Obamacare Special Report and More Medical News

A Bird’s-eye View of Obamacare.

“The Affordable Care Act has made significant progress toward solving long-standing challenges facing the US health care system related to access, affordability, and quality of care,” a study has found. The uninsured rate has declined by 43% since the ACA became law, and accompanying improvements have been seen in access to care, financial security, and health, it was noted. Policymakers should work to build on the progress that has been made, concluded the study author, President Barack Obama.

JAMA, July 11, 2016

Healthy, Wealthy, and…Surprise!

That the wealthiest Americans have had the highest expenditures for health care for more than a decade might be expected. But this pattern of medical spending actually represents a sharp reversal of earlier trends, in which unadjusted expenditures for low income Americans exceeded those for all other income groups. The upshot: Inequality has increased dramatically-wealthier Americans now consume the most health care, even though they tend to be healthier.

Health Affairs, July, 2016

Primary Care Melanoma Screening Benefits Outweigh Risks.

Targeted primary care physicians were trained to detect early melanoma, and skin surgeries and dermatology visits were assessed to indicate potential physical, psychological, and financial consequences. Melanoma diagnoses were increased, but there was little effect on skin surgeries or dermatology visits. With a lack of major adverse consequences, the authors recommended that screenings be considered for more widespread use in primary care.

Cancer, July 8, 2016

Butter Up!

The overall associations of butter with mortality, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes are relatively small or neutral, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis. Butter consumption was weakly associated with all-cause mortality, not significantly associated with CVD, and inversely associated with diabetes. The findings do not support a major emphasis on increasing or decreasing butter consumption in dietary guidelines.

PLoS ONE, June 29, 2016

Surgery Operates on Opioid Risk.

Opioid-naive patients who undergo surgical procedures are at increased risk for chronic opioid use in the postoperative period. All 11 of the surgeries in a retrospective analysis (eg, total knee arthroplasty, laparoscopic cholecystectomy, cesarean delivery) were associated with an increased risk. Male sex; age >50 years; and preoperative history of drug abuse, alcohol abuse, depression, and other drug use were associated with chronic opioid use.

JAMA Internal Medicine, July 11, 2016

Sunscreen Reccs: Balance Performance and Preferences.

Among highly rated sunscreen products, 40% do not adhere to American Academy of Dermatology guidelines (broad spectrum, SPF ≥ 30, water resistance). The median price per ounce of 65 products was $3.32, ranging widely-from $0.68 to $23.47! The most cited positive feature was cosmetic elegance, followed by product performance and skin type compatibility. Physicians making recommendations to patients are advised to balance the importance of sun protection with all these factors.

JAMA Dermatology, July 6, 2016