Journal of general internal medicine
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Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) serve diverse communities in the United States (U.S.) and could function as important venues to diagnose and treat hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. ⋯ Fewer than 20% of individuals with identified OUD were tested for HCV. SVR was lower than findings in other real-world cohorts. Measures to improve outcomes should be considered with the expansion of HCV management into community clinics.
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Scheduled regular contact with the general practitioner (GP) may lower the risk of potentially avoidable hospitalisations (PAHs). Despite the high prevalence of multimorbidity, little is known about its effect on the relationship between regularity of GP contact and PAHs. ⋯ Weakening of the association between regularity and PAHs with increasing levels of multimorbidity suggests a need to improve primary care support to prevent PAHs for patients with multimorbidity.
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Updating national trends in diabetes management is important for identifying areas of progress and remaining gaps in diabetes care. ⋯ Despite notable improvements, declines in glycemic control and adherence to dietary recommendations may be growing challenges in diabetes care.
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Low levels of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake continue among the most vulnerable (e.g., men who have sex with men) for HIV exposure in the USA. Providers of social and public health services ("psychosocial providers") can help improve this situation by educating patients about PrEP before linking them to primary care providers (PCPs). ⋯ Both IPC and HIV training are predictive of PrEP education, and this association was maintained over time. We recommend expanding educational outreach efforts to psychosocial providers to further improve PrEP education and also training in interprofessional collaboration. This is an important first step toward linking patients to PCPs who prescribe PrEP and may help improve PrEP uptake.
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The June 6, 2019, implementation of the VA Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks (MISSION) Act commenced a new era in health care for Veterans in which the more than 9 million Veterans who use VA care can now choose community (i.e., non-VA) clinicians or facilities when certain new criteria are met. This expansion of Veterans' health care options could give many Veterans more freedom to decide which settings best meet their individual needs and expectations, and could also lead to unintended consequences for Veterans who do not have all of the information they need to make personalized decisions about VA and community care. In this Perspective article, we recommend initial steps that VA leaders and VA clinicians need to take, and community clinicians should be aware of, in order to ensure that Veterans' expanded health care options translate into improvements in their access and outcomes.