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Tag: Primary Care
Johns Hopkins Children’s Center Study Shows Negative Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Youth Minority Mental Health
Recent historical, political and public health events, most notably the COVID-19 pandemic, have collectively contributed to increased stress and mental health challenges among many groups of people — including adolescents in racial and ethnic minorities.
Recovery Checkups in Primary Care Settings Linked to Increased Substance Use Treatment and Reduced Alcohol and Cannabis Use in Patients with Complex Needs
Highly vulnerable patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) or substance use disorder (SUD) who received regular assessments after their initial intervention had substantially better outcomes a year later than those who did not receive the same follow-up, according to a new study. Fewer than one in ten people with SUD receive any form of treatment in a given year; among those who do, relapse and treatment reentry are common. A Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) protocol is intended to facilitate treatment referrals, especially among patients with more severe SUDs, but research has shown it to be relatively ineffective in that regard. Adding a Recovery Management Checkup (RMC) intervention can improve treatment rates; RMC conceptualizes AUD and SUD as chronic conditions requiring longer-term monitoring via regular check-ins, early re-intervention in cases of relapse, and treatment retention strategies. For the study in Alcohol: Clinical & Experimental Resear
Primary care reminder plus patient outreach intervention improved rates of follow-up after abnormal cancer test results
When cancer screening in a patient reveals an abnormal test result, prompt follow-up is critical so that further tests can be conducted, and if needed, treatment can be initiated as soon as possible. Numerous barriers to such follow-up exist, however.
How do suicide risk or depression screenings compare to identify patients at risk?
Research led by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Wesleyan University found that depression screening tools outperformed suicide risk screenings under most conditions.
Study: Many primary care providers & adult patients wary of discussing firearms
Screening primary care patients for firearm access has been recommended by professional groups, especially for people with mental health issues. A new study shows wariness by providers and patients.
Analysis suggests access to primary care could play an important role in reducing hospitalizations
A secondary analysis of a randomized encouragement study found that Medicare patients who received social needs case management had a 3% increase in primary care visits and an 11% reduction in inpatient hospitalizations. These findings suggest that increased access to primary care could play an important role in reducing acute care use. A brief research report is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
George Washington University Launches Medicaid Workforce Tracker
To improve access to high-quality Medicaid services, experts must first locate the gaps in healthcare providers available to patients who rely on this health insurance. Researchers at the George Washington University today launched an interactive online tracking system that identifies states and counties in the United States that suffer from a shortage of primary care providers who see Medicaid patients.
What will it take to make mental health coverage & care better?
From psychiatrists to experts in telehealth, public health and primary care, a range of reactions from University of Michigan faculty to the recent federal proposal for mental health policy, and related issues.
UC San Diego Health Experts Available to Discuss Shingles, Ramsay Hunt Syndrome
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein has developed rare complications due to a months-long shingles infection, including encephalitis (brain inflammation) and Ramsay Hunt Syndrome. Ramsay Hunt Syndrome occurs when shingles infects cranial nerves, including the auditory, vestibular and facial nerves, which can…
UT Dentists partners with community health clinic to provide affordable preventive dental care
Communities in Southwest Houston have something to smile about: UT Dentists, the clinical practice of UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry, is collaborating with HOPE Clinic to bring accessible dental care as an integrated health service line at a brand new Alief clinic location called the HOPE Health and Wellness Center.
A New Primary Care Model Proves Effective for Patients with Severe Mental Illness
A new analysis led by Alex K. Gertner, MD, PhD, psychiatry resident at UNC Hospitals, has added further evidence that the new model is effective.
A ‘game changer’ for mental health
With so much mental health care taking place in primary care settings, programs to help providers get rapid access to psychiatrists to consult on diagnosis and treatment have started in multiple states. This story looks at Michigan’s program, called MC3, which just turned 10 years old.
Como puede la atencion primaria de salud ayudar a cerrar la brecha en el tratamiento de la epilepsia? Un viaje por Andhra Pradesh, India
Un equipo de investigadores visito dos centros de atencion primaria de salud en Bhimaravam para evaluar la atencion proporcionada a las personas con epilepsia a traves del sistema de atencion primaria de salud.
Goutham Rao, MD, FAHA, Appointed Newest Member of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
Announcement of the addition of Goutham Rao, MD, FAHA, to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) to serve a four-year term, beginning this month. Dr. Rao will join fellow experts from primary care and prevention-related fields to rigorously review evidence and evaluate the benefits and harms of preventive services. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) convenes the Task Force and provides scientific, administrative, and dissemination support.
Children’s Primary Care Medical Group Joins UC San Diego Health Network
Children’s Primary Care Medical Group and UC San Diego Health have affiliated to better serve the health care needs of families with children in the San Diego region.
Primary care doctors would need more than 24 hours/day to provide recommended care
New study highlights the large discrepancy between recommended guidelines and a physician’s time, but a team-based care model could be a partial remedy.
Female physicians paid 21% less than male counterparts under current compensation models
A microsimulation study found that female primary care physicians (PCPs) make 21 percent less income than their male counterparts under productivity-based compensation models, with capitation risk-adjusted for patient age and sex resulting in a smaller gap. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
María de los Ángeles Ortega to Lead Nursing Clinical Care for Vulnerable Populations
Dr. Ortega’s newest role as associate dean of clinical practice now places her at the helm of clinical care for both the Green Memory and Wellness Center and the FAU and Northwest Community Health Alliance’s Community Health Center (FAU/NCHA CHC), operated by the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing. She will collaborate with FAU/NCHA CHC executive director Karethy Edwards, Dr.PH, APRN, professor and associate dean for academic programs; and clinical director Desiree’ T. Weems, APRN, a certified nurse practitioner.
New Pediatric Obesity Program Makes Treatment More Accessible
A UC San Diego clinical trial finds new Guided Self-Help program is effective in treating pediatric obesity and improving family attendance rates.
CHroniCles Website to be Preserved at Geiger Gibson Program
The RCHN Community Health Foundation (RCHN CHF) and the Geiger Gibson Program in Community Health at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health today announced that with the sunset of RCHN CHF, the Foundation’s signature online resource highlighting the history of community health centers will have a new home at the Geiger Gibson Program.
Racial Gap in Completed Doctor Visits Disappeared in 2020 as Telemedicine Adopted
As COVID-19 necessitated the wider adoption of telemedicine, the rate of completed primary care visits for Black patients rose to the same level of non-Black patients, Penn Medicine study finds
What drives racial and ethnic gaps in Medicare’s quality program?
The improvements in care for older adults from the Accountable Care Organization movement haven’t reached all older Americans equally. ACOs that include a higher percentage of patients who are Black, Hispanic, Native American or Asian have lagged behind those with higher percentage of white patients in providing preventive care and keeping patients out of the hospital. Now, a new study shows that some of this inequity stems from how an ACO’s patients get their primary care.
A lifeline for primary care amid a crisis in youth mental health
Most mental health care in America doesn’t happen in psychiatrists’ offices – especially when it comes to children, teens and young adults. It happens in primary care settings. As needs spike due to the pandemic, a program offers a psychiatry “lifeline” for Michigan’s primary care providers, and online education for providers anywhere.
Community Health Center Honored for Services Assisting Minority Women
Florida Atlantic University and Northwest Community Health Alliance’s Community Health Center, operated by FAU’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, together with the West Palm Beach YWCA, recently received the “2021 Community Collaborators Award” from Nonprofits First, Inc., for their untiring efforts to mitigate health care disparities among women from minority groups with limited access to quality care.
UC San Diego Health Earns High Quality Marks, Saves Medicare Money
UC San Diego Health improved care for more than 32,000 Medicare beneficiaries in San Diego, Riverside, and Imperial Counties, and saved Medicare close to $7 million by utilizing population health technologies to exceed quality and cost goals in 2020.
UC San Diego Health Launches New Center to Spur Patient-Centered Technologies
From tele-monitoring patients with diabetes to using artificial intelligence to prevent sepsis, the newly launched Center for Health Innovation will seek to develop, test and commercialize technologies that make a real, measurable difference in the lives and wellbeing of patients.
For cancer care, patients’ relationship with their primary care providers prove crucial
Communication between patients and their primary care providers is key to ensuring effective cancer care, both before diagnosis and after treatment, according to two recent papers led by University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center researchers.
Caring for the Physical Health of Those with Mental Illness
Researchers look into methods to reduce the early mortality in those with serious mental illnesses
The Medical Minute: Why you need a primary care provider
To call you the picture of health is an understatement. Why, then, do you need a doctor? In this week’s Medical Minute, two primary care providers explain why establishing a relationship with a doctor now can make all the difference to your health.
UTHealth expert publishes osteoporosis guide to help family medicine/primary care physicians care for their patients
An osteoporosis guide for primary care providers to better treat their patients has been published in the journal of Family Medicine by clinicians and researchers with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).
Primary care-based resources can successfully address alcohol-use problems
Few patients with alcohol-use problems who might benefit from either pharmacotherapy or specialized addiction treatment typically receive care. That may now change owing to a pilot study which examined the feasibility of providing a real-time video consultation resource in primary care. The study’s findings will be shared at the 44th annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA), which will be held virtually this year from the 19th – 23rd of June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
One-third of older Americans delayed health care over COVID concerns
Nearly one in three Americans between the ages of 50 and 80 put off an in-person appointment for medical care in 2020 because they were worried about exposure to the novel coronavirus, new national poll data show.
Center Brings Doctors, Scientists Together to Improve Health of Mother and Child
The Center for Perinatal Discovery at UC San Diego brings doctors and researchers together for clinical, translational and basic research to better understand maternal health, environmental exposures, fertility, pregnancy and the health of children.
Harnessing healthy behaviors to prevent dementia
The approval of a new Alzheimer’s disease drug is getting a lot of attention, but a recent scientific review of the evidence about dementia prevention shows an important role for primary care providers and patients to modify risk factors and protect brain health over the long term.
UH authors ‘design for value’ to improve patient and physician experience for referrals
A new paper describes how a framework called “designing for value” was used to re-imagine the referral system of patients from primary care doctors to psychiatrists. The results seems to be an improved experience for patients, primary care doctors, and psychiatrists who participated in the model.
Alcohol problems severely undertreated
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that although the vast majority of people with alcohol use disorder see their doctors regularly for a range of issues, fewer than one in 10 ever get treatment to help curb their drinking.
No Excuses: Stop Procrastinating on These Key Health Checks
A quick guide to the most-valuable preventive care that adults need to get scheduled, to catch up on what they may have missed during the height of the pandemic, and to address issues that the pandemic might have worsened.
FAU/NCHA Community Health Center First University in Florida to Receive HRSA Designation
The FAU/NCHA Community Health Center is the first university in Florida to be designated by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), as a “Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Look-Alike. To receive this designation, organizations must operate and provide services consistent with HRSA’s Health Center Program requirements to ensure health care for underserved communities and vulnerable populations in the U.S. through service provision to all, regardless of ability to pay.
Virtual “urgent care” may lead to higher rates of downstream follow-up care, study suggests
Even before the pandemic made telehealth a hot topic, people with minor urgent health needs had started to turn to companies that offer on-demand video chats. Some insurers and employers support this, hoping it might reduce in-person care, including emergency department visits. But a new study casts some doubt on whether that will actually happen.
More Primary Care Physicians Could Mean Gains in Life Expectancy, Fewer Deaths
New study quantifies the effects of increasing the number of primary care physicians in areas with physician shortages
Increasing the number of primary care physicians in such regions could boost population life expectancy
More primary care physicians could mean fewer deaths in these shortage regions
You’ve Got to Move It, Move It
Research from Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Sciences at UC San Diego suggests that light-intensity physical activity, including shopping or a casual walk, may protect against mobility disability in older women.
Patients who take opioids for pain can’t get in the door at more than half of primary care clinics
People who take opioid medications for chronic pain may have a hard time finding a new primary care clinic that will take them on as a patient if they need one, according to a new “secret shopper” study of hundreds of clinics across the country.
Program Expansion to Address Increase of Impaired Driving During Global COVID-19 Pandemic
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine will expand a statewide program to prevent driving under the influence of alcohol, cannabis and prescription drugs.
How long do doctor visits last? Electronic health records provide new data on time with patients
How much time do primary care physicians actually spend one-on-one with patients? Analysis of timestamp data from electronic health records (EHRs) provides useful insights on exam length and other factors related to doctors’ use of time, reports a study in the January issue of Medical Care. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
Primary Care in a Pandemic: Spotting Mental Health Needs and More
The number of people dealing with mental distress caused by enduring months of pandemic, economic disruption and political turmoil is rising fast. And America’s primary care clinics are the front line for many of those mental health concerns. A new online toolkit aims to help primary care clinics cope with this influx, and draw from the expertise of mental health specialists and researchers.
Student Medical Records at UC San Diego Make Epic Change and a California First
UC San Diego was the first university in California to connect 40,000 student health records to the electronic health record platform of its top-ranked academic medical center, UC San Diego Health. The experience has created a model for other colleges.
Study highlights link between depressive symptoms and stroke risk
People with multiple depressive symptoms have an increased risk for stroke, with new findings showing that individuals who scored higher on a test designed to measure depressive symptoms had a higher stroke risk than those with lower scores.
Safety Considerations for Visiting Primary Care Doctors
The COVID-19 pandemic has left many people with chronic health conditions relying on telemedicine rather than seeing their doctor in person when necessary or putting off important visits entirely because they fear being infected.
Ann M. Nguyen, an assistant research professor at Rutgers Center for State Health Policy at the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, who recently published a paper on safety measures at physician offices, discusses what people should know about visiting their doctor and why putting off appointments that need to be done in person could lead to other health problems.
Study Highlights Shortcomings in Telemedicine Despite Large Increases in Remote Consults During Covid-19 Pandemic
Despite increased use of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans have had significantly fewer consultations with primary care doctors and markedly fewer assessments of common cardiac risk factors.