Cameron Santoro

National Immunization Awareness Month highlights the importance of lifelong vaccination to prevent diseases, a practice that has averted millions of deaths, proven to be a cost-effective public health strategy, and offers crucial protection even to individuals who are immunocompromised.

Large language models (LLMs) such as GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 may offer a solution to the costly and inefficient process of manual clinical trial screening, which is often hindered by the inability of structured electronic health record data to capture all necessary criteria.

President Donald Trump has sent letters to pharmaceutical companies, aiming to compel them to lower drug prices in the US to match the lowest prices offered in other developed nations, a move that could significantly reduce costs and disrupt the current system of pharmacy benefit managers.

A significant number of patients with cancer, caregivers, and health care professionals face significant disparities in legal issues, with the most common needs revolving around health insurance, finances, employment, and disability insurance.

When updated food allergy prevention guidelines were directly provided to families, they led to earlier allergen introduction in infants and significantly reduced the prevalence of IgE-mediated peanut, egg, and cow's milk allergies.

Hadar Avihai Lev-Tov, MD, advocates for a holistic approach to wound care, emphasizing that chronic ulcers often signal underlying systemic health issues requiring a comprehensive patient assessment to achieve effective and potentially life-saving treatment.

Patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria experience inadequate symptom control and significant emotional burdens despite various treatment approaches, highlighting an urgent need for more effective and sustained therapies to improve their quality of life.

Hadar Avihai Lev-Tov, MD, asserts that advancements in teledermatology and artificial intelligence (AI)–powered diagnostic tools are crucial for improving health care efficiency and patient access within managed care.

The AllergyAware e-learning course effectively trained school personnel on anaphylaxis management, significantly improving their knowledge and confidence in using epinephrine auto-injectors, despite some technical and pacing issues reported by users.

Rebecca Chacko, MD, discussed exciting advancements in breast cancer care and the future role of emerging therapeutic strategies for early recurrence detection, as part of her panelist role at the Detroit Institute for Value-Based Medicine.

Rebecca Chacko, MD, discusses key breast cancer care challenges, including treatment access delays and the importance of open patient communication, as highlighted at the Detroit Institute for Value-Based Medicine session on unmet needs.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) poses a significant, often overlooked, risk for serious cardiovascular complications in older adults, underscoring the need for vaccination in this population regardless of their preexisting health conditions.

The rapidly increasing prescriptions for expensive specialty medications, rather than their price growth, are the primary driver of escalating dermatology Medicare Part D expenditures, necessitating policies that balance innovation, access, and affordability.

National Minority Mental Health Month emphasizes the persistent mental health disparities among US racial and ethnic minorities, stemming from lower access to services, lack of culturally competent providers, discrimination, and medical mistrust, underscoring the need for dedicated resources and community action.

The new Blueprint for Patient-Centered Value Research offers a roadmap for embedding patient voices throughout every stage of the research journey to foster more equitable, transparent, and responsive health care systems.

Despite offering significant protection against severe COVID-19, patients with cancer, a high-risk group, showed low uptake of booster vaccinations.

Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps increases the likelihood of developing coexisting conditions, such as asthma, underscoring the need for more effective, comprehensive treatments.

Air pollution exposure, both before and after birth, significantly escalates the risk of respiratory infections in children.

Current guidelines suggest limiting diagnostic testing for chronic spontaneous urticaria when no clear cause is suspected, though biomarkers and biopsies are emerging as tools to predict treatment response and personalize care.

Tyler Sandahl, PharmD, a clinical pharmacist at Mayo Clinic, explains that sequencing novel multiple myeloma therapies with CAR T-cell therapy is generally prioritized first for eligible patients, while bispecific antibodies are reserved for later lines or for patients unable to tolerate CAR T.

Tyler Sandahl, PharmD, a clinical pharmacist at Mayo Clinic, discussed the complexities of alternative payment models for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell and bispecific therapies and the need for improved data sharing in cancer care.

Both regulatory-approved and pipeline treatments for moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa demonstrate comparable efficacy and safety, offering hope for patients often dissatisfied with current treatment options.

Increasing environmental events driven by climate change and human activity exacerbate allergy and asthma conditions, further compounded by exposure to persistent pollutants like per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances and microplastics.

Reducing the use of oral corticosteroids in patients with severe asthma is a pressing concern due to their associated adverse effects, health care costs, and impact on quality of life.

Rising grocery prices are forcing most Americans to shift toward ultraprocessed foods, leading to increased health risks and exacerbating existing disparities, particularly among underserved communities.

For patients with obesity, clinicians should move beyond a "try and fail" approach to lifestyle interventions and prioritize weight management medication when it can deliver crucial cardiovascular benefits.

Dupilumab was approved by the FDA to treat bullous pemphigoid, that demonstrated its efficacy in achieving sustained disease remission and significantly improving symptoms like itch and disease severity in adults.

Nemolizumab significantly and safely improved itch and skin lesions for up to 2 years in patients with moderate to severe prurigo nodularis.

Topical ruxolitinib cream shows promise as a treatment for inflammatory skin conditions, but lacks consistent data, indicating a need for further research into its use across various dermatologic conditions.

Pediatric patients with hidradenitis suppurativa have a significantly increased prevalence of chronic medical and psychiatric comorbidities, highlighting the critical need for comprehensive screening and multidisciplinary care.