Health System

The growth in telehealth utilization continued an increase begun in November 2022.

Kirk Campbell, MD, FASN, vice chair for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Department of Medicine at Mount Sinai Health System in New York, spoke on health equity efforts by his organization to improve clinical outcomes through demographic data collection, educational research, and workforce training.

Incidence of medication problems and their harm potential following hospital discharge among pediatric patients with epilepsy were not significantly different for individuals who received discharge medication education and those who did not.

Seeking to speed up the execution of evidence-based care practices, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) announced the 42 health systems across the country who will join a 5-year program to build capacity and implementation to improve health care outcomes.

Medicaid expansion deal proposed in North Carolina; FDA gains new leverage over quick drug approvals; Walgreens announces it will not dispense abortion pills in several states where it’s legal.

Joneigh Khaldun, MD, MPH, FACEP, vice president and chief health equity officer for CVS Health, speaks on the launch of her organization’s Community Equity Alliance that aims to address structural barriers to equitable care in underserved communities through partnerships with local academic and health care institutions.

Manmeet Ahluwalia, MD, MBA, Miami Cancer Institute, discussed efforts being taken by his organization’s Center for Equity in Cancer Care & Research to address disparities in clinical trial enrollment of minority patients in the United States.

Eric Rackow, MD, cofounder and executive chairman of eFamilyCare, discusses eFamilyCare's role for family caregivers and how the system can help overcome social determinants of health that may impact patient outcomes.

The FDA approved the first drug for the rare disease Friedreich’s ataxia; House Republicans seek information from pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs); FDA panel narrowly supports respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for older adults.

Court decision could ban abortion pill, mifepristone, nationwide; Illinois gears up to fight mental health crisis among children; CMS rejects expanded coverage for Alzheimer drug, Leqembi.

School nurses reported improved knowledge and confidence in the care of students with seizures after undergoing the Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) telementoring program for epilepsy.

Guideline-directed cancer care—with help from a clinical support tool—can close disparities while reducing costs more efficiently than other means, such as prior authorization.

Joneigh Khaldun, MD, MPH, FACEP, vice president and chief health equity officer for CVS Health, speaks on the goals of the Community Equity Alliance in improving health care disparities, particularly for cardiovascular health and mental health outcomes, within underserved communities.

An increased risk of hospitalization for more than 6 days due to community-acquired infections was associated with male sex and admittance to the Pulmonology or Surgery department, with risk shown to differ according to pathogen.

Paul G. Alexander, MD, MPH, executive vice president and chief health equity and transformation officer, RWJBarnabas Health, speaks on strategies his organization implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic to address continuity of care and communication challenges in underserved communities and further efforts to improve health equity.

Some communities will use COVID relief money to pay medical debt; residents living near train car derailment site in Ohio are worried about toxic chemical health effects; following medical guidelines point by point would create impossibly long workdays for providers, studies are pointing out.

Children with epilepsy had an increased risk for injuries requiring hospitalization compared with controls in Finland, with boys showing greater risk than girls among all included participants.

HHS wants to require nursing homes to disclose more ownership and management information; privacy advocates warn that mental health data can legally be sold from certain platforms not covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act; the FDA won’t review Soligenix’s cancer drug proposal because of an insufficient application.

The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) reaffirmed previous recommendations against routine serologic screening for genital herpes infection among asymptomatic adolescents and adults, including pregnant individuals.

An analysis of 112 infant deaths found that the contribution of genetic diseases to mortality was higher than previously known, and that treatments are available for 30% of the genetic diseases uncovered by the study.

CDC recommends adults and children get routine COVID-19 shots; single dose of antibiotic during labor reduces risk of mothers developing sepsis; suicide rates increase after 2-year decline.

Findings from the survey suggest that certain symptoms of depression could help identify patients vulnerable to both worsening psoriasis symptoms and disease-related quality of life (QoL).

The Biden administration released 2 sets of guidance documents for pharmaceutical manufacturers about how it plans to implement the new Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program as required under the Inflation Reduction Act, and said some beneficiaries could see lower coinsurance for some Part B drugs as soon as April 1.

Kirk Campbell, MD, FASN, Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Department of Medicine at Mount Sinai Health System in New York, spoke on educational initiatives implemented by Mount Sinai to train resident physicians, medical students, and senior faculty on health equity, as well as further research efforts to address disparities.

Jessica Allegretti, MD, MPH, medical director of the Crohn's and Colitis Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, discussed how the FDA’s approval of Rebyota for the prevention of recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) may promote cost effective management of CDI for patients and health systems.

China’s angry reaction after spy balloon retrieval rouses drug supply chain anxiety; after allegedly overcharging California’s Medi-Cal program, managed care company Centene will pay millions in a settlement; major drug companies are chasing new pharma deals amidst dropping patent exclusivity.