Health System

A new report from AHIP shows that Medicare Advantage outperformed traditional Medicare on several clinical quality measures, including preventive screenings. However, debate continues over these plans’ cost efficiency and impact on the financial sustainability of rural hospitals.

This editorial provides suggestions for improving the process of e-consults, which are a promising method of expanding access to specialty care.

US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) clinicians’ perspectives on what constitutes a good e-consult and why suboptimal e-consult requests occur contain broadly applicable lessons for other health systems.

Cardiologists need skills in risk assessment, contraception counseling, and hypertension management for pregnant patients, according to Kathryn Lindley, MD, FACC, Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Overall, the number of patients discharged from hospitals with an ulcerative colitis diagnosis increased between 2009 and 2018, but the number of patients opting for ileal pouch–anal anastomosis (IPAA) decreased.

Pharmacists’ roles in transitions of care continue to evolve. Evaluation of pharmacist-led interventions as patients transition from emergency department to home is needed.

Kathryn Lindley, MD, FACC, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, talks about why it’s important to incorporate cardio-obstetrics training into cardiovascular disease fellowship programs.

Incident reporting systems, which are often computer based and require no in-person interactions, can enable health care staff who perceive low psychological safety to speak up.

A new report highlighting the twin pressures hospitals have faced over the last 18 months shows that as reimbursement delays and denials increased and cash and investments decreased, operating expenses have risen sharply.

The highest incidence of pediatric type 1 diabetes (T1D) over the past 22 years was seen in Finland, high-income North American regions, and children aged 5 to 14 years.

Researchers concluded there is a clinically important increase in infection risk among patients with T1D in both primary care and hospital settings, and that guidelines must be developed to reflect this risk and encourage earlier treatment.

The study also identified similar 12-month outcomes between torsemide and furosemide regardless of heart failure (HF) type.

The Center on Health Equity and Access spotlights the latest health equity news, research, and initiatives to reduce health care disparities and improve access to care.

The tool assesses the risk of heart attack, stroke, and, for the first time, heart failure, offering a more comprehensive perspective on cardiovascular health.

An artificial intelligence (AI)–based prediction model correctly predicted outcomes for 78% of patients with high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma, with an accuracy of 80%.

New research highlights racial disparities in hemophilia care, revealing that Black and Hispanic patients are significantly less likely to receive immune tolerance induction treatment compared with White patients, even after considering clinical factors.

“The silencing of Black cancer patient voices impacted patients’ health care utilization and had implications for their physical health,” the authors wrote.

The authors analyzed the impacts of COVID-19 on orthopedic operating room efficiency via comparison of 14,856 surgeries performed before, during, and after the pandemic.

Care in the fourth-trimester, when the birth has taken place and the mother and baby return home, is crucial for the well-being of the mother or the birthing person, Takiyah Durham, MBA, explains in an interview.

“Our findings further reinforce that place is important and that the social, economic, and health care equity context is key to minimizing health care expenditure disparities for Black adults in the US," investigators explain.

Insurance status is known to be associated with health care access and outcomes, and a recent study found that maternal private insurance is associated with a lower infant mortality rate compared with public Medicaid insurance in the United States.

The phase 4 ANNEXA-I trial was stopped early after showing superior hemostatic efficacy and the capability to limit potentially life-threatening intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) compared with usual care in patients taking oral factor Xa (FXa) inhibitors.

Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew, MD, and First Steps and Beyond director Takiyah Durham, MBA, explain how the community-centered program ensures pregnant patients are equipped with resources while receiving equitable care.

Individuals with genetic syndromes or neurodevelopmental conditions experienced shorter and poorer quality sleep, while those with heterogeneous intellectual disabilities had comparable duration but lower quality to controls.

“There are things more important than our discomfort, and there are things that are more important than even our fear—inclusion is more important,” said Erica Marsh, MD, MSCI. “Our care of our patients and loved ones is more important, and our existence tomorrow has to be more important than our fears today.”