To investigate the effects of discharge opioid supply after surgery for musculoskeletal injury on subsequent opioid use.
Instrumental variables analysis of retrospective administrative data.
Data ...were acquired on 1039 patients treated operatively for a musculoskeletal injury between 2011 and 2015 at 2 level I trauma centers. State registry data were used to track all postoperative opioid prescription fills. Discharge surgical resident was identified for each patient. We categorized residents in the top one-third of opioid prescribing as high-supply residents and others as low-supply residents, with adjustment for service attending physician and month. The primary outcome was subsequent opioid use, defined as new opioid prescriptions and cumulative prescribed opioid supply 7 to 8 months after injury.
On average, patients of high-supply residents received an additional 96 morphine milligram equivalents (MME) at discharge (95% CI, 29-163 MME; P < .01), or 16% more, compared with patients of low-supply residents, which is equivalent to an additional 2-day supply at a typical dosage. In the seventh or eighth month after surgery, patients of high-supply residents received a greater total MME volume than patients of low-supply residents (difference, 13.0 MME; 95% CI, 3.1-22.9 MME; P < .01) despite receiving a greater cumulative supply of opioid medications through the sixth month after surgery.
After surgery for musculoskeletal injury, patients discharged by residents who prescribe greater supplies of opioid pain medications received higher supplies of opioids 7 to 8 months after surgery than patients discharged by residents who tend to prescribe less. Thus, limiting postoperative supplies of opioid pain medication may help reduce chronic opioid use.
Nutrition is a daily challenge for the homeless population in America. Homeless individuals suffer from a high prevalence of diseases related to poor diet, yet there has been little public health ...effort to improve nutrition in this population. Shelters and soup kitchens may have an untapped potential to impact food access, choice and quality. We offer ideas for intervention and lessons learned from ten shelters and soup kitchens around Greater Boston, MA, USA. By advancing food quality, education and policies in shelters and soup kitchens, the homeless population can be given an opportunity to restore its nutrition and health.
Aims
To examine how the risks of incident opioid use disorder (OUD), non‐fatal and fatal overdose have changed over time among opioid‐naive individuals receiving an initial opioid prescription.
...Design
Retrospective, longitudinal study using the Massachusetts Chapter 55 data set, which linked multiple administrative data sets to study the opioid epidemic. We identified the cumulative incidence of OUD, non‐fatal and fatal overdose among the opioid‐naive initiating opioid treatment in Massachusetts from 2011 to 2014 and estimated rates of these outcomes at 6 months and at 1, 2, 3 and 4 years to 2015. We used Cox regression to examine the association between characteristics of the initial prescription and risk of these outcomes.
Setting
Massachusetts, USA.
Participants
Massachusetts residents aged ≥ 11 years in 2011–15 who were opioid‐naive (no opioid prescriptions or evidence of OUD in the 6 months prior to the index prescription) (n = 2 154 426). The mean age was 49.1 years, 55.3% were female and 47.3% had commercial insurance.
Measurements
Opioid prescriptions were identified in the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) database, as were the characteristics of the initial prescription database. The outcomes of OUD and non‐fatal overdose were identified from claims in the All Payer Claims Database (APCD) and hospital encounters in the acute hospital case mix files. Fatal overdoses were identified using Registry of Vital Records and Statistics (RVRS) death certificates and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) circumstances of death and toxicology reports.
Findings
Among opioid‐naive individuals receiving an initial opioid prescription, the risk of incident OUD appears to have declined between 2011 and 2014, while rates of overdose were largely unchanged. For example, the 1‐year OUD rate was 1.18% in 2011, 1.11% in 2012, 1.26% in 2013 and 0.94% in 2014. Longer therapy duration was associated with higher risk of OUD hazard ratio (HR) = 2.24, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.19–2.29 for duration of 3 or more months, non‐fatal (HR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.53–1.82) and fatal opioid overdose (HR = 2.24, 95% CI = 1.91–2.61). Concurrent benzodiazepine treatment was also associated with higher risk of OUD (HR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.12–1.17), non‐fatal (HR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.10–1.30) and fatal overdose (HR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.61–2.16).
Conclusions
Among opioid‐naive individuals in Massachusetts receiving an initial opioid prescription, the risk of incident opioid use disorder appears to have declined between 2011 and 2014, while rates of overdose were largely unchanged. Longer therapy duration and concurrent benzodiazepines were associated with higher rates of opioid use disorder and opioid overdose.
We determined the impact of obtaining housing on geriatric conditions and acute care utilization among older homeless adults.
We conducted a 12-month prospective cohort study of 250 older homeless ...adults recruited from shelters in Boston, Massachusetts, between January and June 2010. We determined housing status at follow-up, determined number of emergency department visits and hospitalizations over 12 months, and examined 4 measures of geriatric conditions at baseline and 12 months. Using multivariable regression models, we evaluated the association between obtaining housing and our outcomes of interest.
At 12-month follow-up, 41% of participants had obtained housing. Compared with participants who remained homeless, those with housing had fewer depressive symptoms. Other measures of health status did not differ by housing status. Participants who obtained housing had a lower rate of acute care use, with an adjusted annualized rate of acute care visits of 2.5 per year among participants who obtained housing and 5.3 per year among participants who remained homeless.
Older homeless adults who obtained housing experienced improved depressive symptoms and reduced acute care utilization compared with those who remained homeless.
It is challenging to create an educational and satisfying experience in the outpatient setting. We developed a 3‐year ambulatory curriculum that addresses the special needs of our categorical ...medicine residents with distinct learning objectives for each year of training and clinical experiences and didactic sessions to meet these goals. All PGY1 residents spend 1 month on a general medicine ambulatory care rotation. PGY2 residents spend 3 months on an ambulatory block focusing on 8 core medicine subspecialties. Third‐year residents spend 2 months on an advanced ambulatory rotation. The curriculum was started in July 2000 and has been highly regarded by the house staff, with statistically significant improvements in the PGY2 and PGY3 evaluation scores. By enhancing outpatient clinical teaching and didactics with an emphasis on the specific needs of our residents, we have been able to reframe the thinking and attitudes of a group of inpatient‐oriented residents.
BACKGROUND
Homeless people have high rates of hospitalization and emergency department (ED) use. Obtaining adequate food is a common concern among homeless people and may influence health care ...utilization.
OBJECTIVE
We tested the hypothesis that food insufficiency is related to higher rates of hospitalization and ED use in a national sample of homeless adults.
DESIGN
We analyzed data from the 2003 Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) User Survey.
PARTICIPANTS
Participants were 966 adults surveyed at 79 HCH clinic sites throughout the US. The study sample was representative of over 436,000 HCH clinic users nationally.
MEASURES
We determined the prevalence and characteristics of food insufficiency among respondents. Using multivariable logistic regression, we examined the association between food insufficiency and four past-year acute health services utilization outcomes: (1) hospitalization for any reason, (2) psychiatric hospitalization, (3) any ED use, and (4) high ED use (≥4 visits).
RESULTS
Overall, 25% of respondents reported food insufficiency. Among them, 68% went a whole day without eating in the past month. Chronically homeless (p = 0.01) and traumatically victimized (p = 0.001) respondents were more likely to be food insufficient. In multivariable analyses, food insufficiency was associated with significantly greater odds of hospitalization for any reason (AOR 1.59, 95% CI 1.07, 2.36), psychiatric hospitalization (AOR 3.12, 95% CI 1.73, 5.62), and high ED utilization (AOR 2.83, 95% CI 1.32, 6.08).
CONCLUSIONS
One-fourth of homeless adults in this national survey were food insufficient, and this was associated with increased odds of acute health services utilization. Addressing the adverse health services utilization patterns of homeless adults will require attention to the social circumstances that may contribute to this issue.
The recent article by Lin et al. provides an important analysis of frequent emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations among individuals who are homeless and have Medicaid.1 They presented ...interesting findings regarding implications for Medicaid expansion in this population, such as potential adoption of the Health Home option. According to several articles cited by Milani, along with the studies cited by these articles, thresholds range from as few as two to 12 or more visits per year. Homeless individuals experience much higher health care utilization than the general population.4,5 The average number of ED visits in our study reached four visits per year and a group of individuals showed high ED use.
In 2015, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) adopted a Title V maternal and child health priority to "promote health and racial equity by addressing racial justice and reducing ...disparities." A survey assessing staff capacity to support this priority identified data collection and use as opportunities for improvement. In response, MDPH initiated a quality improvement project to improve use of data for action to promote racial equity.
MDPH conducted value stream mapping to understand existing processes for using data to inform racial equity work. Key informant interviews and a survey of program directors identified challenges to using data to promote racial equity. MDPH used a cause-and-effect diagram to identify and organize challenges to using data to inform racial equity work and better understand opportunities for improvement and potential solutions.
Key informants highlighted the need to consider structural factors and historical and community contexts when interpreting data. Program directors noted limited staff time, lack of performance metrics, competing priorities, low data quality, and unclear expectations as challenges. To address the identified challenges, the team identified potential solutions and prioritized development and piloting of the MDPH Racial Equity Data Road Map (Road Map).
The Road Map framework provides strategies for data collection and use that support the direction of actionable data-driven resources to racial inequities. The Road Map is a resource to support programs to authentically engage communities; frame data in the broader contexts that impact health; and design solutions that address root causes. With this starting point, public health systems can work toward creating data-driven programs and policies to improve racial equity.
Homeless women have disproportionately lower rates of cervical cancer screening and higher rates of cervical cancer. In 2008, only 19% of the homeless women seen by Boston Health Care for the ...Homeless Program (BHCHP) were screened for cervical cancer. To improve screening, BHCHP implemented a 6-part intervention that incorporates point-of-care service, multidisciplinary screening, improved health maintenance forms, population management, process improvement, and increased provider and patient education. This resulted in a significant increase in cervical cancer screening, from 19% in 2008 to 50% in 2013. When compared with national and local cervical cancer screening trends, BHCHP surpassed improvement rates seen in other vulnerable populations. Simple and innovative interventions proved to be the most effective and practical methods of improving screening.
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