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PHILADELPHIA Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health issues have been on the rise across the nation, but many struggle to access the care they need. Collaborative care a proven approach for improving psychiatric care combats this issue by integrating mental health professionals into the primary care setting. Penn Medicine s collaborative care program, Penn Integrated Care (PIC), utilizes a centralized resource center to facilitate intake, triage, and referral management for all patients with mental health needs. A new study, published today in the
Annals of Family Medicine, suggests that this approach is effective and efficient for meeting the needs of a diverse group of patients with the full range of mental health conditions seen in primary care.
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PHILADELPHIA Hospital emergency departments (EDs) not only care for patients with overdose and other complications from opioid use, but they also serve as vital touch points to engage patients into longer-term treatment. After an overdose, patients are at risk for repeat overdose and death. Pennsylvania is unique in establishing a voluntary incentive program to improve the rate at which patients with opioid use disorder receive follow-up treatment after emergency department care. Evaluations of the program show that financial incentives are effective in producing rapid treatment innovations for opioid use disorder.
In a study, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that Pennsylvania s financial incentive policy encouraged hospitals to enact rapid system and practice changes to support treatment for opioid use disorder for patients visiting the ED. The study, which was recently published in
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PHILADELPHIA Even though the use of rhythm control strategies for treating Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation (AF), a common abnormal heart rhythm, have increased overall in the United States, patients from racial and ethnic minority groups and those with lower income were less likely to receive rhythm control treatment - often the preferred treatment - according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The study is published in the
JAMA Network Open. Research has demonstrated the pervasive impact of structural racism on health outcomes among minoritized patients. We know, for instance, that there is less use of novel cardiovascular therapies among Black, Latinx, and patients of lower socioeconomic status, said the study s lead author,
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PHILADELPHIA A second study of the injectable anti-obesity medication, semaglutide, has confirmed the large weight losses reported in a study earlier this month, establishing the reliability and robustness of this new drug. With obesity affecting more than 40 percent of American adults, the findings could have a major impact on weight management in primary care and other settings. The study is published today in the
Journal of the American Medical Association.
The 68-week study was conducted at 41 sites in the United States from August 2018 to April 2020 and was designed to boost total weight loss with semaglutide by combining the medication with a more intensive diet and physical activity program than what was used in the STEP 1 trial, published online February 10th in the
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PHILADELPHIA Past exposure to seasonal coronaviruses (CoVs), which cause the common cold, does not result in the production of antibodies that protect against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, according to a study led by Scott Hensley, PhD, an associate professor of Microbiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Prior studies have suggested that recent exposure to seasonal CoVs protects against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. However, research from Hensley s team, published in
Cell, suggests that if there is such protection, it does not come from antibodies. We found that many people possessed antibodies that could bind to SARS-CoV-2 before the pandemic, but these antibodies could not prevent infections, Hensley said. Although antibodies from prior coronavirus infections cannot prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections, it is possible that pre-existing memory B cells and T cells could potentially provide some level of protection