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Medicare’s Bad Call on Transplant Tests

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Blood tests can save organs. Why are the feds denying coverage?

By The Editorial Board

Government spending on healthcare often leads to rationed care owing to rising costs. Think of the waiting lists in Canada and new price controls on U.S. drugs. Another mistake is playing out in care for organ-transplant patients denied coverage for blood tests that detect problems.

In March, MolDX, a program run by Medicare contractor Palmetto GBA to make coverage decisions on molecular lab tests, changed its guidance for when certain blood tests can be used. Read the full article in the Wall Street Journal.

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Psychological distress may be linked to poor self-management of chronic kidney disease

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By Shawn M. Carter

Psychological distress may be linked to poor self-management of chronic kidney disease, according to a recently published study of patients with CKD who were not on dialysis.

“Beginning with the diagnosis of chronic kidney disease (CKD) onward, patients are confronted with profound changes that require extensive emotional skills. An additional burden is adhering to disease self-management recommendations,” lead researcher Cinderella K. Cardol, PhD, of the health, medical and neuropsychology unit at Leiden University in The Netherlands, and colleagues wrote. Read the full article in Healio.

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Lesson in kindness: Teacher donates kidney to colleague, both recover in time for 1st day of school

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By Jeff Stitt

MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Over the summer, a New Jersey teacher donated his kidney to a fellow educator. Both teachers recovered in time to be in the classroom for the first day of school. They’re hoping their students take away a life lesson from their story.

Lauren Crupi, who teaches sixth-grade language arts at Saint Leo the Great School is elated to be in front of her class. Check out the full story from KCRA News 3.

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Obesity-related heart disease deaths triple since 1999, with highest impact on Black women

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By Regina Shaffer

CV deaths related to obesity increased by 200% across all race groups from 1999 to 2020, a statistic researchers said reflects the health consequences of the rising burden of obesity in the United States.

In an analysis of more than 280,000 CV deaths in the U.S. with obesity recorded as a contributing cause, researchers also found that Black women had the highest rates of obesity-related CVD deaths than all others, a trend researchers called unexpected. Read the entire article in Healio.

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Deciding Who Is Dead: Physician Group Issues New Statement

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— American College of Physicians adds to debate about redefining death

By Judy George

A single word clarification is the only revision the Uniform Determination of Death Act (UDDA) needs, the American College of Physicians (ACP) stated.

In a new position paper, the ACP joined the ongoing debate that could reshape the cardiorespiratory and neurologic standards determining death. Read the full article in MedPage Today.

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Research in focus: examining organ offers

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Three studies examine offer acceptance practices and the impact of the Offer Filters tool

Beginning in 2017, Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) policies have been modified to eliminate Donor Service Area (DSA or the area served by a specific Organ Procurement Organization) from allocation policies for all organs. While monitoring reports indicate that these policy changes are achieving the goal of getting the most medically urgent patients transplanted sooner, another result is that, on average, transplant centers have experienced an increase in the number of offers received.

Two recent studies from UNOS researchers analyzed offer acceptance practices, while a third looked at the impact of the Offer Filters tool on transplant program offer volume and overall kidney non-use rates. Read the entire article from UNOS.

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Assessing Short-Term Outcomes and Frailty Measures Following Lung Transplantation

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The following is a summary of “Evaluation of Frailty Measures and Short-term Outcomes After Lung Transplantation,” published in the July 2023 issue of the Chest by  Swaminathan et al.

Before and after lung transplantation, frailty, measured as a singular construct, is associated with variable poor outcomes. Unknown is the utility of a comprehensive frailty assessment before transplantation. How do multiple frailty constructs, such as phenotypic and cumulative deficit models, muscle mass, exercise tolerance, and social vulnerabilities measured before lung transplantation, relate to short-term outcomes? Read the complete article in Physician’s Weekly.

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Northwestern Medicine Launches a Hispanic Program for Patients With Lung and Thoracic Diseases

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By Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

The Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute Hispanic Program was recently launched to offer personalized care for lung and thoracic patients in their native language, making life-saving care more accessible for the Hispanic community and people who prefer to speak Spanish by removing cultural and linguistic barriers.

Receiving a diagnosis of asthma, lung cancer or respiratory failure can be scary and challenging. Receiving care from a medical team that doesn’t speak your preferred language can make the experience more difficult. The Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute Hispanic Program was recently launched to offer personalized care for lung and thoracic patients in their native language, making life-saving care more accessible for the Hispanic community and people who prefer to speak Spanish by removing cultural and linguistic barriers.
Read the full story in OncLive.

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Racial gaps persist in kidney transplantation, particularly among younger patients

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By Shawn M. Carter

Evident racial gaps in transplant waitlist placement between Black and white patients exist, particularly among younger individuals with kidney failure, new data suggests.

“Racial disparities exist at all steps of the kidney transplant process, including waitlisting,” Jade Buford, MPH, of the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, and lead researcher, told Healio.
Read the full story in Healio.

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