Today’s Top Story
Study: Medical licensure questions may discourage physicians from seeking mental health support.
Findings from a study published in the October issue of the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings suggest that potential repercussions to medical licensure may discourage some physicians from seeking help for a mental health condition. The authors obtained data on care-seeking attitudes for a mental health problem from a nationally representative sample of 5,829 physicians. Of those, 2,325 (39.9 percent) stated that they would be reluctant to seek formal medical care for treatment of a mental health condition due to medical licensure concerns.
Read more…
Read the complete study…
Other News
HHS expected to continue deregulation approach.
According to an article in Modern Healthcare, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may hold off on passing new policies until a new secretary is confirmed, but the agency is expected to continue to examine ways to deregulate and slow the growth of various programs. The department has already taken several steps to scale back regulations, including releasing some small physician practices from quality and reporting rules under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), and canceling certain bundled payment models and making others voluntary.
Read more…(registration may be required)
Study: Reasons for TKA failures and need for revision surgery analyzed.
A study published online in The Journal of Arthroplasty examines reasons for failure of primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The authors retrospectively reviewed information on 18,065 primary TKAs to identify cause of failure and determine risk of revision surgery. Members of the research team found that hazard ratios for failure were 4.68 for patients with reported drug abuse, 3.52 for preoperative deformity and mechanical diagnosis, 1.99 for patients with a constrained condylar knee implant compared with a posterior stabilized implant, and 1.78 for preoperative posttraumatic and trauma diagnosis. Finally, they noted that advancing age was protective for failure, with a 0.61 hazard ratio.
Read the abstract…
Study: ED physicians tend to prescribe opioids at lower rate compared to other prescribers.
Data from a study published online in the journal Annals of Emergency Medicine suggest that, compared to other physicians, emergency department (ED) physicians prescribe lower-dose and shorter-term prescriptions for opioids to opioid-naïve patients. The researchers analyzed 5.2 million opioid prescriptions written for opioid-naïve patients with either private insurance or Medicare. They found that prescriptions from the ED were more likely to adhere to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for daily dose (50 mg), 3 days’ supply, and formulation compared to those prescribed from other departments. In addition, ED patients were 46 percent to 58 percent less likely to progress to long-term opioid use compared with patients in other departments.
Read more…
Read the complete study…
CHIP expires, but states won’t run out of funding right away.
The Hill reports that the U.S. Congress has let a deadline to reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) expire; however, a separate article notes that legislation to reauthorize the program is expected to be addressed in the House Energy and Commerce Committee later this week. According to information from the U.S. Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, if the legislation is not renewed, three states and Washington, D.C., are expected to run out of funding by December 2017, with the majority of states running out by March 2018. A separate study by the Kaiser Family Foundation projected that 10 states would run out of money by the end of the 2017.
Read “Congress misses deadline to reauthorize childrens’ health care program”…
Read “House panel to consider children’s health measure”…
Study: Adolescent girls take twice as long to recover from sports-related concussion symptoms.
Results from a study published online in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association suggest that sports-related concussion symptoms may linger twice as long in adolescent girls compared with boys. The authors reviewed 212 medical records of athletes (102 female, 110 male) aged 11 to 18 years who were diagnosed with first-time concussion. They found the median duration of symptoms was 28 days for girls, compared to 11 days for boys. Further, symptoms resolved within 3 weeks for 42 percent of girls and 75 percent of boys. The authors suggest the extended recovery period may be linked to preexisting conditions more common in females, including migraines, depression, anxiety, and stress.
Read more…
Read the complete study…
Call for volunteers: Biological Implants Committee.
Oct. 11 is the last day to submit your application for a position on the Biological Implants Committee (two member openings). This committee monitors and reviews scientific and regulatory developments in the field of implantable biologics as they relate to orthopaedic surgery. Applicants for this position must be active fellows, candidate members, or candidate member applicants for fellowship. Preference will be given to surgeons with practice concentrations in trauma, pediatrics, or adult reconstruction that use or study biologic products.
Learn more and submit your application…(member login required)
