemoglobin A1c than comparable patients.

Telemedicine for Cancer Care: Implementation Across a Multicenter Community Oncology Practice

Texas Oncology physicians discuss utilization of telemedicine, evaluating trends, barriers, and opportunities in care delivery during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Service Utilization by High-Need, High-Cost Patients Following Emergency Department Visits

This article provides insights into patterns of health care use following emergency department visits by high-need, high-cost patients with different types of California Medicaid primary care providers.