Designing and Evaluating COVID-19 Protocols for an Office-Based Opioid Treatment Program in an Urban Underserved Setting.

BACKGROUND: Despite changing federal regulations for providing telehealth services and provision of controlled substances during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is little guidance available for office-based opioid treatment (OBOT) programs integrated into primary care settings. PURPOSE: (1) Develop disaster-preparedness protocols specific to the COVID-19 pandemic for an urban OBOT program, and (2) evaluate the impacts of the protocol and telehealth on care. METHODS: Disaster-preparedness protocols specific to the COVID-19 pandemic were developed for an urban OBOT program, implemented on March 16, 2020. Retrospective chart review compared patients from January 1, 2020 to March 13, 2020, to patients from March 16, 2020 to April 30, 2020, abstracting patient demographics and comparing show and no-show rates between studied groups. RESULTS: The disaster-preparedness protocol was developed under a deliberative process to address social issues of the urban underserved population. Of 852 visits conducted between Jan 1, 2020, and April 30, 2020, a 91.7% show rate (n = 166/181) was documented for telemedicine visits after protocol implementation compared with a 74.1% show rate (n = 497/671) for routine in-person care ( CONCLUSIONS: OBOTs require organized workflows to continue to provide services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Telemedicine, in the face of relaxed federal regulations, has the opportunity to enhance addiction care, creating a more convenient as well as an equally effective mechanism for OBOTs to deliver care that should inform future policy

Vaccinating in Pregnancy: Opportunities and Challenges.

The continuum of preconception, antenatal period, fourth trimester, and interconception period are a critical time for comprehensive care to advance maternal-child health and deliver family-centered care. Immunizations are a key component of this care delivery; however, there are intricacies around indications of vaccinations during this key period. Both active immunity to the individual receiving the vaccine as well as passive immunity passed to the fetus during pregnancy highlight the benefits of this care. Understanding the indications and benefits of vaccine administration during this continuum is critical for providers caring for individuals of reproductive age

Increased emergency department computed tomography use for common chest symptoms without clear patient benefits.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine changes in the utilization of computed tomography (CT) in the evaluation of common chest symptoms and the rate of clinically significant diagnoses in emergency departments after 2004. METHODS: This study analyzed the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, comparing 1997 to 1999 and 2005 to 2007. Set in US emergency departments, individuals older than 14 years old were eligible. The main outcome was proportion of common chest symptom-related visits (n = 17,098) associated with a CT order before 2000 and after 2004. Secondary outcomes were the proportion of these visits associated with a clinically significant diagnosis (pulmonary embolism, acute myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome, heart failure, pneumonia, and pleural effusion); an incidental diagnosis such as lung mass; and a clinically nonsignificant diagnosis such as nonspecific chest pain. RESULTS: The proportion of common chest symptom-related visits associated with a CT order increased from 2.1% in 1997 to 1999 to 11.5% in 2005 to 2007 (P \u3c .001), whereas the overall proportion of these visits associated with a clinically significant diagnosis decreased from 23.6% in 1997 to 1999 to 19.1% in 2005 to 2007 (P \u3c .001).The rate of acute myocardial infarction diagnosis decreased from 6.6% to 3.3% (P \u3c .001), whereas the rate of pulmonary embolism diagnosis did not change (0.33% vs. 0.47%; P = .24) from 1997 to 1999 to 2005 to 2007. The rate of incidental diagnoses did not change (0.13% vs. 0.17%; P = .69), whereas the rate of clinically nonsignificant diagnoses increased from 35.6% to 45.8% (P \u3c .001) from 1997 to 1999 to 2005 to 2007. CONCLUSIONS: CT ordering in emergency departments for the evaluation of common chest symptoms has increased dramatically without improving the rate of pulmonary embolism or other clinically significant diagnoses. Overuse of CT exposes patients to radiation and increases health care costs without any apparent diagnostic benefit

Guidelines and Policies: Implications for Individual and Population Health.

Rising rates of prescription opioids for chronic pain from the 1990s along with a concomitant worsening overdose crisis led to rapid evaluation and public health strategies to curb problems with prescription opioids. Guideline development, grounded in solid theory but based on limited evidence that translated into rigid and discordant policies, has contributed to controversies in pain management, worsening the treatment experience for people experiencing chronic pain and highlighting existing inequities from a system clouded with systemic racism. Newer public health approaches need to evaluate root causes and be more holistic addressing inequities as well as using trauma-informed principles