Health System

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.

Data released in the CDC’s latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report indicate that patients with end-stage kidney disease on hemodialysis who are Black, Hispanic/Latino, or of lower socioeconomic status (SES) are at greater risk of Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections, with Hispanic/Latino ethnicity cited as an independent risk factor.

A pediatric shot for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) may not be covered as a free routine vaccine; hospitals fail to comply with payment transparency rules; the fate of abortion pills is in the hands of conservative judges

Vaccination was shown to lower risk of developing severe COVID-19 in both variants, with the largest difference in risk observed in patients aged 40 to 59 years.

Five leading academic cancer centers are assessing the feasibility of implementing the Health Equity Report Card pilot project as a tool that can both meaningfully and feasibly measure and report on equitable care practices.

Approximately 70% of veterans with drug-resistant epilepsy reported diagnosis of at least 1 psychiatric condition, with female patients showing a higher prevalence than male patients.

Paul G. Alexander, MD, MPH, executive vice president and chief health equity and transformation officer, RWJBarnabas Health, discusses how community partnerships helped ameliorate disparities in health care access and accessibility, as well as food and travel insecurities amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Edward Partridge, MD, chief medical officer of Guideway Care, spoke on his organization’s 25-year history in addressing cancer disparities and the crucial role that care navigators/guides have in achieving value-based care within oncology.

Developing a terminology strategy that reflects real-world practice and industry standards can help data scientists and other allied data professionals efficiently and accurately identify clinically relevant insights that help improve the health of populations and individual patients.

Significant geographical variation was found regarding the prevalence and incidence of epilepsy in United Kingdom primary care data between 2013 and 2018, suggesting a potential relationship between the disease and deprivation.

Terrance Mayes, EdD, and Loretta Erhunmwunsee, MD, FACS, discuss their new roles as chair and vice-chair, respectively, of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s (NCCN) new Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Directors Forum.

The Biden administration has said it would give 60 days notice before ending the public health emergency, which was set to end April 11, and the national emergency was set to end March 1.

The United States possesses the highest infant and maternal mortality rates compared with any other high-income country, even though it spends the most on health care.

An HHS report said that if the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) had been implemented in 2020, Medicare Part D beneficiaries could have saved a total of $734 million, averaging out to about $500 per member.

The report indicated that the use of a clear definition on health disparities and a framework for analysis are key in the measurement and interpretation of health inequities affecting underserved populations.

High bleeding risk was seen among patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) who had essential thrombocythemia (ET), particularly those treated with percutaneous coronary intervention.

Eli Lilly will tack on $450 million more to increase capacity in a diabetes drug plant in light of shortages; patients emailing and messaging medical providers online might be charged; 57% of adults in a recent survey think that the federal government should secure health care coverage for all Americans.

Paul G. Alexander, MD, MPH, executive vice president and chief health equity and transformation officer, RWJBarnabas Health, spoke on population health management strategies employed by his organization to identify and address health disparities in the communities they serve.

Jodi Fenner, senior director at Elevance Health, speaks on the key themes she presented during her session at the 2023 Health Equity Summit in San Diego, California, titled, "Promoting Health Equity through Primary Care."

N. Benjamin Fredrick, MD, of Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Penn State University College of Medicine, speaks on the key themes he presented during his session at the 2023 Health Equity Summit in San Diego, California, as well as topics related to the measurement, creation, and implementation of health equity initiatives.

After a delayed lag period, air pollution from a wildfire was associated with modestly increased rates of clinic visits for psoriasis among adults starting 5 weeks after the fire and peaking at 8 to 9 weeks after the fire.

Patients with higher health literacy and access to resources to self-advocate are more likely to benefit from health care consolidation, discussed Susan Sabo-Wagner, MSN, RN, OCN, executive director of clinical strategy for Oncology Consultants of Houston, Texas.

A review explored clinical considerations related to the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management of idiopathic hypersomnia.

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are more likely to die in the year after undergoing surgery and rack up higher health care costs post-operation, study finds.

The new National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) forum on equity aims to improve diversity of clinical staff representation across the nation’s leading academic cancer centers.

CMS released accountable care organization (ACO) 2023 data; Chinese Lunar New Year travel threatens a COVID-19 toll in China; nursing homes to be audited for inappropriate antipsychotic drug usage.

No difference in treatment efficacy was observed between intranasal mometasone furoate and saline for the management of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) symptoms in children, with findings indicating that almost one-half of children with SDB could be initially managed in the primary care setting.

The most common symptoms of long COVID include fatigue, anxiety and depression, shortness of breath, sleep disturbances, and heart palpitations.

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.