112 research outputs found

    The Tar and Nicotine Tax: Pursuing PublicHealth Through Tax Incentives:

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    PHarmacist Avoidance or Reductions in Medical Costs in CRITically Ill Adults: PHARM-CRIT Study

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    OBJECTIVES: To comprehensively classify interventions performed by ICU clinical pharmacists and quantify cost avoidance generated through their accepted interventions. DESIGN: A multicenter, prospective, observational study was performed between August 2018 and January 2019. SETTING: Community hospitals and academic medical centers in the United States. PARTICIPANTS: ICU clinical pharmacists. INTERVENTIONS: Recommendations classified into one of 38 intervention categories (divided into six unique sections) associated with cost avoidance. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Two-hundred fifteen ICU pharmacists at 85 centers performed 55,926 interventions during 3,148 shifts that were accepted on 27,681 adult patient days and generated 23,404,089ofcostavoidance.Thequantityofacceptedinterventionsandcostavoidancegeneratedinsixestablishedsectionswasadversedrugeventprevention(5,777interventions;23,404,089 of cost avoidance. The quantity of accepted interventions and cost avoidance generated in six established sections was adverse drug event prevention (5,777 interventions; 5,822,539 CA), resource utilization (12,630 interventions; 4,491,318),individualizationofpatientcare(29,284interventions;4,491,318), individualization of patient care (29,284 interventions; 9,680,036 cost avoidance), prophylaxis (1,639 interventions; 1,414,465costavoidance),handsoncare(1,828interventions;1,414,465 cost avoidance), hands-on care (1,828 interventions; 1,339,621 cost avoidance), and administrative/supportive tasks (4,768 interventions; 656,110costavoidance).Meancostavoidancewas656,110 cost avoidance). Mean cost avoidance was 418 per intervention, 845perpatientday,and845 per patient day, and 7,435 per ICU pharmacist shift. The annualized cost avoidance from an ICU pharmacist is 1,784,302.Thepotentialmonetarycostavoidancetopharmacistsalaryratiowasbetween1,784,302. The potential monetary cost avoidance to pharmacist salary ratio was between 3.3:1 and 9.6:1.CONCLUSIONS:Pharmacistinvolvementinthecareofcriticallyillpatientsresultsinsignificantavoidanceofhealthcarecosts,particularlyintheareasofindividualizationofpatientcare,adversedrugeventprevention,andresourceutilization.ThepotentialmonetarycostavoidancetopharmacistsalaryratioemployinganICUclinicalpharmacistisbetween9.6:1. CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacist involvement in the care of critically ill patients results in significant avoidance of healthcare costs, particularly in the areas of individualization of patient care, adverse drug event prevention, and resource utilization. The potential monetary cost avoidance to pharmacist salary ratio employing an ICU clinical pharmacist is between 3.3:1 and $9.6:1

    PHarmacist Avoidance or Reductions in Medical Costs in Patients Presenting the EMergency Department: PHARM-EM Study

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    Objectives: To comprehensively classify interventions performed by emergency medicine clinical pharmacists and quantify cost avoidance generated through their accepted interventions. Design: A multicenter, prospective, observational study was performed between August 2018 and January 2019. Setting: Community and academic hospitals in the United States. Participants: Emergency medicine clinical pharmacists. Interventions: Recommendations classified into one of 38 intervention categories associated with cost avoidance. Measurements and Main Results: Eighty-eight emergency medicine pharmacists at 49 centers performed 13,984 interventions during 917 shifts that were accepted on 8,602 patients and generated 7,531,862ofcostavoidance.Thequantityofacceptedinterventionsandcostavoidancegeneratedinsixestablishedcategorieswereasfollows:adversedrugeventprevention(1,631interventions;7,531,862 of cost avoidance. The quantity of accepted interventions and cost avoidance generated in six established categories were as follows: adverse drug event prevention (1,631 interventions; 2,225,049 cost avoidance), resource utilization (628; 310,582),individualizationofpatientcare(6,122;310,582), individualization of patient care (6,122; 1,787,170), prophylaxis (24; 22,804),handsoncare(3,533;22,804), hands-on care (3,533; 2,836,811), and administrative/supportive tasks (2,046; 342,881).Meancostavoidancewas342,881). Mean cost avoidance was 538.61 per intervention, 875.60perpatient,and875.60 per patient, and 8,213.59 per emergency medicine pharmacist shift. The annualized cost avoidance from an emergency medicine pharmacist was 1,971,262.Themonetarycostavoidancetopharmacistsalaryratiowasbetween1,971,262. The monetary cost avoidance to pharmacist salary ratio was between 1.4:1 and 10.6:1.Conclusions:Pharmacistinvolvementinthecareofpatientspresentingtotheemergencydepartmentresultsinsignificantavoidanceofhealthcarecosts,particularlyintheareasofhandsoncareandadversedrugeventprevention.Thepotentialmonetarybenefittocostratioforemergencymedicinepharmacistsisbetween10.6:1. Conclusions: Pharmacist involvement in the care of patients presenting to the emergency department results in significant avoidance of healthcare costs, particularly in the areas of hands-on care and adverse drug event prevention. The potential monetary benefit-to-cost ratio for emergency medicine pharmacists is between 1.4:1 and $10.6:1

    Promotion of variant human mammary epithelial cell outgrowth by ionizing radiation: an agent-based model supported by in vitro studies

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    IntroductionMost human mammary epithelial cells (HMEC) cultured from histologically normal breast tissues enter a senescent state termed stasis after 5 to 20 population doublings. These senescent cells display increased size, contain senescence associated beta-galactosidase activity, and express cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, p16INK4A (CDKN2A; p16). However, HMEC grown in a serum-free medium, spontaneously yield, at low frequency, variant (v) HMEC that are capable of long-term growth and are susceptible to genomic instability. We investigated whether ionizing radiation, which increases breast cancer risk in women, affects the rate of vHMEC outgrowth.MethodsPre-stasis HMEC cultures were exposed to 5 to 200 cGy of sparsely (X- or gamma-rays) or densely (1 GeV/amu 56Fe) ionizing radiation. Proliferation (bromodeoxyuridine incorporation), senescence (senescence-associated beta-galactosidase activity), and p16 expression were assayed in subcultured irradiated or unirradiated populations four to six weeks following radiation exposure, when patches of vHMEC became apparent. Long-term growth potential and p16 promoter methylation in subsequent passages were also monitored. Agent-based modeling, incorporating a simple set of rules and underlying assumptions, was used to simulate vHMEC outgrowth and evaluate mechanistic hypotheses.ResultsCultures derived from irradiated cells contained significantly more vHMEC, lacking senescence associated beta-galactosidase or p16 expression, than cultures derived from unirradiated cells. As expected, post-stasis vHMEC cultures derived from both unirradiated and irradiated cells exhibited more extensive methylation of the p16 gene than pre-stasis HMEC cultures. However, the extent of methylation of individual CpG sites in vHMEC samples did not correlate with passage number or treatment. Exposure to sparsely or densely ionizing radiation elicited similar increases in the numbers of vHMEC compared to unirradiated controls. Agent-based modeling indicated that radiation-induced premature senescence of normal HMEC most likely accelerated vHMEC outgrowth through alleviation of spatial constraints. Subsequent experiments using defined co-cultures of vHMEC and senescent cells supported this mechanism.ConclusionsOur studies indicate that ionizing radiation can promote the outgrowth of epigenetically altered cells with pre-malignant potential

    Neptune to the Common-wealth of England (1652): the republican Britannia and the continuity of interests

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    In the seventeenth century, John Kerrigan reminds us, “models of empire did not always turn on monarchy”. In this essay, I trace a vision of “Neptune’s empire” shared by royalists and republicans, binding English national interest to British overseas expansion. I take as my text a poem entitled “Neptune to the Common-wealth of England”, prefixed to Marchamont Nedham’s 1652 English translation of Mare Clausum (1635), John Selden’s response to Mare Liberum (1609) by Hugo Grotius. This minor work is read alongside some equally obscure and more familiar texts in order to point up the ways in which it speaks to persistent cultural and political interests. I trace the afterlife of this verse, its critical reception and its unique status as a fragment that exemplifies the crossover between colonial republic and imperial monarchy at a crucial moment in British history, a moment that, with Brexit, remains resonant

    Tertiary Lymphoid Structures:Autoimmunity Goes Local

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    Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) are frequently observed in target organs of autoimmune diseases. TLS present features of secondary lymphoid organs such as segregated T and B cell zones, presence of follicular dendritic cell networks, high endothelial venules and specialized lymphoid fibroblasts and display the mechanisms to support local adaptive immune responses toward locally displayed antigens. TLS detection in the tissue is often associated with poor prognosis of disease, auto-antibody production and malignancy development. This review focuses on the contribution of TLS toward the persistence of the inflammatory drive, the survival of autoreactive lymphocyte clones and post-translational modifications, responsible for the pathogenicity of locally formed autoantibodies, during autoimmune disease development
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