Journal of general internal medicine
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Inappropriate polypharmacy, prevalent among older patients, is associated with substantial harms. ⋯ EHR-based measures and nudges addressing high-risk polypharmacy were feasible to develop and implement, and warrant further testing.
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Hospitalizations related to opioid use disorder (OUD) are rising. Addiction consultation services (ACS) increasingly provide OUD treatment to hospitalized patients, but barriers to initiating and continuing medications for OUD remain. We examined facilitators and barriers to hospital-based OUD treatment initiation and continuation from the perspective of patients and healthcare workers in the context of an ACS. ⋯ Modifiable factors which facilitate hospital-based OUD treatment initiation and continuation include availability of in-hospital addiction expertise to offer easily accessible, patient-centered treatment and the use of methadone or buprenorphine to manage opioid withdrawal. Further research and public policy efforts are urgently needed to address reported barriers to hospital-based OUD treatment initiation and continuation which include unstable housing, poorly controlled chronic medical and mental illness, and lack of social support.
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Observational Study
Primary Care Behavioral Health Integration and Care Utilization: Implications for Patient Outcome and Healthcare Resource Use.
Behavioral health (BH) integration in primary care (PC) can potentially improve outcomes and reduce cost of care. While different models of integration exist, evidence from real-world examples is needed to demonstrate the effectiveness and value of integration. This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of six PC practice sites located in Western New York that implemented a primary care behavioral health (PCBH) integration model. ⋯ PCBH integration appears to alter the treatment patterns among patients with BH conditions by shifting patient visits away from ED and PC providers toward BH providers who specialize in treatment of such patients.
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The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has contributed to growing demand for mental health services, but patients face significant barriers to accessing care. Direct-to-consumer(DTC) telemedicine has been proposed as one way to increase access, yet little is known about its pre-pandemic use for mental healthcare. ⋯ As the burden of psychiatric disease grows, DTC telemedicine offers one solution for extending access to mental healthcare. While most encounters were one-off, evidence of some continuity in psychiatry and therapy visits-as well as overall high patient satisfaction-suggests potential for broader DTC telemental health use.