Read article – Quotes Garrett Wasp, instructor in medicine, about a new study he co-authored about the disparities in quality of care for minority hospice patients, particularly when it comes to a lack of hospice referrals, late hospice referrals, or a lack of advanced care plans or palliative care. “What the research shows is the kind of higher intensity of end-of-life care is associated with worse quality, so a higher percent of chemotherapy, emergency department visits, intensive care unit admissions, and life-sustaining treatments equals worse quality, as well as higher percent of no hospice referral or late hospice referral,” says Wasp. “Predominantly minority-serving hospitals tend to be associated with lower quality and higher intensity treatment. Targeting minority service hospitals for performance improvement would, therefore, reduce disparities.”

Read article – Quotes Cornel Stanciu, assistant professor of psychiatry, about the dangers of the drug Kratom. “Experimenting with kratom is more dangerous than it seems, and no dose is a safe dose,” says Stanciu.

Read article – Cites a study conducted by researchers at the Geisel School of Medicine that found using a tanning bed makes a person 2.5 times more likely to develop skin cancer.

Read article – Quotes Kay Jankowski, assistant professor of psychiatry, in an article about how child abuse and neglect have now risen to be among the top concerns communities have identified through recent health needs assessments conducted by Upper Valley healthcare organizations.

Read article – Bruce Stanton, the Andrew C. Vail Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, will present at the next MDI Science Café in Bar Harbor, Maine, on the topic “Is There Arsenic in Your Drinking Water?”

Read article – Quotes Brian Sites, professor of anesthesiology and orthopaedics, in an article that features an interview with David Sackler, a member of the family that owns and founded Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin.

Read article – Continued coverage of comments from William Feero, assistant professor of community and family medicine, about how medical DNA tests work and the different ways they can be useful for understanding our health. “Diagnostic genetic tests look for specific changes in the DNA, in specific genes that are relatively well-proven to cause those genes not to work properly, and for the person to develop disease,” says Feero. “They are highly reliable and very accurate.”

Read article – Features comments from William Feero, assistant professor of community and family medicine, about how medical DNA tests work and the different ways they can be useful for understanding our health. “Diagnostic genetic tests look for specific changes in the DNA, in specific genes that are relatively well-proven to cause those genes not to work properly, and for the person to develop disease,” says Feero. “They are highly reliable and very accurate.” (Picked up by Business Insider Singapore.)

Read article – Brian Thomas, MED ’09, a board-certified otolaryngologist who specializes in head and neck surgery, recently joined the medical staff at Bingham Memorial Hospital (BMH), a member of Bingham Healthcare.

Read article – Cites a study conducted by researchers at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice that found that for accountable care organizations, transitioning some patient care back into the home is proving to reduce costs and improve care quality.