Articles: health.
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Paediatric otorrhoea (PO) is a symptom-based diagnosis encompassing acute and chronic ear infections that cause otorrhoea in children and young people (CYP). ⋯ To the authors' knowledge, this is the first longitudinal population-based study investigating PO that demonstrates the burden on primary care. Antimicrobial prescribing predominantly follows National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines using oral amoxicillin. Aminoglycosides are the most frequently prescribed topical antibiotic despite the concern of ototoxicity.
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Food as Medicine is increasingly recognized as an important strategy for addressing the related challenges of food insecurity and nutrition-related chronic conditions. Food as Medicine refers to integration of food-based nutrition interventions into healthcare to prevent and treat disease. However, there is limited evidence to understand the effectiveness of Food as Medicine. ⋯ R4H resulted in improvements in diet and multiple clinical health outcomes, such as non-HDL cholesterol and HbA1c.
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Veterans Health Administration (VHA) enrollees may use community hospitals for inpatient care and sometimes require transfer to larger community or VHA hospitals. Little is known about interhospital transfer patterns among veterans using community and VHA hospitals or how coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case surges affected transfer. ⋯ Interhospital transfer was common for veterans with AMI and AIS, especially among rural veterans. Few transfers were to VHA hospitals. COVID-19 case surges were associated with decreased transfer for veterans with AMI, potentially limiting access to needed care.
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Editorial
Direct Primary Care: Financial Analysis and Potential to Reshape the U.S. Healthcare Landscape.
As the United States faces a looming shortage of primary care physicians and escalating rates of clinician burnout, there is a pressing need to explore alternative models of primary care delivery. Direct Primary Care (DPC) is an emerging primary care model in which patients enroll in a membership plan and make direct monthly or yearly payments to a DPC practice for specific primary care services. ⋯ We demonstrate that the DPC practice can yield upwards of $25,000 in annual cost savings over the FFS practice while also providing more personalized patient care. Thus, we argue that the cost-effectiveness and value-based approach of DPC positions the model as a transformative force in reshaping the American healthcare landscape towards a more patient-centric, accessible, and resilient future.
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Norovirus (NoV) has been an emerging pathogen of enteric infections in the post-rotavirus vaccine era. GII.4 have played a major role in NoV infections while other genotypes were reported in sporadic outbreaks. In this study, we reported novel variant NoV GII.12 outbreaks in 2010, Taiwan with their genomic analysis and clinical manifestations compared to GII.4 infections. ⋯ Phylogenetic analysis showed that our GII.12 sequences were closely aligned with reference genomes identified in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. When compared to patients infected by GII.4 NoV, those with GII.12 infection experienced a lower frequency and shorter duration of diarrhea. Continued research is essential to unravel the intricate relationship between NoV genotypes and clinical outcomes, guiding public health interventions and therapeutic strategies.