Annals of internal medicine
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In August 2023, a federal appeals court issued an opinion in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v FDA, a case wherein a group of antiabortion medical organizations and physicians have challenged U. S. ⋯ But the court also decided that the FDA's 2016 and 2021 actions expanding the indication for mifepristone, lowering the drug's dose, and loosening restrictions on its distribution and use were likely unlawful, and it thus affirmed the trial court's order staying these actions. In this article, we explain key aspects of the opinion to health care professionals and consider the ways in which the appeals court's reasoning and conclusions, if followed by the Supreme Court, could undermine abortion access and public health going forward.
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Comment Meta Analysis
In older adults, specialty geriatrics care, multicomponent interventions, and cognitive stimulation reduce nursing home admission.
Gaugler JE, Zmora R, Peterson CM, et al. What interventions keep older people out of nursing homes? A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2023;71:3609-3621. 37526432.
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Heart failure affects more than 6 million people in the United States, and hospitalizations for decompensated heart failure confer a heavy toll in morbidity, mortality, and health care costs. Clinical trials have demonstrated effective interventions; however, hospitalization and mortality rates remain high. Key components of effective hospital care include appropriate diagnostic evaluation, triage and risk stratification, early implementation of guideline-directed medical therapy, adequate diuresis, and appropriate discharge planning.
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Breast cancer is the most common cancer among U. S. women and its incidence increases with age. Endogenous estrogen exposure, proliferative benign breast disease, breast density, and family history may also indicate increased risk for breast cancer. ⋯ All women benefit from healthy behaviors which may reduce breast cancer risk. Some women at increased risk for breast cancer may benefit from risk-reducing medications. Use of screening measures remains suboptimal, especially for uninsured women.
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Primary osteoporosis is characterized by decreasing bone mass and density and reduced bone strength that leads to a higher risk for fracture, especially hip and spine fractures. The prevalence of osteoporosis in the United States is estimated at 12.6% for adults older than 50 years. Although it is most frequently diagnosed in White and Asian females, it still affects males and females of all ethnicities. ⋯ The purpose of this paper is to present a review of current performance measures on osteoporosis and inform physicians, payers, and policymakers in their selection of performance measures for this condition. The Performance Measurement Committee identified 6 osteoporosis performance measures relevant to internal medicine physicians, only 1 of which was found valid at all levels of attribution. This paper also proposes a performance measure concept to address a performance gap for the initial approach to therapy for patients with a new diagnosis of osteoporosis based on the current American College of Physicians guideline.