In the News

Marriage at Sixteen, or Younger – Garnet News

Read article – An opinion piece by Brenda Sirovich, associate professor of medicine, community and family medicine, and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, in which she discusses how every U.S. state allows children younger than 18 to marry, usually with parental consent, and how as a result many minors in the United States were legally subjected to serial sexual exploitation in the form of being permitted, or perhaps coerced, to marry.

Some Doctors Are Now Scaling Back on Low-Value Care to Save in Costs – Healthcare Finance

Read article – Cites a study conducted by the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice that examined nearly 10,000 physicians who performed carotid revascularization—a surgical procedure used to reduce the risk of stroke by correcting narrowing in the carotid artery—and found a declining trend in the rate of carotid revascularization nationally from 2006 to 2013.

Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency: A Complication of Pancreatitis You Should Know About – Everyday Health

Read article – Quotes Timothy Gardner, associate professor of medicine, about a little-known complication of pancreatitis called exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, which can cause digestive problems. If you have pancreatitis, “the reason it’s important to get treated is that we really want to limit any damage that can cause problems like EPI,” says Gardner.

Astronaut Blood May Not Act Weird in Space After All – Space.com

Read article – Quotes Jay Buckey, professor of medicine and adjunct professor of engineering, about a new study that shows that astronauts might not be anemic at all while in space — instead, it’s a condition that develops when they land. The finding could mean more time safely spent in space, such as a mission to Mars or colonizing the moon would require. “The thing is, they’re going to have a little adaptation to go through to go from being weightless to being back in a gravity field again,” says Buckey, who was not involved in the study.

Better Delivery of Health Care at Grassroots Level Focus of Health Care Discussion – Patient Daily

Read article – Elliott Fisher, director of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, and professor of medicine and of community and family medicine, recently spoke at a panel discussion organized by the American Enterprise Institute about how progress in establishing ACOs as they were meant to operate has been sluggish.

Are Bacteria Blooms in NH Lakes Linked to Lou Gehrig’s Disease? New Report Casts Doubt on That Idea – Concord Monitor

Read article – Features comments by Elijah Stommel, professor of neurology, in which he discusses a report issued earlier this month by the United States Geological Survey that casts doubt on assertions that blooms of cyanobacteria, often misleadingly called blue-green algae, are connected to certain neurological diseases, including ALS. “I agree with them that there is still some healthy skepticism in making correlations between cyanobacterial blooms and the potential for neuro-degeneration, but there’s a fair amount of evidence that there is an association,” says Stommel.

‘Insomnia Identity’: When Not Sleeping Becomes a Part of Who You Are – The Cut

Read article – Quotes Michael Sateia, active emeritus professor of psychiatry, about how thinking of yourself as an insomniac may be a self-fulfilling prophecy. “The condition becomes a focus of attention and the sufferer may begin to arrange his/her life around this issue,” says Sateia. “These negative expectations produce greater anxiety and arousal and, voilà, they don’t sleep well.”

Don’t Let New Blood Pressure Guidelines Raise Yours – The New York Times

Read article – An opinion piece by H. Gilbert Welch, professor of medicine and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, and professor of economics, in which he discusses the new guidelines for systolic blood pressure, which have been tightened to less than 130 for anyone with at least a 10 percent risk of heart attack or stroke in the next decade. “So focusing on the number 130 not only will involve millions of people but also will involve millions of new prescriptions and millions of dollars,” says Welch. “And it will further distract doctors and their patients from activities that aren’t easily measured by numbers, yet are more important to health — real food, regular movement and finding meaning in life. These matter whatever your blood pressure is.”

4 Reasons ACOs May Generate Limited Savings – FierceHealthcare

Read article – Quotes Valerie Lewis, assistant professor of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, about a study she led that found accountable care efforts are beginning to pay off, but that there are several reasons why these new models may initially generate sluggish savings. “The balance of pushing hard enough with incentives while also allowing time for ACOs to grow and develop is tricky, but getting this right could ultimately lead to more successful programs—and greater savings,” says Lewis.