Practice Management
Despite knowing about the risks of Lyme disease when engaging in outdoor activities, less than half of families responding to a survey say they take precautionary measures to avoid tick bites, as published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. The large survey of 44,330 American adults and 28,380 caregivers of young children shows that 88-93% of respondents say they are aware of Lyme disease, yet only 34-40% of adults and 40-42% of children’s caregivers take the …
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Kids who have irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) now have a new treatment option as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this month approved linaclotide for pediatric patients 7 years and older. There is no known underlying cause for IBS-C in children, and symptoms include chronic constipation and abdominal pain. Linaclotide is the first treatment approved for IBS-C in pediatric patients with a recommended dose of 145 mcg orally once daily. A 12-week, double-blind, …
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Kids using nicotine vape products are increasingly becoming daily users, according to a cross sectional study in JAMA Network Open. From 2020 to 2024, overall nicotine vaping among American kids in middle and high school declined, but daily use and dependence increased. In the national study of more than 115,000 youth, past-30-day vaping dropped. However, among current users, daily vaping nearly doubled—from 15.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], 13.1%-18.0%) in 2020 to 28.8% (95%CI, 26.6%-31.0%) in …
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A recent MedCity News survey reveals that providers end up investing about 2-10% of the collection value of their claims on subsequent efforts to chase down payment, scrubbing away at margins and slowing administrative workflows in revenue cycle management. At the same time, 90% of hospital and physician practice respondents say they are at least somewhat interested in artificial intelligence tech tools to make improvements in billing, and about 66% already have experience with such …
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Trends show that some patients are choosing to microdose their glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) prescriptions for diabetes and weight loss, whether a provider advises it or not. It’s believed that microdosing can be helpful to quell significant gastrointestinal side effects or to titrate scheduled dosing with individualized provider recommendations, however, microdosing is still considered unconventional, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA). For example, each semaglutide multidose pen delivers about 72 unnumbered “clicks” …
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A systematic review and meta-analysis of 155 studies evaluated the literature on the link between any viral infection and the odds of heart attack and stroke risk. Authors found influenza and COVID infections raised such risks as much as 3-to-5-fold in the weeks following the initial infection, as published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Also noted in a related news release on the study, overall, the findings suggest acute and chronic viral …
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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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