An avocado a day may improve overall diet quality, researchers report
Eating one avocado per day may improve overall diet quality, according to a team led by researchers in Penn State’s Department of Nutritional Sciences. Poor diet quality is a risk factor for many diseases, including heart disease, and many American adults have poor diet quality and do not meet key dietary recommendations provided by the […]
MedPAC Wrestles With How to Fix Deep Flaws in Medicare Advantage Quality Metrics
The methods used to compare quality between one Medicare Advantage (MA) plan and another are so seriously flawed that the system needs an overhaul, members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) suggested last week. A commission review has determined the program “is costly and not a good basis for judging quality,” MedPAC principal policy […]
CMS Focusing on Better Aligning Quality Measures, Adding New ACO Models
Are you exasperated by all the different quality measures you’re required to report? One official at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) knows exactly how you feel. “I led care transformation at a health system before coming into this role, and we had this huge spreadsheet of the 500 different metrics from all […]
Telehealth, Default Orders Show Promise in Palliative Care
A palliative telecare intervention improved quality of life for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart failure (HF), and interstitial lung disease (ILD), the ADAPT randomized clinical trial found. Patient phone calls with a nurse and social worker — who met separately with a primary care and palliative care physician and specialists as needed […]
Poor diet quality during adolescence is linked to serious health risks
Diet quality among adolescents in the United States is among the worst across all age groups, putting young people at risk for heart attack, stroke, and diabetes, among other cardiometabolic diseases later in life. The research brief shared in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, published by Elsevier, used the Healthy Eating Index-2015 and […]
Opinion | What If Trial Participants Knew Their Contributions Were for Naught?
Gamertsfelder is a clinical and policy researcher. Osipenko leads a non-profit dedicated to improving the quality and integrity of clinical research. I am greeted with a tired smile when I arrive to conduct my weekly clinical trial visit. For some of my home-based participants, I am the only face they have seen all week. Each […]
Golden Hour Bundle of Interventions Boosts Outcomes for High-Risk Preterm Infants
WASHINGTON — A multidisciplinary quality improvement (QI) team successfully and safely adhered to a golden hour bundle of interventions for high-risk preterm infants, a researcher said here. Adherence to the bundle also led to reduced rates of severe hypothermia and reduced time to antibiotic administration, as well as a boost to early initiation of IV […]
Protein found to protect females against obesity
Associated with poorer mental health outcomes and reduced quality of life, obesity is on the rise in the United States. Currently, more than 30% of American adults are classified as obese. A risk factor for several diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and COVID-19, obesity is an important and growing public health concern. Using a mouse […]
COVID Infection May Impair Semen Quality, Even After Mild Cases
Semen quality remained impaired more than 3 months after a mild COVID-19 infection, according to a small study from Spain involving unvaccinated men. Testing performed a median 100 days after infection among existing patients at one of six reproductive centers showed lower sperm counts, slower motility, and lower overall sperm quality compared with pre-infection tests […]
Milk’s packaging influences its flavor: Paperboard cartons do not preserve milk freshness as well as other containers
The dairy industry strives to preserve the quality and safety of milk products while maintaining the freshest possible taste for consumers. To date, the industry has largely focused on packaging milk in light-blocking containers to preserve freshness, but little has been understood about how the packaging itself influences milk flavor. However, a new study in […]