Health Care Delivery

Paradoxical bronchospasm, although rare, should be recognized more often in spirometry tests, said pulmonologist Malvika Kaul, MD, who discussed study findings from a population of veterans with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, where the possibly life-threatening condition was not picked up in lung tests.

Nicole Herbst, MD, a pulmonary and critical care fellow, talks about how visitor restrictions and communication practices in intensive care units (ICUs) during the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted provider job satisfaction and were linked to job burnout, according to a survey presented at the CHEST Annual Meeting 2021.

A panel discussion at the CHEST Annual Meeting 2021 discussed disparities related to race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status that have been shown to impact access to high-quality lung cancer care.

Researchers at the CHEST Annual Meeting 2021 addressed the evolution of COVID-19 variants, how these emerging strains impact vaccines, and preventive recommendations for at-risk populations.

Panelists of a session at CHEST 2021 discuss the latest research regarding efficacy and safety of therapies in the management of asthma, including biologics, corticosteroids, and more.

Older individuals with a weekday bedtime later than midnight were associated with a greater risk of myocardial infarction. No elevated risks were observed according to weekend bedtimes.

More than 1 in 3 patients with Parkinson disease were found to experience minor hallucinations, which were linked with worse quality of life and poor sleep outcomes.

Pediatric populations, young adults, and parents all identified differing goals and preferences of treatment for psoriasis, with the most important treatment goals overall cited as lesion prevention and reduction.

New data presented at IDWeek 2021 show lack of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake among groups at high risk of HIV infection.

Highlighting the latest ophthalmology-related news reported across MJH Life Sciences™.

Wearable accelerometer data from over 89,000 participants indicated that people with a mental illness diagnosis were more likely to have poor sleep quality than the general population.

Achieving health equity will depend on the quality of huge volumes of health care data and how effectively we can make them accessible and actionable for key stakeholders.

A novel formulation of calcipotriene (CAL), betamethasone dipropionate (BDP) cream was found to be more effective, provide superior quality of life, and safe in patients with psoriasis, compared with standard CAL/BDP topical suspension/gel.

DOJ requests federal appeals court to block grant of stay for Texas' abortion law; common synthetic chemicals linked with premature death; influenza hospitalization and death more likely in pediatric minority populations.

An evaluation of price transparency tools for ophthalmologic procedures found significant usability, availability, and variability issues, which may disproportionately impact vulnerable populations.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to announce plan on strengthening regulations against certain chemicals; risk of emergency complications increased in pregnant women with symptomatic COVID-19; fully vaccinated, heavy marijuana users with substance abuse disorder linked with higher susceptibility to breakthrough infection.

The pathway outlines a 4-step screening process for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

Patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) were found to be more likely to report musculoskeletal symptoms and dermatologic issues prior to initial PsA diagnosis.

Pediatric patients with extreme obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may have a higher risk of needing respiratory support after undergoing corrective adenotonsillectomy, warranting the need for postoperative observation in these populations.

Psychographics is a way of categorizing someone based on their everyday behaviors using data that are collected every time they go to the store or post on social media, said Robert Groves, MD, executive vice president and chief medical officer at Banner | Aetna. In health care, psychographics can be used to positively influence someone to their benefit.

Sepsis is poorly understood, difficult to identify, and even harder to predict. Consistent stakeholder involvement may be key to identifying precisely where and how a sepsis early warning system could improve the team-based response to the condition.

Patients traveling for cancer treatment often incur financial burdens. The members of the Alliance of Dedicated Cancer Centers should play a role in mitigating housing-associated costs for patients during cancer treatment.

Highlighting the latest ophthalmology-related news reported across MJH Life Sciences™.

Patients with moderate to severe psoriasis were shown to achieve and maintain higher levels of complete skin clearance and quality of life when treated with brodalumab vs ustekinumab, regardless of the presence of lifestyle risk factors.

Research presented at EHA2021 shows that the JAK 1/2 inhibitor ruxolitinib produced cost-effective benefits per quality-adjusted life-year and increased the overall survival rate for patients with myelofibrosis.

Migraines plague some 35 million Americans, the majority of them women in their 30s and 40s, and disabling pain and symptoms are linked to lost productivity at work, school, and home. On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we bring you an excerpt of an interview with a headache specialist about the extra challenges for patients and providers during the pandemic.

Patients with obstuctive sleep apnea were found to be significantly more likely to have brain white matter hyperintensities, lesions known to signal brain aging and potential risk of Alzheimer disease.

Francis Collins, MD, PhD, will step down as director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at the end of the year; the Biden administration ends a ban on federal funds for clinics that provide abortion referrals; the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is 90% effective in preventing hospitalization and death 6 months after the second dose.

Analysis finds significant spike in deaths among nursing home residents due to the Delta variant; hospitalization charges for patients with COVID-19 vary widely; spotlighting the threat of heat waves and extreme weather conditions for pregnant women.

Aligned with increases in costs for both airplane and helicopter air ambulance transport, average estimated air ambulance costs rose 76.4% from 2017 to 2020, according to Robin Gelburd, JD, president of FAIR Health.