Practice Management
Virginia is seeing a surge in cases of hand, foot, and mouth disease, according to the state’s department of health. Reports show steep increases in visits to urgent care and emergency departments compared to the past 3 years, reaching a peak of about 4% of visits in recent weeks. The state is tracking about 60 reported outbreaks. Additionally, the District of Columbia has reported 197 emergency department visits related to the disease in September, primarily …
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In a study of 9,258 adults with type 2 diabetes, frequent continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) use was linked to significantly greater HbA1C reductions over 12 months compared with no CGM use, as published in JAMA Network Open. Patients using their CGM devices on 270 days per year or more achieved a mean HbA1C decrease of −1.52 percentage points (95% confidence interval [CI], −1.73 to −1.32 percentage points) vs −0.63 percentage points in nonusers (95% CI, …
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From 2010 to 2024, prescriptions for glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) increased substantially among individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity, according to a research letter in JAMA Network Open, which examined electronic medical records of more than 300 million Americans. Rates rose from 2.4% to 34.3% among individuals with both T2D and obesity; from 0.6% to 13.7% in those with T2D only; and 0.04% to 7.1% in those with obesity only. The …
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A meta-analysis published in the New England Journal of Medicine of 511 studies found peer-reviewed evidence supports the safety and effectiveness of vaccines for COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and influenza during the 2025–2026 season. The COVID-19 vaccines for the XBB.1.5 variant had a pooled vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization of 46-50% among adults and 37% among adults with weakened immune systems, according to the analysis. For RSV, vaccines had pooled estimates of 68% for maternal …
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When using a large language model (LLM) assistant for generating emergency department (ED) discharge notes at an academic 2,400-bed tertiary hospital in South Korea, physicians gained some worthwhile efficiencies, according to a comparative effectiveness study published in JAMA Network Open. Six emergency physicians created 300 manual notes, 300 LLM drafts, and 300 LLM-assisted notes from 50 patient cases, which were judged on a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5. Compared with manual documentation, LLM-assisted …
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CVS Health plans to close 16 Oak Street Health centers, representing about 7% of its total portfolio of these senior-focused primary care clinics. Doors will shutter by the end of February, and CVS cites rising medical costs as the main reason driving the reduction, according to Forbes. The company did not specify which locations will close but said it will continue to operate 230 Oak Street clinics across 27 states. Increased costs to deliver care …
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The Food and Drug Administration has approved the oral drug elinzanetant for the treatment of moderate to severe hot flashes due to menopause. It’s a novel nonhormonal drug with dual neurokinin-targeted therapy (NK1 and NK3 receptor antagonist), according to the manufacturer’s press release. Elinzanetant offers another option for patients, in addition to 2 other nonhormonal therapies: NK3 receptor antagonist fezolinetant; and the antidepressant paroxetine. Two phase III trials with a total of 796 menopausal women …
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In a cross-sectional study of 3,378 influenza-positive children across 7 U.S. pediatric hospitals, researchers found a substantial decline in antiviral prescribing in the emergency department during the COVID-19 pandemic, as published in JAMA Network Open. Among 2,514 children at higher risk of severe influenza, 32.2% received antivirals in the prepandemic era (December 1, 2016, to March 31, 2020), compared with 15.6% during late pandemic era (July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2023)—a 53% relative decrease. …
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Several large health insurers are drawing provider backlash for relatively new payment policies that reduce certain reimbursements. Cigna is automatically downcoding 6 evaluation and management (E/M) billing codes (99204- 99205, 99214-99215, 99244-99245) for a small percentage of providers starting this month, for example, resulting in lower payments for some routine office visits. The insurers are leveraging algorithms and claims data to automatically downgrade the codes—often relying on third party vendors to do the adjustments. According …
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Starting January 1, 2026, Elevance Health will consider “corrective measures” that penalize healthcare facilities in 11 states for using out-of-network providers to deliver care for the large insurer’s Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield commercial health plan members. Health systems may be subject to an administrative penalty of 10% of the allowed claim amount and potential network termination, and the penalty cost cannot be passed on to the patient, according to an Anthem memo. Emergency care …
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