MDedge Infectious Disease

TOPLINE:

Patients aged 50 years or older with clinically apparent Helicobacter pylori infection (CAHPI) have an 11% increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), results of a large and lengthy population-based study suggest.

METHODOLOGY: 

• Researchers identified all cases with a first-time diagnosis of AD and matched each AD case to up to 40 AD-free control cases on the basis of age, sex, cohort entry date, and duration of follow-up.
• The exposure of interest was CAHPI, defined based on an algorithm using clinical guidelines and recommendations on the management of H pylori (HP) infection, with researchers focusing on infected individuals presenting with symptoms or developing serious complications from the infection.
• Researchers performed several sensitivity analyses, which included repeating the primary analysis using alternate lag periods, restricting the cohort to participants with AD (not vascular, alcoholic, and unspecified dementia), and using salmonellosis, an infection not previously associated with AD, as a negative control exposure.

TAKEAWAY: 

• Compared with no exposure to CAHPI, exposure to CAHPI was associated with a moderately increased risk for AD (odds ratio [OR], 1.11; 95% CI, 1.01-1.21), with no major effect modification by demographics or socioeconomic status.
• The increased risk peaked 7.3-10.8 years after CAHPI onset (OR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.05-1.47) before decreasing.
• Sensitivity analyses yielded findings that were overall consistent with those of the primary analysis.
• The analysis with salmonellosis as a negative control exposure showed no association with the risk for AD (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.82-1.29).

IN PRACTICE:

“These results support the notion of HP infection as a potential modifiable risk factor of AD” and “pave the way for future randomized controlled trials that would assess the impact and cost-effectiveness of population-based targeted interventions such as individualized HP eradication programs, on the development of AD,” the authors write.

SOURCE:

The study was conducted by Antonios Douros, Department of Medicine, and Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and colleagues. It was published online in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

LIMITATIONS:

Given the observational nature of the study, residual confounding is possible. Because the exposure definition was on the basis of CAHPI recorded by general practitioners, exposure misclassification due to symptomatic patients not seeking primary care is possible, as is outcome misclassification. The authors can’t rule out the possibility of an association between asymptomatic H pylori infection and AD risk.

DISCLOSURES:

The study received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Douros has no relevant conflicts of interest; see paper for disclosures of other authors.

Pauline Anderson has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

TOPLINE:

Patients aged 50 years or older with clinically apparent Helicobacter pylori infection (CAHPI) have an 11% increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), results of a large and lengthy population-based study suggest.

METHODOLOGY: 

• Researchers identified all cases with a first-time diagnosis of AD and matched each AD case to up to 40 AD-free control cases on the basis of age, sex, cohort entry date, and duration of follow-up.
• The exposure of interest was CAHPI, defined based on an algorithm using clinical guidelines and recommendations on the management of H pylori (HP) infection, with researchers focusing on infected individuals presenting with symptoms or developing serious complications from the infection.
• Researchers performed several sensitivity analyses, which included repeating the primary analysis using alternate lag periods, restricting the cohort to participants with AD (not vascular, alcoholic, and unspecified dementia), and using salmonellosis, an infection not previously associated with AD, as a negative control exposure.

TAKEAWAY: 

• Compared with no exposure to CAHPI, exposure to CAHPI was associated with a moderately increased risk for AD (odds ratio [OR], 1.11; 95% CI, 1.01-1.21), with no major effect modification by demographics or socioeconomic status.
• The increased risk peaked 7.3-10.8 years after CAHPI onset (OR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.05-1.47) before decreasing.
• Sensitivity analyses yielded findings that were overall consistent with those of the primary analysis.
• The analysis with salmonellosis as a negative control exposure showed no association with the risk for AD (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.82-1.29).

IN PRACTICE:

“These results support the notion of HP infection as a potential modifiable risk factor of AD” and “pave the way for future randomized controlled trials that would assess the impact and cost-effectiveness of population-based targeted interventions such as individualized HP eradication programs, on the development of AD,” the authors write.

SOURCE:

The study was conducted by Antonios Douros, Department of Medicine, and Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and colleagues. It was published online in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

LIMITATIONS:

Given the observational nature of the study, residual confounding is possible. Because the exposure definition was on the basis of CAHPI recorded by general practitioners, exposure misclassification due to symptomatic patients not seeking primary care is possible, as is outcome misclassification. The authors can’t rule out the possibility of an association between asymptomatic H pylori infection and AD risk.

DISCLOSURES:

The study received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Douros has no relevant conflicts of interest; see paper for disclosures of other authors.

Pauline Anderson has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

TOPLINE:

Patients aged 50 years or older with clinically apparent Helicobacter pylori infection (CAHPI) have an 11% increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), results of a large and lengthy population-based study suggest.

METHODOLOGY: 

• Researchers identified all cases with a first-time diagnosis of AD and matched each AD case to up to 40 AD-free control cases on the basis of age, sex, cohort entry date, and duration of follow-up.
• The exposure of interest was CAHPI, defined based on an algorithm using clinical guidelines and recommendations on the management of H pylori (HP) infection, with researchers focusing on infected individuals presenting with symptoms or developing serious complications from the infection.
• Researchers performed several sensitivity analyses, which included repeating the primary analysis using alternate lag periods, restricting the cohort to participants with AD (not vascular, alcoholic, and unspecified dementia), and using salmonellosis, an infection not previously associated with AD, as a negative control exposure.

TAKEAWAY: 

• Compared with no exposure to CAHPI, exposure to CAHPI was associated with a moderately increased risk for AD (odds ratio [OR], 1.11; 95% CI, 1.01-1.21), with no major effect modification by demographics or socioeconomic status.
• The increased risk peaked 7.3-10.8 years after CAHPI onset (OR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.05-1.47) before decreasing.
• Sensitivity analyses yielded findings that were overall consistent with those of the primary analysis.
• The analysis with salmonellosis as a negative control exposure showed no association with the risk for AD (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.82-1.29).

IN PRACTICE:

“These results support the notion of HP infection as a potential modifiable risk factor of AD” and “pave the way for future randomized controlled trials that would assess the impact and cost-effectiveness of population-based targeted interventions such as individualized HP eradication programs, on the development of AD,” the authors write.

SOURCE:

The study was conducted by Antonios Douros, Department of Medicine, and Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and colleagues. It was published online in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

LIMITATIONS:

Given the observational nature of the study, residual confounding is possible. Because the exposure definition was on the basis of CAHPI recorded by general practitioners, exposure misclassification due to symptomatic patients not seeking primary care is possible, as is outcome misclassification. The authors can’t rule out the possibility of an association between asymptomatic H pylori infection and AD risk.

DISCLOSURES:

The study received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Douros has no relevant conflicts of interest; see paper for disclosures of other authors.

Pauline Anderson has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

A new federal rule opens the door for physicians in California and Texas to take advantage of student loan forgiveness, possibly bringing much-needed relief to those with cumbersome debt loads after repayments resumed last month. However, the timing is critical, as some doctors may need to consolidate their loans by December 31 to remain eligible.

Updated guidelines for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) took effect in July, expanding the number of potential borrowers who could have their federal student loan balances wiped clean after working full time in a government or nonprofit role and making 120 monthly loan payments.

But loan forgiveness also hinges on having the correct employment type and requires applicants to be a “direct hire” of the organization. State laws in California and Texas prohibit nonprofit hospitals and health care entities from directly hiring physicians — a loophole that has barred doctors in those locations from applying.

Both states’ medical and hospital associations worked with the US Department of Education (DOE) to offer an exception. California and Texas physicians can now satisfy the employment type condition by having a written contract or medical staff privileges with a nonprofit hospital or facility, even if the physician is part of a for-profit sole proprietorship, partnership, or medical group.

Eligible loans cannot be in default and must have been received through the Direct Loan Program, which includes Parent PLUS loans. Doctors with non-qualifying student loans, such as Federal Family Education Loans, can become PSLF-eligible and have past time worked counted toward the requirements if they consolidate into a direct loan by December 31.

The California Medical Association (CMA) has an online guide to help doctors and employers navigate the new rules.

The change comes just in time because California and Texas need to expand their physician workforces by tens of thousands over the next decade. “This program will allow us to retain and recruit new physicians to our states to address our growing physician shortages and access to care challenges for the patients who need us most,” Texas Medical Association president Rick W. Snyder II, MD, said in a statement.

Physicians should use the PSLF Help Tool to complete the forgiveness application, said Ashley Harrington, senior advisor at the DOE. During a free on-demand webinar hosted by CMA, she said the form has been streamlined and will ask applicants to list the nonprofit entity where they provide care, its employer identification number, the length of time worked there, and the average hours worked per week. The employer must sign to certify the physician’s reported hours.

Ideally, physicians should submit a PSLF form annually or each time they change jobs, but they can also wait until the end of the 10 years to submit the form, said Ms. Harrington.

With the average medical education loan debt exceeding $200,000, CMA president Donaldo Hernandez, MD, said the rule will ensure low-income and minority students can consider medical careers.

California family medicine physician Ashley Paydar, DO, said that she has already applied for PSLF and found the process relatively easy. While she awaits final approval, she’s planning for the future. “Loan forgiveness will allow me to do a fellowship and save for my children›s college so they can pursue higher education without the debt,” she said.

Still, employers have no legal obligation to certify physicians’ hours, and many may express hesitation as they try to understand the new guidelines, said Long Do, JD, partner at Athene Law in San Francisco and speaker during the webinar. He urged physicians to have patience when working through the application process.

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

A new federal rule opens the door for physicians in California and Texas to take advantage of student loan forgiveness, possibly bringing much-needed relief to those with cumbersome debt loads after repayments resumed last month. However, the timing is critical, as some doctors may need to consolidate their loans by December 31 to remain eligible.

Updated guidelines for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) took effect in July, expanding the number of potential borrowers who could have their federal student loan balances wiped clean after working full time in a government or nonprofit role and making 120 monthly loan payments.

But loan forgiveness also hinges on having the correct employment type and requires applicants to be a “direct hire” of the organization. State laws in California and Texas prohibit nonprofit hospitals and health care entities from directly hiring physicians — a loophole that has barred doctors in those locations from applying.

Both states’ medical and hospital associations worked with the US Department of Education (DOE) to offer an exception. California and Texas physicians can now satisfy the employment type condition by having a written contract or medical staff privileges with a nonprofit hospital or facility, even if the physician is part of a for-profit sole proprietorship, partnership, or medical group.

Eligible loans cannot be in default and must have been received through the Direct Loan Program, which includes Parent PLUS loans. Doctors with non-qualifying student loans, such as Federal Family Education Loans, can become PSLF-eligible and have past time worked counted toward the requirements if they consolidate into a direct loan by December 31.

The California Medical Association (CMA) has an online guide to help doctors and employers navigate the new rules.

The change comes just in time because California and Texas need to expand their physician workforces by tens of thousands over the next decade. “This program will allow us to retain and recruit new physicians to our states to address our growing physician shortages and access to care challenges for the patients who need us most,” Texas Medical Association president Rick W. Snyder II, MD, said in a statement.

Physicians should use the PSLF Help Tool to complete the forgiveness application, said Ashley Harrington, senior advisor at the DOE. During a free on-demand webinar hosted by CMA, she said the form has been streamlined and will ask applicants to list the nonprofit entity where they provide care, its employer identification number, the length of time worked there, and the average hours worked per week. The employer must sign to certify the physician’s reported hours.

Ideally, physicians should submit a PSLF form annually or each time they change jobs, but they can also wait until the end of the 10 years to submit the form, said Ms. Harrington.

With the average medical education loan debt exceeding $200,000, CMA president Donaldo Hernandez, MD, said the rule will ensure low-income and minority students can consider medical careers.

California family medicine physician Ashley Paydar, DO, said that she has already applied for PSLF and found the process relatively easy. While she awaits final approval, she’s planning for the future. “Loan forgiveness will allow me to do a fellowship and save for my children›s college so they can pursue higher education without the debt,” she said.

Still, employers have no legal obligation to certify physicians’ hours, and many may express hesitation as they try to understand the new guidelines, said Long Do, JD, partner at Athene Law in San Francisco and speaker during the webinar. He urged physicians to have patience when working through the application process.

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

A new federal rule opens the door for physicians in California and Texas to take advantage of student loan forgiveness, possibly bringing much-needed relief to those with cumbersome debt loads after repayments resumed last month. However, the timing is critical, as some doctors may need to consolidate their loans by December 31 to remain eligible.

Updated guidelines for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) took effect in July, expanding the number of potential borrowers who could have their federal student loan balances wiped clean after working full time in a government or nonprofit role and making 120 monthly loan payments.

But loan forgiveness also hinges on having the correct employment type and requires applicants to be a “direct hire” of the organization. State laws in California and Texas prohibit nonprofit hospitals and health care entities from directly hiring physicians — a loophole that has barred doctors in those locations from applying.

Both states’ medical and hospital associations worked with the US Department of Education (DOE) to offer an exception. California and Texas physicians can now satisfy the employment type condition by having a written contract or medical staff privileges with a nonprofit hospital or facility, even if the physician is part of a for-profit sole proprietorship, partnership, or medical group.

Eligible loans cannot be in default and must have been received through the Direct Loan Program, which includes Parent PLUS loans. Doctors with non-qualifying student loans, such as Federal Family Education Loans, can become PSLF-eligible and have past time worked counted toward the requirements if they consolidate into a direct loan by December 31.

The California Medical Association (CMA) has an online guide to help doctors and employers navigate the new rules.

The change comes just in time because California and Texas need to expand their physician workforces by tens of thousands over the next decade. “This program will allow us to retain and recruit new physicians to our states to address our growing physician shortages and access to care challenges for the patients who need us most,” Texas Medical Association president Rick W. Snyder II, MD, said in a statement.

Physicians should use the PSLF Help Tool to complete the forgiveness application, said Ashley Harrington, senior advisor at the DOE. During a free on-demand webinar hosted by CMA, she said the form has been streamlined and will ask applicants to list the nonprofit entity where they provide care, its employer identification number, the length of time worked there, and the average hours worked per week. The employer must sign to certify the physician’s reported hours.

Ideally, physicians should submit a PSLF form annually or each time they change jobs, but they can also wait until the end of the 10 years to submit the form, said Ms. Harrington.

With the average medical education loan debt exceeding $200,000, CMA president Donaldo Hernandez, MD, said the rule will ensure low-income and minority students can consider medical careers.

California family medicine physician Ashley Paydar, DO, said that she has already applied for PSLF and found the process relatively easy. While she awaits final approval, she’s planning for the future. “Loan forgiveness will allow me to do a fellowship and save for my children›s college so they can pursue higher education without the debt,” she said.

Still, employers have no legal obligation to certify physicians’ hours, and many may express hesitation as they try to understand the new guidelines, said Long Do, JD, partner at Athene Law in San Francisco and speaker during the webinar. He urged physicians to have patience when working through the application process.

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

This transcript has been edited for clarity.

Sandra Fryhofer, MD, highlights updates in the 2024 Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Adult Immunization Schedule.

The biggest change for 2024 is that you don’t need to wait till January 1, 2024, for these schedules go into effect. Both schedules were published and became available in November 2023 and became effective immediately. They include ACIP recommendations approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director through October 23, 2023.

Subsequent recommendations (before publication of the 2025 schedule) will be added to the addendum, a new Step 5, Section 5 in the schedule. The addendum should make Affordable Care Act (ACA)–compliant insurance plans cover ACIP-recommended immunizations sooner.

This year’s schedule includes more vaccines with new recommendations and new color code keys for the schedule’s vaccine tables. The newest vaccine additions to the 2024 schedule include respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines, the mpox vaccine (Jynneos), a new MenACWY-MenB combo vaccine (Penbraya), and the new 2023-2024 formulation of the updated COVID vaccine (both mRNA and protein-based adjuvanted versions).

These are listed on the cover page (in alphabetical order) by name, abbreviation, and trade name. Vaccine-specific details can be found in the (Step 3) Notes section, also organized alphabetically.
 

The Tables

Step 1 is Table 1: Vaccinations by Age. Step 2 is Table 2: Vaccinations by Medical Conditions or Other Indications. The table names haven’t changed. However, their color code legends have been adjusted and refined. Also, the legends for the some of the same colors are not the same for both tables.

The order of and conditions covered in the columns on Table 2 have been reorganized.

Even for vaccines whose recommendations have not changed, the color code keys reflecting the recommendations have changed. For this reason, the 2024 version of Table 2 looks very different from the 2023 version. Also, much of the wording on overlays has been removed, which means you have to rely more heavily on the Notes section.

The color brown has been introduced on Table 2 to spotlight groups and conditions that require recurrent revaccination:

• Give Tdap in each and every pregnancy at 27-36 weeks.
• Revaccinate people living with HIV with MenACWY every 5 years.
• Revaccinate those with asplenia and/or complement deficiency with MenACWY every 5 years and MenB every 2-3 years.
• Stem cell transplant recipients need three doses of Hib.

Vaccine order is the same on both tables.

The rows for 2023-2024 formulations of COVID and flu vaccines are at the top of both tables are coded yellow, meaning everyone needs a dose of both vaccines.

Both tables have added a row for RSV vaccines and mpox vaccines.
 

Notes Section

The notes have been edited for clarity and reveal who needs what and when and include special vaccine-specific sections for special circumstances.

COVID vaccines. The COVID vaccine note embraces the updated 2023-2024 formula. Everyone aged 6 months or older needs a dose of the updated COVID vaccine. Specifics of who needs what (and when) depend on what they have already received, as well as their immune status. Detailed recommendations for both mRNA and protein-based adjuvanted versions are included in the notes.

RSV vaccines. The notes also give vital details about RSV vaccines for pregnant people and for older adults. There are two RSV vaccines. Both are preF RSV vaccines. They’re identified by trade names for clarity. Arexvy contains an adjuvant. Abrysvo does not contain an adjuvant. The RSV vaccine note explains that only Abyrsvo (the vaccine without the adjuvant) can be given to pregnant people, only at 32-36 weeks, and only to those whose baby would be born during RSV season.

ACIP recommends a dose of either vaccine for adults aged 60 or older, under shared clinical decision-making (meaning you and your patients have to discuss and decide). The notes link to additional guidance for making that decision.

Mpox vaccines. For the mpox vaccine, all adults in any age group at increased risk of getting mpox should get a two-dose series of the vaccine. The mpox vaccine notes include a list of mpox risk factors.
 

Other Features of the 2024 Adult Immunization Schedule

The schedule has useful links to helpful information:

• Vaccine information statements
• Complete ACIP recommendations
• CDC’s General Best Practice Guidelines for Immunizations.
• VAERS (CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System)

A new “Additional Information” section in the Notes links to:

• Travel vaccination requirements
• Best practices guidelines for vaccinating persons with immunodeficiency
• The National Vaccine Injury Compensation program (for resolving any vaccine injury claims)

The cover page has links to:

• CDC’s vaccine app
• QR code to access the schedule online.

With all these tools literally at your fingertips, there’s no reason not to know which vaccines your patients need and when. The challenge now is making it happen: getting those needed vaccines into arms.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

This transcript has been edited for clarity.

Sandra Fryhofer, MD, highlights updates in the 2024 Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Adult Immunization Schedule.

The biggest change for 2024 is that you don’t need to wait till January 1, 2024, for these schedules go into effect. Both schedules were published and became available in November 2023 and became effective immediately. They include ACIP recommendations approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director through October 23, 2023.

Subsequent recommendations (before publication of the 2025 schedule) will be added to the addendum, a new Step 5, Section 5 in the schedule. The addendum should make Affordable Care Act (ACA)–compliant insurance plans cover ACIP-recommended immunizations sooner.

This year’s schedule includes more vaccines with new recommendations and new color code keys for the schedule’s vaccine tables. The newest vaccine additions to the 2024 schedule include respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines, the mpox vaccine (Jynneos), a new MenACWY-MenB combo vaccine (Penbraya), and the new 2023-2024 formulation of the updated COVID vaccine (both mRNA and protein-based adjuvanted versions).

These are listed on the cover page (in alphabetical order) by name, abbreviation, and trade name. Vaccine-specific details can be found in the (Step 3) Notes section, also organized alphabetically.
 

The Tables

Step 1 is Table 1: Vaccinations by Age. Step 2 is Table 2: Vaccinations by Medical Conditions or Other Indications. The table names haven’t changed. However, their color code legends have been adjusted and refined. Also, the legends for the some of the same colors are not the same for both tables.

The order of and conditions covered in the columns on Table 2 have been reorganized.

Even for vaccines whose recommendations have not changed, the color code keys reflecting the recommendations have changed. For this reason, the 2024 version of Table 2 looks very different from the 2023 version. Also, much of the wording on overlays has been removed, which means you have to rely more heavily on the Notes section.

The color brown has been introduced on Table 2 to spotlight groups and conditions that require recurrent revaccination:

• Give Tdap in each and every pregnancy at 27-36 weeks.
• Revaccinate people living with HIV with MenACWY every 5 years.
• Revaccinate those with asplenia and/or complement deficiency with MenACWY every 5 years and MenB every 2-3 years.
• Stem cell transplant recipients need three doses of Hib.

Vaccine order is the same on both tables.

The rows for 2023-2024 formulations of COVID and flu vaccines are at the top of both tables are coded yellow, meaning everyone needs a dose of both vaccines.

Both tables have added a row for RSV vaccines and mpox vaccines.
 

Notes Section

The notes have been edited for clarity and reveal who needs what and when and include special vaccine-specific sections for special circumstances.

COVID vaccines. The COVID vaccine note embraces the updated 2023-2024 formula. Everyone aged 6 months or older needs a dose of the updated COVID vaccine. Specifics of who needs what (and when) depend on what they have already received, as well as their immune status. Detailed recommendations for both mRNA and protein-based adjuvanted versions are included in the notes.

RSV vaccines. The notes also give vital details about RSV vaccines for pregnant people and for older adults. There are two RSV vaccines. Both are preF RSV vaccines. They’re identified by trade names for clarity. Arexvy contains an adjuvant. Abrysvo does not contain an adjuvant. The RSV vaccine note explains that only Abyrsvo (the vaccine without the adjuvant) can be given to pregnant people, only at 32-36 weeks, and only to those whose baby would be born during RSV season.

ACIP recommends a dose of either vaccine for adults aged 60 or older, under shared clinical decision-making (meaning you and your patients have to discuss and decide). The notes link to additional guidance for making that decision.

Mpox vaccines. For the mpox vaccine, all adults in any age group at increased risk of getting mpox should get a two-dose series of the vaccine. The mpox vaccine notes include a list of mpox risk factors.
 

Other Features of the 2024 Adult Immunization Schedule

The schedule has useful links to helpful information:

• Vaccine information statements
• Complete ACIP recommendations
• CDC’s General Best Practice Guidelines for Immunizations.
• VAERS (CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System)

A new “Additional Information” section in the Notes links to:

• Travel vaccination requirements
• Best practices guidelines for vaccinating persons with immunodeficiency
• The National Vaccine Injury Compensation program (for resolving any vaccine injury claims)

The cover page has links to:

• CDC’s vaccine app
• QR code to access the schedule online.

With all these tools literally at your fingertips, there’s no reason not to know which vaccines your patients need and when. The challenge now is making it happen: getting those needed vaccines into arms.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

This transcript has been edited for clarity.

Sandra Fryhofer, MD, highlights updates in the 2024 Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Adult Immunization Schedule.

The biggest change for 2024 is that you don’t need to wait till January 1, 2024, for these schedules go into effect. Both schedules were published and became available in November 2023 and became effective immediately. They include ACIP recommendations approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director through October 23, 2023.

Subsequent recommendations (before publication of the 2025 schedule) will be added to the addendum, a new Step 5, Section 5 in the schedule. The addendum should make Affordable Care Act (ACA)–compliant insurance plans cover ACIP-recommended immunizations sooner.

This year’s schedule includes more vaccines with new recommendations and new color code keys for the schedule’s vaccine tables. The newest vaccine additions to the 2024 schedule include respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines, the mpox vaccine (Jynneos), a new MenACWY-MenB combo vaccine (Penbraya), and the new 2023-2024 formulation of the updated COVID vaccine (both mRNA and protein-based adjuvanted versions).

These are listed on the cover page (in alphabetical order) by name, abbreviation, and trade name. Vaccine-specific details can be found in the (Step 3) Notes section, also organized alphabetically.
 

The Tables

Step 1 is Table 1: Vaccinations by Age. Step 2 is Table 2: Vaccinations by Medical Conditions or Other Indications. The table names haven’t changed. However, their color code legends have been adjusted and refined. Also, the legends for the some of the same colors are not the same for both tables.

The order of and conditions covered in the columns on Table 2 have been reorganized.

Even for vaccines whose recommendations have not changed, the color code keys reflecting the recommendations have changed. For this reason, the 2024 version of Table 2 looks very different from the 2023 version. Also, much of the wording on overlays has been removed, which means you have to rely more heavily on the Notes section.

The color brown has been introduced on Table 2 to spotlight groups and conditions that require recurrent revaccination:

• Give Tdap in each and every pregnancy at 27-36 weeks.
• Revaccinate people living with HIV with MenACWY every 5 years.
• Revaccinate those with asplenia and/or complement deficiency with MenACWY every 5 years and MenB every 2-3 years.
• Stem cell transplant recipients need three doses of Hib.

Vaccine order is the same on both tables.

The rows for 2023-2024 formulations of COVID and flu vaccines are at the top of both tables are coded yellow, meaning everyone needs a dose of both vaccines.

Both tables have added a row for RSV vaccines and mpox vaccines.
 

Notes Section

The notes have been edited for clarity and reveal who needs what and when and include special vaccine-specific sections for special circumstances.

COVID vaccines. The COVID vaccine note embraces the updated 2023-2024 formula. Everyone aged 6 months or older needs a dose of the updated COVID vaccine. Specifics of who needs what (and when) depend on what they have already received, as well as their immune status. Detailed recommendations for both mRNA and protein-based adjuvanted versions are included in the notes.

RSV vaccines. The notes also give vital details about RSV vaccines for pregnant people and for older adults. There are two RSV vaccines. Both are preF RSV vaccines. They’re identified by trade names for clarity. Arexvy contains an adjuvant. Abrysvo does not contain an adjuvant. The RSV vaccine note explains that only Abyrsvo (the vaccine without the adjuvant) can be given to pregnant people, only at 32-36 weeks, and only to those whose baby would be born during RSV season.

ACIP recommends a dose of either vaccine for adults aged 60 or older, under shared clinical decision-making (meaning you and your patients have to discuss and decide). The notes link to additional guidance for making that decision.

Mpox vaccines. For the mpox vaccine, all adults in any age group at increased risk of getting mpox should get a two-dose series of the vaccine. The mpox vaccine notes include a list of mpox risk factors.
 

Other Features of the 2024 Adult Immunization Schedule

The schedule has useful links to helpful information:

• Vaccine information statements
• Complete ACIP recommendations
• CDC’s General Best Practice Guidelines for Immunizations.
• VAERS (CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System)

A new “Additional Information” section in the Notes links to:

• Travel vaccination requirements
• Best practices guidelines for vaccinating persons with immunodeficiency
• The National Vaccine Injury Compensation program (for resolving any vaccine injury claims)

The cover page has links to:

• CDC’s vaccine app
• QR code to access the schedule online.

With all these tools literally at your fingertips, there’s no reason not to know which vaccines your patients need and when. The challenge now is making it happen: getting those needed vaccines into arms.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

The COVID-19 pandemic may no longer be a global public health emergency, but millions continue to struggle with the aftermath: Long COVID. New research and clinical anecdotes suggest that certain individuals are more likely to be afflicted by the condition, nearly 4 years after the virus emerged. 

People with a history of allergies, anxiety or depression, arthritis, and autoimmune diseases and women are among those who appear more vulnerable to developing long COVID, said doctors who specialize in treating the condition.

Many patients with long COVID struggle with debilitating fatigue, brain fog, and cognitive impairment. The condition is also characterized by a catalog of other symptoms that may be difficult to recognize as long COVID, experts said. That’s especially true when patients may not mention seemingly unrelated information, such as underlying health conditions that might make them more vulnerable. This makes screening for certain conditions and investigating every symptom especially important. 

The severity of a patient’s initial infection is not the only determining factor for developing long COVID, experts said.

“Don’t judge the person based on how sick they were initially,” said Mark Bayley, MD, medical director of the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute at University Health Network and a professor with the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. “You have to evaluate every symptom as best you can to make sure you’re not missing anything else.” 

Someone who only had a bad cough or felt really unwell for just a few days and recovered but started feeling rotten again later — “that’s the person that we are seeing for long COVID,” said Dr. Bayley. 

While patients who become severely sick and require hospitalization have a higher risk of developing long COVID, this group size is small compared with the much larger number of people infected overall. As a result, despite the lower risk, those who only become mild to moderately sick make up the vast majority of patients in long COVID clinics. 

A small Northwestern Medicine study found that 41% of patients with long COVID never tested positive for COVID-19 but were found to have antibodies that indicated exposure to the virus. 

Doctors treating patients with long COVID should consider several risk factors, specialists said. They include:

• A history of asthma, eczema, or allergies
• Signs of autonomic nervous system dysfunction
• Preexisting immune system issues
• Chronic infections
• Diabetes
• Being slightly overweight
• A preexisting history of anxiety or depression
• Joint hypermobility ( being “double-jointed” with pain and other symptoms)

Screening for Allergies

Alba Azola, MD, assistant professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Johns Hopkins Medicine, said a history of asthma, allergies, and eczema and an onset of new food allergies may be an important factor in long COVID that doctors should consider when evaluating at-risk patients.

It is important to identify this subgroup of patients because they respond to antihistamines and mast cell stabilizers, which not only relieve their allergy symptoms but may also help improve overall fatigue and their tolerance for basic activities like standing, Dr. Azola said.

A recently published systemic review of prospective cohort studies on long COVID also found that patients with preexisting allergic conditions like asthma or rhinitis may be linked to a higher risk of developing long COVID. The authors cautioned, however, that the evidence for the link is uncertain and more rigorous research is needed.

“It stands to reason that if your immune system tends to be a bit hyperactive that triggering it with a virus will make it worse,” said Dr. Bayley.


 

Signs of Dysautonomia, Joint Hypermobility

Patients should also be screened for signs and symptoms of dysautonomia, or autonomic nervous system disorder, such as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) or another type of autonomic dysfunction, doctors said.

“There’s a whole list because the autonomic nervous system involves every part of your body, every system,” Dr. Azola said.

Issues with standing, vision, digestion, urination, and bowel movement, for example, appear to be multisystemic problems but may all be linked to autonomic dysfunction, she explained.

Patients who have POTS usually experience a worsening of symptoms after COVID infection, Dr. Azola said, adding that some patients may have even assumed their pre-COVID symptoms of POTS were normal. 

She also screens for joint hypermobility or hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which affects connective tissue. Research has long shown a relationship between autonomic dysfunction, mast cell activation syndrome (repeated severe allergy symptoms that affect multiple systems), and the presence of hypermobility, Dr. Azola said. She added that gentle physical therapy can be helpful for patients with hypermobility issues.

Previous studies before and during the pandemic have also found that a substantial subset of patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, which shares many similarities with long COVID, also have connective tissue/hypermobility disorders.
 

Depression, Anxiety, and Female Patients

People with a preexisting history of anxiety or depression also appear to be at a higher risk for long COVID, Dr. Bayley said, noting that patients with these conditions appear more vulnerable to brain fog and other difficulties brought on by COVID infection. Earlier research found biochemical evidence of brain inflammation that correlates with symptoms of anxiety in patients with long COVID.

“We know that depression is related to neurotransmitters like adrenaline and serotonin,” Dr. Bayley said. “The chronic inflammation that’s associated with COVID — this will make people feel more depressed because they’re not getting the neurotransmitters in their brain releasing at the right times.”

It may also put patients at a risk for anxiety due to fears of post-exertional malaise (PEM), where symptoms worsen after even very minor physical or mental exertion and can last days or weeks.

“You can see how that leads to a bit of a vicious cycle,” said Dr. Bayley, explaining that the cycle of fear and avoidance makes patients less active and deconditioned. But he added that learning to manage their activity can actually help mitigate PEM due to the anti-inflammatory effects of exercise, its positive impact on mood, and benefits to the immune and cardiovascular systems. 

Meanwhile, a number of epidemiologic studies have found a higher prevalence of long COVID among women. Perimenopausal and menopausal women in particular appeared more prone, and at least one study reported that women under 50 years were five times more likely to develop post-COVID symptoms than men.

A recent small UK study that focused on COVID-19 hospitalizations found that women who had lower levels of inflammatory biomarkers at admission were more likely to experience certain long-term symptoms like muscle ache, low mood and anxiety, adding to earlier research linking female patients, long COVID, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. 


 

History of Immune Dysfunction, Diabetes, Elevated Body Mass Index (BMI)

Immune dysfunction, a history of recurrent infections, or chronic sinus infections are also common among patients under Dr. Azola and her team’s care. Those who have arthritis or other autoimmune diseases such as lupus also appear more vulnerable, Dr. Bayley said, along with patients who have diabetes or a little overweight.

Recent research out of the University of Queensland found that being overweight can negatively affect the body’s immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Blood samples collected 13 months after infection, for example, found that individuals with a higher BMI had lower antibody activity and a reduced percentage of relevant B cells that help build antibodies to fight the virus. Being overweight did not affect the antibody response to the COVID-19 vaccines, however, giving further support for vaccination over infection-induced immunity as an important protective factor, researchers said.
 

Narrowing the Information Gap

The latest Centers for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Household Pulse Survey estimates that 14% of all American adults have had long COVID at some point, with more than 5% of the entire adult population currently experiencing long COVID. With millions of Americans affected, experts and advocates highlight the importance of bridging the knowledge gap with primary care doctors. 

Long COVID specialists said understanding these connections helps guide treatment plans and manage symptoms, such as finding the right medications, improving tolerance, optimizing sleep, applying cognitive strategies for brain fog, dietary changes, respiratory exercises to help with shortness of breath, and finding the fine line between what causes PEM and what doesn’t. 

“Whenever you see a disease like this one, you always have to ask yourself, is there an alternative way of looking at this that might explain what we’re seeing?” said Dr. Bayley. “It remains to be said that all bets are still open and that we need to continue to be very broad thinking about this.”

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

The COVID-19 pandemic may no longer be a global public health emergency, but millions continue to struggle with the aftermath: Long COVID. New research and clinical anecdotes suggest that certain individuals are more likely to be afflicted by the condition, nearly 4 years after the virus emerged. 

People with a history of allergies, anxiety or depression, arthritis, and autoimmune diseases and women are among those who appear more vulnerable to developing long COVID, said doctors who specialize in treating the condition.

Many patients with long COVID struggle with debilitating fatigue, brain fog, and cognitive impairment. The condition is also characterized by a catalog of other symptoms that may be difficult to recognize as long COVID, experts said. That’s especially true when patients may not mention seemingly unrelated information, such as underlying health conditions that might make them more vulnerable. This makes screening for certain conditions and investigating every symptom especially important. 

The severity of a patient’s initial infection is not the only determining factor for developing long COVID, experts said.

“Don’t judge the person based on how sick they were initially,” said Mark Bayley, MD, medical director of the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute at University Health Network and a professor with the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. “You have to evaluate every symptom as best you can to make sure you’re not missing anything else.” 

Someone who only had a bad cough or felt really unwell for just a few days and recovered but started feeling rotten again later — “that’s the person that we are seeing for long COVID,” said Dr. Bayley. 

While patients who become severely sick and require hospitalization have a higher risk of developing long COVID, this group size is small compared with the much larger number of people infected overall. As a result, despite the lower risk, those who only become mild to moderately sick make up the vast majority of patients in long COVID clinics. 

A small Northwestern Medicine study found that 41% of patients with long COVID never tested positive for COVID-19 but were found to have antibodies that indicated exposure to the virus. 

Doctors treating patients with long COVID should consider several risk factors, specialists said. They include:

• A history of asthma, eczema, or allergies
• Signs of autonomic nervous system dysfunction
• Preexisting immune system issues
• Chronic infections
• Diabetes
• Being slightly overweight
• A preexisting history of anxiety or depression
• Joint hypermobility ( being “double-jointed” with pain and other symptoms)

Screening for Allergies

Alba Azola, MD, assistant professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Johns Hopkins Medicine, said a history of asthma, allergies, and eczema and an onset of new food allergies may be an important factor in long COVID that doctors should consider when evaluating at-risk patients.

It is important to identify this subgroup of patients because they respond to antihistamines and mast cell stabilizers, which not only relieve their allergy symptoms but may also help improve overall fatigue and their tolerance for basic activities like standing, Dr. Azola said.

A recently published systemic review of prospective cohort studies on long COVID also found that patients with preexisting allergic conditions like asthma or rhinitis may be linked to a higher risk of developing long COVID. The authors cautioned, however, that the evidence for the link is uncertain and more rigorous research is needed.

“It stands to reason that if your immune system tends to be a bit hyperactive that triggering it with a virus will make it worse,” said Dr. Bayley.


 

Signs of Dysautonomia, Joint Hypermobility

Patients should also be screened for signs and symptoms of dysautonomia, or autonomic nervous system disorder, such as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) or another type of autonomic dysfunction, doctors said.

“There’s a whole list because the autonomic nervous system involves every part of your body, every system,” Dr. Azola said.

Issues with standing, vision, digestion, urination, and bowel movement, for example, appear to be multisystemic problems but may all be linked to autonomic dysfunction, she explained.

Patients who have POTS usually experience a worsening of symptoms after COVID infection, Dr. Azola said, adding that some patients may have even assumed their pre-COVID symptoms of POTS were normal. 

She also screens for joint hypermobility or hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which affects connective tissue. Research has long shown a relationship between autonomic dysfunction, mast cell activation syndrome (repeated severe allergy symptoms that affect multiple systems), and the presence of hypermobility, Dr. Azola said. She added that gentle physical therapy can be helpful for patients with hypermobility issues.

Previous studies before and during the pandemic have also found that a substantial subset of patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, which shares many similarities with long COVID, also have connective tissue/hypermobility disorders.
 

Depression, Anxiety, and Female Patients

People with a preexisting history of anxiety or depression also appear to be at a higher risk for long COVID, Dr. Bayley said, noting that patients with these conditions appear more vulnerable to brain fog and other difficulties brought on by COVID infection. Earlier research found biochemical evidence of brain inflammation that correlates with symptoms of anxiety in patients with long COVID.

“We know that depression is related to neurotransmitters like adrenaline and serotonin,” Dr. Bayley said. “The chronic inflammation that’s associated with COVID — this will make people feel more depressed because they’re not getting the neurotransmitters in their brain releasing at the right times.”

It may also put patients at a risk for anxiety due to fears of post-exertional malaise (PEM), where symptoms worsen after even very minor physical or mental exertion and can last days or weeks.

“You can see how that leads to a bit of a vicious cycle,” said Dr. Bayley, explaining that the cycle of fear and avoidance makes patients less active and deconditioned. But he added that learning to manage their activity can actually help mitigate PEM due to the anti-inflammatory effects of exercise, its positive impact on mood, and benefits to the immune and cardiovascular systems. 

Meanwhile, a number of epidemiologic studies have found a higher prevalence of long COVID among women. Perimenopausal and menopausal women in particular appeared more prone, and at least one study reported that women under 50 years were five times more likely to develop post-COVID symptoms than men.

A recent small UK study that focused on COVID-19 hospitalizations found that women who had lower levels of inflammatory biomarkers at admission were more likely to experience certain long-term symptoms like muscle ache, low mood and anxiety, adding to earlier research linking female patients, long COVID, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. 


 

History of Immune Dysfunction, Diabetes, Elevated Body Mass Index (BMI)

Immune dysfunction, a history of recurrent infections, or chronic sinus infections are also common among patients under Dr. Azola and her team’s care. Those who have arthritis or other autoimmune diseases such as lupus also appear more vulnerable, Dr. Bayley said, along with patients who have diabetes or a little overweight.

Recent research out of the University of Queensland found that being overweight can negatively affect the body’s immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Blood samples collected 13 months after infection, for example, found that individuals with a higher BMI had lower antibody activity and a reduced percentage of relevant B cells that help build antibodies to fight the virus. Being overweight did not affect the antibody response to the COVID-19 vaccines, however, giving further support for vaccination over infection-induced immunity as an important protective factor, researchers said.
 

Narrowing the Information Gap

The latest Centers for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Household Pulse Survey estimates that 14% of all American adults have had long COVID at some point, with more than 5% of the entire adult population currently experiencing long COVID. With millions of Americans affected, experts and advocates highlight the importance of bridging the knowledge gap with primary care doctors. 

Long COVID specialists said understanding these connections helps guide treatment plans and manage symptoms, such as finding the right medications, improving tolerance, optimizing sleep, applying cognitive strategies for brain fog, dietary changes, respiratory exercises to help with shortness of breath, and finding the fine line between what causes PEM and what doesn’t. 

“Whenever you see a disease like this one, you always have to ask yourself, is there an alternative way of looking at this that might explain what we’re seeing?” said Dr. Bayley. “It remains to be said that all bets are still open and that we need to continue to be very broad thinking about this.”

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

The COVID-19 pandemic may no longer be a global public health emergency, but millions continue to struggle with the aftermath: Long COVID. New research and clinical anecdotes suggest that certain individuals are more likely to be afflicted by the condition, nearly 4 years after the virus emerged. 

People with a history of allergies, anxiety or depression, arthritis, and autoimmune diseases and women are among those who appear more vulnerable to developing long COVID, said doctors who specialize in treating the condition.

Many patients with long COVID struggle with debilitating fatigue, brain fog, and cognitive impairment. The condition is also characterized by a catalog of other symptoms that may be difficult to recognize as long COVID, experts said. That’s especially true when patients may not mention seemingly unrelated information, such as underlying health conditions that might make them more vulnerable. This makes screening for certain conditions and investigating every symptom especially important. 

The severity of a patient’s initial infection is not the only determining factor for developing long COVID, experts said.

“Don’t judge the person based on how sick they were initially,” said Mark Bayley, MD, medical director of the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute at University Health Network and a professor with the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. “You have to evaluate every symptom as best you can to make sure you’re not missing anything else.” 

Someone who only had a bad cough or felt really unwell for just a few days and recovered but started feeling rotten again later — “that’s the person that we are seeing for long COVID,” said Dr. Bayley. 

While patients who become severely sick and require hospitalization have a higher risk of developing long COVID, this group size is small compared with the much larger number of people infected overall. As a result, despite the lower risk, those who only become mild to moderately sick make up the vast majority of patients in long COVID clinics. 

A small Northwestern Medicine study found that 41% of patients with long COVID never tested positive for COVID-19 but were found to have antibodies that indicated exposure to the virus. 

Doctors treating patients with long COVID should consider several risk factors, specialists said. They include:

• A history of asthma, eczema, or allergies
• Signs of autonomic nervous system dysfunction
• Preexisting immune system issues
• Chronic infections
• Diabetes
• Being slightly overweight
• A preexisting history of anxiety or depression
• Joint hypermobility ( being “double-jointed” with pain and other symptoms)

Screening for Allergies

Alba Azola, MD, assistant professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Johns Hopkins Medicine, said a history of asthma, allergies, and eczema and an onset of new food allergies may be an important factor in long COVID that doctors should consider when evaluating at-risk patients.

It is important to identify this subgroup of patients because they respond to antihistamines and mast cell stabilizers, which not only relieve their allergy symptoms but may also help improve overall fatigue and their tolerance for basic activities like standing, Dr. Azola said.

A recently published systemic review of prospective cohort studies on long COVID also found that patients with preexisting allergic conditions like asthma or rhinitis may be linked to a higher risk of developing long COVID. The authors cautioned, however, that the evidence for the link is uncertain and more rigorous research is needed.

“It stands to reason that if your immune system tends to be a bit hyperactive that triggering it with a virus will make it worse,” said Dr. Bayley.


 

Signs of Dysautonomia, Joint Hypermobility

Patients should also be screened for signs and symptoms of dysautonomia, or autonomic nervous system disorder, such as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) or another type of autonomic dysfunction, doctors said.

“There’s a whole list because the autonomic nervous system involves every part of your body, every system,” Dr. Azola said.

Issues with standing, vision, digestion, urination, and bowel movement, for example, appear to be multisystemic problems but may all be linked to autonomic dysfunction, she explained.

Patients who have POTS usually experience a worsening of symptoms after COVID infection, Dr. Azola said, adding that some patients may have even assumed their pre-COVID symptoms of POTS were normal. 

She also screens for joint hypermobility or hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which affects connective tissue. Research has long shown a relationship between autonomic dysfunction, mast cell activation syndrome (repeated severe allergy symptoms that affect multiple systems), and the presence of hypermobility, Dr. Azola said. She added that gentle physical therapy can be helpful for patients with hypermobility issues.

Previous studies before and during the pandemic have also found that a substantial subset of patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, which shares many similarities with long COVID, also have connective tissue/hypermobility disorders.
 

Depression, Anxiety, and Female Patients

People with a preexisting history of anxiety or depression also appear to be at a higher risk for long COVID, Dr. Bayley said, noting that patients with these conditions appear more vulnerable to brain fog and other difficulties brought on by COVID infection. Earlier research found biochemical evidence of brain inflammation that correlates with symptoms of anxiety in patients with long COVID.

“We know that depression is related to neurotransmitters like adrenaline and serotonin,” Dr. Bayley said. “The chronic inflammation that’s associated with COVID — this will make people feel more depressed because they’re not getting the neurotransmitters in their brain releasing at the right times.”

It may also put patients at a risk for anxiety due to fears of post-exertional malaise (PEM), where symptoms worsen after even very minor physical or mental exertion and can last days or weeks.

“You can see how that leads to a bit of a vicious cycle,” said Dr. Bayley, explaining that the cycle of fear and avoidance makes patients less active and deconditioned. But he added that learning to manage their activity can actually help mitigate PEM due to the anti-inflammatory effects of exercise, its positive impact on mood, and benefits to the immune and cardiovascular systems. 

Meanwhile, a number of epidemiologic studies have found a higher prevalence of long COVID among women. Perimenopausal and menopausal women in particular appeared more prone, and at least one study reported that women under 50 years were five times more likely to develop post-COVID symptoms than men.

A recent small UK study that focused on COVID-19 hospitalizations found that women who had lower levels of inflammatory biomarkers at admission were more likely to experience certain long-term symptoms like muscle ache, low mood and anxiety, adding to earlier research linking female patients, long COVID, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. 


 

History of Immune Dysfunction, Diabetes, Elevated Body Mass Index (BMI)

Immune dysfunction, a history of recurrent infections, or chronic sinus infections are also common among patients under Dr. Azola and her team’s care. Those who have arthritis or other autoimmune diseases such as lupus also appear more vulnerable, Dr. Bayley said, along with patients who have diabetes or a little overweight.

Recent research out of the University of Queensland found that being overweight can negatively affect the body’s immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Blood samples collected 13 months after infection, for example, found that individuals with a higher BMI had lower antibody activity and a reduced percentage of relevant B cells that help build antibodies to fight the virus. Being overweight did not affect the antibody response to the COVID-19 vaccines, however, giving further support for vaccination over infection-induced immunity as an important protective factor, researchers said.
 

Narrowing the Information Gap

The latest Centers for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Household Pulse Survey estimates that 14% of all American adults have had long COVID at some point, with more than 5% of the entire adult population currently experiencing long COVID. With millions of Americans affected, experts and advocates highlight the importance of bridging the knowledge gap with primary care doctors. 

Long COVID specialists said understanding these connections helps guide treatment plans and manage symptoms, such as finding the right medications, improving tolerance, optimizing sleep, applying cognitive strategies for brain fog, dietary changes, respiratory exercises to help with shortness of breath, and finding the fine line between what causes PEM and what doesn’t. 

“Whenever you see a disease like this one, you always have to ask yourself, is there an alternative way of looking at this that might explain what we’re seeing?” said Dr. Bayley. “It remains to be said that all bets are still open and that we need to continue to be very broad thinking about this.”

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

In a victory for clinicians who fought to keep working regardless of age, a San Diego–based medical group has agreed to settle a federal investigation by paying nearly $7 million to physicians subject to their employer’s policy requiring them to quit at age 75.

In a statement, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said the settlement will resolve an age and disability discrimination charge filed against Scripps Clinic Medical Group. The medical group is part of Scripps Health, a major provider of medical services in the San Diego region that operates five local hospitals.

The EECO said it found “reasonable cause” that the medical group violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

US health systems are facing lawsuits that claim they’ve engaged in age discrimination by requiring physicians to take cognitive tests when they reach specific ages.

The Scripps medical group’s mandatory retirement policy began in 2016 and was consistent with California law, which specifically allows for mandatory retirement of physicians in medical groups at age 70, Scripps said in a statement, adding that it rescinded the policy in 2018.

“This policy was put in place to enhance patient safety,” Scripps said. “The EEOC took the position while such a policy is expressly legal under California law; it is not allowed under federal law.”

The Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act, passed in 1967, states that employers may not “fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of such individual’s age.” There are exceptions, however, in cases of public safety for professions such as air traffic controllers.

California law has a similar provision banning age discrimination, but it makes an exception for “any employee who has attained 70 years of age and is a physician employed by a professional medical corporation, the articles or bylaws of which provide for compulsory retirement.”

In 2020, an estimated 12% of US licensed physicians were at least 70 years old — more than 120,000 in total — up from 9% in a 2010, according to a Federation of State Medical Boards 2021 report.

Scripps Clinic Medical Group settled with the EEOC “without any admission of fault or wrongdoing to avoid the continued expense and distraction of litigation,” its statement said. It agreed to pay $6.875 million to the affected physicians.

When asked about how many physicians were affected by the policy, a Scripps human resources official said, “this was disputed but very few. The policy was only in effect for 2 years, 2016 and 2017. Additionally, by age 75, most doctors have retired. And those who have not almost always have voluntarily limited their practice.”

The Scripps official didn’t respond to questions about the number of patients served by the medical group and how many physicians it employs.

According to the EEOC, the medical group has agreed to tell employees that the policy has been scrapped and must “clarify that the company does not have any policy in which age is a factor in making employment decisions, including termination, retirement, and terms and conditions of employment.”

Scripps Clinic Medical Group also agreed to require division and department heads, executive leadership, and human resources employees to be trained regarding the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

In a victory for clinicians who fought to keep working regardless of age, a San Diego–based medical group has agreed to settle a federal investigation by paying nearly $7 million to physicians subject to their employer’s policy requiring them to quit at age 75.

In a statement, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said the settlement will resolve an age and disability discrimination charge filed against Scripps Clinic Medical Group. The medical group is part of Scripps Health, a major provider of medical services in the San Diego region that operates five local hospitals.

The EECO said it found “reasonable cause” that the medical group violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

US health systems are facing lawsuits that claim they’ve engaged in age discrimination by requiring physicians to take cognitive tests when they reach specific ages.

The Scripps medical group’s mandatory retirement policy began in 2016 and was consistent with California law, which specifically allows for mandatory retirement of physicians in medical groups at age 70, Scripps said in a statement, adding that it rescinded the policy in 2018.

“This policy was put in place to enhance patient safety,” Scripps said. “The EEOC took the position while such a policy is expressly legal under California law; it is not allowed under federal law.”

The Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act, passed in 1967, states that employers may not “fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of such individual’s age.” There are exceptions, however, in cases of public safety for professions such as air traffic controllers.

California law has a similar provision banning age discrimination, but it makes an exception for “any employee who has attained 70 years of age and is a physician employed by a professional medical corporation, the articles or bylaws of which provide for compulsory retirement.”

In 2020, an estimated 12% of US licensed physicians were at least 70 years old — more than 120,000 in total — up from 9% in a 2010, according to a Federation of State Medical Boards 2021 report.

Scripps Clinic Medical Group settled with the EEOC “without any admission of fault or wrongdoing to avoid the continued expense and distraction of litigation,” its statement said. It agreed to pay $6.875 million to the affected physicians.

When asked about how many physicians were affected by the policy, a Scripps human resources official said, “this was disputed but very few. The policy was only in effect for 2 years, 2016 and 2017. Additionally, by age 75, most doctors have retired. And those who have not almost always have voluntarily limited their practice.”

The Scripps official didn’t respond to questions about the number of patients served by the medical group and how many physicians it employs.

According to the EEOC, the medical group has agreed to tell employees that the policy has been scrapped and must “clarify that the company does not have any policy in which age is a factor in making employment decisions, including termination, retirement, and terms and conditions of employment.”

Scripps Clinic Medical Group also agreed to require division and department heads, executive leadership, and human resources employees to be trained regarding the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

In a victory for clinicians who fought to keep working regardless of age, a San Diego–based medical group has agreed to settle a federal investigation by paying nearly $7 million to physicians subject to their employer’s policy requiring them to quit at age 75.

In a statement, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said the settlement will resolve an age and disability discrimination charge filed against Scripps Clinic Medical Group. The medical group is part of Scripps Health, a major provider of medical services in the San Diego region that operates five local hospitals.

The EECO said it found “reasonable cause” that the medical group violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

US health systems are facing lawsuits that claim they’ve engaged in age discrimination by requiring physicians to take cognitive tests when they reach specific ages.

The Scripps medical group’s mandatory retirement policy began in 2016 and was consistent with California law, which specifically allows for mandatory retirement of physicians in medical groups at age 70, Scripps said in a statement, adding that it rescinded the policy in 2018.

“This policy was put in place to enhance patient safety,” Scripps said. “The EEOC took the position while such a policy is expressly legal under California law; it is not allowed under federal law.”

The Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act, passed in 1967, states that employers may not “fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of such individual’s age.” There are exceptions, however, in cases of public safety for professions such as air traffic controllers.

California law has a similar provision banning age discrimination, but it makes an exception for “any employee who has attained 70 years of age and is a physician employed by a professional medical corporation, the articles or bylaws of which provide for compulsory retirement.”

In 2020, an estimated 12% of US licensed physicians were at least 70 years old — more than 120,000 in total — up from 9% in a 2010, according to a Federation of State Medical Boards 2021 report.

Scripps Clinic Medical Group settled with the EEOC “without any admission of fault or wrongdoing to avoid the continued expense and distraction of litigation,” its statement said. It agreed to pay $6.875 million to the affected physicians.

When asked about how many physicians were affected by the policy, a Scripps human resources official said, “this was disputed but very few. The policy was only in effect for 2 years, 2016 and 2017. Additionally, by age 75, most doctors have retired. And those who have not almost always have voluntarily limited their practice.”

The Scripps official didn’t respond to questions about the number of patients served by the medical group and how many physicians it employs.

According to the EEOC, the medical group has agreed to tell employees that the policy has been scrapped and must “clarify that the company does not have any policy in which age is a factor in making employment decisions, including termination, retirement, and terms and conditions of employment.”

Scripps Clinic Medical Group also agreed to require division and department heads, executive leadership, and human resources employees to be trained regarding the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

The World Health Organization called the COVID-19 variant JN.1 a standalone “variant of interest” and said JN.1 will drive an increase in cases of the virus, the global health agency has announced.

JN.1 was previously grouped with its relative, BA.2.86, but has increased so much in the past 4 weeks that the WHO moved it to standalone status, according to a summary published by the agency. The prevalence of JN.1 worldwide jumped from 3% for the week ending November 5 to 27% for the week ending December 3. During that same period, JN.1 rose from 1% to 66% of cases in the Western Pacific, which stretches across 37 countries, from China and Mongolia to Australia and New Zealand.

In the United States, JN.1 has been increasing rapidly. The variant accounted for an estimated 21% of cases for the 2-week period ending December 9, up from 8% during the 2 weeks prior.

SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID, and like other viruses, it evolves over time, sometimes changing how the virus affects people or how well existing treatments and vaccines work against it.

The WHO and CDC have said the current COVID vaccine appears to protect people against severe symptoms due to JN.1, and the WHO called the rising variant’s public health risk “low.”

“As we observe the rise of the JN.1 variant, it’s important to note that while it may be spreading more widely, there is currently no significant evidence suggesting it is more severe or that it poses a substantial public health risk,” John Brownstein, PhD, chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital, told ABC News.

In its recent risk analysis, the WHO did acknowledge that it’s not certain whether JN.1 has a higher risk of evading immunity or causing more severe symptoms than other strains. The WHO advised countries to further study how much JN.1 can evade existing antibodies and whether the variant results in more severe disease.

The latest CDC data show that 11% of COVID tests reported to the agency are positive, and 23,432 people were hospitalized with severe symptoms within a 7-day period. The CDC urgently asked people to get vaccinated against respiratory illnesses like the flu and COVID-19 ahead of the holidays as cases rise nationwide.

“Getting vaccinated now can help prevent hospitalizations and save lives,” the agency advised.


A version of this article originally appeared on WebMD.com.

The World Health Organization called the COVID-19 variant JN.1 a standalone “variant of interest” and said JN.1 will drive an increase in cases of the virus, the global health agency has announced.

JN.1 was previously grouped with its relative, BA.2.86, but has increased so much in the past 4 weeks that the WHO moved it to standalone status, according to a summary published by the agency. The prevalence of JN.1 worldwide jumped from 3% for the week ending November 5 to 27% for the week ending December 3. During that same period, JN.1 rose from 1% to 66% of cases in the Western Pacific, which stretches across 37 countries, from China and Mongolia to Australia and New Zealand.

In the United States, JN.1 has been increasing rapidly. The variant accounted for an estimated 21% of cases for the 2-week period ending December 9, up from 8% during the 2 weeks prior.

SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID, and like other viruses, it evolves over time, sometimes changing how the virus affects people or how well existing treatments and vaccines work against it.

The WHO and CDC have said the current COVID vaccine appears to protect people against severe symptoms due to JN.1, and the WHO called the rising variant’s public health risk “low.”

“As we observe the rise of the JN.1 variant, it’s important to note that while it may be spreading more widely, there is currently no significant evidence suggesting it is more severe or that it poses a substantial public health risk,” John Brownstein, PhD, chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital, told ABC News.

In its recent risk analysis, the WHO did acknowledge that it’s not certain whether JN.1 has a higher risk of evading immunity or causing more severe symptoms than other strains. The WHO advised countries to further study how much JN.1 can evade existing antibodies and whether the variant results in more severe disease.

The latest CDC data show that 11% of COVID tests reported to the agency are positive, and 23,432 people were hospitalized with severe symptoms within a 7-day period. The CDC urgently asked people to get vaccinated against respiratory illnesses like the flu and COVID-19 ahead of the holidays as cases rise nationwide.

“Getting vaccinated now can help prevent hospitalizations and save lives,” the agency advised.


A version of this article originally appeared on WebMD.com.

The World Health Organization called the COVID-19 variant JN.1 a standalone “variant of interest” and said JN.1 will drive an increase in cases of the virus, the global health agency has announced.

JN.1 was previously grouped with its relative, BA.2.86, but has increased so much in the past 4 weeks that the WHO moved it to standalone status, according to a summary published by the agency. The prevalence of JN.1 worldwide jumped from 3% for the week ending November 5 to 27% for the week ending December 3. During that same period, JN.1 rose from 1% to 66% of cases in the Western Pacific, which stretches across 37 countries, from China and Mongolia to Australia and New Zealand.

In the United States, JN.1 has been increasing rapidly. The variant accounted for an estimated 21% of cases for the 2-week period ending December 9, up from 8% during the 2 weeks prior.

SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID, and like other viruses, it evolves over time, sometimes changing how the virus affects people or how well existing treatments and vaccines work against it.

The WHO and CDC have said the current COVID vaccine appears to protect people against severe symptoms due to JN.1, and the WHO called the rising variant’s public health risk “low.”

“As we observe the rise of the JN.1 variant, it’s important to note that while it may be spreading more widely, there is currently no significant evidence suggesting it is more severe or that it poses a substantial public health risk,” John Brownstein, PhD, chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital, told ABC News.

In its recent risk analysis, the WHO did acknowledge that it’s not certain whether JN.1 has a higher risk of evading immunity or causing more severe symptoms than other strains. The WHO advised countries to further study how much JN.1 can evade existing antibodies and whether the variant results in more severe disease.

The latest CDC data show that 11% of COVID tests reported to the agency are positive, and 23,432 people were hospitalized with severe symptoms within a 7-day period. The CDC urgently asked people to get vaccinated against respiratory illnesses like the flu and COVID-19 ahead of the holidays as cases rise nationwide.

“Getting vaccinated now can help prevent hospitalizations and save lives,” the agency advised.


A version of this article originally appeared on WebMD.com.

Human microbiome research has progressed in leaps and bounds over the past decades, from pivotal studies begun in the 1970s to the launch of the Human Microbiome Project in 2007. Breakthroughs have laid the groundwork for more recent clinical applications, such as fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), and advanced techniques to explore new therapeutic pathways. Yet the “microbiome revolution” is just getting started, according to professor Martin J. Blaser, MD, one of the field’s pioneers.

The ongoing research and clinical trials into the microbiome’s link to the major causes of death in the United States hold the promise of interventions that manipulate the microbiome to prevent, slow, or perhaps even cure these conditions, says Dr. Blaser, who holds the Henry Rutgers Chair of the Human Microbiome and is director of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Dr. Blaser is the author of Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues, serves as chair of the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and is a member of the scientific advisory board of the biotech startup Micronoma.

In this interview, which has been condensed and edited for clarity, Dr. Blaser discusses where we’re at now and where he sees the microbiome field evolving in the coming years.

Highlighting the Most Promising Applications

Which recent studies on the link between the human microbiome and disease have you found particularly promising?

There have been a number of studies, including our own, focusing on the gut-kidney axis. The gut microbiome produces, or detoxifies, metabolites that are toxic to the kidney: for example, those involved in the formation of kidney stones and in the worsening of uremia. 

Altering the microbiome to reduce the uremic toxins and the nidus for stone formation is a very promising field of research. 

What other disease states may be amenable to microbiome-based interventions?

There are diseases that are caused by known genetic mutations. Yet, for nearly all of them, there is great variation in clinical outcomes, which might be classed as genes multiplied by environment interactions. 

It seems likely to me that microbiome variation could account for some proportion of those differences for some genetic diseases. 

It’s now well established that altering the microbiome with FMT is a successful intervention for recurrent  Clostridioides difficile  infections. What do you see as the next disease states where FMT could prove successful?

If you go to ClinicalTrials.gov, you will find that that there are 471 trials registered using FMT. This is across a broad range of illnesses, including metabolic, immunological, autoimmune, inflammatory, degenerative, and neoplastic diseases. 

Which will be the next condition showing marked efficacy is anyone’s guess. That is why we must do clinical trials to assess what works and what does not, regardless of specific illness. 

The donor’s microbiome appears to be vital to engraftment success, with “superdonors” even being identified. What factors do you think primarily influence microbiome engraftment?

There is an emerging science about this question, driven in part by classical ecological theory. 

Right now, we are using FMT as if one size fits all. But this probably would not provide optimal treatment for all. Just as we type blood donors and recipients before the blood transfusion, one could easily imagine a parallel kind of procedure. 

Are there any diseases where it’s just too far-fetched to think altering the microbiome could make a difference?

The link between the microbiome and human health is so pervasive that there are few conditions that are out of the realm of possibility. It really is a frontier. 

Not that the microbiome causes everything, but by understanding and manipulating the microbiome, we could at least palliate, or slow down, particular pathologic processes. 

For all the major causes of death in the United States — cardiovascular disease, cancer, dementia and neurogenerative diseases, diabetes, and lung, liver, and kidney diseases — there is ongoing investigation of the microbiome. A greater promise would be to prevent or cure these illnesses. 

Predicting the Next Stages of the ‘Microbiome Revolution’

Do you believe we are at a turning point with the microbiome in terms of being able to manipulate or engineer it?

The microbiome is a scientific frontier that has an impact across the biosphere. It is a broad frontier involving human and veterinary medicine, agriculture, and the environment. Knowledge is increasing incrementally, as expected. 

Are we at the point yet where doctors should be incorporating microbiome-related lifestyle changes for people with or at risk for cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, or other chronic conditions?

Although we are still in the early stages of the “microbiome revolution,” which I first wrote about in EMBO Reports  in 2006 and then again in the Journal of Clinical Investigation in 2014, I think important advances for all of these conditions are coming our way in the next 5-10 years. 

How are prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics being used to shape the microbiome?

This is a very important and active area in clinical investigation, which needs to be ramped up. 

Tens of millions of people are using probiotics and prebiotics every day for vague indications, and which have only infrequently been tested in robust clinical trials. So, there is a disconnect between what’s being claimed with the bulk of the probiotics at present and what we’ll actually know in the future. 

How do you think the microbiome will stack up to other factors influencing health, such as genetics, exercise, and nutrition?

All are important, but unlike genetics, the microbiome is tractable, like diet and exercise. 

It is essentially impossible to change one’s genome, but that might become more likely before too long. However, we can easily change someone’s microbiome through dietary means, for example. Once we know the ground rules, there will be many options. Right now, it is mostly one-offs, but as the scientific basis broadens, much more will be possible. 

In the future, do you think we’ll be able to look at a person’s microbiome and tell what his or her risk of developing disease is, similar to the way we use gene panels now?

Yes, but we will need scientific advances to teach us what are the important biomarkers in general and in particular people. This will be one area of precision medicine. 

Lessons From Decades at the Forefront

You’ve been involved in this research for over 30 years, and the majority has focused on the human microbiome and its role in disease. When did it become apparent to you that this research had unique therapeutic promise?

From the very start, there was always the potential to harness the microbiome to improve human health. In fact, I wrote a perspective in PNAS on that theme in 2010. 

The key is to understand the biology of the microbiome, and from the scientific study comes new preventives and new treatments. Right now, there are many “probiotic” products on the market. Probiotics have a great future, but most of what is out there has not been rigorously tested for effectiveness. 

Was there a particular series of studies that occurred before the launch of the Human Microbiome Project and brought us to the current era?

The studies in the 1970s-1980s by Carl Woese using 16S rRNA genes to understand phylogeny and evolution opened up the field of DNA sequencing to consider bacterial evolution and issues of ancestry. 

A key subject of your research and the focus of your book is antibiotic-resistant bacteria. What did this work teach you about describing the science of antibiotic resistance to the general public?

People don’t care very much about antibiotic resistance. They think that affects other people, mostly. In contrast, they care about their own health and their children’s health. 

The more that the data show that using antibiotics can be harmful to health in some circumstances, the more that use will diminish. We need more transparency about benefits and costs. 

Are there any common misconceptions about the microbiome that you hear from the general public, or even clinicians, that you would like to see greater efforts to dispel?

The public and the medical profession are in love with probiotics, buying them by the tens of millions. But as stated before, they are very diverse and mostly untested for efficacy. 

The next step is to test specific formulations to see which ones work, and for whom, and which ones don’t. That would be a big advance. 

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

Human microbiome research has progressed in leaps and bounds over the past decades, from pivotal studies begun in the 1970s to the launch of the Human Microbiome Project in 2007. Breakthroughs have laid the groundwork for more recent clinical applications, such as fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), and advanced techniques to explore new therapeutic pathways. Yet the “microbiome revolution” is just getting started, according to professor Martin J. Blaser, MD, one of the field’s pioneers.

The ongoing research and clinical trials into the microbiome’s link to the major causes of death in the United States hold the promise of interventions that manipulate the microbiome to prevent, slow, or perhaps even cure these conditions, says Dr. Blaser, who holds the Henry Rutgers Chair of the Human Microbiome and is director of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Dr. Blaser is the author of Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues, serves as chair of the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and is a member of the scientific advisory board of the biotech startup Micronoma.

In this interview, which has been condensed and edited for clarity, Dr. Blaser discusses where we’re at now and where he sees the microbiome field evolving in the coming years.

Highlighting the Most Promising Applications

Which recent studies on the link between the human microbiome and disease have you found particularly promising?

There have been a number of studies, including our own, focusing on the gut-kidney axis. The gut microbiome produces, or detoxifies, metabolites that are toxic to the kidney: for example, those involved in the formation of kidney stones and in the worsening of uremia. 

Altering the microbiome to reduce the uremic toxins and the nidus for stone formation is a very promising field of research. 

What other disease states may be amenable to microbiome-based interventions?

There are diseases that are caused by known genetic mutations. Yet, for nearly all of them, there is great variation in clinical outcomes, which might be classed as genes multiplied by environment interactions. 

It seems likely to me that microbiome variation could account for some proportion of those differences for some genetic diseases. 

It’s now well established that altering the microbiome with FMT is a successful intervention for recurrent  Clostridioides difficile  infections. What do you see as the next disease states where FMT could prove successful?

If you go to ClinicalTrials.gov, you will find that that there are 471 trials registered using FMT. This is across a broad range of illnesses, including metabolic, immunological, autoimmune, inflammatory, degenerative, and neoplastic diseases. 

Which will be the next condition showing marked efficacy is anyone’s guess. That is why we must do clinical trials to assess what works and what does not, regardless of specific illness. 

The donor’s microbiome appears to be vital to engraftment success, with “superdonors” even being identified. What factors do you think primarily influence microbiome engraftment?

There is an emerging science about this question, driven in part by classical ecological theory. 

Right now, we are using FMT as if one size fits all. But this probably would not provide optimal treatment for all. Just as we type blood donors and recipients before the blood transfusion, one could easily imagine a parallel kind of procedure. 

Are there any diseases where it’s just too far-fetched to think altering the microbiome could make a difference?

The link between the microbiome and human health is so pervasive that there are few conditions that are out of the realm of possibility. It really is a frontier. 

Not that the microbiome causes everything, but by understanding and manipulating the microbiome, we could at least palliate, or slow down, particular pathologic processes. 

For all the major causes of death in the United States — cardiovascular disease, cancer, dementia and neurogenerative diseases, diabetes, and lung, liver, and kidney diseases — there is ongoing investigation of the microbiome. A greater promise would be to prevent or cure these illnesses. 

Predicting the Next Stages of the ‘Microbiome Revolution’

Do you believe we are at a turning point with the microbiome in terms of being able to manipulate or engineer it?

The microbiome is a scientific frontier that has an impact across the biosphere. It is a broad frontier involving human and veterinary medicine, agriculture, and the environment. Knowledge is increasing incrementally, as expected. 

Are we at the point yet where doctors should be incorporating microbiome-related lifestyle changes for people with or at risk for cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, or other chronic conditions?

Although we are still in the early stages of the “microbiome revolution,” which I first wrote about in EMBO Reports  in 2006 and then again in the Journal of Clinical Investigation in 2014, I think important advances for all of these conditions are coming our way in the next 5-10 years. 

How are prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics being used to shape the microbiome?

This is a very important and active area in clinical investigation, which needs to be ramped up. 

Tens of millions of people are using probiotics and prebiotics every day for vague indications, and which have only infrequently been tested in robust clinical trials. So, there is a disconnect between what’s being claimed with the bulk of the probiotics at present and what we’ll actually know in the future. 

How do you think the microbiome will stack up to other factors influencing health, such as genetics, exercise, and nutrition?

All are important, but unlike genetics, the microbiome is tractable, like diet and exercise. 

It is essentially impossible to change one’s genome, but that might become more likely before too long. However, we can easily change someone’s microbiome through dietary means, for example. Once we know the ground rules, there will be many options. Right now, it is mostly one-offs, but as the scientific basis broadens, much more will be possible. 

In the future, do you think we’ll be able to look at a person’s microbiome and tell what his or her risk of developing disease is, similar to the way we use gene panels now?

Yes, but we will need scientific advances to teach us what are the important biomarkers in general and in particular people. This will be one area of precision medicine. 

Lessons From Decades at the Forefront

You’ve been involved in this research for over 30 years, and the majority has focused on the human microbiome and its role in disease. When did it become apparent to you that this research had unique therapeutic promise?

From the very start, there was always the potential to harness the microbiome to improve human health. In fact, I wrote a perspective in PNAS on that theme in 2010. 

The key is to understand the biology of the microbiome, and from the scientific study comes new preventives and new treatments. Right now, there are many “probiotic” products on the market. Probiotics have a great future, but most of what is out there has not been rigorously tested for effectiveness. 

Was there a particular series of studies that occurred before the launch of the Human Microbiome Project and brought us to the current era?

The studies in the 1970s-1980s by Carl Woese using 16S rRNA genes to understand phylogeny and evolution opened up the field of DNA sequencing to consider bacterial evolution and issues of ancestry. 

A key subject of your research and the focus of your book is antibiotic-resistant bacteria. What did this work teach you about describing the science of antibiotic resistance to the general public?

People don’t care very much about antibiotic resistance. They think that affects other people, mostly. In contrast, they care about their own health and their children’s health. 

The more that the data show that using antibiotics can be harmful to health in some circumstances, the more that use will diminish. We need more transparency about benefits and costs. 

Are there any common misconceptions about the microbiome that you hear from the general public, or even clinicians, that you would like to see greater efforts to dispel?

The public and the medical profession are in love with probiotics, buying them by the tens of millions. But as stated before, they are very diverse and mostly untested for efficacy. 

The next step is to test specific formulations to see which ones work, and for whom, and which ones don’t. That would be a big advance. 

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

Human microbiome research has progressed in leaps and bounds over the past decades, from pivotal studies begun in the 1970s to the launch of the Human Microbiome Project in 2007. Breakthroughs have laid the groundwork for more recent clinical applications, such as fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), and advanced techniques to explore new therapeutic pathways. Yet the “microbiome revolution” is just getting started, according to professor Martin J. Blaser, MD, one of the field’s pioneers.

The ongoing research and clinical trials into the microbiome’s link to the major causes of death in the United States hold the promise of interventions that manipulate the microbiome to prevent, slow, or perhaps even cure these conditions, says Dr. Blaser, who holds the Henry Rutgers Chair of the Human Microbiome and is director of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Dr. Blaser is the author of Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues, serves as chair of the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and is a member of the scientific advisory board of the biotech startup Micronoma.

In this interview, which has been condensed and edited for clarity, Dr. Blaser discusses where we’re at now and where he sees the microbiome field evolving in the coming years.

Highlighting the Most Promising Applications

Which recent studies on the link between the human microbiome and disease have you found particularly promising?

There have been a number of studies, including our own, focusing on the gut-kidney axis. The gut microbiome produces, or detoxifies, metabolites that are toxic to the kidney: for example, those involved in the formation of kidney stones and in the worsening of uremia. 

Altering the microbiome to reduce the uremic toxins and the nidus for stone formation is a very promising field of research. 

What other disease states may be amenable to microbiome-based interventions?

There are diseases that are caused by known genetic mutations. Yet, for nearly all of them, there is great variation in clinical outcomes, which might be classed as genes multiplied by environment interactions. 

It seems likely to me that microbiome variation could account for some proportion of those differences for some genetic diseases. 

It’s now well established that altering the microbiome with FMT is a successful intervention for recurrent  Clostridioides difficile  infections. What do you see as the next disease states where FMT could prove successful?

If you go to ClinicalTrials.gov, you will find that that there are 471 trials registered using FMT. This is across a broad range of illnesses, including metabolic, immunological, autoimmune, inflammatory, degenerative, and neoplastic diseases. 

Which will be the next condition showing marked efficacy is anyone’s guess. That is why we must do clinical trials to assess what works and what does not, regardless of specific illness. 

The donor’s microbiome appears to be vital to engraftment success, with “superdonors” even being identified. What factors do you think primarily influence microbiome engraftment?

There is an emerging science about this question, driven in part by classical ecological theory. 

Right now, we are using FMT as if one size fits all. But this probably would not provide optimal treatment for all. Just as we type blood donors and recipients before the blood transfusion, one could easily imagine a parallel kind of procedure. 

Are there any diseases where it’s just too far-fetched to think altering the microbiome could make a difference?

The link between the microbiome and human health is so pervasive that there are few conditions that are out of the realm of possibility. It really is a frontier. 

Not that the microbiome causes everything, but by understanding and manipulating the microbiome, we could at least palliate, or slow down, particular pathologic processes. 

For all the major causes of death in the United States — cardiovascular disease, cancer, dementia and neurogenerative diseases, diabetes, and lung, liver, and kidney diseases — there is ongoing investigation of the microbiome. A greater promise would be to prevent or cure these illnesses. 

Predicting the Next Stages of the ‘Microbiome Revolution’

Do you believe we are at a turning point with the microbiome in terms of being able to manipulate or engineer it?

The microbiome is a scientific frontier that has an impact across the biosphere. It is a broad frontier involving human and veterinary medicine, agriculture, and the environment. Knowledge is increasing incrementally, as expected. 

Are we at the point yet where doctors should be incorporating microbiome-related lifestyle changes for people with or at risk for cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, or other chronic conditions?

Although we are still in the early stages of the “microbiome revolution,” which I first wrote about in EMBO Reports  in 2006 and then again in the Journal of Clinical Investigation in 2014, I think important advances for all of these conditions are coming our way in the next 5-10 years. 

How are prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics being used to shape the microbiome?

This is a very important and active area in clinical investigation, which needs to be ramped up. 

Tens of millions of people are using probiotics and prebiotics every day for vague indications, and which have only infrequently been tested in robust clinical trials. So, there is a disconnect between what’s being claimed with the bulk of the probiotics at present and what we’ll actually know in the future. 

How do you think the microbiome will stack up to other factors influencing health, such as genetics, exercise, and nutrition?

All are important, but unlike genetics, the microbiome is tractable, like diet and exercise. 

It is essentially impossible to change one’s genome, but that might become more likely before too long. However, we can easily change someone’s microbiome through dietary means, for example. Once we know the ground rules, there will be many options. Right now, it is mostly one-offs, but as the scientific basis broadens, much more will be possible. 

In the future, do you think we’ll be able to look at a person’s microbiome and tell what his or her risk of developing disease is, similar to the way we use gene panels now?

Yes, but we will need scientific advances to teach us what are the important biomarkers in general and in particular people. This will be one area of precision medicine. 

Lessons From Decades at the Forefront

You’ve been involved in this research for over 30 years, and the majority has focused on the human microbiome and its role in disease. When did it become apparent to you that this research had unique therapeutic promise?

From the very start, there was always the potential to harness the microbiome to improve human health. In fact, I wrote a perspective in PNAS on that theme in 2010. 

The key is to understand the biology of the microbiome, and from the scientific study comes new preventives and new treatments. Right now, there are many “probiotic” products on the market. Probiotics have a great future, but most of what is out there has not been rigorously tested for effectiveness. 

Was there a particular series of studies that occurred before the launch of the Human Microbiome Project and brought us to the current era?

The studies in the 1970s-1980s by Carl Woese using 16S rRNA genes to understand phylogeny and evolution opened up the field of DNA sequencing to consider bacterial evolution and issues of ancestry. 

A key subject of your research and the focus of your book is antibiotic-resistant bacteria. What did this work teach you about describing the science of antibiotic resistance to the general public?

People don’t care very much about antibiotic resistance. They think that affects other people, mostly. In contrast, they care about their own health and their children’s health. 

The more that the data show that using antibiotics can be harmful to health in some circumstances, the more that use will diminish. We need more transparency about benefits and costs. 

Are there any common misconceptions about the microbiome that you hear from the general public, or even clinicians, that you would like to see greater efforts to dispel?

The public and the medical profession are in love with probiotics, buying them by the tens of millions. But as stated before, they are very diverse and mostly untested for efficacy. 

The next step is to test specific formulations to see which ones work, and for whom, and which ones don’t. That would be a big advance. 

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

A cluster of ocular presentation of syphilis has experts questioning whether this rare finding suggests the bacterium has mutated, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With the incidence of syphilis infection in women increasing in the United States, experts are asking clinicians to be on the lookout for unusual ocular presentations. 

“This is the first time such a cluster has been reported in the US,” the International Society for Infectious Diseases posted on ProMED. 

Five women in Southwest Michigan who had a common male sex partner developed syphilis infections in their eyes. No new cases have been found related to these five cases after the women and the man received medical care. 

If left untreated, the bacterium, Treponema pallidum, can infect the eyes, the ears, and the central nervous system.

The women, identified as non-Hispanic White, were aged 40-60 years and were not infected with HIV. They were diagnosed with early-stage syphilis and all were hospitalized and treated with intravenous penicillin. Routes of sexual exposure among the women included anal (40%), oral (40%), and vaginal (100%), the report states.

The common male sex partner they all met online was found to have early latent syphilis but never developed ocular syphilis. 

It is not the eyes that are being exposed. Rather, it is an ocular presentation brought about by a systemic infection carried through the bloodstream after sexual exposure, explains William Nettleton, MD, MPH, medical director of the Kalamazoo and Calhoun public health departments in Michigan and lead author of the report.

“If we screen, identify, and treat syphilis promptly, we can prevent systemic manifestations,” he says. 

Clinicians should be aware that the ocular manifestations can come at different stages of syphilis. “For patients you think may have ocular syphilis,” Dr. Nettleton says, “an immediate ophthalmologic evaluation is indicated.” 

Symptoms Differed

The five women presented with a variety of symptoms. 

Multiple attempts to contact the male partner by telephone and text were made by Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, but he did not respond. Local public health physicians reviewed the man’s electronic health record and discovered that he had sought care at a hospital emergency department in January 2022 for ulcerative penile and anal lesions. 

He reported having multiple female sex partners during the previous 12 months but declined to disclose their identities; he reported no male or transgender sexual contact, according to the CDC report. Eventually he agreed to an evaluation, was found to have early latent syphilis, and was treated with penicillin. 

Cases of syphilis have been soaring in the United States in recent years, reaching a 70-year high.

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

A cluster of ocular presentation of syphilis has experts questioning whether this rare finding suggests the bacterium has mutated, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With the incidence of syphilis infection in women increasing in the United States, experts are asking clinicians to be on the lookout for unusual ocular presentations. 

“This is the first time such a cluster has been reported in the US,” the International Society for Infectious Diseases posted on ProMED. 

Five women in Southwest Michigan who had a common male sex partner developed syphilis infections in their eyes. No new cases have been found related to these five cases after the women and the man received medical care. 

If left untreated, the bacterium, Treponema pallidum, can infect the eyes, the ears, and the central nervous system.

The women, identified as non-Hispanic White, were aged 40-60 years and were not infected with HIV. They were diagnosed with early-stage syphilis and all were hospitalized and treated with intravenous penicillin. Routes of sexual exposure among the women included anal (40%), oral (40%), and vaginal (100%), the report states.

The common male sex partner they all met online was found to have early latent syphilis but never developed ocular syphilis. 

It is not the eyes that are being exposed. Rather, it is an ocular presentation brought about by a systemic infection carried through the bloodstream after sexual exposure, explains William Nettleton, MD, MPH, medical director of the Kalamazoo and Calhoun public health departments in Michigan and lead author of the report.

“If we screen, identify, and treat syphilis promptly, we can prevent systemic manifestations,” he says. 

Clinicians should be aware that the ocular manifestations can come at different stages of syphilis. “For patients you think may have ocular syphilis,” Dr. Nettleton says, “an immediate ophthalmologic evaluation is indicated.” 

Symptoms Differed

The five women presented with a variety of symptoms. 

Multiple attempts to contact the male partner by telephone and text were made by Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, but he did not respond. Local public health physicians reviewed the man’s electronic health record and discovered that he had sought care at a hospital emergency department in January 2022 for ulcerative penile and anal lesions. 

He reported having multiple female sex partners during the previous 12 months but declined to disclose their identities; he reported no male or transgender sexual contact, according to the CDC report. Eventually he agreed to an evaluation, was found to have early latent syphilis, and was treated with penicillin. 

Cases of syphilis have been soaring in the United States in recent years, reaching a 70-year high.

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

A cluster of ocular presentation of syphilis has experts questioning whether this rare finding suggests the bacterium has mutated, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With the incidence of syphilis infection in women increasing in the United States, experts are asking clinicians to be on the lookout for unusual ocular presentations. 

“This is the first time such a cluster has been reported in the US,” the International Society for Infectious Diseases posted on ProMED. 

Five women in Southwest Michigan who had a common male sex partner developed syphilis infections in their eyes. No new cases have been found related to these five cases after the women and the man received medical care. 

If left untreated, the bacterium, Treponema pallidum, can infect the eyes, the ears, and the central nervous system.

The women, identified as non-Hispanic White, were aged 40-60 years and were not infected with HIV. They were diagnosed with early-stage syphilis and all were hospitalized and treated with intravenous penicillin. Routes of sexual exposure among the women included anal (40%), oral (40%), and vaginal (100%), the report states.

The common male sex partner they all met online was found to have early latent syphilis but never developed ocular syphilis. 

It is not the eyes that are being exposed. Rather, it is an ocular presentation brought about by a systemic infection carried through the bloodstream after sexual exposure, explains William Nettleton, MD, MPH, medical director of the Kalamazoo and Calhoun public health departments in Michigan and lead author of the report.

“If we screen, identify, and treat syphilis promptly, we can prevent systemic manifestations,” he says. 

Clinicians should be aware that the ocular manifestations can come at different stages of syphilis. “For patients you think may have ocular syphilis,” Dr. Nettleton says, “an immediate ophthalmologic evaluation is indicated.” 

Symptoms Differed

The five women presented with a variety of symptoms. 

Multiple attempts to contact the male partner by telephone and text were made by Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, but he did not respond. Local public health physicians reviewed the man’s electronic health record and discovered that he had sought care at a hospital emergency department in January 2022 for ulcerative penile and anal lesions. 

He reported having multiple female sex partners during the previous 12 months but declined to disclose their identities; he reported no male or transgender sexual contact, according to the CDC report. Eventually he agreed to an evaluation, was found to have early latent syphilis, and was treated with penicillin. 

Cases of syphilis have been soaring in the United States in recent years, reaching a 70-year high.

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of the nation’s largest private insurer, UnitedHealthcare (UHC), is now affiliated with or employs approximately 10% of the US physician workforce, raising anti-trust and noncompete concerns as more payers and private equity firms pursue medical practice acquisitions.

The company added 20,000 physicians in the last year alone, including a previously physician-owned multispecialty group practice of 400 doctors in New York. They join the growing web of doctors — about 90,000 of the 950,000 active US physicians — working for the UnitedHealth Group subsidiary, Optum Health, providing primary, specialty, urgent, and surgical care. Amar Desai, MD, chief executive officer of Optum Health, shared the updated workforce numbers during the health care conglomerate’s annual investor conference.

Health care mergers and consolidations have become more common as physician groups struggle to stay afloat amid dwindling payer reimbursements. Although private equity and health systems often acquire practices, payers like UHC are increasingly doing so as part of their model to advance value-based care. 

Yashaswini Singh, PhD, health care economist and assistant professor of health services, policy, and practice at Brown University, says such moves mirror the broader trend in corporate consolidation of physician practices. She said in an interview that the integrated models could possibly enhance care coordination and improve outcomes, but the impact of payer-led consolidation has not been extensively studied. 

Meanwhile, evidence considering private equity ownership is just emerging. In a 2022 study published in JAMA Health Forum, with Dr. Singh as lead author, findings showed that private equity involvement increased healthcare spending through higher prices and utilization. 

Consolidation can also raise anti-trust concerns. “If payers incentivize referral patterns of their employed physicians to favor other physicians employed by the payer, it can reduce competition by restricting consumer choice,” said Dr. Singh. 

A potential merger between Cigna and Humana that could happen by the end of the year will likely face intense scrutiny as it would create a company that rivals the size of UnitedHealth Group or CVS Health. If it goes through, the duo could streamline its insurance offerings and leverage each other’s care delivery platforms, clinics, and provider workforce. 

The Biden Administration has sought to strengthen anti-trust statutes to prevent industry monopolies and consumer harm, and the US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have proposed new merger guidelines that have yet to be finalized. 

According to Dr. Singh, some of Optum’s medical practice purchases may bypass anti-trust statutes since most prospective mergers and acquisitions are reviewed only if they exceed a specific value ($101 million for 2023). Limited transparency in ownership structures further complicates matters. Plus, Dr. Singh said instances where physicians are hired instead of acquired through mergers would not be subject to current anti-trust laws. 

The ‘corporatization’ of health care is not good for patients or physicians, said Robert McNamara, MD, chief medical officer of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine Physician Group and cofounder of Take Medicine Back, a physician group advocating to remove corporate interests from health care. 

“If you ask a physician what causes them the most moral conflict, they’ll tell you it’s the insurance companies denying something they want to do for their patients,” he said. “To have the doctors now working for the insurance industry conflicts with a physician’s duty to put the patient first.” 

Dr. McNamara, chair of emergency medicine at Temple University’s Katz School of Medicine, said in an interview that more than half the states in the United States have laws or court rulings that support protecting physician autonomy from corporate interests. Still, he hopes a federal prohibition on private equity’s involvement in healthcare can soon gain traction. In November, Take Medicine Back raised a resolution at the American Medical Association’s interim House of Delegates meeting, which he said was subsequently referred to a committee. 

Emergency medicine was among the first specialties to succumb to private equity firms, but Dr. McNamara said that all types of health care providers and entities — from cardiology and urology to addiction treatment centers and nursing homes — are being swallowed up by larger organizations, including payers. 

UHC was named in a class action suit recently for allegedly shirking doctors’ orders and relying on a flawed algorithm to determine the length of skilled nursing facility stays for Medicare Advantage policyholders. 

At the investor meeting, Dr. Desai reiterated Optum’s desire to continue expanding care delivery options, especially in its pharmacy and behavioral health business lines, and focus on adopting value-based care. He credited the rapid growth to developing strong relationships with providers and standardizing technology and clinical systems.

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of the nation’s largest private insurer, UnitedHealthcare (UHC), is now affiliated with or employs approximately 10% of the US physician workforce, raising anti-trust and noncompete concerns as more payers and private equity firms pursue medical practice acquisitions.

The company added 20,000 physicians in the last year alone, including a previously physician-owned multispecialty group practice of 400 doctors in New York. They join the growing web of doctors — about 90,000 of the 950,000 active US physicians — working for the UnitedHealth Group subsidiary, Optum Health, providing primary, specialty, urgent, and surgical care. Amar Desai, MD, chief executive officer of Optum Health, shared the updated workforce numbers during the health care conglomerate’s annual investor conference.

Health care mergers and consolidations have become more common as physician groups struggle to stay afloat amid dwindling payer reimbursements. Although private equity and health systems often acquire practices, payers like UHC are increasingly doing so as part of their model to advance value-based care. 

Yashaswini Singh, PhD, health care economist and assistant professor of health services, policy, and practice at Brown University, says such moves mirror the broader trend in corporate consolidation of physician practices. She said in an interview that the integrated models could possibly enhance care coordination and improve outcomes, but the impact of payer-led consolidation has not been extensively studied. 

Meanwhile, evidence considering private equity ownership is just emerging. In a 2022 study published in JAMA Health Forum, with Dr. Singh as lead author, findings showed that private equity involvement increased healthcare spending through higher prices and utilization. 

Consolidation can also raise anti-trust concerns. “If payers incentivize referral patterns of their employed physicians to favor other physicians employed by the payer, it can reduce competition by restricting consumer choice,” said Dr. Singh. 

A potential merger between Cigna and Humana that could happen by the end of the year will likely face intense scrutiny as it would create a company that rivals the size of UnitedHealth Group or CVS Health. If it goes through, the duo could streamline its insurance offerings and leverage each other’s care delivery platforms, clinics, and provider workforce. 

The Biden Administration has sought to strengthen anti-trust statutes to prevent industry monopolies and consumer harm, and the US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have proposed new merger guidelines that have yet to be finalized. 

According to Dr. Singh, some of Optum’s medical practice purchases may bypass anti-trust statutes since most prospective mergers and acquisitions are reviewed only if they exceed a specific value ($101 million for 2023). Limited transparency in ownership structures further complicates matters. Plus, Dr. Singh said instances where physicians are hired instead of acquired through mergers would not be subject to current anti-trust laws. 

The ‘corporatization’ of health care is not good for patients or physicians, said Robert McNamara, MD, chief medical officer of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine Physician Group and cofounder of Take Medicine Back, a physician group advocating to remove corporate interests from health care. 

“If you ask a physician what causes them the most moral conflict, they’ll tell you it’s the insurance companies denying something they want to do for their patients,” he said. “To have the doctors now working for the insurance industry conflicts with a physician’s duty to put the patient first.” 

Dr. McNamara, chair of emergency medicine at Temple University’s Katz School of Medicine, said in an interview that more than half the states in the United States have laws or court rulings that support protecting physician autonomy from corporate interests. Still, he hopes a federal prohibition on private equity’s involvement in healthcare can soon gain traction. In November, Take Medicine Back raised a resolution at the American Medical Association’s interim House of Delegates meeting, which he said was subsequently referred to a committee. 

Emergency medicine was among the first specialties to succumb to private equity firms, but Dr. McNamara said that all types of health care providers and entities — from cardiology and urology to addiction treatment centers and nursing homes — are being swallowed up by larger organizations, including payers. 

UHC was named in a class action suit recently for allegedly shirking doctors’ orders and relying on a flawed algorithm to determine the length of skilled nursing facility stays for Medicare Advantage policyholders. 

At the investor meeting, Dr. Desai reiterated Optum’s desire to continue expanding care delivery options, especially in its pharmacy and behavioral health business lines, and focus on adopting value-based care. He credited the rapid growth to developing strong relationships with providers and standardizing technology and clinical systems.

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of the nation’s largest private insurer, UnitedHealthcare (UHC), is now affiliated with or employs approximately 10% of the US physician workforce, raising anti-trust and noncompete concerns as more payers and private equity firms pursue medical practice acquisitions.

The company added 20,000 physicians in the last year alone, including a previously physician-owned multispecialty group practice of 400 doctors in New York. They join the growing web of doctors — about 90,000 of the 950,000 active US physicians — working for the UnitedHealth Group subsidiary, Optum Health, providing primary, specialty, urgent, and surgical care. Amar Desai, MD, chief executive officer of Optum Health, shared the updated workforce numbers during the health care conglomerate’s annual investor conference.

Health care mergers and consolidations have become more common as physician groups struggle to stay afloat amid dwindling payer reimbursements. Although private equity and health systems often acquire practices, payers like UHC are increasingly doing so as part of their model to advance value-based care. 

Yashaswini Singh, PhD, health care economist and assistant professor of health services, policy, and practice at Brown University, says such moves mirror the broader trend in corporate consolidation of physician practices. She said in an interview that the integrated models could possibly enhance care coordination and improve outcomes, but the impact of payer-led consolidation has not been extensively studied. 

Meanwhile, evidence considering private equity ownership is just emerging. In a 2022 study published in JAMA Health Forum, with Dr. Singh as lead author, findings showed that private equity involvement increased healthcare spending through higher prices and utilization. 

Consolidation can also raise anti-trust concerns. “If payers incentivize referral patterns of their employed physicians to favor other physicians employed by the payer, it can reduce competition by restricting consumer choice,” said Dr. Singh. 

A potential merger between Cigna and Humana that could happen by the end of the year will likely face intense scrutiny as it would create a company that rivals the size of UnitedHealth Group or CVS Health. If it goes through, the duo could streamline its insurance offerings and leverage each other’s care delivery platforms, clinics, and provider workforce. 

The Biden Administration has sought to strengthen anti-trust statutes to prevent industry monopolies and consumer harm, and the US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have proposed new merger guidelines that have yet to be finalized. 

According to Dr. Singh, some of Optum’s medical practice purchases may bypass anti-trust statutes since most prospective mergers and acquisitions are reviewed only if they exceed a specific value ($101 million for 2023). Limited transparency in ownership structures further complicates matters. Plus, Dr. Singh said instances where physicians are hired instead of acquired through mergers would not be subject to current anti-trust laws. 

The ‘corporatization’ of health care is not good for patients or physicians, said Robert McNamara, MD, chief medical officer of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine Physician Group and cofounder of Take Medicine Back, a physician group advocating to remove corporate interests from health care. 

“If you ask a physician what causes them the most moral conflict, they’ll tell you it’s the insurance companies denying something they want to do for their patients,” he said. “To have the doctors now working for the insurance industry conflicts with a physician’s duty to put the patient first.” 

Dr. McNamara, chair of emergency medicine at Temple University’s Katz School of Medicine, said in an interview that more than half the states in the United States have laws or court rulings that support protecting physician autonomy from corporate interests. Still, he hopes a federal prohibition on private equity’s involvement in healthcare can soon gain traction. In November, Take Medicine Back raised a resolution at the American Medical Association’s interim House of Delegates meeting, which he said was subsequently referred to a committee. 

Emergency medicine was among the first specialties to succumb to private equity firms, but Dr. McNamara said that all types of health care providers and entities — from cardiology and urology to addiction treatment centers and nursing homes — are being swallowed up by larger organizations, including payers. 

UHC was named in a class action suit recently for allegedly shirking doctors’ orders and relying on a flawed algorithm to determine the length of skilled nursing facility stays for Medicare Advantage policyholders. 

At the investor meeting, Dr. Desai reiterated Optum’s desire to continue expanding care delivery options, especially in its pharmacy and behavioral health business lines, and focus on adopting value-based care. He credited the rapid growth to developing strong relationships with providers and standardizing technology and clinical systems.

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has already demonstrated its potential in various areas of healthcare, from early disease detection and drug discovery to genomics and personalized care. OpenAI’s ChatGPT, a large language model, is one AI tool that has been transforming practices across the globe, including mine.

Why should you consider using ChatGPT in your practice, and more important, why should you even consider the paid version? Let me walk you through it.

ChatGPT is essentially an AI-fueled assistant, capable of interpreting and generating human-like text in response to user inputs. Imagine a well-informed and competent trainee working with you, ready to tackle tasks from handling patient inquiries to summarizing intricate medical literature.

Currently, ChatGPT works on the “freemium” pricing model; there is a free version built upon GPT-3.5 as well as a subscription “ChatGPT Plus” version based on GPT-4 which offers additional features such as the use of third-party plug-ins.

Now, you may ask, “Isn’t the free version enough?” The free version is indeed impressive, but upgrading to the paid version for $20 per month unlocks the full potential of this tool, particularly if we add plug-ins.

Here are some of the best ways to incorporate ChatGPT Plus into your practice.

Time saver and efficiency multiplier. The paid version of ChatGPT is an extraordinary time-saving tool. It can help you sort through vast amounts of medical literature in a fraction of the time it would normally take. Imagine having to sift through hundreds of articles to find the latest research relevant to a patient’s case. With the paid version of ChatGPT, you can simply ask it to provide summaries of the most recent and relevant studies, all in seconds.

Did you forget about that PowerPoint you need to make but know the potential papers you would use? No problem. ChatGPT can create slides in a few minutes. It becomes your on-demand research assistant.

Of course, you need to provide the source you find most relevant to you. Using plug-ins such as ScholarAI and Link Reader are great.

Improved patient communication. Explaining complex medical terminology and procedures to patients can sometimes be a challenge. ChatGPT can generate simplified and personalized explanations for your patients, fostering their understanding and involvement in their care process.

Epic is currently collaborating with Nuance Communications, Microsoft’s speech recognition subsidiary, to use generative AI tools for medical note-taking in the electronic health record. However, you do not need to wait for it; it just takes a prompt in ChatGPT and then copying/pasting the results into the chart.

Smoother administrative management. The premium version of ChatGPT can automate administrative tasks such as creating letters of medical necessity, clearance to other physicians for services, or even communications to staff on specific topics. This frees you to focus more on your core work: providing patient care.

Precision medicine aid. ChatGPT can be a powerful ally in the field of precision medicine. Its capabilities for analyzing large datasets and unearthing valuable insights can help deliver more personalized and potentially effective treatment plans. For example, one can prompt ChatGPT to query the reported frequency of certain genomic variants and their implications; with the upgraded version and plug-ins, the results will have fewer hallucinations — inaccurate results — and key data references.

Unlimited accessibility. Uninterrupted access is a compelling reason to upgrade. While the free version may have usage limitations, the premium version provides unrestricted, round-the-clock access. Be it a late-night research quest or an early-morning patient query, your AI assistant will always be available.

Strengthened privacy and security. The premium version of ChatGPT includes heightened privacy and security measures. Just make sure to follow HIPAA and not include identifiers when making queries.

Embracing AI tools like ChatGPT in your practice can help you stay at the cutting edge of medical care, saving you time, enhancing patient communication, and supporting you in providing personalized care.

While the free version can serve as a good starting point (there are apps for both iOS and Android), upgrading to the paid version opens up a world of possibilities that can truly supercharge your practice.

I would love to hear your comments on this column or on future topics. Contact me at [email protected].
 

Arturo Loaiza-Bonilla, MD, MSEd, is the cofounder and chief medical officer at Massive Bio, a company connecting patients to clinical trials using artificial intelligence. His research and professional interests focus on precision medicine, clinical trial design, digital health, entrepreneurship, and patient advocacy. Dr. Loaiza-Bonilla is Assistant Professor of Medicine, Drexel University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and serves as medical director of oncology research at Capital Health in New Jersey, where he maintains a connection to patient care by attending to patients 2 days a week. He has financial relationships with Verify, PSI CRO, Bayer, AstraZeneca, Cardinal Health, BrightInsight, The Lynx Group, Fresenius, Pfizer, Ipsen, Guardant, Amgen, Eisai, Natera, Merck, and Bristol Myers Squibb.

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has already demonstrated its potential in various areas of healthcare, from early disease detection and drug discovery to genomics and personalized care. OpenAI’s ChatGPT, a large language model, is one AI tool that has been transforming practices across the globe, including mine.

Why should you consider using ChatGPT in your practice, and more important, why should you even consider the paid version? Let me walk you through it.

ChatGPT is essentially an AI-fueled assistant, capable of interpreting and generating human-like text in response to user inputs. Imagine a well-informed and competent trainee working with you, ready to tackle tasks from handling patient inquiries to summarizing intricate medical literature.

Currently, ChatGPT works on the “freemium” pricing model; there is a free version built upon GPT-3.5 as well as a subscription “ChatGPT Plus” version based on GPT-4 which offers additional features such as the use of third-party plug-ins.

Now, you may ask, “Isn’t the free version enough?” The free version is indeed impressive, but upgrading to the paid version for $20 per month unlocks the full potential of this tool, particularly if we add plug-ins.

Here are some of the best ways to incorporate ChatGPT Plus into your practice.

Time saver and efficiency multiplier. The paid version of ChatGPT is an extraordinary time-saving tool. It can help you sort through vast amounts of medical literature in a fraction of the time it would normally take. Imagine having to sift through hundreds of articles to find the latest research relevant to a patient’s case. With the paid version of ChatGPT, you can simply ask it to provide summaries of the most recent and relevant studies, all in seconds.

Did you forget about that PowerPoint you need to make but know the potential papers you would use? No problem. ChatGPT can create slides in a few minutes. It becomes your on-demand research assistant.

Of course, you need to provide the source you find most relevant to you. Using plug-ins such as ScholarAI and Link Reader are great.

Improved patient communication. Explaining complex medical terminology and procedures to patients can sometimes be a challenge. ChatGPT can generate simplified and personalized explanations for your patients, fostering their understanding and involvement in their care process.

Epic is currently collaborating with Nuance Communications, Microsoft’s speech recognition subsidiary, to use generative AI tools for medical note-taking in the electronic health record. However, you do not need to wait for it; it just takes a prompt in ChatGPT and then copying/pasting the results into the chart.

Smoother administrative management. The premium version of ChatGPT can automate administrative tasks such as creating letters of medical necessity, clearance to other physicians for services, or even communications to staff on specific topics. This frees you to focus more on your core work: providing patient care.

Precision medicine aid. ChatGPT can be a powerful ally in the field of precision medicine. Its capabilities for analyzing large datasets and unearthing valuable insights can help deliver more personalized and potentially effective treatment plans. For example, one can prompt ChatGPT to query the reported frequency of certain genomic variants and their implications; with the upgraded version and plug-ins, the results will have fewer hallucinations — inaccurate results — and key data references.

Unlimited accessibility. Uninterrupted access is a compelling reason to upgrade. While the free version may have usage limitations, the premium version provides unrestricted, round-the-clock access. Be it a late-night research quest or an early-morning patient query, your AI assistant will always be available.

Strengthened privacy and security. The premium version of ChatGPT includes heightened privacy and security measures. Just make sure to follow HIPAA and not include identifiers when making queries.

Embracing AI tools like ChatGPT in your practice can help you stay at the cutting edge of medical care, saving you time, enhancing patient communication, and supporting you in providing personalized care.

While the free version can serve as a good starting point (there are apps for both iOS and Android), upgrading to the paid version opens up a world of possibilities that can truly supercharge your practice.

I would love to hear your comments on this column or on future topics. Contact me at [email protected].
 

Arturo Loaiza-Bonilla, MD, MSEd, is the cofounder and chief medical officer at Massive Bio, a company connecting patients to clinical trials using artificial intelligence. His research and professional interests focus on precision medicine, clinical trial design, digital health, entrepreneurship, and patient advocacy. Dr. Loaiza-Bonilla is Assistant Professor of Medicine, Drexel University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and serves as medical director of oncology research at Capital Health in New Jersey, where he maintains a connection to patient care by attending to patients 2 days a week. He has financial relationships with Verify, PSI CRO, Bayer, AstraZeneca, Cardinal Health, BrightInsight, The Lynx Group, Fresenius, Pfizer, Ipsen, Guardant, Amgen, Eisai, Natera, Merck, and Bristol Myers Squibb.

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has already demonstrated its potential in various areas of healthcare, from early disease detection and drug discovery to genomics and personalized care. OpenAI’s ChatGPT, a large language model, is one AI tool that has been transforming practices across the globe, including mine.

Why should you consider using ChatGPT in your practice, and more important, why should you even consider the paid version? Let me walk you through it.

ChatGPT is essentially an AI-fueled assistant, capable of interpreting and generating human-like text in response to user inputs. Imagine a well-informed and competent trainee working with you, ready to tackle tasks from handling patient inquiries to summarizing intricate medical literature.

Currently, ChatGPT works on the “freemium” pricing model; there is a free version built upon GPT-3.5 as well as a subscription “ChatGPT Plus” version based on GPT-4 which offers additional features such as the use of third-party plug-ins.

Now, you may ask, “Isn’t the free version enough?” The free version is indeed impressive, but upgrading to the paid version for $20 per month unlocks the full potential of this tool, particularly if we add plug-ins.

Here are some of the best ways to incorporate ChatGPT Plus into your practice.

Time saver and efficiency multiplier. The paid version of ChatGPT is an extraordinary time-saving tool. It can help you sort through vast amounts of medical literature in a fraction of the time it would normally take. Imagine having to sift through hundreds of articles to find the latest research relevant to a patient’s case. With the paid version of ChatGPT, you can simply ask it to provide summaries of the most recent and relevant studies, all in seconds.

Did you forget about that PowerPoint you need to make but know the potential papers you would use? No problem. ChatGPT can create slides in a few minutes. It becomes your on-demand research assistant.

Of course, you need to provide the source you find most relevant to you. Using plug-ins such as ScholarAI and Link Reader are great.

Improved patient communication. Explaining complex medical terminology and procedures to patients can sometimes be a challenge. ChatGPT can generate simplified and personalized explanations for your patients, fostering their understanding and involvement in their care process.

Epic is currently collaborating with Nuance Communications, Microsoft’s speech recognition subsidiary, to use generative AI tools for medical note-taking in the electronic health record. However, you do not need to wait for it; it just takes a prompt in ChatGPT and then copying/pasting the results into the chart.

Smoother administrative management. The premium version of ChatGPT can automate administrative tasks such as creating letters of medical necessity, clearance to other physicians for services, or even communications to staff on specific topics. This frees you to focus more on your core work: providing patient care.

Precision medicine aid. ChatGPT can be a powerful ally in the field of precision medicine. Its capabilities for analyzing large datasets and unearthing valuable insights can help deliver more personalized and potentially effective treatment plans. For example, one can prompt ChatGPT to query the reported frequency of certain genomic variants and their implications; with the upgraded version and plug-ins, the results will have fewer hallucinations — inaccurate results — and key data references.

Unlimited accessibility. Uninterrupted access is a compelling reason to upgrade. While the free version may have usage limitations, the premium version provides unrestricted, round-the-clock access. Be it a late-night research quest or an early-morning patient query, your AI assistant will always be available.

Strengthened privacy and security. The premium version of ChatGPT includes heightened privacy and security measures. Just make sure to follow HIPAA and not include identifiers when making queries.

Embracing AI tools like ChatGPT in your practice can help you stay at the cutting edge of medical care, saving you time, enhancing patient communication, and supporting you in providing personalized care.

While the free version can serve as a good starting point (there are apps for both iOS and Android), upgrading to the paid version opens up a world of possibilities that can truly supercharge your practice.

I would love to hear your comments on this column or on future topics. Contact me at [email protected].
 

Arturo Loaiza-Bonilla, MD, MSEd, is the cofounder and chief medical officer at Massive Bio, a company connecting patients to clinical trials using artificial intelligence. His research and professional interests focus on precision medicine, clinical trial design, digital health, entrepreneurship, and patient advocacy. Dr. Loaiza-Bonilla is Assistant Professor of Medicine, Drexel University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and serves as medical director of oncology research at Capital Health in New Jersey, where he maintains a connection to patient care by attending to patients 2 days a week. He has financial relationships with Verify, PSI CRO, Bayer, AstraZeneca, Cardinal Health, BrightInsight, The Lynx Group, Fresenius, Pfizer, Ipsen, Guardant, Amgen, Eisai, Natera, Merck, and Bristol Myers Squibb.

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.