Health Care Delivery

A new study has found that vaccine effectiveness against infection after 4 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine disappeared after 90 days for Omicron variants BA.2, BA.2.12.1, BA.4, and BA.5, although it remained effective against hospitalizations.

Medical residents join unions for better pay and working conditions; the World Health Organization (WHO) appeals to China on COVID-19 information; health workers protest in Madrid, Spain.

Following COVID-19–related lockdown measures, preferences for the use of biologics among Japanese patients with psoriasis addressed administration route, visits, and risk of serious infections requiring hospitalization, with some differences observed between specific subgroups.

Greater availability of naloxone spray, including over the counter, may reduce opioid overdoses; vaccination rates drop once again for US children; some experts question the necessity of the updated COVID-19 booster shot.

Patients included in this subanalysis of data from the REHAB-HF trial were 60 years and older and had been hospitalized for acute decompensated heart failure.

The parents of pediatric patients who have atopic dermatitis experience stress just as their children do, and this study investigated how that stress manifests among the parents, comparing outcomes between mothers and fathers.

Nurses in New York City reach agreement and end strike; hospitals benefiting from volunteer staff may be breaking labor laws; most lingering COVID symptoms will heal on its own, study finds.

To best improve health equity, population-based payment models should both incorporate social goals and increase payment for historically marginalized communities, a recent study has found.

New research shows that factors such as work and childcare contribute to less sleep in midlife, with these new study findings aligning with previous data.

Patients with epilepsy on Medicaid insurance of Black, Latino, and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Island ethnicity were associated with lower odds of being on newer, second- and third-generation, antiseizure medications compared with White individuals.

The 10 drugs selected for Medicare Part D price negotiation with HHS will be announced on September 1, 2023, HHS said Wednesday.

Black Americans with multiple myeloma face disparities in incidence of disease, survival outcomes, and use of evidence-based treatment, which may be exacerbated by socioeconomic factors.

Despite greater incidence of multiple myeloma (MM) reported among Hispanic Americans, these populations report less MM maintenance therapy, longer time from MM diagnosis to novel therapy initiation, and higher in-hospital mortality rates.

Pediatricians push for early action against childhood obesity, including prescription weight-loss medications and bariatric surgery; 7000 nurses go on strike in New York City; a new SARS-CoV-2 variant is more contagious but not necessarily more dangerous.

The FDA’s approval of lecanemab for Alzheimer disease is very important, but there will remain significant challenges around pricing and access that will need to be addressed to deliver on the promise the therapy actually represents, said Alvaro Pascual-Leone, MD, PhD, of Harvard Medical School.

A review explored the connection between 4 domains (structural, sociocultural, health care, and physiological) contributing to the persistence of inequities in epilepsy risk and outcomes in the United States, as well as key areas of intervention to promote health equity.

State courts in South Carolina and Idaho ruled in opposite ways on abortion bans; virtual COVID-19 diagnostic and treatment launches in community; generic methylphenidate medication shortages negatively impact ADHD treatment.

Abstract findings presented at the 2022 American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting showed that patients with moderate to severe psoriasis achieved improvement in work-/study-related productivity with tildakizumab vs placebo after only 2 doses.

Findings of a Mendelian randomization analysis showed that greater body mass index as a child and adult and incidence of smoking were associated with an increased risk of psoriasis, whereas having more education was cited as a potential protective factor against development.

HHS updated guidance for states using Medicaid managed care to manage nonmedical needs; anxieties surrounding new variants rise amidst underreported COVID-19 cases in China, which defended its counts; public health campaigns try new strategies to increase trust and promote immunizations.

Despite chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) being associated with poor mental health and depression, most older adults report being free of mental illness or substance abuse, a new study has found.

Dual-regimen abortion pills authorized for pharmacy sale by FDA; health professionals turn a critical eye to US concerns about COVID-19 in China while domestic cases rise here as vaccination rates drop; drug manufacturers are collectively raising prices early this month on medications from autoimmune treatments to shingles vaccines to cancer treatments.

With mixed findings from previous studies focused on atopic dermatitis and the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as a treatment modality, investigators modified an existing online CBT intervention to account for the lack of clinical psychologists in the dermatological space.

Approximately 14,280 more US patients with psoriasis were estimated to initiate a biologic in Spring than in other seasons, and over 840 more biologic users switched in Spring than in Winter.

The top 5 most-read articles on AJMC.com for 2022 covered COVID-19, the first treatment for repigmentation in vitiligo, migraine care, and vitamin D supplementation for patients with multiple myeloma.