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Schaffner comments on the risk of the coronavirus spreading in high populated areas
Feb. 26, 2020—FOR infectious disease experts, it’s unsurprising that the current coronavirus, which causes the disease named COVID-19, originated in a city. “In cities the potential for infectious diseases to spread is massive, simply because people are so close to each other and have such prolonged face-to-face contact, “says Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases expert at Vanderbilt University....
Buntin named a Nashville Business Journal 2020 Woman of Influence
Feb. 25, 2020—From inspirational leaders to community supporters to top executives, meet the Nashville Business Journal’s 2020 Women of Influence winners. Melinda Buntin, Ph.D. Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Mike Curb professor of health policy and chair, department of health policy Melinda Buntin, Ph.D. is the chair of the Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. She previously served...
Schaffner talks to Vox about usual symptoms ahead of coronavirus pandemic
Feb. 24, 2020—During the last two months, as the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak spiraled into a global threat, countries around the world have scrambled to impose travel bans, quarantine millions, and isolate sick people in an attempt to stop the spread of the new virus. This coronavirus is still very new, and we don’t know its entire spectrum of illness...
Creech and Schaffner discuss record-breaking child deaths this year from flu
Feb. 24, 2020—So far this season,105 children have died from the flu, according to data released Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is the highest number of child flu deaths at this point in the season since the CDC started keeping records in 2004, except for the 2009 flu pandemic. It has been an...
Patients can spread coronavirus without showing symptoms says Schaffner
Feb. 24, 2020—A 20-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, traveled 400 miles(675 km) north to Anyang where she infected five relatives, without ever showing signs of infection, Chinese scientists reported on Friday, offering new evidence that the virus can be spread asymptomatically. The case study, published in the Journal of the American...
Newsweek discusses the coronavirus with Schaffner
Feb. 21, 2020—COVID-19, a new coronavirus known to cause pneumonia, has infected more than 75,000 people and killed more than 2,000 since it was first identified in humans in December. WHO initially only reported cases that were confirmed by laboratory results, but on Monday, it announced that its future situation reports will also include people who were...
Schaffner comments on this season’s flu vaccine impact
Feb. 21, 2020—Federal health officials say the flu vaccine is proving more effective this season than in some previous seasons, although more deaths and severe illnesses among children have been reported. “The hospitalizations and severe illness among children and adolescents are exactly what these two viruses have a tendency to do,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor...
Dusetzina comments on class action lawsuit against drug company for price surge
Feb. 20, 2020—The city of Marietta has filed a class action lawsuit against a drug company after the price of a decades-old medicine went from $40 a vial to more than $39,000. The city, which covers health care costs for employees and their families, says it has already spent more than $2 million on the drug for...
Schaffner expresses the need for international cooperation in the coronavirus outbreak
Feb. 20, 2020—“This could be a turning point” These were the words of Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, when on February 16th an American woman previously abroad the Westerdam cruise ship tested positive for coronavirus. The cruise ship had been denied entry at ports in Taiwan, Japan, Guam, and the Philippines due...
Flu vaccine could be more effective going forward says Schaffner
Feb. 20, 2020—Between 26 million and 36 million people have been stricken with the flu as of Feb. 8, according to the latest CDC data. While early flu activity this season was mostly driven by influenza B/Victoria viruses, flu activity is changing and influenza A/H1N1 is increasing, according to William Schaffner, medical director for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases....
Schaffner discusses flu and coronavirus symptoms with AP
Feb. 19, 2020—Experts say it is potentially a bad time for an extended flu season, given concerns about the new coronavirus out of China, which can cause symptoms that can be difficult to distinguish from flu without testing. If coronavirus were to begin spreading in the U.S., there could be confusion about whether people are getting sick...
Air pollution and smoking may contribute to the severity coronavirus cases says Schaffner
Feb. 14, 2020—The coronavirus has killed more than 1,300 people, brought a huge swath of central China to a standstill and rattled millions around the globe with hints of a pandemic seen in Hollywood fantasies. But the virus’s destructive potential has overshadowed one encouraging aspect of this outbreak: So far, about 82 percent of the cases —...
McKernan talks to Mashable on texting’s role in suicide prediction
Feb. 14, 2020—Since its founding in 2013, the free mental health support service Crisis Text Line has focused on using data and technology to better aid those who reach out for help. Based on its analysis of 129 million messages processed between 2013 and the end of 2019, the nonprofit found that the pill emoji, or 💊, was 4.4 times more...
Schaffner discusses the COVID-19 breathing zone with NBC News
Feb. 13, 2020—The alarming rate at which the new coronavirus has spread throughout China has raised concerns about how it passes from person to person. Infectious disease experts maintain that the vast majority of COVID-19 cases spread through close contact with an infected person. COVID-19 is the new name for the illness caused by the viral infection. That generally...
Surprise billing prevalent in elective surgeries says Buntin
Feb. 13, 2020—About one-in-five patients undergoing elective surgeries at in-network hospitals is slapped with an out-of-network bill, new research shows. A study published this week in JAMA looked at one large commercial insurer’s claims data on nearly 350,000 adult beneficiaries who underwent elective surgeries for common procedures with in-network surgeons and hospitals between 2012 and 2017. The study found that...
NYT turns to Schaffner to discuss new coronavirus report
Feb. 10, 2020—Reporting on Friday in JAMA, the authors said their data suggested that rapid person-to-person spread of the virus had occurred among their cases. That was in part because of patients like the one admitted to the surgical department, whose symptoms misled doctors into suspecting other illnesses and failing to take precautions to prevent spread of...
USA Today: Schaffner says the coronavirus has the potential to spread around the world
Feb. 10, 2020—Health experts say a newcoronavirus with origins in Wuhan, China, that has already killed hundreds and sickened thousands of people could become a pandemic — an unsettling and often misunderstood term. In the minds of many, the word “pandemic” is closely connected to the 1918 flu pandemic that killed tens of millions of people, Anthony Fauci, director of the National...
Buntin comments on Supreme Court delay in deciding on health care law challenge
Feb. 6, 2020—Instead, the court recently punted on a major decision over whether to kill the 2010 health care law that expanded coverage to more than 20 million Americans. Now, Democrats hope that by shifting their attention to high prescription drug prices they might still mobilize voters and help the party maintain its edge on health care,...
PBS News Hour talks to Schaffner about the coronavirus threat
Feb. 6, 2020—Most Americans think novel coronavirus poses a real threat to public health with worry more widespread among older Americans, according to the latest PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll. Americans need not panic, even though it is encouraging that so many Americans are aware of the virus, said William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt Medical Center...
Talbot: Five things to know about China’s coronavirus outbreak
Feb. 4, 2020—Infectious diseases specialist Thomas Talbot, MD, MPH, is professor of Medicine and chief hospital epidemiologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He spoke about the current novel coronavirus outbreak in China. According to the New York Times, as of Feb. 2 there were at least 17,205 cases in China and 11 confirmed cases in the United States....
Buntin explains what the CMS block grant plan means for Tennessee
Feb. 4, 2020—The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Thursday laid out a plan to establish block grant funding for states that have expanded their Medicaid programs. The new structure is meant to serve as an alternative way for states to fund and manage a “higher-income” population within the Medicaid network but it does not extend...
Diamond confident about new concussion treatment method youth sports athletes
Feb. 4, 2020—Concussions can be a scary topic for families. It’s a conversation often heightened by the Super Bowl as more kids look to get on the gridiron. Vanderbilt University Medical Center Associate Professor of Orthopedics and Pediatrics, Dr. Alex Diamond says keeping kids out of youth sports isn’t the answer to addressing concussions. “Evidence points to...
Katz tracks causes of high antibiotic prescribing rates in Tennessee
Feb. 4, 2020—For a few years, Tennessee has been ranked as one of the highest antibiotic prescribing states in the nation, and a recent study showing that fewer than 2% of clinicians were responsible for prescribing 25% of pediatric antibiotics is moving some to action. Sophie Katz, MD, MPH, associate director of pediatric antimicrobial stewardship at Monroe...
Radiology’s health equity efforts led by Spalluto
Feb. 4, 2020—Lucy Spalluto, MD, MPH, has been named the first vice chair of Health Equity in the Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, a position established in response to VUMC’s continued commitment to equal and fair health for all. In this role, Spalluto will oversee the department’s health equity-focused initiatives, including the development of educational programming,...
Buntin named deputy editor of JAMA Health Forum
Feb. 4, 2020—Melinda Buntin, PhD, Mike Curb Professor of Health Policy and chair of the Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has been named deputy editor of JAMA Health Forum, a new online information channel published by JAMA Network. JAMA Health Forum, which launches in January, will focus on health policy and health strategy...
NYT talks to Dusetzina about Medicaid policy shift
Jan. 31, 2020—States will be able to cap a portion of spending for the safety-net program, a change likely to diminish the number of people receiving health benefits through it. Stacie Dusetzina, an associate professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said a balance would need to be struck between excluding drugs as a...
On PBS NewsHour, Schaffner stresses that flu poses greater risk to Americans than new coronavirus
Jan. 30, 2020—A viral outbreak traced back to a live seafood and animal market in the Chinese city of Wuhan, home to 11 million people, continues to spread around the world, with new cases reported in the United States. So far, 132 people have died from novel coronavirus, and more than 6,000 people have become sick in...
Research from Graves finds Medicaid expansion helps low-income Southerners stay healthy
Jan. 30, 2020—Low-income adults were healthier overall in Southeastern states that expanded Medicaid compared to those that did not, a new study from Vanderbilt University and Harvard Medical School finds. Tennessee does not have expanded Medicaid. “It’s really about keeping people from having a health status decline,” said John Graves, associate professor in the Department of Public Health at...
Schaffner talks with USA Today about vaccine development for new coronavirus
Jan. 28, 2020—Drugmakers are hustling to make a vaccine to counter the rapidly spreading respiratory virus that has sickened at least 1,975 people in China and five in the United States. “Getting the vaccine candidate in the laboratory is the shorter and easier part,” said William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University School of Medicine professor of preventive medicine. “It is...
Schaffner: Influenza poses a far greater threat than coronavirus
Jan. 28, 2020—There’s a deadly virus spreading from state to state. It preys on the most vulnerable, striking the sick and the old without mercy. In just the past few months, it has claimed the lives of at least 39 children. The virus is influenza, and it poses a far greater threat to Americans than the coronavirus from...
MPH graduate Neuzil leading efforts on new coronavirus vaccine
Jan. 28, 2020—Public health officials and researchers, who never stopped preparing for the threat that a new form of the virus could emerge, are responding to this latest outbreak using the past as their guide. Dr. Kathleen Neuzil, director of the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Center for Vaccine Development, is already working directly on a vaccine...
What you need to know about the coronavirus according to Schaffner
Jan. 27, 2020—Dr. William Schaffner, Vanderbilt University professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases, joins ‘The Exchange’ to discuss the coronavirus outbreak and what you should know about the virus.
Schaffner discusses U.S. readiness for a viral outbreak with The Washington Post
Jan. 27, 2020—There is little doubt the country has made big leaps in preparedness since the anthrax scare of 2001, the SARS crisis in 2003, the MERS outbreak of 2014 and the West African Ebola epidemic that ended in 2016, according to experts and reports that evaluated the response to those crises. At UCLA and Emory University...
NYT discusses the Wuhan Coronavirus in the U.S. with Schaffner
Jan. 23, 2020—The World Health Organization is meeting on Wednesday to decide whether to declare the outbreak an international public health emergency. But information about the new virus is still thin, and it’s not clear whether or how many Americans are at risk. “There are still more questions that we don’t know the answers to than things...
WSJ: Clayton comments as tech giants gain access to medical records
Jan. 22, 2020—Hospitals have granted Microsoft Corp., International Business Machines Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. the ability to access identifiable patient information under deals to crunch millions of health records, the latest examples of hospitals’ growing influence in the data economy. The breadth of access wasn’t always spelled out by hospitals and tech giants when the deals were struck. Data that can identify patients—including...
NPR talks to Dusetzina about the impact of generic drugs on market pricing
Jan. 22, 2020—Sometimes, the approval of a new generic drug offers more hype than hope for patients’ wallets, as people with multiple sclerosis know all too well. New research shows just how little the introduction of a generic version of Copaxone — one of the most popular MS drugs — did to lower their medicine costs. Now,...
NBC News reports on new virus found in China with help from Schaffner
Jan. 20, 2020—U.S. health officials said Friday that all passengers from a Chinese city at the center of an outbreak of a new and deadly respiratory virus will be screened upon arrival at three airports in the U.S., starting with New York’s JFK Airport late Friday night. Three cases have been identified outside of China: one in...
Schaffner and Creech comment on young adult flu death
Jan. 17, 2020—“It’s such a terribly sad event,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a longtime advisor to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on infectious diseases. “But sometimes the flu captures a young person and in short order makes them literally gravely ill.” So far this flu season, 32 people under 18 have died of the...
PBS NewsHours discusses the decreasing number of children enrolled in Medicaid with Barkin
Jan. 17, 2020—Over a million children have fallen out of public health insurance programs since December 2017. In some cases, their parents acquired coverage at work. But researchers also see a troubling rise in uninsured children.
Health of Tennesseans is suffering due to failure to expand Medicaid says Graves
Jan. 17, 2020—Tennessee is one of 14 states where lawmakers have not approved any kind of plan to expand Medicaid coverage to residents. New research suggests failure to expand that coverage is having detrimental impact on some of the state’s most vulnerable residents. New research from Vanderbilt University Medical Center has found that the state’s failure to...
Creech’s Vaccine Program receives NIH renewal of VTEU
Jan. 17, 2020—The Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program (VVRP) has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue its work as one of the nation’s nine Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units (VTEUs). The VTEUs will contribute to a new federal effort to bolster clinical trial research and the readiness to respond to emerging diseases....
Foster explores trends in Hepatitis A Infection
Jan. 16, 2020—Although reported cases of hepatitis A virus (HAV) decreased significantly following availability of the HAV vaccine in 1996, increases observed in HAV cases since 2016 may be a sign that at-risk individuals are not receiving the vaccine prior to exposure. To obtain a better grasp on this trend and describe the increases in HAV cases...
NPR discusses Tennessee’s overprescribing of antibiotics with Katz
Jan. 16, 2020—It’s just a handful of pediatricians in Tennessee responsible for making Tennessee one of the highest prescribers of antibiotics in the country. A new study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Tennessee Department of Health finds 2% of pediatricians account for 25% of the antibiotic prescriptions in the state. According to the analysis, published...
NBC News discusses this year’s flu vaccine effectiveness with Schaffner
Jan. 15, 2020—With months to go in this year’s flu season, the flu shot remains the best way to protect yourself from the potentially debilitating virus. In fact, even if you’ve already been sick with the flu this season, it’s still important to get a flu shot if you haven’t yet done so. It could protect you...
Schaffner: Less common flu strain hits kids especially hard this year
Jan. 15, 2020—Influenza B popped up unusually early across the U.S. in 2019 and may be the cause of the severe infections and deaths in children that have happened so far during the current flu season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of 27 children who died from the flu in the U.S. between...
NBC News discusses flu with Schaffner
Jan. 13, 2020—This season’s flu continues to hit children and young adults particularly hard, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting Friday that there have been twice as many pediatric flu deaths so far this year than at the same time last year. The flu season so far has distinguished itself from previous years with an early rise...
Smaller drug vials may not reduce costs says Dusetzina
Jan. 8, 2020—Last year, Medicare paid for $725 million worth of expensive medications administered in outpatient clinics — things like chemotherapy drugs — that ended up being discarded, according to new data released by the federal government. Requiring companies to make more appropriate vial sizes may not reduce wasted medications or save money. Researchers say drug companies could easily...
Creech: Flu symptoms different in children
Jan. 8, 2020—This year’s flu season is particularly dangerous, and it’s nothing to fool around with, especially for young children and older adults. Knowing the symptoms is key. Dr. Buddy Creech specializes in pediatric infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He said flu symptoms in children show up differently than they do in adults. Here’s what...
Graves finds that residents in Medicaid expansion states were less likely to report declining health
Jan. 8, 2020—Medicaid expansion makes it less likely that low-income people will suffer from plummeting health that jeopardizes their lives, according to a new study by Vanderbilt University and Harvard University researchers scrutinizing Tennessee and 11 other southern states. The findings, published Monday in the peer-reviewed journal Health Affairs, imply that for every 1,000 people who gain insurance coverage through Medicaid expansion, 257 fewer people...
As flu continues to surge Schaffner discusses prevention
Jan. 8, 2020—Experts say it’s shaping up to be the worst flu season we’ve seen in a decade. As of right now, at least 2,900 people have died of the flu this season, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and flu activity is “widespread” in the country. Flu season officially began in October and, since then,...
Genetic testing kits can lead to unveiled family medical secrets says Clayton
Jan. 7, 2020—Unwrapping the holiday gift of a genetic testing kit could mean revealing a previously unknown world of health concerns — and complicated family questions. By spitting in a test tube and sending it to companies like 23andMe or Ancestry.com, consumers might learn of potential genetic predispositions to Type 2 Diabetes, breast cancer, carrier status for cystic fibrosis...
MPH’s Isaacs: A Comprehensive Care Model for Tourette Syndrome
Jan. 5, 2020—Affecting as many as 300,000 children (around one in 160) in the United States, Tourette syndrome nevertheless tends to fall under the health care system’s radar. The condition is often underrecognized and can be complicated by anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depression. At Vanderbilt University Medical Center, David Isaacs, M.D., M.P.H., an adult...
Children far more likely to die after surgery in poor countries finds Newtwon
Dec. 20, 2019—Children in low-resourced countries are 100-200 times more likely to die after surgery than children in wealthy countries, according to a first-of-its-kind study published in Anesthesiology. Two billion of the world’s children lack access to safe surgery and anesthesia, and the need for pediatric surgery in low- and middle-income countries is growing, according to lead author...
Guillamondegui tracks impact of noise in operating rooms
Dec. 20, 2019—Research shows that noise negatively affects individuals and patient safety, and the operating room is one of the noisiest clinical areas due to information sharing among the clinical team, various technology devices and surgical equipment. But noise in the operating room is unregulated, not monitored and there is no policy governing it, a Vanderbilt nurse...
Telehealth grant boosts diabetes prevention efforts with Aliyu
Dec. 20, 2019—Vanderbilt’s Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) has demonstrated its effectiveness at helping employees lose weight as a means of preventing Type 2 diabetes and has received a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand the program using telehealth. Vanderbilt Health & Wellness recently published research in the CDC journal Preventing Chronic Disease...
Everson and Dusetzina offer ideas on prescription drug prices, EHRs
Dec. 19, 2019—In a new viewpoint published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Vanderbilt University Medical Center professors Jordan Everson, Ph.D., Stacie Dusetzina, Ph.D., both in the Department of Health Policy, and Mark Frisse, MD, Accenture professor in the Department of Biomedical Informatics, say a new rule published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) should be phased...
McPheeter’s study aims at opioids and overdoses in Tennessee
Dec. 19, 2019—A new study from Melissa McPheeters, PhD, MPH, research professor of health policy, finds that “prescribing (opioids) is common in Tennessee before an overdose, does not decrease appreciably afterward, and MAT may be underutilized as increases in buprenorphine were not observed after overdose events.” The study, published in the journal “Preventive Medicine” analyzes patient discharge data and...
NBC News talks with Schaffner about why this year’s flu season is different
Dec. 16, 2019—Flu season got off to a fast start and shows no sign of slowing. On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that flu activity continues to rise across the country, with an estimated 2.6 million flu illnesses reported so far this year. Of those patients, 23,000 required hospitalization and 1,300 people died from the...
The Human Rights Rising Advocate Award given to Anderson
Dec. 16, 2019—Frances Anderson, MPH, was honored with the Human Rights Rising Advocate Award during the Tennessee Celebration of International Human Rights Day, a joint initiative of the Tennessee Human Rights Commission, the Metro Human Relations Commission, United Nations Association, UNICEF, Amnesty International, Tennessee United for Human Rights, and others. Frances is TOR’s State Refugee Health Coordinator...
Wiese honored at Vanderbilt Diabetes Day
Dec. 16, 2019—Research in the fields of diabetes, endocrinology and metabolism were highlighted recently during the annual Diabetes Day at the Vanderbilt Student Life Center. More than 200 faculty, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, fellows, medical students and staff representing Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Meharry Medical College gathered to share their work and establish new...
New online journal for JAMA to be led by Buntin
Dec. 16, 2019—Melinda Buntin, Ph.D., Mike Curb professor of health policy and chair of the Department of Health Policy, has been named the deputy editor for a new online channel published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, or JAMA. The new channel, JAMA Health Forum, will focus on “health policy and health strategy issues affecting medicine...
Creech discusses when to visit the emergency department for cold and flu symptoms
Dec. 13, 2019—Tis the season for colds, flu and upper respiratory illnesses say health care providers at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. But physicians caution that going to the emergency department is not always the best remedy. In the past few weeks, there has been a 30% increase in ED patient volumes at Children’s Hospital compared...
NPR discusses prescription drug plan with Dusetzina
Dec. 13, 2019—Right now, there’s no limit for how much seniors and others on Medicare spend on drugs out of pocket — unlike in most insurance plans. This bill would set a limit for Medicare patients at $2,000 a year. Stacie Dusetzina, a health policy professor at Vanderbilt University who has written extensively about Medicare Part D,...
Schaffner discusses why some states restrict where children can get flu shots
Dec. 12, 2019—Currently, 30 states have age restrictions on children being able to get flu shots anywhere but a medical office, and three states don’t allow children to be vaccinated in pharmacies at all. That’s despite the fact the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends everyone who is at least 6 months old get vaccinated every year....
In The Hill, Nikpay comments on latest ACA case before the Supreme Court
Dec. 12, 2019—The Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear oral arguments in the latest ObamaCare case to reach the justices, this time in a $12 billion dispute over payments insurers say they are owed by the federal government. At issue is a financial carrot that Congress dangled before insurers to encourage their participation in the early years...
Schaffner concerned about prolonged influenza season
Dec. 11, 2019—The U.S. is experiencing its earliest start to the winter flu season in more than 15 years, largely due to an influenza strain that has dominated at an unusual time of year. The CDC estimated Friday that there have been at least 1.7 million flu illnesses, 16,000 hospitalizations and 900 flu-related deaths nationally. Dr. William...
Dusetzina comments on trade-offs under new proposed prescription drug bill
Dec. 10, 2019—The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote this week on H.R. 3, Nancy Pelosi’s sweeping new bill looking to lower drug prices. Pelosi says the bill will make prescription drugs cheaper and more accessible. Stacie Dusetzina, an associate professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University, said there will definitely be trade-offs under this law....
MPH’s Haddad tackles socially responsible surgery
Dec. 9, 2019—Social determinants of health (SDOH) such as a patient’s home community and economic status are well recognized in many medical specialties, but the surgical field has been slower to embrace social concerns. Now, an organization of surgical educators and medical students is trying to change that paradigm. Socially Responsible Surgery (SRS) was founded at Boston University Medical...
Neuzil comments on latest research on use of TCV in Nepal
Dec. 9, 2019—An extensive study of the typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) has shown a single dose to be 81 percent safe and effective in reducing typhoid in children between the ages of 9 months and less than 16 years. Announced on December 5, 2019, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, this interim analysis involved 20,019 children...
MPH’s Young to head up clinical trial on the treatment of opioid use disorder during pregnancy
Dec. 6, 2019—The Vanderbilt Maternal Addiction Recovery Program is participating in a 12-site clinical trial that will compare two forms of the medication buprenorphine in treating opioid use disorder during pregnancy, and the results could have a potentially significant impact on clinical practice. The study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, will randomize participants to...
MPH’s Nikpay comments on aggressive billing practice at hospitals
Dec. 6, 2019—A Tennessee-based firm that runs emergency rooms around the nation says it will stop suing patients who can’t pay. The company also is pledging to give more discounts for the uninsured. Health economist Sayeh Nikpay at Vanderbilt University says lawsuits over medical bills have become a political liability. “All of these stories are piling up,”...
CBS News talks with Schaffner about latest E.coli outbreak
Dec. 6, 2019—Just ahead of Thanksgiving, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a food safety alert over romaine lettuce. There are at least 67 cases of E. coli across 19 states.
Warmer climate might lead to flu year-round says Schaffner
Dec. 3, 2019—The flu has a paradoxical relationship with the weather. In the United States, the flu thrives in the winter, when the air is cold and crisp, and then ebbs in the spring, when the disease is stymied by hotter temperatures. However, in tropical countries, where it is usually warm, humid and rainy, people get sick with...
Personalized antimicrobial therapy is shortening pediatric treatment time says Creech
Dec. 2, 2019—Physicians historically have relied on arbitrary lengths of antibiotic therapy for a variety of infections in pediatric patients, according to C. Buddy Creech, MD, MPH, associate professor of pediatrics and director of the pediatric infectious disease fellowship program at Vanderbilt University. “Now, with improved diagnostics and with novel study designs, we are able to personalize antimicrobial therapy...
NPR turns to Patrick as the opioid epidemic hits schools and education professions
Dec. 2, 2019—Babies born to mothers who used opioids during pregnancy represent one of the most distressing legacies of an opioid epidemic that has claimed almost 400,000 lives and ravaged communities. Dr. Stephen Patrick, a neonatologist in Nashville, says schools and early childhood programs are on the front lines now. “You hear teachers talking about infants with a development...
Schaffner: E. coli outbreak especially dangerous to young children and the elderly
Dec. 2, 2019—Ahead of Thanksgiving, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a food safety alert over romaine lettuce contaminated with E. coli. There are now at least 67 cases of E. coli spread across 19 states and at least 39 people have been hospitalized. Infectious disease expert Dr. William Schaffner at Vanderbilt said young...
As Hepatitis A outbreaks continue, Foster emphasizes importance of vaccines
Nov. 25, 2019—What is hepatitis A? How do you get hepatitis A? From transmission to treatment, we look at the current hepatitis outbreak, and ask why gays are at risk and is is curable? The numbers are staggering. Four years ago, 1,390 cases of hepatitis A were reported across the United States. But since 2016, 30 states...
Schaffner Weighs in on Efforts To Move The Needle On Flu Shot Rates
Nov. 25, 2019—It’s free and available everywhere. Yet most Americans skip the annual flu shot ― with the number of dispensed vaccines barely changed in the past decade, despite government removal of cost and access obstacles. “We are kind of spinning our wheels trying to reach a larger portion of the population,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an...
Lecture explores Medicare for All’s potential impacts
Nov. 25, 2019—The concept of a single-payer, government-run health care program — Medicare for All — has sparked national debate, and that proposal was the focus of a spirited discussion on Nov. 19 at the Research into Policy and Practice Lecture sponsored by the Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Chip Kahn, president and...
Clayton: Framing the ethics conversation around health care data
Nov. 24, 2019—Ellen Clayton, co-director of the The GetPreCiSe Center, an NIH Center of Excellence in Ethics Research located on Vanderbilt University’s campus, is leading some of those conversations. From confidentiality and patient protections to public perception of genetic screenings, Clayton says the thing to remember is that the tough questions that need to be asked about...
Rosenbloom: NCI ‘Moonshot’ grant to boost hereditary cancer identification
Nov. 18, 2019—Collecting family health histories to identify patients at risk for hereditary cancers may seem a simple task, but it’s a complicated endeavor due to the multitude of ways information is compiled. Some clinics still use paper questionnaires with numerous inquiries about other health data and rarely input family history into a separate record. Even when...
RSV transmission in the Middle East work led by Halasa
Nov. 18, 2019—Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a primary cause of lower respiratory tract infections among young children worldwide, and leads to 60,000 deaths globally each year. A vaccine does not yet exist, although several candidates are in development. Better vaccine and anti-viral drug design requires understanding how RSV is transmitted, including which strains dominate in...
Koonce’s SPI-Hub resource delivers intel on biomedical journals
Nov. 18, 2019—The Scholarly Publishing Information Hub, or SPI-Hub, is a new online knowledge resource that gives biomedical scientists an efficient means to identify journals in which to publish their work and gives users everywhere a way to quickly and easily compare the quality, scholarly importance and editorial policies of some 24,000 journals from across biomedicine. SPI-Hub...
World Pneumonia Day: Schaffner emphasizes safety of pneumococcal vaccines
Nov. 14, 2019—Nearly one million US adults get pneumococcal pneumonia each year, yet a recent survey by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) found that 46 percent of high-risk individuals were unfamiliar with pneumococcal disease. Pneumococcal disease can cause pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis (bloodstream infection), which can lead to severe complications. Up to 400,000 hospitalizations occur each year...
Student shares her story as a refugee with NPR
Nov. 14, 2019—The administration has been scaling back the U.S. refugee program for years. Now it wants to give states and towns the power to block any refugees from resettling in their backyards. Zero refugees were admitted to the U.S. last month. It’s the first time that’s happened in nearly 30 years, according to the resettlement agency...
In WSJ, Clayton weighs in on Google’s ‘Project Nightingale’
Nov. 14, 2019—Google’s project with the country’s second-largest health system to collect detailed health information on 50 million American patients sparked a federal inquiry and criticism from patients and lawmakers. The data on patients of St. Louis-based Ascension were until recently scattered across 40 data centers in more than a dozen states. Google and the Catholic nonprofit are moving...
Schaffner comments on news of new HIV strain
Nov. 11, 2019—In a study published November 6, 2019, in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, researchers with the healthcare company Abbott Laboratories revealed that they have found three people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with a new strain of HIV. The discovery marks the first time that a new subset of HIV has been identified since...
TEDxVanderbiltUniversity to feature Tsosie
Nov. 8, 2019—Vanderbilt will be hosting TEDxVanderbiltUniversity on Nov. 10 at 1:00 p.m. in Sarratt Cinema. Organized independently of the nonprofit TED, the Vanderbilt Student Leadership Development Team operates the event in the style of a TED Conference, where speakers are given just a few minutes to share “ideas worth spreading.” The event will feature seven speakers from...
High-dose flu vaccine shortages are not widespread confirms Schaffner
Nov. 7, 2019—As the flu season begins across the United States, some older adults are having trouble accessing the high-dose flu vaccine designed for those over the age of 65. The high-dose flu vaccine, called Fluzone High-DoseTrusted Source, is made especially for older adults. It contains four times the amount of antigen than the standard flu vaccination. Antigen...
NYT: Measles virus “immune amnesia” studies celebrated by Schaffner
Nov. 4, 2019—Measles is far more dangerous than most people realize, new research shows. The disease itself can cause a severe and sometimes deadly illness, but two new studies published on Thursday found that even when patients recover, the virus can inflict lasting harm on their immune systems. The weakened immunity leaves a child vulnerable for several years to...
Martin to help guide VIGH’s education, training efforts
Oct. 30, 2019—Marie Martin, PhD, MEd, assistant professor of Health Policy, has been named associate director for Education and Training in the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH). Martin stepped into the role at the beginning of the fiscal year, succeeding Douglas Heimburger, MD, MS, who will focus his time on leading projects with grant funding from the Fogarty...
New drug-pricing bill admission earns Dusetzina’s praise
Oct. 29, 2019—emocratic lawmakers in recent weeks have begun to advance an argument long seen as something of a third rail in U.S. politics: that slightly less biomedical innovation might be worth a dramatic reduction in drug prices. The surprising candor has come amid pushback to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s high-profile drug pricing bill, which the trade group...
Schaffner interviewed on managing flu in patients with chronic respiratory illness
Oct. 29, 2019—As flu season approaches, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to recommend influenza vaccination for all patients aged ≥6 months, with rare exceptions such as those with severe allergy to an ingredient in the vaccine.1 Individuals with preexisting respiratory diseases including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are among the groups...
Acra and colleagues to study undiagnosed congenital diarrhea in infants
Oct. 28, 2019—Researchers and pediatric gastroenterologists at four institutions, including Vanderbilt University Medical Center, were recently awarded a five-year, $9.4 million federal grant to tackle undiagnosed congenital diarrheas caused by a single gene mutation. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) awarded the funding for the Pediatric Congenital Diarrhea and Enteropathy (PediCODE) Consortium...
Health care system’s many mysteries explored in new Nikpay co-hosted podcast
Oct. 28, 2019—Everyone wants to fix the massive and complex U.S. health care system. But the truth is there is no silver bullet that will seamlessly reform the industry that consumes one-fifth the world’s largest economy. And to fix something, you must first understand it. That’s where Sayeh Nikpay, PhD, MPH, associate professor in Vanderbilt University Medical...
On PBS Newshour: Best way to dodge the flu is to get vaccinated, stresses Schaffner
Oct. 23, 2019—The best way to dodge a full-blown case of influenza is to roll up a sleeve and get vaccinated, said William Schaffner, a professor who specializes in infectious disease, preventative medicine and immunization policy at Vanderbilt University’s School of Medicine. The influenza vaccine, which combines four different inactive flu strains, “provides complete protection to some people...
Schaffner: Meningitis Vaccine is an unsung story of public health
Oct. 23, 2019—Spinal meningitis cases in the U.S. are at an all-time low, and doctors think that’s due to the increase in vaccinations for the disease. In 1989, for instance, there were 1.1 cases for every 100,000 people. As of 2017, that rate was only 0.11 cases per 100,000 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention....
National Academy of Medicine elects MPH alumna Neuzil
Oct. 23, 2019—Kathleen M. Neuzil, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics and Director of the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), has been elected as a member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), in recognition of her pivotal research that has informed and shaped...
NPR investigates the flu vaccine and complications with MPH’s Schaffner
Oct. 22, 2019—October marks the start of a new flu season, with a rise in likely cases already showing up in Louisiana and other spots, federal statistics show. The advice from federal health officials remains clear and consistent: Get the flu vaccine as soon as possible, especially if you’re pregnant or have asthma or another underlying condition that...
Common cold vaccine possible says MPH’s Schaffner
Oct. 22, 2019—A vaccine for the cold has eluded scientists for decades, leaving doctors with little prevention advice for patients other than to wash their hands, keep their hands off their faces, and avoid people who are sick. That final piece of advice is particularly difficult to follow during cold weather, when people are spending more time...
Individual genetics is a factor in athletes’ mental health says Diamond
Oct. 22, 2019—A new PSA is attracting lots of attention after comparing the dangers of tackle football to those of smoking, but not all doctors agree with the message. The Concussion Legacy Foundation says it’s all about educating parents about Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, more commonly known as CTE. It’s a neurodegenerative brain disease likely caused by repeated...
Tennessee considers block grant proposal as Buntin seeks answers
Oct. 22, 2019—Concerns are still lingering over Tennessee’s block grant program proposal – a plan to overhaul the state’s healthcare system. On Wednesday, the Tennessee Medical Association said there just aren’t enough specifics in this plan to know if it’s good. Their concern is that the state would reduce TennCare funding, meaning it would have to purge...
Nikpay: despite protections, eligible patients left with big bills
Oct. 17, 2019—Under the Affordable Care Act, nonprofit hospitals like St. Joseph are expected to provide free or discounted care to patients of meager incomes — or risk losing their tax-exempt status. These price breaks can help people avoid financial catastrophe. And yet nearly half (45 percent) of nonprofit hospital organizations are routinely sending medical bills to...
Patrick seeks to enhance opioid care for infants
Oct. 10, 2019—The number of opioid-exposed infants who were connected, along with their families, to outside resources upon discharge from the hospital surged in a recent six-month pilot. The initiative tracked the effect of a checklist designed to streamline and prioritize referrals among an infant’s hospital care team, according to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study. Infants...
Buntin explains TennCare block grant proposal
Oct. 10, 2019—Tennessee has made an “opening bid” in its negotiations with the federal government about a block grant that could significantly change how TennCare functions for more than 1 million children and low-income individuals, and making sense of the complex proposal can be tricky. In a new article in the New England Journal of Medicine, Melinda Buntin,...
Vaccine study seeks to halt flu’s most severe side effects
Oct. 10, 2019—Vanderbilt University Medical Center is leading a multicenter national study to evaluate the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine for preventing the flu’s most serious side effects — admission to an intensive care unit (ICU), organ failure and death. The Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness in the Critically Ill (IVY) study, funded by the Centers for Disease Control...
NYT: Schaffner explains bacteria causing hospital deaths
Oct. 8, 2019—Three premature babies have died after being infected by bacteria while in a neonatal intensive care unit at a hospital in central Pennsylvania, where five other babies were also sickened, hospital officials said on Monday. While individual patients in intensive care units may occasionally be infected by bacteria, a large number of infections is very...
The Flu Vaccine may not be perfect but partial protection is important says Schaffner
Oct. 7, 2019—Australia Just Had a Bad Flu Season. That May Be a Warning for the U.S. Australia had an unusually early and fairly severe flu season this year. Since that may foretell a serious outbreak on its way in the United States, public health experts now are urging Americans to get their flu shots as soon...
MPH’s Tsoise collaborates with tribal community for genetic research
Oct. 7, 2019—Research to capture snapshots, called genome-wide association studies, can only draw conclusions about the data that’s been collected. Without studies that look at each underrepresented population, genetic tests and therapies can’t be tailored to everyone. Still, projects intended as correctives, like All of Us and the International HapMap Project, face an ethical conundrum: Collecting that data...
AP turns to Schaffner for insight on this year’s flu vaccine
Sep. 27, 2019—The flu forecast is cloudy and it’s too soon to know if the U.S. is in for a third miserable season in a row, but health officials said Thursday not to delay vaccination. For now, people who get vaccinated and still get sick can expect a milder illness — and a lower risk of pneumonia,...
ABC News talks to Schaffner about health implications of climate change
Sep. 27, 2019—Climate change — marked by rising sea levels, ice loss and extreme weather — is accelerating, according to a new report, which found that the five-year period between 2014 and 2019 was the warmest on record. Increasing temperatures, rainfall and humidity create an ideal habitat for disease-carrying mosquitoes, one of the deadliest predators for humans. Malaria, a...
MPH’s Manouchehri: Study identifies targeted therapy’s cardiac risks
Sep. 26, 2019—After a recent study showed that chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients who received ibrutinib as a frontline treatment had a 7% death rate, a new study offers a clearer picture on the reasons for the deaths. A team of researchers used the VigiBase, a global database of drug complications maintained by the World Health Organization, to...
MPH’s Hung shines light on architecture of kidney disease
Sep. 26, 2019—A study of 280,000 U.S. veterans including 56,000 African Americans has identified in greater detail than ever before the “genetic architecture” of kidney function and chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and their colleagues. The report, published recently in the journal Nature Communications, is an important step toward identifying specific genetic...
Satcher’s lecture explores public health highs, lows
Sep. 26, 2019—Violence is perhaps the greatest public health challenge facing American society today, former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, PhD, said during a lecture at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine last week. His talk, “Revisiting the Highs and Lows of Public Health Practice,” was sponsored by the Flexner Deans’ Lecture Series in conjunction with the...
MPH’s Spalluto seeks to enhance cancer screening for Hispanic/Latina women
Sep. 26, 2019—Providing access to a culturally appropriate community health worker during breast cancer screenings may impact elements of patient care and satisfaction among Hispanic/Latina women, Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers report in American Journal of Roentgenology. Lucy Spalluto, MD, MPH, assistant professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, and colleagues recruited 100 Hispanic/Latina women previously not engaged in...
JAMA: MPH’s Roumie explores diabetes drug risk for patients with kidney disease
Sep. 26, 2019—Over the years there has been uncertainty over which drugs are best for patients with Type 2 diabetes and one of its common complications, kidney disease. An observational study using medical record information from nearly 50,000 U.S. military veterans sheds new light on this issue. The study by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center appears in JAMA, the...
Buntin on Tennessee’s Medicaid block grant funding proposal
Sep. 25, 2019—Changes could be on the way for Tennessee’s Medicaid program. Gov. Bill Lee wants the state to get Medicaid funding in a lump sum from the federal government. It’s called a block grant. TennCare changes may be on the way if the federal government approves a proposal from the state. “They’re looking for a way to...
In Infectious Disease News, MPH alumni outline the top vaccine priorities
Sep. 25, 2019—Experts are developing and testing numerous vaccine candidates against norovirus, which causes hundreds of millions of infections each year worldwide and is seen as a top target for vaccine research. Infectious Disease News asked C. Buddy Creech, MD, MPH, and Leigh M. Howard, MD, MPH, of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program and division of pediatric infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical...
MPH alumna Neuzil receives $200 million federal grant to develop universal flu vaccine
Sep. 23, 2019—Aiming to stamp out the flu, the federal government awarded a $200 million federal grant to researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine to develop a vaccine for the miserable virus that sickens millions and kills thousands every year. The university announced Friday that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases would...
NPR talks to Dusetzina about international price index for drug prices
Sep. 20, 2019—In gridlocked Washington, both Democrats and Republicans have signaled there’s potential for a deal when it comes to lowering prescription drug prices. Now, there’s an idea both Congressional Democrats and the White House seem to like: They want to base U.S. prices on something called an international price index. Both plans would use the average...
Guillamondegui comments on TN trauma changes
Sep. 20, 2019—In just over a week, Ballad Health will make some of the most significant changes since its formation. On Oct. 1, Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport, Tenn., will become a Level 3 trauma center—downgraded from Level 1 and requiring fewer specialists. Once it’s all said and done, Johnson City Medical Center a half-hour south...
Buntin weighs in on TN’s Medicaid block grant proposal
Sep. 19, 2019—Tennessee’s first-of-a-kind plan to ask the federal government to cap Medicaid funding for some of the 1.4 million Tennesseans covered by the program has hospital leaders hoping it can bring them more money. On the block-granting proposal itself Melinda Buntin, chair and professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, stressed that the capped payments won’t...
MPH’s Schaffner discusses upcoming flu season
Sep. 18, 2019—Flu seasons are notoriously unpredictable, but there are already clues that the upcoming season may be especially difficult. “There is a concern that some older people may have their immunity wane simply because their immune system is more frail, less robust,” Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University...
MPH’s Schaffner: U.S. should expect moderate to severe flu season
Sep. 10, 2019—Public health experts say the United States should expect a moderate to severe flu season, noting how the influenza season has played out in Australia. Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University, said the U.S. can expect a moderate to severe flu season because Australia is weathering such an experience, but added that...
Diamond, MPH alumnus, named TNAAP Pediatrician of the Year
Sep. 3, 2019—Alex Diamond, DO, MPH, has many titles and serves in multiple roles — associate professor of Pediatrics and Orthopedic Surgery, director of the Program for Injury Prevention in Youth Sports (PIPYS) and team physician for Vanderbilt University, the Nashville Predators and the Nashville Sounds. But he favors one — advocate. Colleagues throughout the state agree,...
MPH’s Dusetzina: New Hepatitis C screening recommendations
Aug. 29, 2019—An estimated 2.4 million people in the U.S. are living with hepatitis C, according to the CDC, with 41,200 estimated new cases in 2016. The number of new cases increased more than threefold from 2010 to 2016, mostly among young, white people living in rural areas in the wake of the opioid epidemic. Cases have also...
MPH’s Schaffner comments on the U.S. measles outbreak
Aug. 29, 2019—When the World Health Organization declared in 2000 that the United States had eliminated measles, it was hailed as one of the biggest public health achievements in the nation’s history. Losing that elimination status would be a black eye to the United States, public health experts said. “We’re embarrassed. We’re chagrined,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a longtime...
Murry named University Professor of Health Policy
Aug. 26, 2019—Velma McBride Murry, who holds the Lois Autrey Betts Chair in Education and Human Development, has been named University Professor of Human and Organizational Development and University Professor of Health Policy. A University Professor is a faculty member whose work extends beyond traditional academic fields and disciplinary lines and who brings together diverse segments of...
Young: Naltrexone for opioid misuse may be safer for pregnant women
Aug. 22, 2019—A new study finds naltrexone may be safest option for pregnant women trying to stop using opioids. “Retrospective studies such as this one are prone to bias and patient differences that can influence outcomes,” Dr. Jessica Young, MPD, an associate professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told Healthline.
Schaffner comments on Hepatitis A outbreak in Tennessee
Aug. 22, 2019—Tennessee’s hepatitis A outbreak has spread to more than 2,200 people and resulted in at least 13 deaths, according to information released by the Tennessee Department of Health Tuesday. William Schaffner, a renown infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said the hepatitis A virus is particularly difficult to contain because infected people can be...
AP: MPH’s Dusetzina discusses brand-name drug price increases
Aug. 22, 2019—Drug companies are still raising prices for brand-name prescription medicines, just not as often or by as much as they used to, according to an Associated Press analysis. Stacie B. Dusetzina, a drug price expert and assistant professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University, thinks drugmakers may be trying to give Trump a political win...
Foster weighs in on in increasing cases of Hepatitis A in the US
Aug. 21, 2019—In the past three years, a series of hepatitis A outbreaks across the U.S. has led to more than 23,000 cases, more than 14,000 hospitalizations, and more than 200 deaths. Overall, the number of cases between 2016 and 2018 increased 300 percent compared with 2013 to 2015, according to the CDC. Only two states, California and Utah,...
Schaffner on Advancing Pneumococcal Vaccine Practice
Aug. 21, 2019—As William Schaffner, MD, previously explained to MD Magazine®: the current pneumococcal vaccine process is complicated. That doesn’t mean it’s without benefit, though. In the second part of an interview with MD Mag, Schaffner, a professor of Preventive Medicine in the Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, broke down the current impact of pneumococcal bacteria prevention measures—and...
VUMC Physician Spotlight: MPH’s Belcher
Aug. 14, 2019—Ryan Belcher, MD, has joined Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt’s Pediatric Department of Otolaryngology after completing a yearlong fellowship with the program. He also has a strong interest in global health endeavors, and this fall, he will be starting his Master’s in Public Health with a focus on Global Health at Vanderbilt University....
MPH’s Schaffner comments on the Legionnaires outbreak
Aug. 13, 2019—A widespread outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease has killed one person and sickened possibly dozens of others who were all guests at the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel. The hotel evacuated all its guests on July 15 and remains closed as of press time. Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia. People get sick inhaling microscopic water...
MPH’s Stevenson comments on the oversight of hospice care
Aug. 13, 2019—“Hospice oversight is fairly minimal,” said David Stevenson, director of health policy education at Vanderbilt University‘s School of Public Health Policy. Stevenson said the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services “does not have any immediate sanctions at its disposal — like fines … or installing temporary management.” Hospice agencies have been sued for Medicare billing...
MPH’s Clayton Discusses DNA Data
Aug. 13, 2019—Deals between drugmakers and hospital systems to mine the genetic profiles of hospital patients are triggering concerns over the control of valuable genetic data. “The data about them might not be as readily available for research as it might be otherwise,” said Vanderbilt University Professor Dr. Ellen Wright Clayton, who studies genetic-research ethics. “We have...
MPH’s Tsosie: Working with Indigenous Communities for Genomics Research
Aug. 5, 2019—Many scientists are interested in studying the DNA of Indigenous populations in an effort to reveal the “human migration story” and contribute to our understanding about the genetic basis of disease. But many in the Indigenous community feel these scientific pursuits have a history of being exploitative, achieved without consideration of the needs or interests...
MPH’s Umutesi: Immunogenicity of Fractional-Dose Vaccine during a Outbreak
Aug. 5, 2019—In 2016, the response to a yellow fever outbreak in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo led to a global shortage of yellow fever vaccine. As a result, a fractional dose of the 17DD yellow fever vaccine (containing one fifth [0.1 ml] of the standard dose) was offered to 7.6 million children 2 years...
Shu, Zheng receive Vietnam’s top honor for foreign scientists
Aug. 1, 2019—The Vietnamese Ministry of Health has awarded two Vanderbilt epidemiologists the Memorabilia Medal “For the People’s Health” in appreciation for their contributions in helping the nation establish a population-based research program for cancer, diabetes and other non-communicable diseases. The medal is the highest honor that the Vietnam government bestows upon foreign scientists who have made...
MPH’s DeBaun awarded 2019 ASH Mentor Award
Aug. 1, 2019—Michael DeBaun, MD, MPH, director of the Vanderbilt-Meharry Center for Excellence in Sickle Cell Disease, has been awarded the American Society of Hematology’s 2019 ASH Mentor Award for his sustained and outstanding commitment to the training and career development of early career hematologists. The ASH Mentor Award recognizes hematologists who have excelled in mentoring trainees...
MPH’s Moore discusses HAV vaccinations
Jul. 23, 2019—In recent years, almost half of all U.S. states have reported outbreaks of person-to-person transmission of hepatitis A virus, especially among people who use drugs, people experiencing homelessness, and men who have sex with men. Infectious Disease News asked Kelly L. Moore, MD, MPH, a preventive medicine physician and adjunct associate professor of health policy...
Patrick’s research finds substance use linked to increase in foster care
Jul. 19, 2019—The nation’s opioid crisis is a factor in the recent increase in the number of infants entering the nation’s foster care system, with at least half of all infant placements now a result of parental substance use, according to a new analysis from researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the RAND Corporation “While Congress...
Kumah-Crystal is rethinking technology in the exam room
Jul. 19, 2019—Yaa Kumah-Crystal, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., self-describes as an early adopter of technology who is seizing on the fast embrace of natural language recognition systems — i.e. Siri and Alexa — to usher in an era of medicine where the tech is just as responsive. Kumah-Crystal, assistant professor of Biomedical Informatics and Pediatric Endocrinology at Vanderbilt...
Sanlorenzo: Benzodiazepines Worsen Opioid Withdrawal for Neonates
Jul. 18, 2019—Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) rates have more than quintupled in recent years, in part due to rising opioid use during pregnancy. The postnatal withdrawal syndrome now affects more than 32,000 newborns in the U.S. each year—but severity varies widely. Some newborns experience increased tone and tremors. Others are unable to feed or sleep, and may even require pharmacotherapy...
MPH’s Schaffner discusses Measles vaccine rates
Jul. 17, 2019—UNICEF and the U.N. World Health Organization reported that the coverage of one dose of the measles vaccine since 2010 has hovered at 86%, below the 95% epidemiologists say is needed to achieve “herd immunity” and prevent outbreaks within communities. The U.S. is experiencing its largest measles outbreak since 1992. As of July 11, the...
Stevenson’s research reveals variable staffing at nursing homes
Jul. 3, 2019—David Stevenson, Ph.D., and colleagues analyzed payroll-based staffing data for U.S. nursing homes and discovered large daily staffing fluctuations, low weekend staffing and daily staffing levels that often fall well below the expectations of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), all of which can increase the risk of adverse events for residents.
On CBS News: Schaffner discusses necrotizing fasciitis
Jul. 2, 2019—The family of a Florida woman who say she died after being infected by flesh-eating bacteria at a beach is sounding the alarm. Lynn Fleming, 77, died late last week after walking along a popular Gulf of Mexico beach near her home. It is a rare occurrence, but now some communities in Florida are especially...
MPH’s Schaffner’s Advice to Providers: Communicate, Educate, Vaccinate
Jun. 27, 2019—Measles certainly is a matter of great interest in the United States. In recent weeks, we have seen the true effects of the measles outbreak, which has sparked awareness of the need for the vaccine among the general public. We as health care professionals need to vaccinate as many persons who are susceptible and unvaccinated as...
VUMC forms new Center for Improving the Public’s Health Using Informatics
Jun. 20, 2019—Vanderbilt University Medical Center is forming a new Center for Improving the Public’s Health Using Informatics (CIPHI, pronounced “Sci Fi”) to be co-directed by Michael Matheny, MD, MS, MPH, and Melissa McPheeters, PhD, MPH. CIPHI will coordinate with state and national public health agencies to offer services and expertise in developing key informatics and analytics...
Vanderbilt: When Surgeons Are Abrasive To Co-Workers, Patients’ Health May Suffer
Jun. 19, 2019—A recent study published in JAMA Surgery , which looked at interactions between surgeons and their teams, found that patients of surgeons who behaved unprofessionally around their colleagues tended to have more complications after surgery. Surgeons who model unprofessional behavior can undermine the performance of their teams, the authors write, potentially threatening patients’ safety. Dr. William...
MPH’s Grijalva receives 2019 VUSM Excellence in Teaching award
Jun. 6, 2019—Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and CEO of Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, kicked off the Spring Faculty Meeting by providing a short update of VUSM’s academic endeavors. Every year since 2000, the School of Medicine has honored faculty members for Excellence in Teaching and Outstanding Contributions to...
Dusetzina research published in JAMA finds Medicare drug costs are rising
May. 30, 2019—Seniors’ out-of-pocket costs for cancer drugs continue to rise steadily, with patients paying thousands of dollars each year despite efforts to close the Medicare Part D “donut hole,” researchers said. Prices for 13 anticancer drugs available through Medicare Part D in 2010 rose an average 8% over inflation every year over the past decade, said...
MPH’s Schaffner: Measles cases continue to rise
May. 24, 2019—In a report on Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that it has confirmed an additional 41 measles cases in the U.S. The new total brings the number of cases up to 880 in 24 states, the largest number of measles cases in this country since 1994. “We’d previously eliminated this disease not...
MPH’s Guillamondegui comments on scooter injuries
May. 24, 2019—In April, the Nashville Fire Department responded to 43 emergency calls related to scooter injuries. Dr. Oscar Guillamondegui estimates Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s trauma center and emergency department see about one major traumatic brain injury a month related to scooters and one-to-two injuries to faces, arms and legs per day. “If you think about the actual number of scooters on the road, it...
Dusetzina comments on generic entry drug prices
May. 13, 2019—Congress is mainly squabbling over proposals to reduce prices by boosting competition. And with the exception of some very preliminary talk about the length of patent exclusivity period for biologics, they’re mostly focused on traditional small-molecule generics. But those regulatory tools were designed for a world in which pharmaceutical companies develop relatively simple drugs and...
MPH’s Schaffner comments on the Measles quarantine
May. 10, 2019—The cruise ship with a measles case on board remains under quarantine in its home port of Curacao as health officials wait to see if more people aboard become infected. The quarantine could last up to two more weeks, a public health expert told Forbes, a scenario more likely given that the majority of the ship’s...
Clayton: Gene testing and U.S. laws
May. 10, 2019—While DNA testing upends the practice of medicine, U.S. laws aren’t keeping pace. That’s one message from a nearly finished 3-year, $2 million project called LawSeq, which aims to build a legal foundation to support genomic medicine. Doctors and other health care providers are already facing lawsuits that broach new legal terrain—and sometimes even hold...
In MMWR, MPH graduate Foster reports on increase in Hepatitis A infections
May. 9, 2019—Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is primarily transmitted fecal-orally after close contact with an infected person (1); it is the most common cause of viral hepatitis worldwide, typically causing acute and self-limited symptoms, although rarely liver failure and death can occur (1). Rates of hepatitis A had declined by approximately 95% during 1996–2011; however, during 2016–2018,...
MPH’s Schaffner: Antibiotics and big Pharma
May. 6, 2019—New antibiotics, which often compete with cheap generics, generally don’t cost more than $1,000 a day, or about $10,000 for a course of treatment. That compares with cancer drugs priced at $100,000 a year or more, so pharmaceutical companies focus on the more lucrative medicines. And infectious disease doctors, wary of promoting resistance, are reluctant...
Dusetzina discusses consumers out-of-pocket drug prices
May. 2, 2019—The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is working on a proposed rule that would require drug companies to disclose the list prices of prescription medications when advertising them directly to consumers on television.
MPH’s Schaffner explains the need for a Measles booster
May. 2, 2019—Unvaccinated individuals have been the focus of attention during this year’s measles outbreaks. A record 704 cases of the illness have been confirmed in 22 states so far in 2019, and the CDC says the majority of those diagnoses have been in unvaccinated people. Health officials have repeatedly warned nearly everyone to get the shot if they haven’t...
MPH alumna named 2019-20 Fulbright grantee
May. 2, 2019—Eight Vanderbilt students and alumni have been awarded funding to pursue graduate study, conduct research and teach English around the world through the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Program. The Career Center and Graduate School advised them on the application process, providing support and facilitating the internal nomination process for this highly competitive award. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program, founded...
Dusetzina: CAR-T payment challenges
Apr. 30, 2019—Hospitals don’t want to keep losing money over this treatment, and that could affect who gets it. More CAR-T therapies are in the development pipeline, but competition isn’t a sure-fire solution given its personalized nature. Hospitals can lose upwards of $100,000 dollars when they provide CAR-T therapy to a Medicare beneficiary on an inpatient basis. If...
Dusetzina discusses the high cost of insulin
Apr. 30, 2019—According to the American Diabetes Association, about 1.25 million Americans have Type 1 diabetes —less common than Type 2 — and cannot live without insulin. A peer-reviewed study published in December, which looked at people with diabetes being treated at the Yale Diabetes Center in New Haven, Conn. Of 199 participants, 51 people — just over 25%...
MPH’s Schaffner: One vs. two Measles vaccine doses
Apr. 30, 2019—Nearly two decades after measles was declared eliminated in the United States, the country and the globe have seen an upsurge of cases — including adults who thought they were protected by the vaccine. Now, some are questioning whether they are properly vaccinated and whether they are still at risk for getting measles. In research studies, nearly everyone developed signs of...
Schaffner: US measles cases hit highest mark in 25 years
Apr. 26, 2019—Measles in the U.S. has climbed to its highest level in 25 years, closing in on 700 cases this year in a resurgence largely attributed to misinformation that is turning parents against vaccines. “This is alarming,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University vaccine expert. Not only is measles dangerous in itself, but its return...
Griffin and Stevenson receive VUMC endowed directorships
Apr. 25, 2019—On April 16, Vanderbilt University Medical Center held its second Directorship Celebration to honor 10 leaders from across the enterprise in clinical care, research, education and administration. The MPH Program holders of VUMC’s new endowed directorships are: Marie Griffin, MD, MPH, holder of the Endowed Directorship in Public Health Research and Education David Stevenson, PhD,...
Moore discusses Measles in Tennessee
Apr. 24, 2019—Even the one case of measles confirmed in East Tennessee last week has triggered a costly emergency response. The state’s Department of Health treats every patient like a ticking time bomb. It usually starts with a call from a local doctor treating someone who just traveled abroad and becomes very ill, then develops the signature...
In NYT, Buntin discusses Medicare For All
Apr. 22, 2019—If Medicare for all abolished private insurance and reduced rates to Medicare levels — at least 40 percent lower, by one estimate — there would most likely be significant changes throughout the health care industry, which makes up 18 percent of the nation’s economy and is one of the nation’s largest employers. Some hospitals, especially...
MPH’s Schaffner: Measles and the spread to vaccinated populations
Apr. 22, 2019—An Israeli flight attendant has slipped into a coma after contracting measles, according to health officials. The 43-year-old woman has encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain, a well-known and potentially deadly complication of the virus. She was otherwise healthy before getting measles. Ongoing measles outbreaks in the United States and Israel started with parents who’ve...
MPH’s Schaffner: Measles outbreak accelerates
Apr. 17, 2019—Measles is surging throughout the world. The World Health Organization is reporting that cases have nearly quadrupled in the first few months of this year. And U.S. public health officials say 555 cases have been confirmed nationwide.
MPH’s Dusetzina: Medicare spending increase
Apr. 15, 2019—The cost for 22 drugs shot up more than 500 percent per dose from 2013 through 2017, according to a Bloomberg Government analysis of Medicare Part D data released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. “Those very high prices on individual drugs can be barriers to any beneficiary using them at all,” said...
Acute Hepatitis A Virus Infection and HIV Connection
Apr. 12, 2019—Complete immunization against hepatitis A requires 2 doses of a monovalent vaccine or 3 doses of a combined hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccine; approximately 90% of vaccinated persons achieve protective antibody levels after a single dose of either product (1). However, persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection might not develop the same...
MPH’s Schaffner discusses multistate E. coli outbreak
Apr. 11, 2019—Finding the source of a multistate outbreak of E. coli will be a challenge for health investigators, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center physician said. So far, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 96 confirmed cases of E. coli O103 in five states in the outbreak, including 26 in Tennessee. The bulk of those — 21, including...
MPH’s Heimburger: American Society of Nutrition Fellow
Apr. 11, 2019—The American Society for Nutrition (ASN) recently selected VIGH Core Faculty Member, Doug Heimburger, M.D., M.S., to be a member of the ASN Class of 2019 Fellows. Being inducted as a fellow of the ASN is the highest honor of the society, Dr. Heimburger has been an active member of the ASN for many years, and he...
MPH’s Schaffner comments on NYC Measles outbreak
Apr. 10, 2019—A growing measles outbreak in New York City has led officials to declare a public health emergency in parts of the city. There have been nearly 300 confirmed measles cases in the city since the outbreak began last October, mainly in Orthodox Jewish communities in parts of Brooklyn, according to the New York City Department...
MPH’s Dusetzina: Transparency in drug pricing
Apr. 10, 2019—The Trump administration is expected to finalize a new rule soon that would require drug makers to include list prices in their TV ads for prescription drugs. The idea is that such transparency will lead to more competition and ultimately to lower cost for consumers. Stacie Dusetzina, professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University, doubts that...
MPH’s Schaffner: Fungal infection and the emerging global threat
Apr. 10, 2019—Candida auris is getting a lot of buzz lately after reports surfaced that the dangerous fungal infection is cropping up around the world—including in the U.S. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has named it a “global emerging threat,” given that it can cause serious infections and even death. “The average person calls...
Buntin talks to Politico about health care costs
Apr. 5, 2019—Lawmakers are looking at how to start chipping away at high drug prices, or fix “surprise” medical bills that hit insured people who end up with an out-of-network doctor even when they’re at an in-network hospital. Neither effort is insignificant, and both are bipartisan. While those steps would help lower Americans’ medical bills, health economists...
Student explores health equity in Nashville with Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance
Apr. 3, 2019—When asked about her goals in the medical field, Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance (MVA) intern Tamee E. Livermont couldn’t help but chuckle. “Gosh, I have a lot of them,” she said. Indeed, when she lists those goals, they become a broad and lengthy checklist of topical action items. If they could be grouped under a single umbrella,...
MPH student awarded 2019 Native American Congressional Internship
Apr. 1, 2019—The Udall Foundation and Native Nations Institute are pleased to announce that 12 students from 10 Tribes and 10 universities have been selected as 2019 Native American Congressional Interns. They were selected by an independent review committee on the basis of academic achievement and a demonstrated commitment to careers in Tribal public policy. The Udall...
Tennesseans support stricter tobacco rules
Mar. 28, 2019—Tennesseans appear to back stricter regulations on smoking, according to a poll released Tuesday by anti-smoking advocates. The statewide survey asked whether residents support raising the tobacco age and banning smoking in public places. And a sizeable and bipartisan majority said yes. Even a majority of smokers told pollsters that they wouldn’t mind if smoking were...
MPH’s Guillamondegui discusses appendicitis treatment
Mar. 28, 2019—Appendicitis is the inflammation of the appendix, a finger-shaped organ that projects from the colon to the lower right side of the abdomen. The painful condition is common, with about 300,000 cases every year in the US. “The major risk of not having surgery from appendicitis is that it would continue to inflame and then rupture...
MPH’s Schaffner comments on NY Measles outbreak
Mar. 27, 2019—A county just north of New York City declared a state of emergency Tuesday and banned children not vaccinated against measles from public spaces, officials said. The declaration was the most aggressive step taken by New York health officials since the outbreak began in Oct. 2018. “What they’ve done is re-created the old concept of...
MPH’s Carlucci discusses work in Mozambique
Mar. 21, 2019—When James Carlucci, MD, MPH, instructor of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, is in Nashville he treats children at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. When he’s on one of the several trips he takes each year to Mozambique, he’s trying to understand when and why HIV-exposed infants fall out of care — and how to...
Vanderbilt’s Ehrenfeld’s testifies on military policy
Mar. 8, 2019—Vanderbilt’s Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, right, testified Feb. 27 before the U.S. House Armed Services Committee on military policy affecting transgender service members. “There is no medical reason, including a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, to exclude transgender people from military service,” he explained to the Committee. Ehrenfeld, professor of Anesthesiology, Surgery, Biomedical Informatics and Health...
MPH’s Stevenson comments on nursing home abuse
Mar. 6, 2019—Although laws require abuses to be reported and investigated, these laws may not always be followed by some nursing homes. Then there are concerns that if an incident gets reported, some experts say, investigations should be conducted more aggressively. Many nursing home employees promptly report abusers to authorities, as required by federal law, and assist in the...
MPH’s Schaffner comments on the Shingles Vaccine shortage
Mar. 5, 2019—Because of high demand, Shingrix, the two-dose vaccine approved in 2017 to prevent shingles and its blistery skin rash, continues to be in short supply. In 2018, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the manufacturer of the vaccine, delivered about 3 million doses in the first half of the year and 5.3 million in the last 6 months of...
MPH’s Patrick: Opioid-dependent newborns in WV
Mar. 5, 2019—Higher rates of newborn drug withdrawal shadowed communities experiencing economic decline. Solving the opioid crisis involves more than health care. Neonatal abstinence syndrome can occur when babies are chronically exposed before birth to opioids, whether their mothers are using illegal drugs or prescribed medicines. Sometimes mothers take an opioid like methadone because it can be...
MPH’s Schaffner comments on new autism and vaccine study
Mar. 5, 2019—A new, large study finds the MMR vaccine does not increase the risk of autism. “The new study, if we needed it, puts to rest once again that there is no association between measles vacccine and autism,” said Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The study, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, looked...
MPH’s Dusetzina comments on insulin pricing
Mar. 5, 2019—The drugmaker Eli Lilly will begin selling a cheaper version of its most popular insulin, Humalog, in an effort to head off criticism about the rising costs of prescription drugs, the company said Monday. Offering an authorized generic for an expensive drug is “a really great solution for patients who don’t have health insurance, or...
MPH’s Moore discusses vaccines on U.S. science panel
Mar. 4, 2019—The U.S. antivaccine movement has found a new front for its attacks on scientists and their work: gatherings of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which recommends which vaccines Americans should receive. Since last summer, increasing numbers of vaccine opponents have come to ACIP meetings, held three times a year here at the campus...
MPH’s Yaa Kumah-Crystal to speak at TEDxNashville
Mar. 1, 2019—TEDxNashville: A World of Change – A World of Hope In 1968, society was breaking down as battles erupted over the Vietnam War, cultural values and race. There was the triumph of orbiting the moon for the first time, but also the tragedies of losing two proponents of peace – the Rev Martin Luther King...
MPH’s Schaffner comments on CJD cases in TN
Feb. 21, 2019—For the second time in less than a month, a Tennessee family is mourning a loved one who they believe died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, something doctors say is a one-in-a-million diagnosis. “When it’s a sporadic disease […] sometimes two cases will occur closer together in time,” Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University Medical Center explained. According...
MPH’s Gillaspie celebrates a transplant milestone
Feb. 20, 2019—Past and present members of the Vanderbilt Transplant Center, guests and patients attended a celebration of VUMC’s 500th lung transplant at the Student Life Center Feb. 5. Shown here are (back row, from left) Matthew Bacchetta, MD, MBA, MA; Ivan Robbins, MD; Eric Grogan, MD, MPH; and Eric Lambright, MD; (front row, from left) James...
MPH’s Moore: Practices for Use of Hepatitis A Vaccine
Feb. 15, 2019—Hepatitis A (HepA) vaccination is recommended routinely for children at age 12–23 months, for persons who are at increased risk for hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection, and for any person wishing to obtain immunity. Persons at increased risk for HAV infection include international travelers to areas with high or intermediate hepatitis Hepatitis A vaccines are...
MPH’s Schaffner comments on milder flu season
Feb. 15, 2019—This season’s flu vaccine is a good match for the virus strains in circulation, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explaining in part the lower severity of the season. This season, nearly 90 percent of the flu cases tested by the CDC are turning out to be H1N1, the...
MPH’s Patrick’s work lauded by Society for Pediatric Research
Feb. 14, 2019—Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH, MS, has been named to receive the Society for Pediatric Research 2019 Young Investigator Award, an honor bestowed upon a young physician who has embarked on a career in investigative pediatrics. Patrick, director of the Vanderbilt Center for Child Health Policy and assistant professor of Pediatrics and Health Policy in the...
Major initiative launched to advance the application of AI to health care
Feb. 13, 2019—IBM Watson Health has announced plans to make a 10-year, $50 million investment in joint research collaborations with Brigham and Women’s Hospital — the teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School — and Vanderbilt University Medical Center to advance the science of artificial intelligence (AI) and its application to major public health issues. The scientific collaborations...
MPH’s Gonzales to speak at Southern LGBTQ Health Symposium
Feb. 13, 2019—The Vanderbilt Program for LGBTQ Health is very excited to announce that we are hosting our Second Annual Southern LGBTQ Health Symposium on Saturday, March 2, 2019. We will engage providers, students, and community members throughout the region on a variety of topics to better serve sexual and gender minority patients and families. 12:45 PM...
MPH’s Buntin looks ahead at health policy in Washington
Feb. 13, 2019—Three months following the 2018 midterm elections, a panel discussion at AcademyHealth National Health Policy Conference, held February 4-5 in Washington, DC, outlined how much healthcare did, or didn’t, play a role in the elections, as well as what healthcare trends to expect in 2019. Looking at results from the midterm elections, they weren’t heavily...
MPH’s Dusetzina comments on prescription buying habits
Feb. 13, 2019—The analysis, by GoodRx, a company that tracks prescription drug prices, looked at how often residents of different neighborhoods filled prescriptions for different categories of drugs. Patients in wealthier neighborhoods were much more likely to pick up prescriptions for lifestyle problems: erectile dysfunction, baldness, anti-wrinkle Botox injections and an eye medicine that thickens eyelashes. This...
VUSM Symposium shines light on research by MPH’s Banerdt
Feb. 13, 2019—The Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Medical Scholars Research Symposium was held February 4 and highlighted the work of eight medical students who spent the 2017-2018 academic year immersed in research experiences under the guidance of faculty mentors. Justin Banerdt, whose mentors were E. Wesley Ely, MD, MPH, professor of Medicine, and Kondwelani Mateyo, MD,...
MPH Student Receives Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award
Feb. 13, 2019—On Monday, January 21, M.P.H. candidate Sonya Reid-Lawrence, M.D. received the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award. This award is given to a faculty or staff member in the School of Medicine, School of Nursing, or Vanderbilt University Medical Center who emulates the principles of King through his or her work. The award was...
New recommended immunization schedule released by MPH alumna on CDC Advisory Committee
Feb. 8, 2019—At its October 2018 meeting, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)* voted to recommend approval of the Recommended Immunization Schedule for Children and Adolescents Aged 18 Years or Younger, United States, 2019. The 2019 child and adolescent immunization schedule summarizes ACIP recommendations, including several changes from the 2018 immunization schedule,† on the cover page,...
Society of Urologic Oncology honors MPH alumnus contributions
Feb. 4, 2019—Daniel Barocas, MD, MPH, associate professor of Urology, is being recognized with a national award from the Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) for his efforts to develop urologic cancer quality measures. The SUO’s Distinguished Service Award is given to a urologist whose actions at work or in the community exceed job expectations and reflect values...
MPH’s Heerman: In utero antibiotics and obesity risk
Feb. 4, 2019—Identifying risk factors for childhood obesity is necessary for developing prevention strategies. Previous studies of a potential association between antibiotic use during pregnancy and childhood obesity have had conflicting results. William Heerman, MD, MPH and colleagues in the National Patient Centered Clinical Research Network (PCORnet) have now conducted a large retrospective cohort analysis to evaluate...
MPH’s Patrick: Long-term unemployment linked to increase in babies born with drug withdrawal
Jan. 29, 2019—Babies born after being exposed to opioids before birth are more likely to be delivered in regions of the U.S. with high rates of long-term unemployment and lower levels of mental health services, according to a study from researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the RAND Corporation. The study, published in the Jan. 29...
Dusetzina comments on new Part D demo
Jan. 25, 2019—CMS revealed a new innovation center model Friday that aims to encourage Part D as well as Medicare Advantage plans to choose drugs with lower list prices by shifting more risk to payers when patients enter the catastrophic phase of the Part D benefit. Stacie Dusetzina, a drug pricing expert at Vanderbilt, said that most...
MLK Lecture focuses on diversity, inclusion, equity and responsibility
Jan. 25, 2019—The 19th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Lecture was held on Monday and commenced with the United Voices of Vanderbilt choir’s stirring rendition of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Vanderbilt University Schools of Medicine and Nursing, in conjunction with the 2019 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Series, presented keynote speaker Deborah Deas, MD,...
MPH’s Schaffner discusses vaccines as anti-vaxxers are added to WHO’s list of 10 Global Health
Jan. 23, 2019—From climate change to superbugs, the World Health Organization has laid out 10 big threats to our global health in 2019. One of the most controversial recent health topics in the US is now an international concern. “Vaccine hesitancy — the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines — threatens to reverse...
MPH’s Schaffner comments on NY measles outbreak
Jan. 18, 2019—The World Health Organization (WHO) just released its annual list of the top 10 global health threats for 2019. The list includes some more obvious health issues like air pollution, Ebola, HIV and dengue, but one in particular stood out: vaccine hesitancy. “I’m surprised and gratified by this,” William Schaffner, MD, an infectious disease specialist...
Deas to deliver Jan. 21 Martin Luther King Jr. lecture
Jan. 17, 2019—Deborah Deas, MD, MPH, the Mark and Pam Rubin Dean of the School of Medicine and chief executive officer for Clinical Affairs at the University of California, Riverside, will speak from noon to 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 21, in conjunction with the 2019 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Series at Vanderbilt. Deas will speak in...
It’s not too late to get a flu shot says MPH’s Schaffner
Jan. 5, 2019—This time last year, most people with flu were getting sick from H3N2 strain, which was a major factor in the severity of the 2017 to 2018 flu season. This year, a different strain is making most people sick: H1N1, the same strain that caused the flu pandemic in 2009. But because H1N1 has now...
MPH’s Grijalva: Postpartum Opioid Rx May Lead to Persistent Use
Jan. 4, 2019—Researchers from Vanderbilt University in Nashville examined data from more than 102,000 new mothers in Tennessee. None had used opioids in the 180 days before delivery. After delivery, 89 percent who had a cesarean delivery and 53 percent who had a vaginal delivery filled opioid prescriptions. “This study is one of the first to indicate...
Buntin suggests two-pronged approach to help decrease the number of cancer deaths in TN
Dec. 26, 2018—Cancer deaths are dropping nationwide. But not in Tennessee. Cancer deaths have increased 7 percent in Tennessee over the past three decades, showing how the state is falling behind most of the nation, where fewer people are dying of cancer, according to a recent state health ranking study. “We really need a two-pronged approach,” said Melinda Butin, who...
MPH’s Schaffner says the vaccine court has played a crucial role in safeguarding public health
Dec. 23, 2018—Medical experts say the federal vaccine court has played a crucial role in safeguarding public health by compensating litigants for their injuries and keeping these cases out of the civil courts, where they could potentially undermine the public’s faith in vaccines. “The creation of the [VICP] saved the vaccine industry in the U.S.,” said Dr....
Dusetzina comments on bypassing drug shortages solutions
Dec. 21, 2018—The emergence of Civica Rx is encouraging. The nonprofit generic drugmaker, which launched in 2018, will soon begin producing 14 hospital-administered generics. Most of them are too scarce to meet demand. The venture has not disclosed its business model. But “should it choose to do so, Civica Rx could theoretically set the price at or...
Not enough people are getting the flu vaccine says MPH’s Schaffner
Dec. 19, 2018—The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today that 45 percent of adults and 46 percent of children have received the flu vaccine up from 39 percent for both children and adults at the same time last year. “I would say, very clearly, to the person who hasn’t gotten their flu shot yet:...
MPH’s Penson comments on radical prostate cancer surgery study
Dec. 17, 2018—In men with localized prostate cancer discovered because they had symptoms or noticed during a work-up for another medical problem, radical prostate surgery leads to an average of three extra years of life compared to a “watchful waiting” approach, researchers say. The results, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, don’t apply to prostate...
Ray finds increased risk of unexpected death for children on high-dose antipsychotics
Dec. 14, 2018—Children and young adults without psychosis who are prescribed high-dose antipsychotic medications are at increased risk of unexpected death, despite the availability of other medications to treat their conditions, according to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study published today in JAMA Psychiatry. The findings reinforce guidelines for cautious use of antipsychotics in younger populations, according...
Buntin: Policies for Action Research Hub at Vanderbilt created
Dec. 14, 2018—Experts from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s Department of Health Policy and Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development are joining efforts to establish a Policies for Action (P4A) Research Hub at Vanderbilt to better understand and develop recommendations to address the needs of some of Tennessee’s most vulnerable children, including those in...
MPH’s Grijalva: Early postpartum opioids linked with persistent usage
Dec. 14, 2018—Vanderbilt researchers have published findings indicating that regardless of whether a woman delivers a child by cesarean section or by vaginal birth, if they fill prescriptions for opioid pain medications early in the postpartum period, they are at increased risk of developing persistent opioid use. “This study is one of the firsts to indicate that...
Schaffner honored by Infectious Diseases Society of America
Dec. 7, 2018—William Schaffner, MD, professor of Preventive Medicine in the Department of Health Policy and professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, is the recipient of the 2018 D.A. Henderson Award for Outstanding Contributions to Public Health.
MPH Alumnae discover hundreds of new new blood pressure gene variations
Dec. 7, 2018—In one of the largest studies of its kind, an international research team led by 20 Vanderbilt University scientists has discovered more than 200 new genetic variations associated with high blood pressure. The study, published in the current issue of the journal Nature Genetics, also identified specific tissues where blood pressure genes exert their effects...
New state officials weigh in on future of health policy in TN
Nov. 29, 2018—Health care, particularly protection of pre-existing conditions, rallied voters across the country, yet Tennessee campaigns focused on other issues, so Vanderbilt’s Department of Health Policy reached out to the gubernatorial campaigns in the final weeks before election day. They posed both candidates questions about five issues pegged as priorities for Tennessee. “Voters didn’t hear very...
MPH’s Clayton weighs in on gene editing on human embryos
Nov. 29, 2018—A researcher’s claim that two CRISPR-edited baby girls have been born has been met with widespread condemnation from scientists and ethicists alike. “On one level, this isn’t a surprise at all,” says Ellen Clayton, a professor of law and health policy at Vanderbilt University. “On another, this is …” at which point she was at...
MPH’s Schaffner dispels deadly myths about the flu vaccine
Nov. 28, 2018—Every year as flu season emerges, so too do myths and misconceptions about the flu shot. Despite years of consistent messages from health-care providers about the dangers of the flu and the protective power (and safety) of the flu shot, many people still hold false beliefs about both. One reason is that the flu, technically...
MPH Alumna reflects on Multiple Modes of Transmission During a Thanksgiving Day Norovirus Outbreak
Nov. 21, 2018—On November 28, 2017, the manager of restaurant A in Tennessee reported receiving 18 complaints from patrons with gastrointestinal illness who had dined there on Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 2017. Tennessee Department of Health officials conducted an investigation to confirm the outbreak, assess exposures, and recommend measures to prevent continued spread.
Schaffner explains the difference in Bronchitis and pneumonia
Nov. 21, 2018—Bronchitis and pneumonia are both infections that affect your airways. They can have similar symptoms that often blur into each other. There’s not a bright line between bronchitis and pneumonia,” says William Schaffner, MD, an infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. But there are differences. For starters, there’s location. Pneumonia affects...
Buntin to Study Needs of Vulnerable Children
Nov. 21, 2018—Vanderbilt University is getting a $1.25 million grant to research the needs of some of Tennessee’s most vulnerable children. According to the school, the Policies for Action Research Hub at Vanderbilt will develop recommendations for helping the children of immigrant families and children with prenatal exposure to opioids. Melinda Buntin is chair of the Department...
Buntin to lead Policies for Action Research Hub
Nov. 19, 2018—Experts from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s Department of Health Policy and Vanderbilt’s Peabody College of education and human development are joining efforts to establish a Policies for Action Research Hub at Vanderbilt to better understand and develop recommendations to address the needs of some of Tennessee’s most vulnerable children, including children in immigrant families...
MPH Alumnus Patel in new Health IT leadership role
Nov. 7, 2018—Neal Patel, MD, MPH, professor of Clinical Pediatrics, associate professor of Biomedical Informatics and VUMC’s Chief Health Information Officer, will succeed Kevin Johnson, MD, MS, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Informatics (DBMI) and Senior Vice President of Health Information Technology in the role of HealthIT leader while Johnson continues to serve...
MPH’s Stevenson: Nonprofit Versus For-Profit Senior Care
Nov. 2, 2018—When it comes to senior care – whether trying to discern what level of care is needed, or picking a specific nursing home – there’s no shortage of considerations for individuals and their loved ones. So, it could be easy to overlook ownership status: namely, whether a facility is for-profit or nonprofit. “In general, the...
Research team led by MPH Alumnus seeks to identify immune response to influenza
Nov. 2, 2018—Vanderbilt researchers, as part of the International Human Vaccines Project, are searching for the key to lasting protection against influenza by examining naturally protecting cells found in bone marrow. The work is part of a new comprehensive evaluation of the human immune system’s response to influenza led by Buddy Creech, MD, MPH, director of the...
MPH Alumna Reports on Hepatitis A Virus Outbreaks
Nov. 2, 2018—During 2017, CDC received 1,521 reports of acute hepatitis A virus (HAV) infections from California, Kentucky, Michigan, and Utah; the majority of infections were among persons reporting injection or noninjection drug use or homelessness. Investigations conducted by local and state health departments indicated that direct person-to-person transmission of HAV infections was occurring, differing from other...
MPH grad weighs in on Warren’s DNA test results
Oct. 26, 2018—As a geneticist and a member of the Navajo Nation, Krystal Tsosie, M.P.H., Ph.D. candidate, has some thoughts on the senator’s announcement.
MPH’s Starnes: Community-driven health efforts saving lives in Lwala
Oct. 26, 2018—Eleven years after two Vanderbilt University medical students established a health care organization in an impoverished area of Kenya, the death rate for children under 5 years old has been cut in half, according to researchers from Kenya and the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH). Their findings, reported last month in the online science...
NPR: MPH’s Schaffner Stresses the Need for Flu Shots
Oct. 26, 2018—Following a winter in which more than 80,000 people died from flu-related illnesses in the U.S. — the highest death toll in more than 40 years — infectious disease experts are ramping up efforts to get the word out. The U.S. vaccination rate hovers at about 47 percent a year. This is far below the...
World Flu Pandemic Still Possible, MPH’s Schaffner comments
Oct. 26, 2018—One hundred years ago, death came with astonishing speed and horrifying agony. Some influenza patients admitted to a Boston hospital on the morning of October 1918 were dead by the evening, their bodies turning blue from lack of oxygen. Hospitals reported an average 100 deaths a day, overwhelming morgues. Vanderbilt University infectious disease specialist William...
MPH’s Schaffner: No Medicine Against West Nile as Tennessee Continues to Report Cases
Oct. 26, 2018—The Volunteer State has seen 151 human cases since 2010, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Health. That number includes the nine seen so far in 2018, although those numbers are not yet final. At its most serious, it can cause encephalitis, Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical...
MPH’s Shrubsole and team receives Cancer Moonshot Award
Oct. 26, 2018—A trans-institutional team of researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University has received an $11 million Cancer Moonshot grant to build a single-cell resolution atlas to map out the routes that benign colonic polyps take to progress to colorectal cancer, the third most common cancer among both men and women in the United...
Mapping Histoplasma capsulatum exposure with MPH team
Oct. 26, 2018—Histoplasmosis is a common lung infection caused by microscopic fungal spores that reside in soil. Most people who inhale the spores don’t get sick, but for those with weakened immune systems, the infection can become severe. About 90 percent of Middle Tennessee residents have had histoplasmosis exposure in their lifetime.
MPH alumni and faculty find that diabetes drug may prevent cancer
Oct. 26, 2018—A drug commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes might help prevent patients from developing liver cancers. In a study published this month in the journal Cancer Causes & Control, Harvey J. Murff, MD, MPH, and colleagues including Christianne Roumie, M.D., M.P.H., Carlos Grijalva, M.D., and Marie R. Griffin, M.D., M.P.H., found that patients taking...
McKernan: More doctor visits mean fewer Fibromyalgia patient suicide attempts
Oct. 26, 2018—Fibromyalgia patients who regularly visit their physicians are much less likely to attempt suicide than those who do not, according to a new Vanderbilt University Medical Center study published in Arthritis Care & Research. Patients who did not attempt suicide were at the doctor an average of 50 hours per year versus less than one...
Quinones’ poster takes top honors at TPHA
Oct. 26, 2018—Nicole Quinones, a student in the Vanderbilt Master of Public Health (MPH) Program, received top honors at the Tennessee Public Health Association (TPHA) Annual Meeting on Thursday, September 13 in Franklin, Tennessee. Out of 48 posters from seasoned public health researchers to students of all levels, Quinones’ work, “Disparities in Health & Access to Care...
Buntin and How Nashville Changed Healthcare
Oct. 25, 2018—It’s not that for-profit hospital chains like HCA, Community Health Systems and LifePoint Health — all Nashville-based giants — are totally to blame for rising costs. Some argue that for-profit hospitals, particularly HCA, have brought more accountability into the market for not-for-profit hospitals and government-run institutions, changing the industry for better in terms of care.
Politico: Buntin explores decline in Medicare per-person expenses
Oct. 25, 2018—In Politico, Melinda Buntin, Ph.D., Professor and Mike Curb Chair of the Department of Health Policy, is researching why Medicare per-person expenses have been going down.
Health policy speaker urges looking beyond data
Oct. 25, 2018—Katherine Swartz, PhD, a nationally known leader in health policy research, encouraged others conducting investigations in the field to move beyond the data and into local communities to gather the stories behind the data during last week’s Research into Policy and Practice Lecture hosted by Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Department of Health Policy.
MPH’s Fill: Expecting mothers’ opioid use may stunt kids’ learning
Oct. 25, 2018—New study says children whose mothers used opioids while pregnant commonly face learning disabilities and other special education needs. The study involved about 7,200 children aged 3 to 8 enrolled in Tennessee’s Medicaid program. Nearly 2,000 of them were born with what’s called newborn abstinence syndrome. It’s a collection of symptoms caused by withdrawal from...
NYT: Buntin and Nikpay discuss surprising 340B program outcomes
Oct. 25, 2018—A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that the early participating hospitals were more likely to be located in poor communities with higher levels of uninsured people, to spend more of their budget on uncompensated care, and to offer more low-profit services than hospitals that started participating later.