Giuliana Grossi

Chief Health Equity Officer and Senior Vice President Aletha Maybank, MD, MPH, of the American Medical Association (AMA), delivered a powerful plenary session at the CMS Health Equity conference exploring the changes sparked by pivotal moments within the last 5 years.

An analysis drawing on data from the 2021 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) highlights that a significant portion of telehealth visits were for mental health services despite the overall telehealth utilization being relatively low.

This week, the Center on Health Equity and Access covers news related to AI integration, disparities in pediatric hospitalizations, new advancements presented at the 2024 CMS Health Equity Conference, and an expert discussion on the cardiovascular field.

Ronesh Sinha, MD, attributes the rising rates of heart disease to sedentary lifestyles, stress, and health inequities, while advocating for digital health solutions to improve preventive care.

Presenters from CMS and the CDC explored the importance of standardizing health equity data collection at the 2024 CMS Health Equity Conference.

In this episode of Managed Care Cast, Nihar Desai, MD, MPH, cardiologist and vice chief of Cardiology at the Yale School of Medicine, discusses therapies for cardiovascular conditions as they relate to patient adherence, polypharmacy, and health access.

Among the many topics discussed at the American Thoracic Society 2024 International Conference (ATS 2024), the majority touched on barriers to health equity and access, regardless of the key focus of each talk or study. Experts examined this within the field, emphasizing the importance of enhancing data diversity, modernizing diagnostic tools, and revising regulatory standards to promote equitable health outcomes for diverse populations.

According to data from HHS' Office of Minority Health, Asian Americans are 60% less likely to utilize mental health services, even though 16.8% of those in the community experience mental illness.

The Center on Health Equity & Access offered novel insights on transgender health and pulmonary medicine with late-breaking data and expert interviews from the American Thoracic Society annual meeting.

The data refute the rapid-onset gender dysphoria hypothesis by showing that the initially higher depressive symptoms reported by youths transitioning from cisgender to transgender or gender diverse were not significant after accounting for exposure to LGBT violence, the researchers wrote.

In a scientific session at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2024 International Conference titled "An Inconvenient Truth: Health Disparities and Health Care Inequality in Respiratory Medicine," a number of experts discussed the various areas within the field that are impacted by disparities.

Study authors shared late-breaking data in a session on clinical trial results in pulmonary medicine at the American Thoracic Society 2024 International Conference.

In a keynote presentation at ATS 2024, Hannah Wunsch, MD, MSc, of Weill Cornell Medicine, delved into how the history of breathing support dating back to the 1700s has set the stage for ventilation advances still being made today.

New data reveal that starting furoate/umeclidinium/vilanterol (FF/UMEC/VI) without delay not only significantly reduces exacerbations and health care costs but also enhances adherence and persistence for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) compared with other therapies.

During a session at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2024 International Conference, experts presented the most impactful data from the last year on acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), childhood asthma, health equity, and lung cancer.

Fatima Rodriguez, MD, MPH, from Stanford University, and Matthew DeCamp, MD, PhD, from the University of Colorado, joined Michael Howell, MD, MPH, of Google, on the stage at ATS 2024 to discuss artificial intelligence (AI) in health care.

The US Senate hosted a panel addressing physician and health care shortages and efforts to increase minority representation in the medical field. An expert discussed initiatives to prevent senior homelessness. Advocates called for the repeal of the Comstock Act. Regulatory reforms are called for to improve rural cancer patients' access to pharmacies. Research reveals the impact of denials on patient access to immunology treatments.

The application of artificial intelligence in medicine is anticipated as a highlight of ATS 2024, with sessions exploring its applications in research, radiological interpretation, and pediatric pulmonology.

In a joint letter addressed to Congress, Healthcare Across Borders, Take Back the Court Action Fund, and UltraViolet Action called out the resurgence of the Comstock Act, urging immediate action to repeal this century-old law that threatens reproductive rights and public health in the US.

The senate hearing held by the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I, Vermont), chairman of the committee, and ranking member Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD, (R, Louisiana), addressed the critical issue of physician and health care worker shortages, as well as the maternal health crisis, in the US.

Chris Pagnani, MD, medical director and founder of Rittenhouse Psychiatric Associates in Philadelphia, explains the importance of offering college students consistent care via telehealth while collaborating with their campus counseling centers.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This week, the Center on Health Equity and Access highlights a variety of gaps that exist in health care, spanning women's health, the rising rate of metabolic disease, and policy for LGBTQ+ and immigrant populations. The consensus among featured experts points to comprehensive care models.

In this interview, Chris Pagnani, MD, PC, shares how telemedicine is transforming mental health care by making psychiatry accessible for patients, especially for those in health care deserts.

Promising results presented at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy 2024 annual meeting support the safety and efficacy of bimekizumab treatment in patients with active psoriatic arthritis who had previously shown inadequate response or intolerance to tumor necrosis factor inhibitors.

In a presentation at the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health Women’s Health Summit, Shelly Lanning, cofounder and president of Visana Health, addressed the need for comprehensive approaches in women’s health care and their coverage options.

Joanne Mizell shares insurer strategies in addressing the escalating rates of metabolic diseases, highlighting the importance of holistic treatment methods like lifestyle modification programs, which integrate nutrition, physical activity, and community engagement.