JAMA network open
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Comparative Study
Incidence and Prognosis of Acute Kidney Diseases and Disorders Using an Integrated Approach to Laboratory Measurements in a Universal Health Care System.
Abnormal measurements of kidney function or structure may be identified that do not meet criteria for acute kidney injury (AKI) or chronic kidney disease (CKD) but nonetheless may require medical attention. The Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes Clinical Practice Guideline for AKI proposed criteria for the definition of acute kidney diseases and disorders (AKD), which include AKI; however, the incidence and prognosis of AKD without AKI remain unknown. ⋯ Criteria for AKD identified many patients who did not meet the criteria for CKD or AKI but had overall modestly increased risks of incident and progressive CKD, ESKD, and death. The clinical importance of AKD remains to be determined.
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Inadequate privacy disclosures have repeatedly been identified by cross-sectional surveys of health applications (apps), including apps for mental health and behavior change. However, few studies have assessed directly the correspondence between privacy disclosures and how apps handle personal data. Understanding the scope of this discrepancy is particularly important in mental health, given enhanced privacy concerns relating to stigma and negative impacts of inadvertent disclosure. Because most health apps fall outside government regulation, up-to-date technical scrutiny is essential for informed decision making by consumers and health care professionals wishing to prescribe health apps. ⋯ Data sharing with third parties that includes linkable identifiers is prevalent and focused on services provided by Google and Facebook. Despite this, most apps offer users no way to anticipate that data will be shared in this way. As a result, users are denied an informed choice about whether such sharing is acceptable to them. Privacy assessments that rely solely on disclosures made in policies, or are not regularly updated, are unlikely to uncover these evolving issues. This may limit their ability to offer effective guidance to consumers and health care professionals.
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Comparative Study
Association of Medicare Spending With Subspecialty Consultation for Elderly Hospitalized Adults.
High use of subspecialty care is an important source of health care spending. Medical subspecialty care in particular may duplicate the scope of practice of the primary attending physicians for patients hospitalized for medical conditions. Under value-based payments, which aim to control overall spending during an episode of hospitalization (including Part B physician fees), subspecialty consultations may be a target for hospitals working to reduce costs. ⋯ The substantial variation in the use of subspecialty consultative care suggests potential opportunities for cost savings.
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Comparative Study
Trends in Emergency Department Use by Rural and Urban Populations in the United States.
Patterns in emergency department (ED) use by rural populations may be an important indicator of the health care needs of individuals in the rural United States and may critically affect rural hospital finances. ⋯ Rural EDs are experiencing important changes in utilization rates, increasingly serving a larger proportion of traditionally disadvantaged groups and with greater pressure as safety-net hospitals.
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The reproductive safety of benzodiazepine/z-hypnotic exposure on child longer-term developmental risks remains unresolved. ⋯ These findings suggest no substantial detrimental risk on child fine motor and ADHD symptoms after prenatal benzodiazepine/z-hypnotic exposure alone or in combination with opioids or antidepressants. Residual confounding by indication and/or a higher drug dose regimen among women with anxiety/depression may explain the moderate association of gross motor and communication deficits with late-pregnancy benzodiazepine/z-hypnotic use.