Practice Management
Some 32% of U.S. adults say they have turned to artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots in the past year for health information, according to 2 recent surveys. The KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust found younger and lower-income individuals often turn to AI for help to avoid the costs and access barriers when seeking traditional healthcare services. What’s concerning is that many users skip professional follow-up entirely, including 58% of those seeking mental health …
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Researchers believe there may be a potential link between fluoroquinolone antibiotics and increased risk of panic attacks, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. Using the Food and Drug Administration’s Adverse Event Reporting System database, researchers examined 4 clinical trials and found panic attack prevalence was low (0.5%–1.8%) but was reported with wide confidence intervals. Case reports generally suggested a probable causal link, according to the authors. Further …
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A new real estate report highlights a critical shortage of U.S. outpatient facilities, particularly in fast-growing Sun Belt markets. The JLL 2026 Medical Outpatient Building Perspective notes that while patient demand is surging due to aging demographics and a preference for cost-effective, community-based care, new construction has stalled because of high costs and financial risk. With 93% occupancy rates across the nation, space for independent practices is scarce; most new builds are currently dedicated to …
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As every urgent care clinician knows, acute respiratory illnesses (ARIs) often present with many of the same symptoms, such as cough, fever, and rhinitis. A recent outpatient study of 7,143 patients with ARI published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases found that human metapneumovirus (HMPV) accounted for 4.7%–7.3% of cases during the 5 influenza seasons the authors examined (from 2016–2022), compared with 11.3%–13.6% for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and 30.2%–37.1% for influenza. HMPV circulated later in …
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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is looking to address anticompetitive healthcare market activity with the formation of a new task force, according to an agency announcement. The group will be responsible for leading enforcement initiatives, creating coordinated agencywide strategies on investigations, identifying opportunities for FTC involvement in legal cases, and shaping new priorities for enforcement. Some examples of past actions include successful efforts to increase price transparency and terminate deceptive marketing techniques. FTC says the …
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a rule this month that is meant to drive healthcare transactions away from fax machines and postal mail. Too many providers are still using these old-school workflows with surprising frequency for submitting claims documentation today, and CMS believes the Adoption of Standards for Health Care Claims Attachments Transactions and Electronic Signatures Final Rule represents a major step toward fully electronic workflows, according to a press release. …
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the oral medication icotrokinra for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in adults and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older, according to a press release. An interleukin-23 receptor antagonist, the once‑daily medication is a uniquely targeted oral peptide for patients who weigh at least 40 kg and who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy. New guidance from the International Psoriasis Council clarifies when clinicians …
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A large study of 55,200 emergency department (ED) visits among adults aged 65 years and older found that heat-related risk varies by population, and higher-than-average “feels like” temperatures in the summer months are associated with greater all-cause ED use for EDs with predominantly Medicaid-covered populations. Researchers analyzed visits from May 1 to September 30 between 2022 to 2024 at 2 New York hospitals and compared the data, as published in JAMA Network Open. At a …
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The American Medical Association (AMA) frequently cautions against certain expanded scope-of-practice allowances for nurse practitioners (NPs) in everyday patient care. In a new post, AMA points to a study in Family Practice that examined whether NPs in Florida are practicing within the state’s requirement, which stipulates that autonomous NPs must work within primary care. Since the passage of an expanded scope-of-practice rule in 2020, Florida has allowed NPs who complete at least 3,000 clinical practice …
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Not to be outdone by the other household names in consumer technology, Microsoft has now launched Copilot Health, its AI health chatbot within Copilot that knits together health records, health history, and device data from more than 50 wearables, according to a press release. Microsoft says the Copilot platform already responds to some 50 million consumer health questions each day. Through the company’s recently integrated partner platform for sharing health records, HealthEx, the AI tool …
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