Practice Management
The United States now spends $15,474 per person on healthcare for a total of $5.3 trillion in spending overall in 2024, according new federal data reported by Health Affairs. For 2 years in a row, health spending increases have topped 7% (7.4% in 2023; 7.2% in 2024). Increased demand for care and higher intensity of services are the main drivers of growth, according to the analysis. Year Total Expenditures (trillions) Expenditures Per Capita 2018 $3.6 …
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A study of general internal medicine physicians from 2 ambulatory practice networks evaluated whether reserving protected time for EHR tasks—such as messaging, prior authorizations, or medication refills—affects physician productivity and hands-on EHR time. Researchers compared 130 general internal medicine physicians (41 in the intervention group and 89 in the control group) from November 2021 to June 2024 and set aside 1 appointment slot per half-day (20-30 minutes) dedicated to asynchronous EHR tasks. As published in …
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A retrospective analysis in JAMA Network Open examined trends in maternal syphilis infections in Mississippi from 2013–2023 and found that during the 10-year period, infections increased from 86 cases per 100,000 births to 1,016 cases per 100,000 births. The overall rise was 1,088%. Among the 1,421 pregnant women with syphilis included in the study, gaps in prenatal care were common: 34% lacked first-trimester care and 4.5% received no prenatal care. Analysis showed a sustained average …
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved semaglutide tablets as the first oral GLP-1 medicine for obesity in adults. According to a press release, the once-daily pill is also indicated to reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events including death, heart attack, or stroke in adults with overweight or obesity and cardiovascular disease. Previously only available as an injectable, semaglutide’s oral formulation could expand treatment for patients who are reluctant to use an …
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A national survey of 2,174 U.S. acute care hospitals found growing uptake of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools integrated with electronic health records (EHRs) in 2024, as published in JAMA Network Open. A total of 762 hospitals (31.5%) were considered “early adopters,” meaning they currently use integrated, generative AI. Another 24.7% say they plan to have implementation within a year (“fast followers”), suggesting that more than half of the hospitals surveyed would have adoption by …
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The American Cancer Society has endorsed the use of self-collected vaginal samples for cervical cancer screening in average-risk women, which experts say will improve access to testing and early detection. The new guidance published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians introduces 2 major updates, allowing for self-collection for primary human papillomavirus (HPV) testing and also clarifying the related screening cadence. Clinician-collected cervical samples have long been the standard for cytology-based screening, but research has …
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Medical school enrollment is hitting a new high for the 2025-2026 academic year, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. For the first time, total enrollment has topped 100,000 students, and the total number of medical school applicants rose by 5.3%, reversing a 3-year decline. Except for a 1-year increase in 2021-2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the new figures represent the largest gain in a decade, the association says. First-time applicants comprised 76.5% of …
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A Danish study published in JAMA Network Open found that respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection was linked to a sustained rise in cardiovascular risk over 1 year in adults aged 45 years or older. In the study population, those with RSV (8,747 individuals) experienced 665 cardiovascular events vs 257 in matched controls (8,747 individuals without infection), yielding a 365-day excess risk of 4.69 percentage points. In this matched cohort study of 17,494 adults, early risk …
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A new analysis published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccines provided meaningful protection against the need for emergency department or urgent care visits related to COVID-19 in children. Using a test-negative design, researchers found vaccine effectiveness was 76% (95% confidence interval [CI], 58%–87%) for children aged 9 months-4 years and 56% (95% CI, 35%–70%) for those aged 5-17 years. Protection persisted with extended follow-up through 299 days. Approximately 38,000 …
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This month, Banner Health is moving to a cashless payment system as a cost-savings measure, according to a press release. The nonprofit system has rolled out the cashless model across Arizona and will phase in the policy across other locations (California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, and Wyoming ) in the coming months with a target date to complete the transition by March 2026. Cash collection creates administrative costs that represent more than a third of the …
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