Provincetown statistic being misinterpreted
Misinformation and misunderstanding about vaccine efficacy have abounded recently, potentially sparked by what seemed to be worrying data out of Provincetown, Massachusetts, reported last week by the CDC.
But that doesn't by any stretch of the imagination mean that three-quarters of vaccinated people are getting COVID.
In addition to this being one particular outbreak, as vaccination rates increase overall, a larger proportion of cases will occur in the vaccinated -- it's just simple math.
|
|
Meeting Safely and
Responsibly in Cincinnati!
Designated for 15 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
Meeting rooms will allow attendees
to spread out and remain at least 6-feet apart.
We have also reserved the largest outdoor suite
for the Cincinnati Reds game on Saturday
so attendees will have a lot of elbow room!
|
If you have any questions, contact
|
|
Is your health care organization reeling from a bad EHR implementation?
There have been rumblings from hospital leadership and congressional committees about the Veterans Administration (VA) Hospitals’ implementation of the Cerner Corporation electronic health record (EHR) replacing the VistA EHR. The $10 million EHR overhaul has been controversial since the staggered rollout started in Spokane, Washington. One report noted that months after the go-live, fewer users knew how to operate the system well.
From the perspective of an outside informaticist, such frustration can be multifactorial. The typical issues are made worse by the COVID-19 hospital restrictions on normal hospital operations. However, many of these issues could have been mitigated by offering expanded in-person expert support to hospital staff supported by virtual technical assistance.
|
|
Leaders call for decarbonization, disaster preparedness as climate change worsens
Following the United Nations' warning of an intensifying climate emergency in the coming decades, health experts have demanded government and industry action that will prepare medical systems for natural disasters, as well as slashing greenhouse gas emissions.
The U.N. report, issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), found that temperatures on Earth have risen so much that there is no way to prevent extreme weather from getting worse in the next 30 years.
Several groups and medical societies have called on the federal government to implement policies that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Sixty healthcare organizations -- including the American Lung Association, the American Heart Association, and the American Psychological Association -- wrote a letter to Congress today, demanding that current legislative efforts on infrastructure include a package that would cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030.
|
|
Private equity firms are buying up hospitals, nursing homes, and ER operations. The drive for profits can run counter to helping patients, critics say.
In March, as the coronavirus gripped the nation, veteran emergency room doctor Ming Lin was growing concerned. Lin felt his facility, PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, Washington, was unprepared for the pandemic, so he went to his superiors for help.
Frustrated by their response, Lin took to social media, criticizing the hospital's operations in a series of posts.
Days later, the hospital removed Lin from the rotation in the emergency department. He had worked at PeaceHealth for 17 years.
|
|
"If you have had COVID-19 before, please still get vaccinated," says CDC Director
Unvaccinated adults who were previously infected with COVID-19 were twice as likely to be reinfected as those previously infected but also fully vaccinated, researchers found.
A case-control study in Kentucky found a more than two times higher risk of COVID-19 cases among unvaccinated adults with prior infection compared with their fully vaccinated counterparts (OR 2.34, 95% CI 1.58-3.47), reported Alyson Cavanaugh, PhD, of the CDC, and colleagues, writing in an early edition of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Notably, the data were from May to June 2021, prior to reports of the Delta variant becoming the predominant strain in the U.S.
|
|
ASIPP® is pleased to offer a new feature for
its members to help provide value to you and your practice.
Click here to visit ASIPP®'s newly created site where you can
make purchases on our Amazon Store, learn more about and
join the ASIPP® GPO and ASIPP®’s partnership with
Fedora Billing & Revenue Cycle Management Company.
|
|
"Unsatisfactory" for screening asymptomatic people, say German lab professionals
Two widely used rapid screening tests for COVID-19, which check for SARS-CoV-2 antigens, missed a significant fraction of infected individuals when used in a real-world setting, researchers reported.
Among 2,215 "all-comers" tested at a German diagnostics lab, with 338 ultimately showing positive results with PCR testing, Roche's SD Biosensor and Abbott's Panbio rapid antigen tests showed overall sensitivities of 60.4% and 56.8%, respectively, reported Christoph Wertenauer, of Synlab GmbH in Augsburg and the University of Heidelberg in Mannheim, and colleagues.
"The sensitivities of the two [rapid diagnostic tests] are unsatisfactory. This calls into question whether their widespread use is effective in the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic," the group wrote in a manuscript posted to the medRxiv preprint server.
|
|
A proposed LCD on Epidural Procedures for Pain Management services was announced on June 10, 2021. This nationwide policy contains many onerous changes that will detrimentally affect patient access to care. ASIPP has written comment letters with detailed explanations of the issues and needed changes to each Medicare Contractor. The following are examples of the ASIPP comment letters:
|
|
Pain Medicine Case Reports (PMCR) and Editor-in-Chief Alaa Abd-Elsayed, MD, PhD would like to invite you to submit case reports and case series to the PMCR journal. Your article will be published free of charge.
Open access journals are freely available online for immediate worldwide open access to the full text of published articles. There is no subscription fee for open access journals. Open access journals are no different from traditional subscription-based journals: they undergo the same peer-review and quality control as any other scholarly journal.
Interested in becoming a member of the PMCR Editorial Board?
Editorial board members are asked to review 2-6 manuscripts per year. Please submit your most up-to-date CV to sgold@asipp.org for consideration.
For more information or to submit your articles, click here.
|
|
| CASE REPORT |
Jessica S. Sheeran, MD, Samuel J. MacCormick, MBBCh,
and Lynn R. Kohan, MD
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Epidural blood patch (EBP) procedure timing can be difficult in patients on anticoagulant therapy when balancing the goals of EBP, safety, and efficacy.
CASE REPORT: We present the case of a patient on anticoagulant therapy with low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) who presented for a planned cesarean section which was complicated by dural puncture with a Tuohy needle during combined spinal-epidural placement. She then developed a postdural puncture headache (PDPH) after restarting LMWH. After holding LMWH for 18 hours, an EBP was placed resulting in symptomatic relief; LMWH was restarted 12 hours later. However, her symptoms returned and EBP was repeated 78 hours after the initial blood patch, again with relief of symptoms.
|
|
| PROSPECTIVE STUDY |
The Effect of Social Isolation During
the COVID-19 Pandemic on Patients
with Chronic Low Back Pain Who
Underwent a Spine Intervention
Ayca Uran San, MD, Serdar Kesikburun, MD, and Kutay Tezel, MD
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 infection poses a serious threat to global health for millions of people. In addition to therapeutic treatment methods, preventive measures are also important in controlling the pandemic. As a result, billions of people are quarantined in their homes to prevent the spread of coronavirus. However, social isolation may result in immobility, which can lead to musculoskeletal problems and an increased level of pain, depending on the weakness of the muscles.
OBJECTIVES: To examine the effect of social isolation during the recent COVID-19 pandemic on patients with chronic low back pain.
|
|
| RETROSPECTIVE STUDY |
Brook T. Alemu, PhD, Olaniyi Olayinka, MD, and Brian C. Martin, PhD
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Although the clinical significance and treatment management of opioid use disorder (OUD) is sufficiently discussed, utilization of healthcare services associated with OUD has not been adequately studied in the United States.
OBJECTIVE: To provide a descriptive assessment of the utilization of health care services for adults with OUD in the United States.
|
|
KSIPP ANNUAL MEETING
Location: Intercontinental Kansas City at The Plaza
|
|
CALSIPP ANNUAL MEETING
Location: Terranea Resort, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
|
|
Registration & Agendas Coming Soon! |
|
Since this malpractice insurance program officially launched in November 2018, ASIPP has signed up hundreds of providers with an average savings of 30%. This is professional liability insurance tailored to our specialty and will stand up for us and defend our practices.
Norcal Mutual is 'A' Rated by AM best and is license in all 50 states. To read a few important points to keep in mind about the program, including discounts, administrative defense, cyber coverage, aggressive claims handling, and complimentary award-winning risk management CME activities, click here.
|
|
ASIPP® is now offering our members the benefit of a unique revenue cycle management/ billing service. We have received a tremendous amount of interest in the ASIPP® billing and coding program.
Click here to learn more about the negotiated rate for practices and more!
|
ASIPP® has formed a partnership with Henry Schein and PedsPal, a national GPO that has a successful history of negotiating better prices on medical supplies and creating value-added services for the independent physician. Working with MedAssets, PedsPal provides excellent pricing on products like contrast media that alleviate some of the financial pressures you experience today.
|
|
up-to-date news related to you, your practice, and your patients!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
