The Role Of Clinical Waste In Excess US Health Spending “Top Findings From The Literature
Clinical waste is caused by failures of care delivery, failures of care coordination, and overtreatment, accounting for 5.4–15.7 percent of all health spending in the US.
Failures of care delivery account for 2.7–5.7 percent of total US health spending.
Failures of care coordination account for 0.7–2.1 percent of total US health spending.
Overtreatment accounts for 2.0–8.4 percent of total US health spending.”
About Covid-19
Pfizer-BioNTech shot for children under 5 safe and effective, FDA staff says “The analysis by FDA scientists was released ahead of a meeting Wednesday of the agency’s independent experts, who will consider a request for emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the youngest children. It will also review a request from Moderna to use its vaccine in children younger than 6. FDA staff Friday said Moderna’s shot for infants and young children was safe and effective.”
COVID DATA TRACKER WEEKLY REVIEW “As of June 8, 2022, the current 7-day moving average of daily new cases (109,032) increased 8.0% compared with the previous 7-day moving average (100,916). A total of 85,084,715 COVID-19 cases have been reported in the United States as of June 8, 2022.”
About hospitals and healthcare systems
How did 7 gallons of fentanyl go missing from a hospital? Regulators launch investigation “State regulators have suspended the licenses of several leaders at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, N.H., as they investigate how more than seven gallons of fentanyl went missing from the hospital across a four-month period. On June 29, the hospital will find out whether the state's pharmacy board is suspending or revoking its pharmacy permit.”
About pharma
U.S. Supreme Court Rebuffs Opioid Maker Insys Founder's Conviction Appeal “The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected bids by Insys Therapeutics Inc founder John Kapoor and another former executive of the drugmaker to overturn their convictions for conspiring to bribe doctors to prescribe addictive opioids and defraud insurers into paying for them”
CBER Aims to Resume Normal Operations in 2023 “The FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) said it plans to resume normal operations starting calendar year 2023…”
About the public’s health
Inhaled vaccines offer better protection than nasal sprays, study shows “For the study, published online in the journal Frontiers in Immunology, the researchers used a tuberculosis vaccine to compare delivery methods by measuring the distribution of droplets, immune responses and potency in animals.When the vaccine was delivered directly into the lungs it stimulated stronger immune responses, providing much better protection from TB.”
Three articles illustrate the complexity of addressing dietary issues for the public’s health
Calorie counts on menus: Have they helped?“‘Labeling did not have any impact that we could observe on people’s food purchasing behaviors,’ said study author Brian Elbel, a professor of population health and health policy at New York University.”
Diet quality, energy intake do not mediate link between food insecurity and obesity “In findings from the 2015-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, adults experiencing food insecurity had a higher BMI and waist circumference than food-secure individuals. However, energy intake did not explain the associations with BMI or waist circumference, and diet quality only partially mediated the association between food insecurity and waist circumference.”
Association of Socioeconomic and Geographic Factors With Diet Quality in US Adults “In this cross-sectional analysis of 155 331 adults participating in a nationwide US cohort study, Black individuals, White individuals with limited income, participants with low educational attainment, and people living in rural areas or food deserts were more likely to have overall poor diet quality. All dietary components, but especially sugar-sweetened beverages and processed meats, contributed to the disparities observed.”
About healthcare IT
Startup gets green light to use Apple Watch to track Parkinson’s symptoms “The StrivePD system uses Apple’s Movement Disorder API to track tremors and dyskinetic symptoms of Parkinson’s from the Apple Watch. The data is all collected in an iPhone application, which allows patients to record their symptoms and keep tabs on medication.”
About healthcare personnel
‘The New Nurse’ Is the New Normal “Key Findings
Between March 2021 and March 2022, median nursing tenure fell by 19.5%.
Shifts covered by nurses new to the organization in the last 30 days increased in all regions.
The number of 12-hour shifts filled by nurses new to the organization within the last year also rose by 55.5%.”