Practice Management
The percentage of physicians experiencing at least 1 symptom of burnout has fallen below 50% for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, according to the American Medical Association (AMA). The AMA’s 2023 annual survey, which included more than 12,400 physicians from 31 states, revealed a slow decline in burnout from a peak of 62.8% in 2021. Reported burnout levels fell to 53% in 2022 and further decreased to 48.2% in the most recent …
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A study published in the Lancet last week investigated millions of U.S. medical records to determine whether semaglutide increased the risk of neurological and psychiatric conditions within the first year of use compared to 3 other common antidiabetic medications. Authors found no association between semaglutide and a higher risk of the 22 studied conditions (eg, psychosis; bipolar disorder; depression; anxiety; opioid and alcohol use disorder; etc.). In fact, patients on semaglutide showed lower rates of …
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For years, the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions annual survey of healthcare finance leaders found cost reduction was consistently among the top 3 priorities for organizations. However, the latest survey indicates a shift: cost reduction has now fallen to the bottom of the list of priorities—suddenly ranking at number 17 out of 17 choices. At the same time, around 25% of finance leaders reported missing their operating margin targets over the past 3 years. Behind …
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Canada’s public health agency has reported an increase in antimicrobial-resistant gonococcal infections. Data on 3,377 gonorrhea cases revealed that over a span of 2 years, antimicrobial-resistant gonococcal infections increased while gonococcal cultures demonstrating resistance rose from 24.8% in 2020 to 44.5% in 2021. Resistance to ciprofloxacin was most prevalent, rising from 46.6% of cases in 2020 to 63.1% in 2021. More than 80% of the gonorrhea cases studied were among males, and 55.5% of those …
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In Texas, nurse practitioners (NPs) are advocating for legislation that would allow them to practice independently without physician oversight. Texas is 1 of just 11 states that require such supervision. Although the policy proposal still has a long way to go, medical professionals are using the interim to chime in on the pros and cons—including the enhanced capabilities with physician-led care as well as the costs of physician engagement, which could start at $50,000 a …
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Hospitals in several states are experiencing high rates of heat-related emergencies, based on updated data reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Surprisingly, the areas most affected by heat illnesses are not necessarily those known for having the highest temperatures. Although temperatures typically reach 100°F and higher in the South and Southwest, the highest numbers of heat-related emergency department (ED) visits are now occurring in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Mountain West, …
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Cases of COVID-19 have surged in emergency departments (EDs) over recent weeks, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and surges are now demonstrating upward slopes that could lead to peaks similar to what communities might expect in the cooler months of fall. The weekly average of ED patients with COVID-19 has reached 1.18% in the United States overall but 2.9% in Florida, making the “sunshine state” a leader …
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A recent survey conducted by Physicians Practice provides some benchmarking insight for operators regarding staff salaries. According to survey respondents, more than a quarter of them say their full-time nurse practitioners earn within the range of $100,000-$125,000; only a small percentage earn less than $75,000 a year. As for medical assistants, the largest portion of survey respondents (37%) pin those salaries in the range of $30,000 to $40,000 a year with another 23% saying they …
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According to several news outlets, Walmart has been in the boardroom with Humana to discuss a potential sale of the Walmart Health clinics that have closed up shop in recent weeks after Walmart decided to get out of the business. Most likely, Humana—a large managed care organization with 674,000 covered lives—won’t be the only possible suitor for the clinics. Humana already operates CenterWell Senior Primary Care with 250 clinics in 40 states, so it has …
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A new study in Emerging Infections Diseases describes 5 children who had Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) and manifested clinical symptoms similar to multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) in Mexico. Although the number of cases was small, it may be an important differential because Rocky Mountain spotted fever can progress rapidly to death or severe illness if appropriate antimicrobial drug therapy is not delivered within the first 5 days after illness onset. Among the 5 cases, …
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