AAFP, Others Urge Hospitals to Stop Early Elective Deliveries
The AAFP, along with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and several other medical associations, sent a letter on May 1 to 3,100-plus hospitals that provide maternity care, urging them to help eliminate nonmedically indicated deliveries before 39 weeks' gestation. According to AAFP EVP Douglas Henley, M.D., the Academy and its partners sent the letter to advance HHS' Strong Start Initiative by asking the hospitals to work to reduce the rate of elective deliveries performed before 39 weeks' gestation to less than 5 percent. Strong Start, said Henley, represents an extension of two of the recommend...
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - May 8, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news
AAFP, USPSTF Recommend Routine HIV Screening but Differ on Age to Begin
Although the AAFP and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) each have issued new recommendations calling for routine screening of normal-risk adolescents and adults for HIV infection, the two organizations differ regarding the recommended age at which routine screening should begin. According to the USPSTF's recommendation, physicians and other health professionals should screen all adolescents and adults ages 15-65 for HIV infection, as well as younger adolescents and older adults who are at increased risk for contracting the disease. The Academy's recommendation, however, is that routine screening should not b...
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - April 29, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news
Zoledronic Acid Slows Bone Loss, Also Stops New Bone Formation
The commonly used osteoporosis drug zoledronic acid slows bone loss in postmenopausal osteoporosis patients, but it also boosts levels of a biomarker that inhibits bone formation, according to a study recently published online edition in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (Source: AAFP Health of the Public)
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - April 24, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news
ACP Guidance on PSA Screening Calls for Risk-Benefit Discussion, Clear Patient Preference
In recently published clinical guidance on prostate cancer screening, the American College of Physicians (ACP) calls for physicians to discuss "the limited potential benefits and substantial harms of screening for prostate cancer" with patients between the ages of 50 and 69. The guidance also encourages doctors to perform screening only if a patient expresses a clear preference to do so. According to the ACP guidance, any decision to screen using the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test should be based on the patient's risk for prostate cancer, a discussion of the benefits and harms of screening, the patient's general heal...
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - April 23, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news
Potential for Serious Injury, Death Prompts FreeStyle InsuLinx Meter Recall
Abbott Laboratories recently announced an urgent, albeit voluntary, recall of its FreeStyle InsuLinx Blood Glucose Meter after discovering that, in some instances, the device displays and stores inaccurate information that could endanger patients' health. Specifically, the company has determined that at extremely high blood glucose levels (i.e., 1,024 mg/dL and higher), the FreeStyle InsuLinx meter will display and store in memory an incorrect test result that is exactly 1,024 mg/dL below the actual measured result. (Source: AAFP Health of the Public)
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - April 18, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news
Women at Risk for Breast Cancer Should Participate in Decisions About Risk-reducing Drugs
According to a draft recommendation recently introduced by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), physicians should strive to engage women at increased risk of breast cancer in the process of making decisions about medications that can reduce their risk. At-risk women who are deemed to be at low risk for adverse effects from these drugs could benefit from taking medications such as tamoxifen or raloxifene. (Source: AAFP Health of the Public)
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - April 16, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news
Study Finds Shingles Vaccine Effective, But Uptake Remains Low
When it comes to protecting older patients from the ravages of shingles and its sequelae, family physicians have no better weapon in their arsenal than the herpes zoster vaccine. But, like every other vaccine, it only works if patients get it. Unfortunately, a recent study found that despite the documented effectiveness of the herpes zoster vaccine in preventing shingles and its most common complication -- postherpetic neuralgia -- few people are receiving the immunization. (Source: AAFP Health of the Public)
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - April 11, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news
Evidence Insufficient To Recommend For, Against Oral Cancer Screening
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has reaffirmed its position on screening for oral cancer in asymptomatic adults, issuing a draft recommendation statement that indicates current evidence remains insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of testing. Specifically, a lack of evidence regarding the following three aspects of screening precluded task force members from making an overall recommendation: Can the oral screening exam detect oral cancer accurately? Can screening for oral cancer and treating screen-detected oral cancer improve morbidity or mortality? What are the harms of screening? (So...
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - April 9, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news
Tonsillectomy, VTE Prophylaxis Guidelines Gain Qualified AAFP Endorsement
The AAFP recently gave qualified endorsements to clinical practice guidelines on tonsillectomy in children and venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in hospitalized patients. The guidelines were developed by the American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head & Neck Surgery Foundation and the American College of Physicians, respectively. Qualified endorsement signifies that the AAFP found a guideline to be of sufficient quality to endorse even though specific aspects of it fell short of the Academy's stringent criteria for guideline development. (Source: AAFP Health of the Public)
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - April 8, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news
USPSTF Recommends BRCA Mutation Screening for High-risk Women Only
The newest draft recommendation statement from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force encourages primary care health professionals to screen women with a family history of breast or ovarian cancer using a screening tool specifically designed to pinpoint whether that family history may be associated with an increased risk for potentially harmful mutations in breast cancer susceptibility genes BRCA1 (Source: AAFP Health of the Public)
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - April 3, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news
Primary Care, Public Health Sectors Seek to Collaborate to Boost Population Health
Historically, public health officials and primary care health professionals have worked largely in isolation from each other. As a result of an increasing emphasis on cost-effective, outcome-based health care, however, all of that is beginning to change. At all levels of health care -- from large governmental organizations to small community clinics -- members of the two disciplines are starting to look at opportunities to work together. "This is a transformative moment in health care," said Lloyd Michener, M.D., chair of community and family medicine at Duke University in Durham, N.C. (Source: AAFP Health of the Public)
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - March 27, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news
Extreme Glucose Reading Shutdown Prompts Meter Recall, Replacement
A malfunction that could pose a serious health risk has compelled Johnson & Johnson subsidiary LifeScan to voluntarily recall and replace all of its OneTouch Verio IQ Meters at no charge to consumers. According to a letter from the Milpitas, Calif.-based medical device manufacturer, at extremely high blood glucose levels of 1024 mg/dL or greater, the meter turns off instead of displaying the intended message: "EXTREME HIGH GLUCOSE above 600 mg/dL." The letter goes on to say, "When turned back on, the meter enters the set-up mode and requires the user to confirm the date and time settings before being able to test again. Ho...
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - March 25, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news
Too Little Evidence on PAD Screening to Make Definitive Recommendation, Says USPSTF
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has issued a draft recommendation statement indicating that current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for peripheral artery disease (PAD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessment using the ankle brachial index in adults. The recommendation applies to asymptomatic adults who have no known diagnosis of PAD, CVD, severe chronic kidney disease or diabetes. (Source: AAFP Health of the Public)
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - March 20, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news
USPSTF Recommendation Against Low-dose Calcium, Vitamin D to Prevent Fractures Significant, Says FP Expert
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) overturned decades' worth of routine practice on Feb. 25, recommending against daily supplementation with 400 IU or less of vitamin D3 and 1,000 mg of calcium carbonate for the primary prevention of fractures in noninstitutionalized postmenopausal women. USPSTF Co-vice Chair Michael LeFevre, M.D., M.S.P.H., of Columbia, Mo., told AAFP News Now (Source: AAFP Health of the Public)
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - February 27, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news
ACIP Expands Recommendation on PCV13 to Include Certain High-risk Kids, Teens
The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to expand the age recommendation for administration of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) to certain individuals during its Feb. 20-21 meeting in Atlanta. Committee members also discussed and voted on a number of other vaccine-related issues of interest to family physicians. According to Jamie Loehr, M.D., of Ithaca, N.Y., the AAFP's liaison to the ACIP, the committee voted unanimously to provisionally recommend that PCV13, which is marketed by Pfizer Inc. as Prevnar 13, routinely be given to immunocompromised, PCV13-naive children and ad...
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - February 26, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news
