Comparison of 30-day retention in treatment among patients referred to opioid use disorder treatment from emergency department and telemedicine settings.

INTRODUCTION: Telemedicine is a feasible alternative to in-person evaluations for people with opioid use disorder (OUD). The literature on medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) telemedicine has focused on ongoing OUD treatment. Emergency department (ED) visits are an opportunity to initiate MOUD; however, little is known regarding the outcomes of patients following telemedicine referrals for MOUD from emergency settings. The current study describes rates of initial outpatient clinic appointment attendance and 30-day retention in care among patients referred by telemedicine compared to ED referrals. METHODS: This paper reports a retrospective review of data for patients referred from EDs or telemedicine through the Medication for Addiction Treatment and Electronic Referrals (MATTERS) Network. The MATTERS online platform collects data on patient demographic information (e.g., age, gender, race/ethnicity, and insurance type), reason for visit, prior medical and mental health history, prior OUD treatment history, and past 30-day substance use behaviors. Analyses compared initial visit attendance and 30-day retention among the patients for whom follow-up data were received from clinics by demographic and initial treatment factors. RESULTS: Between October 2020 and September 2022, the MATTERS Network made 1349 referrals; 39.7 % originated from an ED and 47.8 % originated from telemedicine. For patients with available data, those referred from telemedicine were 1.64 times more likely to attend their initial clinic appointment and 2.59 times more likely be engaged in treatment at 30 days compared to those referred from an ED. More than two-thirds of patients referred from the emergency telemedicine environment followed up at their first clinic visit and more than half of these patients were still retained in treatment 30 days after referral. CONCLUSIONS: The rates of initial clinic visit and 30-day retention when referred following a telemedicine evaluation are encouraging. Further development of telemedicine programs that offer evaluations, access to medications, and referrals to treatment should be considered.

Assessing experts' perspectives on challenges in substance misuse prevention, harm reduction, and treatment to shape funding priorities in New York State.

BACKGROUND: Drug overdose is a leading cause of death and opioid-related deaths increased by more than 300% from 2010 to 2020 in New York State. Experts holding a range of senior leadership positions from across New York State were asked to identify the greatest challenges in substance misuse prevention, harm reduction, and treatment continuum of care. Expert input was used to shape funding priorities. METHOD: Individual semi-structured interviews of sixteen experts were conducted in April and May 2023. Experts included academics, medical directors, leaders of substance misuse service agencies, administrators of a state agency, a county mental health commissioner, the president of a pharmacy chain, and a senior vice president of an addiction-related national non-profit. Zoom interviews were conducted individually by an experienced qualitative interviewer and were recorded, transcribed, and coded for content. An initial report, with the results of the interviews organized by thematic content, was reviewed by the research team and emailed to the expert interviewees for feedback. RESULTS: The research team identified five major themes: 1. Siloed and fragmented care delivery systems; 2. Need for a skilled workforce; 3. Attitudes towards addiction (stigma); 4. Limitations in treatment access; and 5. Social and drug related environmental factors. Most experts identified challenges in each major theme; over three-quarters identified issues related to siloed and fragmented systems and the need for a skilled workforce. Each expert mentioned more than one theme, three experts mentioned all five themes and six experts mentioned four themes. CONCLUSIONS: Research, educational, and programmatic agendas should focus on identified topics as a means of improving the lives of patients at risk for or suffering from substance use-related disorders. The results of this project informed funding of pilot interventions designed to address the identified care challenges.

The association of the Affordable Care Act with nutrient consumption in adults in the United States.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as the ACA, was legislation passed in the United States in 2010 to expand access to health insurance coverage for millions of Americans with a key emphasis on preventive care. Nutrition plays a critical role in overall wellness, disease prevention and resilience to chronic illness but prior to the ACA many Americans did not have adequate health insurance coverage to ensure proper nutrition. With passage of the ACA, more individuals received access to nutritional counseling through their primary care physicians as well as prescription vitamins and supplements free of charge. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a national health insurance reform on nutrient intake among general population, including more vulnerable low-income individuals and patients with chronic conditions. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), we identified 8,443 adults aged 21 years and older who participated in the survey before (2011-2012) and after the ACA (2015-2016) implementation and conducted a subgroup analysis of 952 respondents who identified as Medicaid beneficiaries and 719 patients with a history of cancer. Using pre-post study design and bivariate and multivariable logistic analyses, we compared nutrient intake from food and supplementation before and after the ACA and identified risk factors for inadequate intake. Our results suggest that intake of micronutrients found in nutrient-dense foods, mainly fruit and vegetables, has not changed significantly after the ACA. However, overall use of nutritional supplements increased after the ACA (p = 0.05), particularly magnesium (OR = 1.02), potassium (OR = 0.76), vitamin D (both D2, and D3, OR = 1.34), vitamin K (OR = 1.15) and zinc (OR = 0.83), for the general population as well as those in our subgroup analysis Cancer Survivors and Medicaid Recipients. Given the association of increased use of nutritional supplements and expansion of insurance access, particularly in our subgroup analysis, more research is necessary to understand the effect of increasing access to nutritional supplements on the overall intake of micro- and macronutrients to meet daily nutritional recommended allowances.

Safety and efficacy of minimally-invasive parathyroidectomy (MIP) under local anaesthesia without intra-operative PTH measurement.

BACKGROUND: Minimally invasive parathyroidectomy (MIP) is the choice of treatment in patients with sporadic adenomas localized on preoperative imaging. Currently there is no centre in the UK which performs this procedure under local anaesthesia. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of MIP under local anaesthesia in patients with sporadic primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT). METHODS: This is a prospective, nonrandomized study of 86 patients with pHPT localized with Tc99m Sestamibi scan and ultrasound. MIPs were performed under local anaesthesia and sedation at the Oxford University Hospitals. Serum Ca and PTH were measured before discharge, at 6 weeks follow up, and at 6 months. Main outcome measures were cure at 6 months, complications with the procedure and operative time. RESULTS: 86 patients (58 females: 28 males) with a mean age of 65 (range 24-87) underwent MIP under local anaesthesia and sedation. All patients (100%) were normocalcaemic at 6 months following surgery. There was no incidence of temporary or permanent recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy or persistent hypercalcaemia. Two patients had temporary hypocalcaemia that resolved in 6 weeks. In one patient the neck incision needed extension for bleeding, with no incidence of wound haematoma or infection. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that MIP (without ioPTH) can be safely performed under local anaesthesia for patients with sporadic primary hyperparathyroidism.

Public health nursing job descriptions: are they aligned with professional standards?

OBJECTIVES: The American Nurses' Association (ANA) 2007 Public Health Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice along with the Quad Council's PHN competencies frame the practice of public health nurses (PHNs). The preface for ANA's PHN Scope and Standards encourages using the standards as the basis of PHN job descriptions. This study sought to assess the extent to which PHN job descriptions are aligned with the ANA's PHN Scope and Standards and the Quad Council competencies. DESIGN: We obtained PHN job descriptions from 3 local health departments in Illinois and 3 in Washington. Statements from the job descriptions were content analyzed, categorizing statements into the 16 ANA PHN Scope and Standards and using Quad Council competencies as additional definitions of each category. To code all job statements related to PHN practice, 2 categories were added which were MPH competencies from the Associations of Schools of Public Health. Interrater reliability was established. RESULTS: All 18 PHN job descriptions had statements related to Standard 5 Implementation, followed by 94% of the job descriptions having statements related to assessment, planning, coordination of services, health education/health promotion, and collaboration. The least frequently (22%) included standard was outcome identification. CONCLUSIONS: Attention to human resource management is necessary to align job descriptions with current professional scope and standards for basic and advanced PHN practice. The lack of statements regarding Outcome Identification has serious implications for PHN involvement in quality improvement and health planning.

Quality and integration of public health information systems: A systematic review focused on immunization and vital records systems.

OBJECTIVES: Public health professionals rely on quantitative data for the daily practice of public health as well as organizational decision making and planning. However, several factors work against effective data sharing among public health agencies in the US. This review characterizes the reported barriers and enablers of effective use of public health IS from an informatics perspective. METHODS: A systematic review of the English language literature for 2005 to 2011 followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) format. The review focused on immunization information systems (IIS) and vital records information systems (VRIS). Systems were described according to the structural aspects of IS integration and data quality. RESULTS: Articles describing IIS documented issues pertaining to the distribution of the system, the autonomy of the data providers, the heterogeneous nature of information sharing as well as the quality of the data. Articles describing VRIS were focused much more heavily on data quality, particularly whether or not the data were free from errors. CONCLUSIONS: For state and local practitioners to effectively utilize data, public health IS will have to overcome the challenges posed by a large number of autonomous data providers utilizing a variety of technologies.