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Communities in the United States that experienced the most economic distress in the wake of the Great Recession saw a significant increase in death rates from heart disease and strokes among middle-aged people, according to a new multi-institution study led by researchers at Penn Medicine.
Read moreTaller people have an increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation, according to a new Penn Medicine study. The research is the among the first to demonstrate that height may be a causal—not correlated—risk factor for AFib.
Read moreThe newly developed system prioritizes patients so that cancer doctors have conversations about their values and goals before it is too late.
Read moreThe 2018 federal Right to Try Act allows patients with a life-threatening illness to be treated with drugs that have not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Many in the oncology community say Right to Try strips away important regulatory protections and view the move as a risky step bound to create ethical dilemmas for physicians whose goal is to guide patients toward safe and appropriate treatment decisions. Oncology is one field at the forefront of requests for unapproved drugs. An interdisciplinary team of bioethicists, oncologists, and lawyers from Penn Medicine and other institutions penned a commentary published online this week in the Journal of Clinical Oncology to offer recommendations to help oncologists navigate this new “Right to Try” world, while maintaining their ethical obligations to patients.
Read moreAs part of an effort to improve long-term outcomes, a national team led by a researcher at Penn Medicine has launched a study–funded by a $9.8 million grant from the NIH–to better understand clinical and biological processes that occur after transplant and lead to the development of these complications.
Read moreWomen who are health policy or health services researchers face a significant disparity in social media influence compared to their male peers, according to a new study from researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Although the average number of tweets among all researchers tend to be consistent, women trail behind men in follower counts, regardless of how active they are on Twitter. The findings, which hold implications for larger questions around gender disparities in academic medicine, are published today in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Read moreResearchers showed in animal models that spinal discs’ default injury response can be temporarily stopped to allow for better treatment
Read moreThe total amount of opioids dispensed per new opioid prescription decreased by 22 percent in Penn Medicine outpatient practices in New Jersey after the state passed a law limiting prescriptions to a five-day supply for new opioid prescriptions. Penn Medicine implemented an electronic health record (EMR) alert, or “nudge,” to notify clinicians if that limit had been reached. The study, published online today in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, is one of the first evaluations of a state law’s impact on prescribing outcomes, and is the first report of an EMR being used to make compliance with prescribing limits easier. Importantly, after the prescribing limit and alert went into effect there was no evidence to suggest pain control worsened.
Read morePenn Medicine study shows patients who use online platforms connected to their health records are more likely to take preventative health measures.
Read moreA new scientific statement from the American Heart Association identifies the risks and benefits of using novel interventional devices compared to anticoagulation alone to treat patients with pulmonary embolism.
Read moreA new scientific statement from the American Heart Association identifies the risks and benefits of using novel interventional devices compared to anticoagulation alone to treat patients with pulmonary embolism.
Read moreA trigger system powered by predictive analytics increased palliative care consultations by 74 percent after implementation
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