Practice Management
Children with elevated blood pressure in childhood can experience a greater risk of early death from cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adulthood, a new long-term study in JAMA finds. At baseline, 21% of the 37,081 children studied were classified as having hypertension, while about 19% were classified as having elevated blood pressure. Participants (born from 1959 to 1966) were followed to a median age of 54 years. At follow-up, a 1-SD higher systolic blood pressure measure …
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A large Swedish study that examined prenatal exposure to prescribed opioid pain medications and the child’s risk of later developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) found no causal link between prescribed opioid use during pregnancy and risk of the conditions. As published in PLOS Medicine, researchers analyzed data from more than 1.2 million children for ASD (2007–2018) and more than 900,000 children for ADHD (2007–2015). By the time the subjects were 10 …
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted a new warning for patients and providers to be aware of risks related to unauthorized devices that claim to measure or estimate blood pressure. Many blood pressure devices currently sold directly to consumers have not been evaluated for safety and effectiveness. Such devices are required to receive FDA marketing authorization to be lawfully marketed in the United States. With the rise in wearables, more consumers are looking to …
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Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC) this week acquired RMS Healthcare Management’s Med First Primary & Urgent Care, a portfolio company of private equity firm Sverica Capital Management. Founded in 2007, Med First operates a hybrid model for both primary care and urgent care services, and it’s also one of the frontrunners in risk-based accountable care in the North Carolina market. The acquisition by CCNC is unique because Med First represents a private-equity-backed platform operating …
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A study in a public school system found that younger students had the highest rates of respiratory virus detections compared to older grades, as published in Pediatrics. From November 2022 to May 2023, 816 students and staff in the North Kansas City, Missouri, school system provided 5,981 nasal swab samples and 5,198 monthly symptom surveys for the pre-kindergarten (pre-K) through 12th grade classes for 24.5 weeks. Overall, 85.5% of students and staff had at least …
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A survey of 1,504 clinicians found that 55% of them are planning on looking for a new job in the next year, and 42% worry that artificial intelligence (AI) is going to replace some aspect of their jobs. Additionally, 43% of respondents say AI is also the top clinical or technical skill they will need in the next 5 years. At least 80% of responding clinicians believe their employers should invest in continuing education and …
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Parents and clinicians don’t always share the same perspectives on diagnostic testing for pediatric diarrhea, according to a qualitative study published in JAMA Network Open. Interviews with 44 parents (91% female; median age, 34 years) and 16 clinicians (69% female; median age, 42 years) from 5 urgent care sites and 1 emergency department in Utah demonstrated the differences in their expectations. Participating clinicians included 10 physicians (62%) and 6 nurse practitioners or physician assistants (38%). …
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Many patients are now using artificial intelligence (AI) tools with large language models to fill the information gap between the time their test results show up in their patient-facing health records—which could be the same day—and the time their clinicians provide personalized interpretation and next steps. Experts warn that the accuracy of AI chatbot information often depends on how the patients frame their questions and what details they input along the way. But it turns …
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The cumulative influenza-associated hospitalization rate for the 2024–2025 season was the highest since 2010–2011, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which classified the season overall as “high severity.” Hospital admissions from October 1, 2024, through April 30, 2025, reached 127.1 per 100,000 population and were highest among Americans aged 75 years and older (598.8). Across age groups, hospitalization rates during last season were 1.8 to 2.8 times higher …
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In a quasi-experimental study involving 2 Denver Health urgent care centers, an antibiotic stewardship program known as the Take 5 Campaign increased the rates of adherence to a recommended 5-day antibiotic prescribing duration, according to a new study published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. “Antibiotic stewardship in urgent care is critical,” says Lindsey E. Fish, MD, study author and Editor in Chief of JUCM. “While many programs focus on decreasing inappropriate antibiotic prescribing, ensuring the …
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