Health Care Delivery

Earlier antiretroviral therapy was found to be safe in regards to kidney health, with benefits of virologic suppression and immune reconstitution.

This week's topics include frameworks for improving health equity nationwide, addressing social determinants of health, discussing CMS's Medicare rules, investigating breast cancer treatment refusal, and exploring HIV and major depressive disorder in underrepresented groups.

Public hospitals were significantly more likely to sustain access to unprofitable services following 340B Drug Pricing Program participation, while nonprofit hospitals were mostly unaffected, according to a recent study.

Educational interventions for patients, including both in-person and online methods, significantly reduced atopic dermatitis (AD) severity.

Results featured at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy 2024 annual meeting revealed a pattern of prior authorization rejections that could delay necessary therapeutic treatments for various patient groups.

Gaps in the delivery and coverage of behavioral health care can be addressed through continued advocacy for better policies and financial incentives surrounding treatment.

A cross-sectional, mixed-methods study found that adverse effects (AEs) can occur even after 1 year of treatment with immune checkpoint modulator (ICM) therapy in patients with melanoma.

A cross-sectional analysis assessed the birth prevalence of sickle cell disease (SCD) alongside data on social vulnerability to highlight the needs of communities impacted by SCD.

In the series debut episode of "Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity," Mary Sligh, CRNP, and Chelsea Chappars, of Allegheny Health Network, explain how the Urban Health Outreach program aims to improve health equity for individuals experiencing homelessness.

Findings from the FAMS-T1D study demonstrate that structured goal-setting and achievement significantly enhance self-efficacy and self-care in emerging adults who have type 1 diabetes (T1D).

For patients prescribed diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia medications, nonadherence to CMS Star Ratings quality measures of medication adherence was associated with increased health care resource utilization and costs.

A high burden of HIV could indicate other underlying factors, such as limited access to health care resources and a risk of major depressive disorder.

Outcomes among patients with stage IV non–small cell lung cancer as evaluated within clinical trials via Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) and clinician response criteria in observational studies were compared for their concordance and reliability.

The findings show exercise-induced hypertension increases myocardial oxygen demand.

A prospective study found evidence of serum neurofilament light (sNfL) level increases in patients affected by active forms of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS); however, these findings were not significant enough to suggest sNfL measurements replace clinical or MRI monitoring of disease activity.

The Joint Commission is launching the Rural Health Clinic Accreditation Program to standardize staff training and patient care practices at rural health clinics nationwide; the American Cancer Society recently launched the largest-ever study of cancer risk and outcomes in Black women; the HHS COVID-19 vaccination campaign saved $732 billion by preventing illness and related costs.

Regular users of the emergency department (ED) transiently reduced ED visits when faced with ED access barriers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Michael Morse, MD, FACP, MHS, medical oncologist at Duke Cancer Center, explained gaps in care access and equity that must be addressed to ensure all patients with liver cancer can get the treatments they need.

In this interview, Chris Pagnani, MD, PC, emphasizes the benefits of telemedicine and its role in improving accessibility, particularly in the realm of mental health care.

A very unusual case of 2 chronic leukemias, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and secondary chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) existing simultaneously in an older patient was treated with a pair of targeted kinase inhibitors.

Nancy Dreyer, PhD, MPH, FISE, chief scientific advisor to Picnic Health, shares some of the ways that direct-to-patient approaches have improved observational research.

A Mendelian randomization study using genetic analysis found that alopecia areata (AA) increases the risk of anxiety and depression, but not the other way around, providing unique evidence for a causal link while adding to existing evidence.

Fifty percent of US rural hospitals are facing financial problems; US lawmakers have called out the corporate spending of 3 large nursing home companies; hospice patients under Medicare Advantage are now facing uncertainty after the government ended its pilot program.

During her session, Polina Reyblat, MD, Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, highlighted best practices urologists should incorporate to make transgender and gender-diverse patients comfortable during physical exams and avoid retraumatization.

A secondary analysis investigating the efficacy of a digital, interactive cognitive behavioral therapy program for insomnia (CBTi) demonstrated the positive impacts of the program for patients with insomnia or a high risk of co-morbid insomnia and sleep apnea (COMISA).

In part 2 of our interview with Binod Dhakal, MD, he addresses how CARTITUDE-4 study findings help to advance the clinical understanding of ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel) and the importance of vigilance and education on the treatment’s adverse effects.

There are many options to try for patients if one therapy doesn’t work, but there are challenges around getting new treatments into the clinic, said Joshua Meeks, MD, PhD, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

CMS rules hindered the access of rural patients with cancer to medically integrated pharmacies in 2023. The authors discuss the impact on equity in health care, emphasizing the need for regulatory change.

Patients with small or slow-growing tumors or those with comorbidities that make them higher risk are likely better candidates for active surveillance, explained Yuzhi Wang, MD, of Henry Ford Health Vattikuti Urology Institute.

Quoc-Dien Trinh, MD, MBA, chief of urology at Brigham & Women's Faulkner Hospital, highlighted successful efforts to improve prostate cancer care access for underserved communities in Massachusetts.