Medical care
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Although influenza vaccination is recommended for all nursing home residents and is covered by Medicare, racial inequities remain. ⋯ Michigan statewide vaccination inequity among nursing home residents results from blacks disproportionately living in nursing homes where vaccination coverage is lowest. The inequity between facilities can be attributed to facility-level difference in offering.
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Review
Use of patient-reported outcomes in randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials.
To optimize the use of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in clinical research, it is first necessary to review the current use of these outcomes in clinical trials to determine under what circumstances they are most useful, and to reveal current limitations. ⋯ PRO instruments may be improved through efforts to provide centralized electronic administration, cross-validation, and standardized interpretation of clinically relevant outcomes. The majority of PROs used in current clinical trials come from relatively few, commonly used disease-specific PRO instruments within major therapeutic areas.
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In October 2008, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services discontinued reimbursement for hospital-acquired pressure ulcers (HAPUs), thus placing stress on hospitals to prevent incidence of this costly condition. ⋯ This study suggests that it is more cost effective to pay for prevention of HAPUs compared with standard care. Continuous preventive care of HAPUs in acutely ill patients could potentially reduce incidence and prevalence, as well as lead to lower expenditures.