Practice Management
When it comes to chlamydia screenings, EMR alerts can lead to increased screening rates among young women, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. Across 16 primary care practices, chlamydia testing was ordered among women aged 18–24 years in just 3.8% (135 of 3,586) of eligible encounters in control sites compared with 13.2% (497 of 3,770) of eligible encounters in the intervention sites when EMR alerts were directed to medical assistants during patient …
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The Food and Drug Administration has approved ensitrelvir for the prevention of COVID-19 in individuals aged 12 years and older following exposure to SARS-CoV-2. According to the manufacturer, the authorization makes ensitrelvir the first oral antiviral available in the United States for postexposure prophylaxis against COVID-19. It must be initiated within 72 hours of exposure, and treatment includes a 5-day regimen. Approval was supported by findings from a trial including more than 2,000 participants that …
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Children with birthdays in the fall are more likely to receive annual flu vaccinations and also are more likely to experience lower rates of influenza than children born in the summer, according to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics. Researchers used the birth month as a comparative measure because children often receive their annual well-child visits near their birthdays. Since flu vaccines typically become available in late summer or early fall, children with birthdays that …
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded approval for insulin inhalation powder for use in children and adolescents aged 6 and older living with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, according to the product manufacturer’s press release. Previously, the inhaled insulin was only approved for adults. The oral inhaler device and insulin inhalation powder deliver insulin into the bloodstream through the lungs, enabling rapid absorption of insulin into systemic circulation. Marketed as Afrezza, …
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After visit summaries (AVSs) are the main tool to communicate appropriate follow-up recommendations for patients after an episode of care, and for some providers in Medicare enhanced-payment contracts, the summaries are a requirement. Yet some clinicians might view the task of writing AVSs as a time-consuming burden, especially when patients may not even read their summaries. An analysis published in JAMA Network Open of more than 6.2 million ambulatory visits from June 1, 2018, to …
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Compared with 17 other high-income countries, the United States had higher mortality rates from 1999–2022—adding up to 12.7 million excess deaths. Researchers found that annual excess deaths in the United States rose from 346,166 to 905,159 over the study period, as published in JAMA Network Open. By 2022, all-cause mortality rates were 1.38 times as high in the United States as in comparison countries. Circulatory diseases (eg, heart disease, hypertension, and stroke) were the leading …
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In a retrospective study from the pediatric emergency department (PED) at Samson Assuta Ashdod University Hospital in Israel, researchers evaluated whether children with uncomplicated acute otitis media (AOM) received different care on weekends vs weekdays (the “weekend effect”), knowing that community-based pediatric clinics are closed on weekends. The review, published in the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, included 288 children aged 6 months to 10 years who presented to the PED between 2017 and 2024. Overall, …
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Despite ongoing education and stewardship programs, inappropriate antibiotic prescribing is still common in high-income countries, especially for respiratory illnesses. A review of 12 observational studies from primary care settings in the United States, Europe, and Asia between 2021 and 2025, published in Cureus, found that when analyzing prescribing patterns by category, respiratory tract visits contributed to the largest overall share of inappropriate prescriptions—even when their rate of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing was not the highest. Reported …
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Recent surveillance data shows that sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are rising across Europe, with gonorrhea and syphilis reaching their highest recorded levels in more than a decade. Cases have increased the most among men who have sex with men, although infections are also increasing among heterosexual men and women, according to analysis from the University of Minnesota. Health officials are especially concerned about the growing number of congenital syphilis cases, which are considered preventable with …
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Researchers found that both the Canadian Syncope Risk Score (CSRS) and the FAINT score can inform clinical management of syncope in a prospective, observational study validating the tools published in JAMA Network Open. The primary outcome was a serious adverse outcome within 30 days of an emergency department (ED) visit. Among 1,263 patients aged 40 years or older with syncope or presyncope presenting to 6 urban EDs in the United States, 5.9% experienced a serious …
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