Importance: The U.S. medical education system attracts and trains the next generation of physicians to advance the health care needs of a growing and increasingly diverse nation. This system can be credited for supplying a physician workforce achieving remarkable growth and innovation, yielding one of the world’s most technologically advanced health care systems on the planet. This system, unfortunately, also contributes to educational, workforce, and health disparities. Observations: The successes and challenges of the medical education and health care system align with broader economic, health, and educational patterns in the United States. An ecological model can be employed to unite a network of partners spanning four developmental stages to support a greater diversity of students for and from underrepresented communities to enter the physician workforce, enjoy the rewards granted by a career in medicine, and enact needed changes to eliminate health, economic, and educational disparities. Conclusions and Relevance: Comprehensive and ecologically attuned pathways to the physician workforce could be especially beneficial to states and communities suffering from the looming high school enrollment cliff, outflows of residents to other states, challenges in recruiting and retaining physicians, and significant educational and health disparities. The ecosystem model spurs significant changes in how we think about the developmental pathways to the physician workforce and how we may mobilize resources to promote progress and ease transitions, especially for underrepresented students who face many fewer opportunities and many more challenges along their journey.

Arthritis & RheumatologyEarly View Notes from the Field Improving Health Equity in Rheumatology Through Workforce Diversification and Support for Health Equity Research and Education Maria T. Vassileva, Corresponding Author Maria T. Vassileva [email protected] orcid.org/0009-0007-1645-8373 Maryland Science Alliance Consulting, Rockville, Maryland Address correspondence via email to Maria T. Vassileva, PhD, at [email protected].Search for more papers by this authorVandana Suresh, Vandana Suresh The Arthritis Foundation, Atlanta, GeorgiaSearch for more papers by this authorAndrew C. Chan, Andrew C. Chan Genentech, Inc., San Francisco, CaliforniaSearch for more papers by this authorAlisha Valdez Akinsete, Alisha Valdez Akinsete orcid.org/0009-0009-7650-8234 Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City, New YorkSearch for more papers by this authorIrene Blanco, Irene Blanco Northwestern University, Chicago, IllinoisSearch for more papers by this authorAshira Blazer, Ashira Blazer Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City, New YorkSearch for more papers by this authorLisa Criscione-Schreiber, Lisa Criscione-Schreiber Duke University, Durham, North CarolinaSearch for more papers by this authorSharon Dowell, Sharon Dowell orcid.org/0000-0002-6655-2161 NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital, Jonesboro, ArkansasSearch for more papers by this authorCandace H. Feldman, Candace H. Feldman orcid.org/0000-0002-4980-9770 Brigham and Women's Hospital, Cambridge, MassachusettsSearch for more papers by this authorJohn FitzGerald, John FitzGerald orcid.org/0000-0002-8419-7538 University of California, Los Angeles and Veterans Affairs Greater Los AngelesSearch for more papers by this authorMileka Gilbert, Mileka Gilbert Medical University of South Carolina, CharlestonSearch for more papers by this authorGrant Hughes, Grant Hughes University of Washington, SeattleSearch for more papers by this authorM. Elaine Husni, M. Elaine Husni orcid.org/0000-0002-3181-4205 Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OhioSearch for more papers by this authorGail Kerr, Gail Kerr Washington, DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Georgetown and Howard University Hospitals, Washington, DCSearch for more papers by this authorOlivia Kwan, Olivia Kwan Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TexasSearch for more papers by this authorBryanna Mantilla, Bryanna Mantilla University of Texas at AustinSearch for more papers by this authorSusanne Nilson, Susanne Nilson The Arthritis Foundation, Atlanta, GeorgiaSearch for more papers by this authorAlfredo Carlos Rivadeneira, Alfredo Carlos Rivadeneira University of North Carolina at Chapel HillSearch for more papers by this authorMartha Rodríguez, Martha Rodríguez Indiana University, BloomingtonSearch for more papers by this authorBenjamin J. Smith, Benjamin J. Smith orcid.org/0000-0002-6612-0473 Florida State University, TallahasseeSearch for more papers by this authorWilliam Daniel Soulsby, William Daniel Soulsby orcid.org/0000-0003-1873-3520 University of California, San FranciscoSearch for more papers by this authorStephen Chee-Yung Wong, Stephen Chee-Yung Wong University of Washington, SeattleSearch for more papers by this authorJinoos Yazdany, Jinoos Yazdany orcid.org/0000-0002-3508-4094 University of California, San FranciscoSearch for more papers by this authorWill Ross, Will Ross Washington University in St. Louis, MissouriSearch for more papers by this author Maria T. Vassileva, Corresponding Author Maria T. Vassileva [email protected] orcid.org/0009-0007-1645-8373 Maryland Science Alliance Consulting, Rockville, Maryland Address correspondence via email to Maria T. Vassileva, PhD, at [email protected].Search for more papers by this authorVandana Suresh, Vandana Suresh The Arthritis Foundation, Atlanta, GeorgiaSearch for more papers by this authorAndrew C. Chan, Andrew C. Chan Genentech, Inc., San Francisco, CaliforniaSearch for more papers by this authorAlisha Valdez Akinsete, Alisha Valdez Akinsete orcid.org/0009-0009-7650-8234 Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City, New YorkSearch for more papers by this authorIrene Blanco, Irene Blanco Northwestern University, Chicago, IllinoisSearch for more papers by this authorAshira Blazer, Ashira Blazer Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City, New YorkSearch for more papers by this authorLisa Criscione-Schreiber, Lisa Criscione-Schreiber Duke University, Durham, North CarolinaSearch for more papers by this authorSharon Dowell, Sharon Dowell orcid.org/0000-0002-6655-2161 NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital, Jonesboro, ArkansasSearch for more papers by this authorCandace H. Feldman, Candace H. Feldman orcid.org/0000-0002-4980-9770 Brigham and Women's Hospital, Cambridge, MassachusettsSearch for more papers by this authorJohn FitzGerald, John FitzGerald orcid.org/0000-0002-8419-7538 University of California, Los Angeles and Veterans Affairs Greater Los AngelesSearch for more papers by this authorMileka Gilbert, Mileka Gilbert Medical University of South Carolina, CharlestonSearch for more papers by this authorGrant Hughes, Grant Hughes University of Washington, SeattleSearch for more papers by this authorM. Elaine Husni, M. Elaine Husni orcid.org/0000-0002-3181-4205 Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OhioSearch for more papers by this authorGail Kerr, Gail Kerr Washington, DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Georgetown and Howard University Hospitals, Washington, DCSearch for more papers by this authorOlivia Kwan, Olivia Kwan Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TexasSearch for more papers by this authorBryanna Mantilla, Bryanna Mantilla University of Texas at AustinSearch for more papers by this authorSusanne Nilson, Susanne Nilson The Arthritis Foundation, Atlanta, GeorgiaSearch for more papers by this authorAlfredo Carlos Rivadeneira, Alfredo Carlos Rivadeneira University of North Carolina at Chapel HillSearch for more papers by this authorMartha Rodríguez, Martha Rodríguez Indiana University, BloomingtonSearch for more papers by this authorBenjamin J. Smith, Benjamin J. Smith orcid.org/0000-0002-6612-0473 Florida State University, TallahasseeSearch for more papers by this authorWilliam Daniel Soulsby, William Daniel Soulsby orcid.org/0000-0003-1873-3520 University of California, San FranciscoSearch for more papers by this authorStephen Chee-Yung Wong, Stephen Chee-Yung Wong University of Washington, SeattleSearch for more papers by this authorJinoos Yazdany, Jinoos Yazdany orcid.org/0000-0002-3508-4094 University of California, San FranciscoSearch for more papers by this authorWill Ross, Will Ross Washington University in St. Louis, MissouriSearch for more papers by this author First published: 19 January 2024 https://doi.org/10.1002/art.42804 Author disclosures are available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/art.42804. Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Supporting Information Filename Description art42804-sup-0001-Disclosureform.pdfPDF document, 19.9 MB Disclosure form Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article. REFERENCES 1Deal CL, Hooker R, Harrington T, et al. 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Patricia Xirau-Probert, PhD; Tram Lai, BS, BA; Erik Black, PHD, MPH; Dany Fanfan, PhD, MSN, RN; Amy Blue, PhD; Caronne C. Rush, MSM, MEd, EdS; Rachel Powers, BA, BEd; Jeanne-Marie R. Stacciarini, RN, PhD

Deaths due to refusal of blood products, particularly in the Jehovah’s Witness population, is a critical but under-recognized issue. There are less than 10 million JW worldwide, with 1.2 million in US. They are highly vulnerable population, with only 9% having an undergraduate college education, and their religion prohibits blood products in varying degrees. There are several media and medical journal reports of deaths among JW patients from massive hemorrhage, after delivery, motor vehicle accidents, surgical procedures, and trauma. Our goal is not to challenge the religious beliefs of the JW community, but to raise awareness of the potentially preventable deaths due to acute blood loss anemia in those who decline blood products. We are calling for proactive and preemptive management, appropriate leveraging of EMR tools for early identification, and accelerated research into hemoglobin- based oxygen carriers. These deaths should be preventable in the modern day medical landscape and healthcare personnel should be aware of these tools for pre-emptive management of those who decline blood products but are being scheduled for elective surgical procedures.

The country's public hospitals, guided by the principles established by the first such hospital in 1736 and codified through the policies of the Surgeon General in 1936, have played an outsized role as safety net institutions for disadvantaged populations. Public hospitals are predominantly located in urban, under-resourced neighborhoods and treat a larger percentage of low-income individuals who are uninsured or enrolled in Medicaid. In assessing the status of public hospitals and urban communities in the twenty-first century, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was evaluated at two high-performing public hospitals, Grady Memorial Hospital and Rush University Medical Center, and a network of safety hospitals affiliated with the Missouri Hospital Association. COVID-19 infections and death rates stratified by race and ethnicity were examined. The results suggest a trend toward lower mortality in African American patients in the first year of the pandemic and possible adverse outcomes in a subset of rural hospitals in Missouri. This study highlights the need to expand funding and support for the nation's essential hospitals.

There has been increased focus on health disparities and how to address them (Baciu et al., 2017; National Institutes of Health, 2021; Williams et al., 2021). Greater integration of social determinants of health (SDoH) education into undergraduate medical education has been identified as one possible intervention (Mangold et al., 2019; Doobay-Persaud et al., 2019; Lewis et al., 2020). The Liaison Committee on Medical Education places this education among its accreditation requirements (Mangold et al., 2019); however, no consensus exists on the most effective programming for training culturally competent physicians. This paper describes the development, implementation, and reception of one such program; a combined two-week Diversity Retreat and Washington University Medical Plunge at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. This program exposed students to the historical, social, and cultural context of health disparities in the city and challenged them to recognize their own biases. Survey data showed that the program was well received and increased learners' subjective understandings of SDoH, the background of St. Louis, and patient-centered care. Learners also identified separation of SDoH material from other aspects of the curriculum and limited reinforcement of SDoH as areas for improvement. In 2020, the program was expanded and integrated into the broader curriculum. Here, we present WUMP, an example of one approach to SDoH training for medical students that was grounded in the local political and social context of St. Louis and prepared students to learn, train, and practice within that context.

Haemodialysis is extremely limited in low-income countries. Access to haemodialysis is further curtailed in areas of active conflict and political instability. Haemodialysis in the Tigray region of Ethiopia has been dramatically affected by the ongoing civil war. Rapid assessment from the data available at Ayder Hospital’s haemodialysis unit registry, 2015–2021, shows that enrollment of patients in the haemodialysis service has plummeted since the war broke out. Patient flow has decreased by 37.3% from the previous yearly average. This is in contrary to the assumption that enrollment would increase because patients could not travel to haemodialysis services in the rest of the country due to the complete blockade. Compared to the prewar period, the mortality rate has doubled in the first year after the war broke out, i.e., 28 deaths out of 110 haemodialysis recipients in 2020 vs. 43 deaths out of 81 haemodialysis recipients in the year 2021. These untoward outcomes reflect the persistent interruption of haemodialysis supplies, lack of transportation to the hospital, lack of financial resources, and the unavailability of basic medications due to the war and the ongoing economic and humanitarian blockade of Tigray in Northern Ethiopia. In the setting of this medical catastrophe, the international community should mobilize to advocate for resumption of life-saving haemodialysis treatment in Ethiopia’s Tigray region and put pressure on the Ethiopian government to allow the passage of life-saving medicines, essential medical equipment, and consumables for haemodialysis into Tigray.

Background Racial inequities in Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) have been reported over the course of the pandemic, with Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and Native American individuals suffering higher case rates and more fatalities than their White counterparts. Methods We used a unique statewide dataset of confirmed COVID-19 cases across Missouri, linked with historical statewide hospital data. We examined differences by race and ethnicity in raw population-based case and mortality rates. We used patient-level regression analyses to calculate the odds of mortality based on race and ethnicity, controlling for comorbidities and other risk factors. Results As of September 10, 2020 there were 73,635 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the State of Missouri. Among the 64,526 case records (87.7% of all cases) that merged with prior demographic and health care utilization data, 12,946 (20.1%) were Non-Hispanic (NH) Black, 44,550 (69.0%) were NH White, 3,822 (5.9%) were NH Other/Unknown race, and 3,208 (5.0%) were Hispanic. Raw cumulative case rates for NH Black individuals were 1,713 per 100,000 population, compared with 2,095 for NH Other/Unknown, 903 for NH White, and 1,218 for Hispanic. Cumulative COVID-19-related death rates for NH Black individuals were 58.3 per 100,000 population, compared with 38.9 for NH Other/Unknown, 19.4 for NH White, and 14.8 for Hispanic. In a model that included insurance source, history of a social determinant billing code in the patient's claims, census block travel change, population density, Area Deprivation Index, and clinical comorbidities, NH Black race (OR 1.75, 1.51-2.04, p<0.001) and NH Other/Unknown race (OR 1.83, 1.36-2.46, p<0.001) remained strongly associated with mortality. Conclusions In Missouri, COVID-19 case rates and mortality rates were markedly higher among NH Black and NH Other/Unknown race than among NH White residents, even after accounting for social and clinical risk, population density, and travel patterns during COVID-19.

Medical schools implemented holistic review more than a decade ago, which led to more deliberate consideration and inclusion of applicants historically underrepresented in medicine. This article presents a theory of holistic enrollment management that unites holistic review with enrollment management principles. This theory contextualizes medical school admissions as a complex marketplace with multifaceted, competing forces. Applying an enrollment management framework of mission, market, means, and metrics can improve the capacity of a medical school to efficiently advance its mission over time. Medical schools employing a clear, compelling, and focused mission to direct all aspects of the medical education enterprise can more effectively attract applicants who are better prepared to enact that mission throughout their careers. Medical schools share a marketplace and collectively compete to identify, attract, admit, and matriculate the most mission-aligned student body within the pool of applicants they share. Institutions that deliberately mobilize resources within this dynamic marketplace will engage, admit, and matriculate the most suiting applicants and attract even more mission-aligned matriculants over time. Widespread adoption of this holistic framework of enrollment management may enhance the capacity of the medical education system to better capitalize on the existing diversity in the national pool of applicants, encourage more underrepresented applicants to apply in the future, admit and matriculate a more diverse national student body, and ultimately better prepare new physicians to meet the increasingly diverse health care needs of the nation.

Many medical accreditation bodies agree that medical students should be trained to care for diverse patient populations. However, the teaching methods that medical schools employ to accomplish this goal vary widely. The purpose of this work is to summarize current cultural competency teaching for medical students and their evaluation methods. A scoping review was completed by searching the databases PubMed, Scopus, MedEdPORTAL, and MEDLINE for the search terms “medical education” and “cultural competency” or “cultural competence.” Results were summarized using a narrative synthesis technique. One hundred fifty-four articles on cultural competency interventions for medical students were systematically identified from the literature and categorized by teaching methods, length of intervention, and content. Fifty-six articles had a general focus, and ninety-eight articles were focused on specific populations including race/ethnicity, global health, socioeconomic status, language, immigration status, disability, spirituality at the end of life, rurality, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer. About 54% of interventions used lectures as a teaching modality, 45% of the interventions described were mandatory, and 9.7% of interventions were not formally evaluated. The authors advocate for expansion and more rigorous analysis of teaching methods, teaching philosophies, and outcome evaluations with randomized controlled trials that compare the relative effectiveness of general and population-specific cultural competency interventions.

BACKGROUND:Disparities in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing-the pandemic's most critical but limited resource-may be an important but modifiable driver of COVID-19 inequities.METHODS:We analyzed data from the Missouri State Department of Health and Senior Services on all COVID-19 tests conducted in the St Louis and Kansas City regions. We adapted a well-established tool for measuring inequity-the Lorenz curve-to compare COVID-19 testing rates per diagnosed case among Black and White populations.RESULTS:Between 14/3/2020 and 15/9/2020, 606 725 and 328 204 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the St Louis and Kansas City regions, respectively. Over time, Black individuals consistently had approximately half the rate of testing per case than White individuals. In the early period (14/3/2020 to 15/6/2020), zip codes in the lowest quartile of testing rates accounted for only 12.1% and 8.8% of all tests in the St Louis and Kansas City regions, respectively, even though they accounted for 25% of all cases in each region. These zip codes had higher proportions of residents who were Black, without insurance, and with lower median incomes. These disparities were reduced but still persisted during later phases of the pandemic (16/6/2020 to 15/9/2020). Last, even within the same zip code, Black residents had lower rates of tests per case than White residents.CONCLUSIONS:Black populations had consistently lower COVID-19 testing rates per diagnosed case than White populations in 2 Missouri regions. Public health strategies should proactively focus on addressing equity gaps in COVID-19 testing to improve equity of the overall response.

Introduction Owing to its capacity to perform remote assessments, telemedicine is rising as a new force in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) management. We conducted an eight month randomised-controlled-trial to study the effect of an automated telemedicine intervention on patients’ time-to-hospitalisation. Methods A total of 168 patients with a diagnosis of COPD in the past 24 months were enrolled to receive the intervention at a primary care clinic. The treatment group received daily phone messages from an automated system asking them to report if they were breathing better than, worse than, or the same as the day prior. Patients reported their breathing status by responding to the text message or call. If a patient reported breathing worse, an alert was sent directly to that patient’s provider within the clinic. The control group received the same daily phone messages as the treatment group. However, no proactive breathing alerts were ever generated to the provider for these subjects. The primary outcome was the subjects’ time-to-first-COPD-related hospitalisation following the start of messages. Results The treatment group’s time-to-hospitalisation was significantly different than the control group’s with a hazard ratio of 2.36 (95% confidence interval 1.02–5.45, p = 0.0443). The number needed-to-treat ratio was 8.62. Subject engagement consistently ranged between 60% and 75%. The treatment group received both proactive monitoring and follow-up care from the providers. Discussion Active monitoring with provider feedback enables the detection of exacerbation events early enough for subjects to avoid admissions. The use of non-smartphone interventions reduces barriers to care presented by more complicated and expensive technologies. This intervention represents a simple, innovative, and inexpensive tool for improved COPD management.

Background: We conducted a randomized controlled trial of EpxDiabetes, a novel digital health intervention as an adjunct therapy to reduce HbA1c and fasting blood glucose (FBG) among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In addition, we examined the effect of social determinants of health on our system. Methods: Sixty-five (n = 65) patients were randomized at a primary care clinic. Self-reported FBG data were collected by EpxDiabetes automated phone calls or text messages. Only intervention group responses were shared with providers, facilitating follow-up and bidirectional communication. ΔHbA1c and ΔFBG were analyzed after 6 months. Results: There was an absolute HbA1c reduction of 0.69% in the intervention group (95% confidence interval [CI], -1.41 to 0.02) and an absolute reduction of 0.03% in the control group (95% CI, -0.88 to 0.82). For those with baseline HbA1c >8%, HbA1c decreased significantly by 1.17% in the intervention group (95% CI, -1.90 to -0.44), and decreased by 0.02% in the control group (95% CI, -0.99 to 0.94). FBG decreased in the intervention group by 21.6 mg/dL (95% CI, -37.56 to -5.639), and increased 13.0 mg/dL in the control group (95% CI, -47.67 to 73.69). Engagement (proportion responding to ≥25% of texts or calls over 4 weeks) was 58% for the intervention group (95% CI, 0.373-0.627) and 48% for the control group (95% CI, 0.296-0.621). Smoking, number of comorbidities, and response rate were significant predictors of ΔHbA1c. Conclusions: EpxDiabetes helps to reduce HbA1c in patients with uncontrolled T2DM and fosters patient-provider communication; it has definite merit as an adjunct therapy in diabetes management. Future work will focus on improving the acceptability of the system and implementation on a larger scale trial.

Introduction: Heart failure (HF) is among the most common reasons for hospital admissions, presenting a significant cost burden to the medical system. Patients are monitored at the hospital but often go home without enough long-term management. Chronic care involving consistent symptom monitoring and patient-provider communication is essential to HF management. Though careful management can improve patient quality of life and reduce hospital readmission costs, it may be time consuming and expensive. To address this, we created a SMS text-based platform, EpxHeartFailure (EpxHF), which allows for remote patient monitoring. Our novel platform seeks to improve chronic care management by simplifying patient self-care and patient-provider communication. The goal of this low-cost intervention is to gain patient and provider acceptability and improve patient symptom stability. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of a commercial implementation of EpxHF. Data was collected from patients over a 30-week trial period. EpxHF prompted patients to self-report body weight and symptoms of dyspnea/pedal edema (DPE), orthopnea, and edema compared to the previous day. Weight gain (>5lbs over 1 week) plus 1 other worsening symptom triggered an alert (text or call) to the patient’s provider. Providers could then contact the patient and initiate follow up care. The intervention modified message frequency to parallel each patient’s symptom stability and sent providers bimonthly triaged reports that prioritized the most unstable patients. Patients were also asked a question adapted from Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) to assess quality of life and how often a patient’s symptoms interfere with daily functioning (0 - never, 5- all the time). Results: One-hundred seventy patients in St. Louis were enrolled onto EpxHF at hospitals using care managers within risk sharing and capacitated value models. A total of 3244 texts were sent, 87 alerts were generated, and 99 communications between providers and patients were documented following alerts. The average patient engagement rate was 81%, indicating acceptability. Normalized data for DPE, orthopnea, and excessive weight gain on a scale of -1 to +1 (+1 representing symptom improvement, 0 no change, -1 worsening symptoms) indicated a clear trend of improvement on a weekly basis (avg for all patients: 0.24 DPE, 0.21 orthopnea, 0.07 excessive weight gain). At week 30, the average KCCQ score decreased by 1.38 from baseline (95% CI: 1.299-1.467), which indicates an increase in perceived quality of life. Discussion: The results demonstrate the ability of the system to engage patients, track their symptomatology and improve quality of life. EpxHF is a cost-effective tool that uses basic texting technology to help providers monitor HF patient’s fluctuating symptoms, with the goal of enabling medical intervention before a HF exacerbation occurs.

Objective: A matched, case?control study was conducted to examine the association between development of low birth weight (LBW) and maternal factors, including dietary intake, comorbidities, and socioeconomic factors, among women in Cap Haitien, Haiti. Design: Mothers who delivered LBW babies; defined as ?2.5?kg, were identified by review of the medical record and matched to mothers of similar age, parity, with normal birth weight (NBW) babies. A survey was administered consisting of Women's Dietary Diversity Score (WDDS), maternal reporting of comorbidities, income, and educational level. Subjects: Women were eligible if they delivered and had newborns weighed within the last 2 years. Total study participants consisted of 32 cases and 34 controls matched for age, parity, and month of delivery. Results: Mothers who consume eggs were 78% less likely to have given birth to a LBW infant (OR 0.22 (95% CI: 0.05?0.87). Mothers with NBW babies had a nonsignificant trend towards higher WDDS. The prevalence of hypertension in mothers who were seen in the clinic at least once over the past 2 years was found to be 27%, and 78% of mothers were not aware of their diagnosis. Conclusion: Enhancing maternal nutrition during pregnancy has broad implications for reducing LBW, improving fetal health and reducing fetal predilection for chronic diseases in adulthood. Longitudinal prospective studies are needed to evaluate the selective benefit of eggs and other high-quality foods in protecting fetal growth. Efforts to improve knowledge and awareness of hypertension in Haiti should be undertaken.

April 25, 2018April 10, 2018Free AccessEpxEpilepsy: A SMS-Based Intervention for Patients with Epilepsy (P4.289)Rajat Duggirala, Sirui Ma, Robert Peters, Stephanie Zhang, and Will RossAuthors Info & AffiliationsApril 10, 2018 issue90 (15_supplement) Letters to the Editor

BACKGROUND:We designed two telemonitoring text and voice messaging interventions, EpxDecolonization (EpxDecol) and EpxWound, to improve management of orthopedic joint replacement patients at Washington University. We reviewed the use of these tools for a period of 88 weeks.METHODS:Cohorts of 1,392 and 1,753 participants completed EpxDecol and EpxWound, respectively. All patients who completed EpxDecol also completed EpxWound. We assessed patient use of and satisfaction with these interventions. A return on investment (ROI) analysis was conducted to determine the cost savings generated by EpxWound and EpxDecol.RESULTS:The proportions of patients who responded daily to EpxDecol and EpxWound were 91.9% and 77.7%, respectively, over the lengths of each intervention. The percent of daily responders declined <5% during each intervention. Ultimately, 88.4% of EpxDecol patients and 67.8% of EpxWound patients responded to ≥80% of all messages. Median patient survey responses (n = 1,246) were 9/9 (best possible) for care, 8/9 for improved communication, and 5/9 (perfect number) for number of messages received. ROI analysis for this 88-week period showed that using EpxDecol and EpxWound to engage patients (instead of nurses calling patients) saved the equivalent of 2.275 full-time nursing equivalents per week. We calculated net savings of $260,348 with an ROI of 14.85x for 1,753 patients over 88 weeks. One-year cost savings from these interventions were $153,800 with an ROI of 14.79x.CONCLUSIONS:EpxDecol and EpxWound may serve important roles in the perioperative process for orthopedic joint reconstruction surgery given high patient usage of and satisfaction with these interventions. Implementing EpxDecol and EpxWound for a large patient population could yield substantial cost savings and ROI.

BACKGROUND:The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program logs surgical site infections (SSIs) as the most common cause of unplanned postoperative readmission for a variety of surgical interventions. Hospitals are making significant efforts preoperatively and postoperatively to reduce SSIs and improve care. Telemedicine, defined as using remote technology to implement health care, has the potential to improve outcomes across a wide range of parameters, including reducing SSIs.OBJECTIVE:The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility and user satisfaction of two automated messaging systems, EpxDecolonization and EpxWound, to improve perioperative care in a quality improvement project for patients undergoing total joint replacement.METHODS:We designed two automated text messaging and calling systems named EpxDecolonization, which reminded patients of their preoperative decolonization protocol, and EpxWound, which monitored pain, wound, and fever status postoperatively. Daily patient responses were recorded and a post-usage survey was sent out to participants to assess satisfaction with the systems.RESULTS:Over the 40-week study period, 638 and 642 patients were enrolled in EpxDecolonization (a preoperative decolonization reminder) and EpxWound (a postoperative surgical site infection telemonitoring system), respectively. Patients could be enrolled in either or both EpxDecolonization and EpxWound, with the default option being dual enrollment. The proportion of sessions responded to was 85.2% for EpxDecolonization and 78.4% for EpxWound. Of the 1280 patients prescribed EpxWound and EpxDecolonization, 821 (64.14%) fully completed the postoperative system satisfaction survey. The median survey score (scale 1-9) was 9 for patient-rated overall care and 8 for whether the telemonitoring systems improved patient communication with providers. The majority of patients (69.0%, 566/821) indicated that the systems sent out an ideal number of messages (not too many, not too few).CONCLUSIONS:EpxDecolonization and EpxWound demonstrated high response rates and improved patient-rated communication with providers. These preliminary data suggest that these systems are well tolerated and potentially beneficial to both patients and providers. The systems have the potential to improve both patient satisfaction scores and compliance with preoperative protocols and postoperative wound monitoring. Future efforts will focus on testing the sensitivity and specificity of alerts generated by each system and on demonstrating the ability of these systems to improve clinical quality metrics with more authoritative data.

Background Telemedicine has emerged as an innovative platform to diagnose and treat psychiatric disorders in a cost-effective fashion. Previous studies have laid the functional framework for monitoring and treating child psychiatric disorders electronically using videoconferencing, mobile phones (smartphones), and Web-based apps. However, phone call and text message (short message service, SMS) interventions in adolescent psychiatry are less studied than other electronic platforms. Further investigations on the development of these interventions are needed. Objective The aim of this paper was to explore the utility of text message interventions in adolescent psychiatry and describe a user feedback-driven iterative design process for text message systems. Methods We developed automated text message interventions using a platform for both depression (EpxDepression) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD; EpxAutism) and conducted 2 pilot studies for each intervention (N=3 and N=6, respectively). The interventions were prescribed by and accessible to the patients’ healthcare providers. EpxDepression and EpxAutism utilized an automated system to triage patients into 1 of 3 risk categories based on their text responses and alerted providers directly via phone and an online interface when patients met provider-specified risk criteria. Rapid text-based feedback from participants and interviews with providers allowed for quick iterative cycles to improve interventions. Results Patients using EpxDepression had high weekly response rates (100% over 2 to 4 months), but exhibited message fatigue with daily prompts with mean (SD) overall response rates of 66.3% (21.6%) and 64.7% (8.2%) for mood and sleep questionnaires, respectively. In contrast, parents using EpxAutism displayed both high weekly and overall response rates (100% and 85%, respectively, over 1 to 4 months) that did not decay significantly with time. Monthly participant feedback surveys for EpxDepression (7 surveys) and EpxAutism (18 surveys) preliminarily indicated that for both interventions, daily messages constituted the “perfect amount” of contact and that EpxAutism, but not EpxDepression, improved patient communication with providers. Notably, EpxDepression detected thoughts of self-harm in patients before their case managers or caregivers were aware of such ideation. Conclusions Text-message interventions in adolescent psychiatry can provide a cost-effective and engaging method to track symptoms, behavior, and ideation over time. Following the collection of pilot data and feedback from providers and patients, larger studies are already underway to validate the clinical utility of EpxDepression and EpxAutism. Trial Registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT03002311; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03002311 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6qQtlCIS0)

BACKGROUND:Although hypertension (HTN) is a major modifiable risk factor for arterial damage, blood pressure (BP) remains poorly controlled in the hypertensive population. Telemedicine is a promising adjunct intervention that may complement traditional therapies and improve adherence rates; however, current approaches have multiple barriers to entry, including the use of relatively expensive Bluetooth devices or the dependence on smart phone utilization, which tend to exclude low-income and more elderly populations.OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to design and implement a new phone call- and short message service text messaging-based intervention, Epharmix's EpxHypertension, in a quality improvement project that demonstrates the feasibility of this system for BP control in a family medicine setting.METHODS:We recruited 174 patients from a community clinic in St Louis from a database of patients diagnosed with HTN. An automated call or text messaging system was used to monitor patient-reported BPs. If determined to be elevated, physicians were notified by an email, text, or electronic medical record alert. Mean systolic BPs (SBPs) and diastolic BPs (DBPs) were compared at the beginning and end of 12 weeks.RESULTS:After 12 weeks on the system, patients with a baseline SBP of 140 mm Hg or higher reduced SBP by 10.8 mm Hg (95% CI -14.5 to -7.2, P<.001) and DBP by 6.6 mm Hg (95% CI -9.9 to -3.4, P=.002), but no significant changes were observed in overall BPs and BPs in the group with baseline SBP less than 140 mm Hg.CONCLUSIONS:EpxHypertension provides a viable means to control HTN in patients with high baseline BPs despite previous therapy. This community implementation study demonstrates the feasibility of implementing EpxHypertension across a primary care setting without the need for smartphones or Bluetooth-linked BP cuffs. Future studies should evaluate its effectiveness in a randomized control trial compared with standard of care.