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Background: Legionella is a common cause of bacterial pneumonia. Community-acquired [CAL] and hospital-acquired legionellosis [HAL] may have different presentations and outcome. We aimed to compare clinical characteristics and examine predictors of mortality for CAL and HAL.Methods: We identified hospitalized cases of legionellosis in 4 Danish counties from January 1995 to December 2005 using the Danish national surveillance system and databases at departments of clinical microbiology. Clinical and laboratory data were retrieved from medical records; vital status was obtained from the Danish Civil Registration System. We calculated 30- and 90-day case fatality rates and identified independent predictors of mortality using logistic regression analyses.Results: We included 272 cases of CAL and 60 cases of HAL. Signs and symptoms of HAL were less pronounced than for CAL and time from in-hospital symptoms to legionellosis diagnosis was shorter for CAL than for HAL (5.5 days vs. 12 days p < 0.001). Thirty-day case fatality was 12.9% for CAL and 33.3% for HAL; similarly 90-day case fatalities in the two groups were 15.8% and 55.0%, respectively. In a logistic regression analysis (excluding symptoms and laboratory tests) age >65 years (OR = 2.6, 95% CI: 1.1-5.9) and Charlson comorbidty index > or =2 (OR = 2.7, 95% CI: 1.1-6.5) were associated with an increased risk of death in CAL. We identified no statistically significant predictors of 30-day mortality in HAL.Conclusions: Signs and symptoms were less pronounced in HAL compared to CAL. Conversely, 30-day case fatality was almost 3 times higher. Clinical awareness is important for the timely diagnosis and treatment especially of HAL. There is a need for further studies of prognostic factors in order to improve the therapeutic approach to legionellosis and potentially reduce mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prior research documented racial and ethnic disparities in health care experiences within the Veterans Health Administration (VA). Little is known about such differences in VA-funded community care programs, through which a growing number of Veterans receive health care. Community care is available to Veterans when care is not available through the VA, nearby, or in a timely manner., Objective: To examine differences in Veterans' experiences with VA-funded community care by race and ethnicity and assess changes in these experiences from 2016 to 2021., Design: Observational analyses of Veterans' ratings of community care experiences by self-reported race and ethnicity. We used linear and logistic regressions to estimate racial and ethnic differences in community care experiences, sequentially adjusting for demographic, health, insurance, and socioeconomic factors., Participants: Respondents to the 2016-2021 VA Survey of Healthcare Experiences of Patients-Community Care Survey., Measures: Care ratings in nine domains., Key Results: The sample of 231,869 respondents included 24,306 Black Veterans (mean [SD] age 56.5 [12.9] years, 77.5% male) and 16,490 Hispanic Veterans (mean [SD] age 54.6 [15.9] years, 85.3% male). In adjusted analyses pooled across study years, Black and Hispanic Veterans reported significantly lower ratings than their White and non-Hispanic counterparts in five of nine domains (overall rating of community providers, scheduling a recent appointment, provider communication, non-appointment access, and billing), with adjusted differences ranging from - 0.04 to - 0.13 standard deviations (SDs) of domain scores. Black and Hispanic Veterans reported higher ratings with eligibility determination and scheduling initial appointments than their White and non-Hispanic counterparts, and Black Veterans reported higher ratings of care coordination, with adjusted differences of 0.05 to 0.21 SDs. Care ratings improved from 2016 to 2021, but differences between racial and ethnic groups persisted., Conclusions: This study identified small but persistent racial and ethnic differences in Veterans' experiences with VA-funded community care, with Black and Hispanic Veterans reporting lower ratings in five domains and, respectively, higher ratings in three and two domains. Interventions to improve Black and Hispanic Veterans' patient experience could advance equity in VA community care., (© 2024. This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

Background: Over half of veterans enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration (VA) are also enrolled in Medicare, potentially increasing their opportunity to receive low-value health services within and outside VA., Objectives: To characterize the use and cost of low-value services delivered to dually enrolled veterans from VA and Medicare., Design: Retrospective cross-sectional., Participants: Veterans enrolled in VA and fee-for-service Medicare (FY 2017-2018)., Main Measures: We used VA and Medicare administrative data to identify 29 low-value services across 6 established domains: cancer screening, diagnostic/preventive testing, preoperative testing, imaging, cardiovascular testing, and surgery. We determined the count of low-value services per 100 veterans delivered in VA and Medicare in FY 2018 overall, by domain, and by individual service. We applied standardized estimates to determine each service's cost., Key Results: Among 1.6 million dually enrolled veterans, the mean age was 73, 97% were men, and 77% were non-Hispanic White. Overall, 63.2 low-value services per 100 veterans were delivered, affecting 32% of veterans; 22.9 services per 100 veterans were delivered in VA and 40.3 services per 100 veterans were delivered in Medicare. The total cost was $226.3 million (M), of which $62.6 M was spent in VA and $163.7 M in Medicare. The most common low-value service was prostate-specific antigen testing at 17.3 per 100 veterans (VA 55.9%, Medicare 44.1%). The costliest low-value service was percutaneous coronary intervention (VA $10.1 M, Medicare $32.8 M)., Conclusions: Nearly 1 in 3 dually enrolled veterans received a low-value service in FY18, with twice as many low-value services delivered in Medicare vs VA. Interventions to reduce low-value services for veterans should consider their substantial use of such services in Medicare., (© 2024. This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

Background: Veterans dually enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration (VA) and Medicare commonly experience downstream services as part of a care cascade after an initial low-value service. Our objective was to characterize the frequency and cost of low-value cervical cancer screening and subsequent care cascades among Veterans dually enrolled in VA and Medicare., Methods: This retrospective cohort study used VA and Medicare administrative data from fiscal years 2015 to 2019. The study cohort was comprised of female Veterans aged >65 years and at low risk of cervical cancer who were dually enrolled in VA and Medicare. Within this cohort, we compared differences in the rates and costs of cascade services related to low-value cervical cancer screening for Veterans who received and did not receive screening in FY2018, adjusting for baseline patient- and facility-level covariates using inverse probability of treatment weighting., Results: Among 20,972 cohort-eligible Veterans, 494 (2.4%) underwent low-value cervical cancer screening with 301 (60.9%) initial screens occurring in VA and 193 (39%) occurring in Medicare. Veterans who were screened experienced an additional 26.7 (95% CI, 16.4-37.0) cascade services per 100 Veterans compared to those who were not screened, contributing to $2919.4 (95% CI, -265 to 6104.7) per 100 Veterans in excess costs. Care cascades consisted predominantly of subsequent cervical cancer screening procedures and related outpatient visits with low rates of invasive procedures and occurred in both VA and Medicare., Conclusions: Veterans dually enrolled in VA and Medicare commonly receive related downstream tests and visits as part of care cascades following low-value cervical cancer screening. Our findings demonstrate that to fully capture the extent to which individuals are subject to low-value care, it is important to examine downstream care stemming from initial low-value services across all systems from which individuals receive care., (© 2024 The American Geriatrics Society.)

Importance: Racial and ethnic disparities exist in anticoagulation therapy for atrial fibrillation (AF). Whether medical center racial and ethnic composition is associated with these disparities is unclear., Objective: To determine whether medical center racial and ethnic composition is associated with overall anticoagulation and disparities in anticoagulation for AF., Design, Setting, and Participants: Retrospective cohort study of Black, White, and Hispanic patients with incident AF from 2018 to 2021 at 140 Veterans Health Administration medical centers (VAMCs). Data were analyzed from March to November 2023., Exposure: VAMC racial and ethnic composition, defined as the proportion of patients from minoritized racial and ethnic groups treated at a VAMC, categorized into quartiles. VAMCs in quartile 1 (Q1) had the lowest percentage of patients from minoritized groups (ie, the reference group)., Main Outcomes and Measures: The odds of initiating any anticoagulant, direct-acting oral anticoagulant (DOAC), or warfarin therapy within 90 days of an index AF diagnosis, adjusting for sociodemographics, medical comorbidities, and facility factors., Results: The cohort comprised 89 791 patients with a mean (SD) age of 73.0 (10.1) years; 87 647 (97.6%) were male, 9063 (10.1%) were Black, 3355 (3.7%) were Hispanic, and 77 373 (86.2%) were White. Overall, 64 770 individuals (72.1%) initiated any anticoagulant, 60 362 (67.2%) initiated DOAC therapy, and 4408 (4.9%) initiated warfarin. Compared with White patients, Black and Hispanic patients had lower rates of any anticoagulant and DOAC therapy initiation but higher rates of warfarin initiation across all quartiles of VAMC racial and ethnic composition. Any anticoagulant therapy initiation was lower in Q4 than Q1 (69.8% vs 74.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.80; 95% CI, 0.69-0.92; P < .001). DOAC and warfarin initiation were also lower in Q4 than in Q1 (DOAC, 69.4% vs 65.3%; aOR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.74-0.97; P < .001; warfarin, 5.4% vs 4.5%; aOR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.67-1.00; P < .001). In adjusted models, patients in Q4 were significantly less likely to initiate any anticoagulant therapy than those in Q1 (aOR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.78-0.99). Patients in Q3 (aOR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.60-0.93) and Q4 (aOR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.55-0.87) were significantly less likely to initiate warfarin therapy than those in Q1. There was no significant difference in the adjusted odds of initiating DOAC therapy across racial and ethnic composition quartiles. Although significant Black-White and Hispanic-White differences in initiation of any anticoagulant, DOAC, and warfarin therapy were observed, interactions between patient race and ethnicity and VAMC racial composition were not significant., Conclusions and Relevance: In a national cohort of VA patients with AF, initiation of any anticoagulant and warfarin, but not DOAC therapy, was lower in VAMCs serving more minoritized patients.

Background: Oral anticoagulation reduces stroke risk for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Prior research demonstrates lower anticoagulant prescribing in Black than in White individuals but few studies have examined racial differences in facility-level anticoagulant prescribing for AF., Objective: To assess variation in anticoagulant initiation by race within Veterans Health Administration (VA) facilities., Design: Retrospective cohort study., Participants: Black and White patients enrolled in the VA with incident AF from 2020 through 2021., Main Measures: The primary outcome was rate of any anticoagulant initiation (i.e., warfarin or direct oral anticoagulant [DOAC]) or any DOAC therapy within 90 days of an AF diagnosis, overall and for Black and White patients at each facility. We also estimated the adjusted Black-White risk difference., Key Results: In 82 VA facilities serving 26,832 Black and White patients, overall unadjusted rates of any anticoagulant therapy ranged from 56.8 to 87.1% across facilities; the corresponding ranges for Black and White patients were 47.6 to 91.3% and 58.2 to 87.1%, respectively. Overall unadjusted rates of DOAC therapy ranged from 55.1 to 85.5% by facility; ranges for Black and White patients were 42.8 to 86.9% and 56.4 to 85.5%, respectively. The adjusted risk difference between Black and White patients ranged from - 29.9 (95% CI, - 54.9 to - 4.8) to 14.2 (95% CI, - 9.1 to 25.0) across facilities for any anticoagulant therapy and from - 28.8 (95% CI, - 58.3 to 0.8) to 15.0 (95% CI, - 8.0 to 38.1) for DOAC therapy. For any anticoagulant therapy there were 3 facilities where prescribing was statistically higher in White than Black patients; for DOAC therapy there were 5 such facilities., Conclusions: In a national cohort of patients with AF, we observed large facility-level variation and adjusted risk differences in any anticoagulant and DOAC initiation, overall and by race. These findings represent a target for local quality improvement in AF care., (© 2024. This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

Purpose: The 2024 ASHP Pharmacy Forecast identifies and contextualizes emerging issues and trends that will influence healthcare, health systems, and the pharmacy profession and provides recommendations to inform long-term strategic planning that should prompt action by pharmacists and health-system leaders., Methods: Drawing on the “wisdom of crowds” concept, a survey was constructed with 6 general themes, each with 6 to 9 focused statements and a seventh theme on preparedness (58 survey items in total). The size of and representation within the survey panel were intended to capture opinions from a wide range of pharmacy leaders. The survey instructed panelists to consider the likelihood of the events/scenarios described in the statements occurring in the next 5 years as being likely, somewhat likely, somewhat unlikely, or very unlikely. Then, survey panelists assessed the preparedness (from very unprepared to very prepared) for 12 of the statements., Results: The 6 survey themes identified were Urgent Public Health Priorities, Responding to the Mental Health Crisis, Achieving Care Equity, New Disease Paradigms and Treatment Innovations, Workforce: Focus on Culture for the Future, and Artificial Intelligence: Can Ethics and Regulators Catch Up? The survey was completed by 250 respondents, yielding an 88% response rate. Analysis of survey results was provided by chapter authors along with strategic recommendations to guide actions for each theme., Conclusion: The focus of the Pharmacy Forecast is on large-scale, long-term trends that will influence healthcare and the pharmacy profession over months and years and not on day-to-day situational dynamics. The report provides insight to stimulate thinking and discussion and provides a starting point to proactively position leaders, their teams, and departments for potential future events and trends.

Many multicellular organisms, such as humans, plants, and invertebrates, depend on symbioses with microbes for metabolic cooperation and exchange. Reef-building corals, an ecologically important order of invertebrates, are particularly vulnerable to environmental stress in part because of their nutritive symbiosis with dinoflagellate algae, and yet also benefit from these and other microbial associations. While coral microbiomes remain difficult to study because of their complexity, the anemone Aiptasia is emerging as a simplified model. Research has demonstrated co-occurrences between microbiome composition and the abundance and type of algal symbionts in cnidarians. However, whether these patterns are the result of general stress-induced shifts or depletions of algal-associated bacteria remains unclear. Our study aimed to distinguish the effect of changes in symbiont density and thermal stress on the microbiome of symbiotic Aiptasia strain CC7 by comparing them with aposymbiotic anemones, depleted of their native symbiont, Symbiodinium linucheae . Our analysis indicated that overall thermal stress had the greatest impact on disrupting the microbiome. We found that three bacterial classes made up most of the relative abundance (60%-85%) in all samples, but the rare microbiome fluctuated between symbiotic states and following thermal stress. We also observed that S. linucheae density correlated with abundance of Oligoflexales, suggesting these bacteria may be primary symbionts of the dinoflagellate algae. The findings of this study help expand knowledge on prospective multipartite symbioses in the cnidarian holobiont and how they respond to environmental disturbance., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2023 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objective: Evaluate self-reported electronic screening ( eScreening ) in a VA Transition Care Management Program (TCM) to improve the accuracy and completeness of administrative ethnicity and race data., Materials and Methods: We compared missing, declined, and complete (neither missing nor declined) rates between (1) TCM-eScreening (ethnicity and race entered into electronic tablet directly by patient using eScreening), (2) TCM-EHR (Veteran-completed paper form plus interview, data entered by staff), and (3) Standard-EHR (multiple processes, data entered by staff). The TCM-eScreening ( n  = 7113) and TCM-EHR groups ( n  = 7113) included post-9/11 Veterans. Standard-EHR Veterans included all non-TCM Gulf War and post-9/11 Veterans at VA San Diego ( n  = 92 921)., Results: Ethnicity : TCM-eScreening had lower rates of missingness than TCM-EHR and Standard-EHR (3.0% vs 5.3% and 8.6%, respectively, P  < .05), but higher rates of "decline to answer" (7% vs 0.5% and 1.2%, P  < .05). TCM-EHR had higher data completeness than TCM-eScreening and Standard-EHR (94.2% vs 90% and 90.2%, respectively, P  < .05). Race : No differences between TCM-eScreening and TCM-EHR for missingness (3.5% vs 3.4%, P  > .05) or data completeness (89.9% vs 91%, P  > .05). Both had better data completeness than Standard-EHR ( P  < .05), which despite the lowest rate of "decline to answer" (3%) had the highest missingness (10.3%) and lowest overall completeness (86.6%). There was strong agreement between TCM-eScreening and TCM-EHR for ethnicity (Kappa = .92) and for Asian, Black, and White Veteran race (Kappas = .87 to .97), but lower agreement for American Indian/Alaska Native (Kappa = .59) and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander (Kappa = .50) Veterans., Conculsions: eScreening is a promising method for improving ethnicity and race data accuracy and completeness in VA., Competing Interests: None declared., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association 2023.)

Significance Statement: Of studies reporting an association of CKD with lower use of invasive cardiac care to treat acute coronary syndrome (ACS), just one accounted for the appropriateness of such care. However, its findings in patients hospitalized nearly 30 years ago may not apply to current practice. In a more recent cohort of 64,695 veterans hospitalized with ACS, CKD was associated with a 32% lower likelihood of receiving invasive care determined to be clinically indicated. Among patients with CKD, not receiving such care was associated with a 1.39-fold higher risk of 6-month mortality. Efforts to elucidate the reasons for this disparity in invasive care in patients with ACS and CKD and implement tailored interventions to enhance its use in this population may offer the potential to improve clinical outcomes., Background: Previous studies have shown that patients with CKD are less likely than those without CKD to receive invasive care to treat acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, few studies have accounted for whether such care was clinically indicated or assessed whether nonuse of such care was associated with adverse health outcomes., Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of US veterans who were hospitalized at Veterans Affairs Medical Centers from January 2013 through December 2017 and received a discharge diagnosis of ACS. We used multivariable logistic regression to investigate the association of CKD with use of invasive care (coronary angiography, with or without revascularization; coronary artery bypass graft surgery; or both) deemed clinically indicated based on Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events 2.0 risk scores that denoted a 6-month predicted all-cause mortality ≥5%. Using propensity scoring and inverse probability weighting, we examined the association of nonuse of clinically indicated invasive care with 6-month all-cause mortality., Results: Among 34,430 patients with a clinical indication for invasive care, the 18,780 patients with CKD were less likely than the 15,650 without CKD to receive such care (adjusted odds ratio, 0.68; 95% confidence interval, 0.65 to 0.72). Among patients with CKD, nonuse of invasive care was associated with higher risk of 6-month all-cause mortality (absolute risk, 21.5% versus 15.5%; absolute risk difference 6.0%; adjusted risk ratio, 1.39; 95% confidence interval, 1.29 to 1.49). Findings were consistent across multiple sensitivity analyses., Conclusions: In contemporary practice, veterans with CKD who experience ACS are less likely than those without CKD to receive clinically indicated invasive cardiac care. Nonuse of such care is associated with increased mortality., (Copyright © 2023 by the American Society of Nephrology.)

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia, the management of which includes anticoagulation for stroke prevention. Although disparities in anticoagulant prescribing have been well documented for individual socioeconomic factors, less is known about the association of neighborhood-level disadvantage and anticoagulation for AF., Objective: To assess the association between neighborhood disadvantage and anticoagulant initiation for patients with incident AF., Design: Retrospective cohort study., Participants: A cohort of patients enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration (VA) with incident AF from January 2014 through December 2020 from the Race, Ethnicity, and Anticoagulant CHoice in Atrial Fibrillation (REACH-AF) Study., Main Measures: The primary exposure was neighborhood disadvantage quantified using area deprivation index (ADI), classified by quintiles (Q). The outcomes were initiation of any anticoagulant therapy (warfarin or direct oral anticoagulant, DOAC) within 90 days of AF diagnosis and DOAC use among initiators. We used mixed effects logistic regression to assess the association between ADI and anticoagulant therapy, incorporating a fixed effect for treatment site and baseline patient, provider, and facility covariates., Key Results: Among 161,089 patients, 105,489 (65.5%) initiated any anticoagulant therapy, and 78,903 (74.8%) used DOACs. Any anticoagulant therapy increased 3.2 percentage points (63.0% to 66.2%; p<.001) from Q1 to Q5, whereas DOAC use decreased 8.2 percentage points (79.4% to 71.2%; p<.0001) across quintiles. The adjusted odd ratios of any anticoagulant therapy were non-significantly different for Q2-Q5 than Q1. The adjusted odds of DOAC use decreased progressively from 0.89 (95% CI, 0.84-0.94) in Q2 to 0.77 (95% CI, 0.73-0.83) in Q5 compared to Q1 (p<.0001)., Conclusions: Among Veterans with incident AF, we observed similar initiation of any anticoagulant, though neighborhood deprivation was associated with decreased DOAC use among anticoagulant initiators. Future interventions to improve pharmacoequity in anticoagulant prescribing for AF should consider the role of neighborhood-level determinants of health inequities., (© 2022. This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

Background: Low-value care cascades, defined as the receipt of downstream health services potentially related to a low-value service, can result in harm to patients and wasteful healthcare spending, yet have not been characterized within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA)., Objective: To examine if the receipt of low-value preoperative testing is associated with greater utilization and costs of potentially related downstream health services in Veterans undergoing low or intermediate-risk surgery., Design: Retrospective cohort study using VHA administrative data from fiscal years 2017-2018 comparing Veterans who underwent low-value preoperative electrocardiogram (EKG) or chest radiograph (CXR) with those who did not., Participants: National cohort of Veterans at low risk of cardiopulmonary disease undergoing low- or intermediate-risk surgery., Main Measures: Difference in rate of receipt and attributed cost of potential cascade services in Veterans who underwent low-value preoperative testing compared to those who did not KEY RESULTS: Among 635,824 Veterans undergoing low-risk procedures, 7.8% underwent preoperative EKG. Veterans who underwent a preoperative EKG experienced an additional 52.4 (95% CI 47.7-57.2) cascade services per 100 Veterans, resulting in $138.28 (95% CI 126.19-150.37) per Veteran in excess costs. Among 739,005 Veterans undergoing low- or intermediate-risk surgery, 3.9% underwent preoperative CXR. These Veterans experienced an additional 61.9 (95% CI 57.8-66.1) cascade services per 100 Veterans, resulting in $152.08 (95% CI $146.66-157.51) per Veteran in excess costs. For both cohorts, care cascades consisted largely of repeat tests, follow-up imaging, and follow-up visits, with low rates invasive services., Conclusions: Among a national cohort of Veterans undergoing low- or intermediate-risk surgeries, low-value care cascades following two routine low-value preoperative tests are common, resulting in greater unnecessary care and costs beyond the initial low-value service. These findings may guide de-implementation policies within VHA and other integrated healthcare systems that target those services whose downstream effects are most prevalent and costly., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Society of General Internal Medicine.)

Background: The Procalcitonin Antibiotic Consensus Trial (ProACT) found provision of a procalcitonin antibiotic prescribing guideline to hospital-based clinicians did not reduce antibiotic use. Possible reasons include clinician reluctance to follow the guideline, with an observed 64.8% adherence rate. In this study we sought to determine the threshold adherence rate for reduction in antibiotic use, and to explore opportunities to increase adherence., Methods: This study is a retrospective analysis of ProACT data. ProACT randomized 1656 patients presenting to 14 U.S. hospitals with suspected lower respiratory tract infection to usual care or provision of procalcitonin assay results and an antibiotic prescribing guideline to the treating clinicians. We simulated varying adherence to guideline recommendations for low procalcitonin levels and determined which threshold adherence rate could have resulted in rejection of the null hypothesis of no difference between groups at alpha = 0.05. We also performed sensitivity analyses within specific clinical settings and grouped patients initially prescribed antibiotics despite low procalcitonin into low, medium, and high risk of illness severity or bacterial infection., Results: Our primary outcome was number of antibiotic-days by day 30 using an intention-to-treat approach and a null hypothesis of no difference in antibiotic use. We determined that an 84% adherence rate in the hospital setting (emergency department and inpatient) for low procalcitonin could have allowed rejection of the null hypothesis (3.7 vs 4.3 antibiotic-days, p = 0.048). The threshold adherence rate was 76% for continued guideline adherence after discharge. Even 100% adherence in the emergency department alone failed to reduce antibiotic-days. Of the 218 patients prescribed antibiotics in the emergency department despite low procalcitonin, 153 (70.2%) were categorized as low or medium risk., Conclusions: High adherence in the hospital setting to a procalcitonin antibiotic prescribing guideline is necessary to reduce antibiotic use in suspected lower respiratory tract infection. Continued guideline adherence after discharge and withholding of antibiotics in low and medium risk patients with low procalcitonin may offer impactful potential opportunities for antibiotic reduction. Trial registration Procalcitonin Antibiotic Consensus Trial (ProACT), ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02130986. First posted May 6, 2014., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Importance: Older US veterans commonly receive health care outside of the US Veterans Health Administration (VHA) through Medicare, which may increase receipt of low-value care and subsequent care cascades., Objective: To characterize the frequency, cost, and source of low-value prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing and subsequent care cascades among veterans dually enrolled in the VHA and Medicare and to determine whether receiving a PSA test through the VHA vs Medicare is associated with more downstream services., Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective cohort study used VHA and Medicare administrative data from fiscal years (FYs) 2017 to 2018. The study cohort consisted of male US veterans dually enrolled in the VHA and Medicare who were aged 75 years or older without a history of prostate cancer, elevated PSA, prostatectomy, radiation therapy, androgen deprivation therapy, or a urology visit. Data were analyzed from December 15, 2020, to October 20, 2022., Exposures: Receipt of low-value PSA testing., Main Outcomes and Measures: Differences in the use and cost of cascade services occurring 6 months after receipt of a low-value PSA test were assessed for veterans who underwent low-value PSA testing in the VHA and Medicare compared with those who did not, adjusted for patient- and facility-level covariates., Results: This study included 300 393 male US veterans at risk of undergoing low-value PSA testing. They had a mean (SD) age of 82.6 (5.6) years, and the majority (264 411 [88.0%]) were non-Hispanic White. Of these veterans, 36 459 (12.1%) received a low-value PSA test through the VHA, which was associated with 31.2 (95% CI, 29.2 to 33.2) additional cascade services per 100 veterans and an additional $24.5 (95% CI, $20.8 to $28.1) per veteran compared with the control group. In the same cohort, 17 981 veterans (5.9%) received a PSA test through Medicare, which was associated with 39.3 (95% CI, 37.2 to 41.3) additional cascade services per 100 veterans and an additional $35.9 (95% CI, $31.7 to $40.1) per veteran compared with the control group. When compared directly, veterans who received a PSA test through Medicare experienced 9.9 (95% CI, 9.7 to 10.1) additional cascade services per 100 veterans compared with those who underwent testing within the VHA., Conclusions and Relevance: The findings of this cohort study suggest that US veterans dually enrolled in the VHA and Medicare commonly experienced low-value PSA testing and subsequent care cascades through both systems in FYs 2017 and 2018. Care cascades occurred more frequently through Medicare compared with the VHA. These findings suggest that low-value PSA testing has substantial downstream implications for patients and may be especially challenging to measure when care occurs in multiple health care systems.

Background: Although the PSI and CURB-65 represent well-validated prediction rules for pneumonia prognosis, PSI was designed to identify patients at low risk and CURB- 65 patients at high risk of mortality. We compared the prognostic performance of a modified version of the PSI designed to identify high-risk patients (i.e., PSI-HR) to CURB-65 in predicting short-term mortality., Methods: Using data from 6 pneumonia cohorts, we designed PSI-HR as a 6-class prediction rule using the original prognostic weights of all PSI variables and modifying the risk score thresholds to define risk classes. We calculated the proportion of low-risk and high-risk patients using CURB-65 and PSI-HR and 30-day mortality in these subgroups. We compared the rules' sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values for mortality at all risk class thresholds and assessed discriminatory power using areas under their receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROCs)., Results: Among 13,874 patients with pneumonia, 1,036 (7.5%) died. For PSI-HR versus CURB-65, aggregate mortality was lower in low-risk patients (1.6% vs. 2.2%, p = 0.005) and higher in high-risk patients (36.5% vs. 32.2%, p = 0.27). PSI-HR had higher sensitivities than CURB-65 at all thresholds; PSI-HR also had higher specificities at the 3 lowest thresholds and specificities within 0.5% points of CURB-65 at the 2 highest thresholds. The AUROC was larger for PSI-HR than CURB- 65 (0.82 vs. 0.77, p < 0.0001)., Conclusions: PSI-HR demonstrated superior prognostic accuracy to CURB-65 at the lower end of the severity spectrum and identified high-risk patients with nonsignificant higher short-term mortality at the higher end., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Crown Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Importance: Within the Veterans Health Administration (VA), the use and cost of low-value services delivered by VA facilities or increasingly by VA Community Care (VACC) programs have not been comprehensively quantified., Objective: To quantify veterans' overall use and cost of low-value services, including VA-delivered care and VA-purchased community care., Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study assessed a national population of VA-enrolled veterans. Data on enrollment, sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidities, and health care services delivered by VA facilities or paid for by the VA through VACC programs were compiled for fiscal year 2018 from the VA Corporate Data Warehouse. Data analysis was conducted from April 2020 to January 2022., Main Outcomes and Measures: VA administrative data were applied using an established low-value service metric to quantify the use of 29 potentially low-value tests and procedures delivered in VA facilities and by VACC programs across 6 domains: cancer screening, diagnostic and preventive testing, preoperative testing, imaging, cardiovascular testing and procedures, and other procedures. Sensitive and specific criteria were used to determine the low-value service counts per 100 veterans overall, by domain, and by individual service; count and percentage of each low-value service delivered by each setting; and estimated cost of each service., Results: Among 5.2 million enrolled veterans, the mean (SD) age was 62.5 (16.0) years, 91.7% were male, 68.0% were non-Hispanic White, and 32.3% received any service through VACC. By specific criteria, 19.6 low-value services per 100 veterans were delivered in VA facilities or by VACC programs, involving 13.6% of veterans at a total cost of $205.8 million. Overall, the most frequently delivered low-value service was prostate-specific antigen testing for men aged 75 years or older (5.9 per 100 veterans); this was also the service with the greatest proportion delivered by VA facilities (98.9%). The costliest low-value services were spinal injections for low back pain ($43.9 million; 21.4% of low-value care spending) and percutaneous coronary intervention for stable coronary disease ($36.8 million; 17.9% of spending)., Conclusions and Relevance: This cross-sectional study found that among veterans enrolled in the VA, more than 1 in 10 have received a low-value service from VA facilities or VACC programs, with approximately $200 million in associated costs. Such information on the use and costs of low-value services are essential to guide the VA's efforts to reduce delivery and spending on such care.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a leading cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. While neighborhood-level factors, such as poverty, have been related to prevalence of AF risk factors, the association between neighborhood poverty and incident AF has been limited., Objective: Using a large cohort from a health system serving the greater Chicago area, we sought to determine the association between neighborhood-level poverty and incident AF., Design: Retrospective cohort study., Participants: Adults, aged 30 to 80 years, without baseline cardiovascular disease from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2018., Main Measures: We geocoded and matched residential addresses of all eligible patients to census-level poverty estimates from the American Community Survey. Neighborhood-level poverty (low, intermediate, and high) was defined as the proportion of residents in the census tract living below the federal poverty threshold. We used generalized linear mixed effects models with a logit link function to examine the association between neighborhood poverty and incident AF, adjusting for patient demographic and clinical AF risk factors., Key Results: Among 28,858 in the cohort, patients in the high poverty group were more often non-Hispanic Black or Hispanic and had higher rates of AF risk factors. Over 5 years of follow-up, 971 (3.4%) patients developed incident AF. Of these, 502 (51.7%) were in the low poverty, 327 (33.7%) in the intermediate poverty, and 142 (14.6%) in the high poverty group. The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of AF was higher for the intermediate poverty compared with that for the low poverty group (aOR 1.23 [95% CI 1.01-1.48]). The point estimate for the aOR of AF incidence was similar, but not statistically significant, for the high poverty compared with the low poverty group (aOR 1.25 [95% CI 0.98-1.59])., Conclusion: In adults without baseline cardiovascular disease managed in a large, integrated health system, intermediate neighborhood poverty was significantly associated with incident AF. Understanding neighborhood-level drivers of AF disparities will help achieve equitable care., (© 2021. This is a U.S. government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

Importance: Metrics that detect low-value care in common forms of health care data, such as administrative claims or electronic health records, primarily focus on tests and procedures but not on medications, representing a major gap in the ability to systematically measure low-value prescribing., Objective: To develop a scalable and broadly applicable metric that contains a set of quality indicators (EVOLV-Rx) for use in health care data to detect and reduce low-value prescribing among older adults and that is informed by diverse stakeholders' perspectives., Design, Setting, and Participants: This qualitative study used an online modified-Delphi method to convene an expert panel of 15 physicians and pharmacists. This panel, comprising clinicians, health system leaders, and researchers, was tasked with rating and discussing candidate low-value prescribing practices that were derived from medication safety criteria; peer-reviewed literature; and qualitative studies of patient, caregiver, and physician perspectives. The RAND ExpertLens online platform was used to conduct the activities of the panel. The panelists were engaged for 3 rounds between January 1 and March 31, 2021., Main Outcomes and Measures: Panelists used a 9-point Likert scale to rate and then discuss the scientific validity and clinical usefulness of the criteria to detect low-value prescribing practices. Candidate low-value prescribing practices were rated as follows: 1 to 3, indicating low validity or usefulness; 3.5 to 6, uncertain validity or usefulness; and 6.5 to 9, high validity or usefulness. Agreement among panelists and the degree of scientific validity and clinical usefulness were assessed using the RAND/UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) Appropriateness Method., Results: Of the 527 low-value prescribing recommendations identified, 27 discrete candidate low-value prescribing practices were considered for inclusion in EVOLV-Rx. After round 1, 18 candidate practices were rated by the panel as having high scientific validity and clinical usefulness (scores of ≥6.5). After round 2 panel deliberations, the criteria to detect 19 candidate practices were revised. After round 3, 18 candidate practices met the inclusion criteria, receiving final median scores of 6.5 or higher for both scientific validity and clinical usefulness. Of those practices that were not included in the final version of EVOLV-Rx, 3 received high scientific validity (scores ≥6.5) but uncertain clinical usefulness (scores <6.5) ratings, whereas 6 received uncertain scientific validity rating (scores <6.5)., Conclusions and Relevance: This study culminated in the development of EVOLV-Rx and involved a panel of experts who identified the 18 most salient low-value prescribing practices in the care of older adults. Applying EVOLV-Rx may enhance the detection of low-value prescribing practices, reduce polypharmacy, and enable older adults to receive high-value care across the full spectrum of health services.

Background: Racial and ethnic disparities in anticoagulation exist in atrial fibrillation management in Medicare and the Veterans Health Administration, but the influence of dual Veterans Health Administration and Medicare enrollment is unclear. We compared anticoagulant initiation by race and ethnicity in dually enrolled patients and assessed the role of Medicare part D enrollment on anticoagulation disparities., Methods: We identified patients with incident atrial fibrillation (2014-2018) dually enrolled in Veterans Health Administration and Medicare. We assessed any anticoagulant initiation (warfarin or direct-acting oral anticoagulants [DOACs]) within 90 days of atrial fibrillation diagnosis and DOAC use among anticoagulant initiators. We modeled anticoagulant initiation, adjusting for patient, provider, and facility factors, including main effects for race and ethnicity and Medicare part D enrollment and an interaction term for these variables., Results: In 43 789 patients, 8.9% were Black, 3.6% Hispanic, and 87.5% White; 10.9% participated in Medicare part D. Overall, 29 680 (67.8%) patients initiated any anticoagulant, of whom 17 568 (59.2%) initiated DOACs. Lower proportions of Black (65.2%) than Hispanic (67.6%) or White (68.0%) patients initiated any anticoagulant ( P =0.001) and, lower proportions of Black (56.3%) and Hispanic (55.9%) than White (59.6%) patients ( P =0.001) initiated DOACs. Compared with White patients, Black patients had significantly lower initiation of any anticoagulant (adjusted odds ratio, 0.89 [95% CI, 0.82-0.97]). The adjusted odds ratios for DOAC initiation were significantly lower for Black (0.72 [95% CI, 0.65-0.81]) and Hispanic (0.84 [95% CI, 0.70-1.00]) than White patients. The interaction between race and ethnicity and Medicare part D enrollment was nonsignificant for any anticoagulant ( P =0.99) and DOAC ( P =0.27) therapies., Conclusions: In dually enrolled Veterans Health Administration and Medicare patients with atrial fibrillation, Black patients were less likely to initiate any anticoagulant, and Black and Hispanic patients were less likely to initiate DOACs. Medicare part D enrollment did not moderate the associations between race and ethnicity and anticoagulant therapies.

Background: Most states have recently passed laws requiring prescribers to use prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) before prescribing opioid medications. The impact of these mandates on discontinuing chronic opioid therapy among Veterans managed in the Veterans Health Administration (VA) is unknown. We assess the association between the earliest of these laws and discontinuation of chronic opioid therapy in Veterans receiving VA health care., Methods: We conducted a comparative interrupted time-series study in the 5 states mandating PDMP use before August 2013 (Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, New Mexico, and Tennessee), adjusting for trends in the 17 neighboring control states without such mandates. We modeled 25 months of prescribing for each state centered on the month the mandate became effective. We included Veterans prescribed long-term outpatient opioid therapy (305 of the preceding 365 d). Our outcomes were discontinuation of chronic opioid therapy (primary outcome) and the average daily quantity of opioids per Veteran over the following 6 months (secondary outcome)., Results: We included 250 monthly cohorts with 225,665 unique Veterans and 3.4 million Veteran-months. Baseline discontinuation rates before the PDMP mandates were 0.4%-2.7% per month. Kentucky saw a discontinuation increase of 1 absolute percentage point following its PDMP mandate which decreased over time. The other 4 states had no significant association between their mandates and change in opioid discontinuation. There was no evidence of decreasing opioid quantities following PDMP mandates., Conclusion: We did not find consistent evidence that state laws mandating provider PDMP use were associated with the discontinuation of chronic opioid therapy within the VA for the time period studied., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Prior studies have identified lower mortality in Black Veterans compared with White Veterans after hospitalization for common medical conditions, but these studies adjusted for comorbid conditions identified in administrative claims., Objectives: The objectives of this study were to compare mortality for non-Hispanic White (hereafter, "White"), non-Hispanic Black (hereafter, "Black"), and Hispanic Veterans hospitalized for heart failure (HF) and pneumonia and determine whether observed mortality differences varied according to whether claims-based comorbid conditions and/or clinical variables were included in risk-adjustment models., Research Design: This was an observational study., Subjects: The study cohort included 143,520 admissions for HF and 127,782 admissions for pneumonia for Veterans hospitalized in 132 Veterans Health Administration (VA) Medical Centers between January 2009 and September 2015., Measures: The primary independent variable was racial/ethnic group (ie, Black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White), and the outcome was all-cause mortality 30 days following admission. To compare mortality by race/ethnicity, we used logistic regression models that included different combinations of claims-based, clinical, and sociodemographic variables. For each model, we estimated the average marginal effect (AME) for Black and Hispanic Veterans relative to White Veterans., Results: Among the 143,520 (127,782) hospitalizations for HF (pneumonia), the average patient age was 71.6 (70.9) years and 98.4% (97.1%) were male. The unadjusted 30-day mortality rates for HF (pneumonia) were 7.2% (11.0%) for White, 4.1% (10.4%) for Black and 8.4% (16.9%) for Hispanic Veterans. Relative to White Veterans, when only claims-based variables were used for risk adjustment, the AME (95% confidence interval) for the HF [pneumonia] cohort was -2.17 (-2.45, -1.89) [0.08 (-0.41, 0.58)] for Black Veterans and 1.32 (0.49, 2.15) [4.51 (3.65, 5.38)] for Hispanic Veterans. When clinical variables were incorporated in addition to claims-based ones, the AME, relative to White Veterans, for the HF [pneumonia] cohort was -1.57 (-1.88, -1.27) [-0.83 (-1.31, -0.36)] for Black Veterans and 1.50 (0.71, 2.30) [3.30 (2.49, 4.11)] for Hispanic Veterans., Conclusions: Compared with White Veterans, Black Veterans had lower mortality, and Hispanic Veterans had higher mortality for HF and pneumonia. The inclusion of clinical variables into risk-adjustment models impacted the magnitude of racial/ethnic differences in mortality following hospitalization. Future studies examining racial/ethnic disparities should consider including clinical variables for risk adjustment., Competing Interests: V.M. reports personal fees from naviHealth, outside the submitted work. R.G. received grants from Johnson & Johnson/Janssen expert witness services. The remaining authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Rationale: Computerized severity assessment for community-acquired pneumonia could improve consistency and reduce clinician burden. Objectives: To develop and compare 30-day mortality-prediction models using electronic health record data, including a computerized score with all variables from the original Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI) except confusion and pleural effusion ("ePSI score") versus models with additional variables. Methods: Among adults with community-acquired pneumonia presenting to emergency departments at 117 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2016, we compared an ePSI score with 10 novel models employing logistic regression, spline, and machine learning methods using PSI variables, age, sex and 26 physiologic variables as well as all 69 PSI variables. Models were trained using encounters before January 1, 2015; tested on encounters during and after January 1, 2015; and compared using the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve, confidence intervals, and patient event rates at a threshold PSI score of 970. Results: Among 297,498 encounters, 7% resulted in death within 30 days. When compared using the ePSI score (confidence interval [CI] for the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.77-0.78), performance increased with model complexity (CI for the logistic regression PSI model, 0.79-0.80; CI for the boosted decision-tree algorithm machine learning PSI model using the Extreme Gradient Boosting algorithm [mlPSI] with the 19 original PSI factors, 0.83-0.85) and the number of variables (CI for the logistic regression PSI model using all 69 variables, 0.84-085; CI for the mlPSI with all 69 variables, 0.86-0.87). Models limited to age, sex, and physiologic variables also demonstrated high performance (CI for the mlPSI with age, sex, and 26 physiologic factors, 0.84-0.85). At an ePSI score of 970 and a mortality-risk cutoff of <2.7%, the ePSI score identified 31% of all patients as being at "low risk"; the mlPSI with age, sex, and 26 physiologic factors identified 53% of all patients as being at low risk; and the mlPSI with all 69 variables identified 56% of all patients as being at low risk, with similar rates of mortality, hospitalization, and 7-day secondary hospitalization being determined. Conclusions: Computerized versions of the PSI accurately identified patients with pneumonia who were at low risk of death. More complex models classified more patients as being at low risk of death and as having similar adverse outcomes.

Importance: Atrial fibrillation is a common cardiac rhythm disturbance causing substantial morbidity and mortality that disproportionately affects racial/ethnic minority groups. Anticoagulation reduces stroke risk in atrial fibrillation, yet studies show it is underprescribed in racial/ethnic minority patients., Objective: To compare initiation of anticoagulant therapy by race/ethnicity for patients in the Veterans Health Administration (VA) system with atrial fibrillation., Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective cohort study included 111 666 patients within the VA system with incident atrial fibrillation between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2018. Data were analyzed between December 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020., Exposures: Any anticoagulation was defined as receipt of warfarin or direct-acting oral anticoagulants, apixaban, dabigatran, edoxaban, or rivaroxaban., Main Outcomes and Measures: Initiation of any anticoagulation (or direct-acting oral anticoagulant therapy in those who initiated any anticoagulation) was examined within 90 days of an index atrial fibrillation diagnosis., Results: Our final cohort comprised 111 666 patients (109 386 men [98.0%] and 95 493 White patients [85.5%]; mean [SD] age, 72.9 [10.4] years). A total of 69 590 patients (62.3%) initiated any anticoagulant therapy, varying 10.5 percentage points by race/ethnicity (P < .001); initiation was lowest in Asian (52.2% [n = 676]) and Black (60.3% [n = 6177]) patients and highest in White patients (62.7% [n = 59 881]). Among anticoagulant initiators, 45 381 (65.2%) used direct-acting oral anticoagulants, varying 7.2 percentage points by race/ethnicity (P < .001); initiation was lowest in Hispanic (58.3% [n = 1470]), American Indian/Alaska Native (59.8% [n = 201]), and Black (60.9% [n = 3763]) patients and highest in White patients (66.0% [n = 39 502). Compared with White patients, the odds of initiating any anticoagulant therapy were significantly lower for Asian (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.82; 95% CI, 0.72-0.94) and Black (aOR, 0.90; 95% CI 0.85-0.95) patients. Among initiators, the adjusted odds of direct-acting oral anticoagulant initiation were significantly lower for Hispanic (aOR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.70-0.89), American Indian/Alaska Native (aOR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.57-0.99), and Black (aOR, 0.74; 95% CI 0.69-0.80) patients., Conclusions and Relevance: This cohort study found that in patients with incident atrial fibrillation managed in the VA system, race/ethnicity was independently associated with initiating any anticoagulant therapy and direct-acting oral anticoagulant use among anticoagulant initiators. Understanding the reasons for these treatment disparities is essential to improving equitable atrial fibrillation management and outcomes among racial/ethnic minority patients treated in the VA system.

Introduction: Although opioid use disorder (OUD) is common in patients with cirrhosis, it is unclear how medication treatment for OUD (MOUD) is used in this population. We aimed to assess the factors associated with MOUD and mortality in a cohort of Veterans with cirrhosis and OUD., Methods: Within the Veterans Health Administration Corporate Data Warehouse, we developed a cohort of Veterans with cirrhosis and active OUD, using 2 outpatient or 1 inpatient International Classification of Diseases, ninth revision codes from 2011 to 2015 to define each condition. We assessed MOUD initiation with methadone or buprenorphine over the 180 days following the first OUD International Classification of Diseases, ninth revision code in the study period. We fit multivariable regression models to assess the association of sociodemographic and clinical factors with receiving MOUD and the associations between MOUD and subsequent clinical outcomes, including new hepatic decompensation and mortality., Results: Among 5,600 Veterans meeting criteria for active OUD and cirrhosis, 722 (13%) were prescribed MOUD over 180 days of follow-up. In multivariable modeling, MOUD was significantly, positively associated with age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] per year: 1.04, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01-1.07), hepatitis C virus (AOR = 2.15, 95% CI = 1.37-3.35), and other substance use disorders (AOR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.05-2.04) negatively associated with alcohol use disorder (AOR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.52-0.95), opioid prescription (AOR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.38-0.70), and schizophrenia (AOR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.37-0.95). MOUD was not significantly associated with mortality (adjusted hazards ratio = 1.20, 95% CI = 0.95-1.52) or new hepatic decompensation (OR = 0.57, CI = 0.30-1.09)., Discussion: Few Veterans with active OUD and cirrhosis received MOUD, and those with alcohol use disorder, schizophrenia, and previous prescriptions for opioids were least likely to receive these effective therapies., (Copyright © 2021 by The American College of Gastroenterology.)

Background: Compared to White patients in the United States, Black patients have a higher prevalence of hypertension and more severe forms of this condition., Objective: To decrease racial disparities in blood pressure (BP) control among Black veterans with severe hypertension within a regional network of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs)., Methods: Health system leaders, clinicians, and health services researchers collaborated on a 12-month quality improvement (QI) project to: (1) examine project implementation and the QI strategies used to improve BP control and (2) assess the effect of the initiative on Black-White differences in BP control among veterans with severe hypertension., Results: Within 9 participating VAMCs, the most frequently used QI strategies involved provider education (n=9), provider audit and feedback (n=8), and health care team change (n=7). Among 141,124 veterans with a diagnosis of hypertension, 9,913 had severe hypertension [2,533 (25.6%) Black and 7380 (74.4%) White]. Over the course of the project, the proportion of Black veterans with severe hypertension decreased from 7.5% to 6.6% (p=.002) and the racial difference in proportions for this condition decreased 0.9 percentage points, from 2.9% to 2.0% (p=.01)., Conclusions: A multicenter, equity-focused QI project in VA reduced the proportion of Black veterans with severe hypertension and ameliorated observed racial disparities for this condition. Embedding health services researchers within a QI team facilitated an evaluation of the processes and effectiveness of our initiative, providing a successful model for QI within a learning health care system., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Health systems are increasingly implementing interventions to reduce older patients' use of low-value medications. However, prescribers' perspectives on medication value and the acceptability of interventions to reduce low-value prescribing are poorly understood., Objective: To identify the characteristics that affect the value of a medication and those factors influencing low-value prescribing from the perspective of primary care physicians., Design: Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews., Setting: Academic and community primary care practices within University of Pittsburgh Medical Center health system., Participants: Sixteen primary care physicians., Measurements: We elicited 16 prescribers' perspectives on definitions and examples of low-value prescribing in older adults, the factors that incentivize them to engage in such prescribing, and the characteristics of interventions that would make them less likely to engage in low-value prescribing., Results: We identified three key themes. First, prescribers viewed low-value prescribing among older adults as common, characterized both by features of the medications themselves and of the particular patients to whom they were prescribed. Second, prescribers described the causes of low-value prescribing as multifactorial, with factors related to patients, prescribers, and the health system as a whole, making low-value prescribing a default practice pattern. Third, interventions addressing low-value prescribing must minimize the cognitive load and time pressures that make low-value prescribing common. Interventions increasing time pressure or cognitive load, such as increased documentation, were considered less acceptable., Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that low-value prescribing is a well-recognized phenomenon, and that interventions to reduce low-value prescribing must consider physicians' perspectives and address the specific patient, prescriber and health system factors that make low-value prescribing a default practice., (© 2021 The American Geriatrics Society.)

Background: On April 23, 2014, US media outlets broadcast reports of excessive wait times and "secret" waitlists at some Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals, precipitating legislation to increase Veterans' access to private sector health care., Objective: The aims were to assess changes in Veterans' distrust in the VA health care system before and after the media coverage and explore sex and racial/ethnic differences in the temporal patterns., Methods: Veterans completed semistructured interviews on health care satisfaction from June 2013 to January 2015, including a validated scale of health system distrust (range: 1-5). We used linear splines with knots at 90-day intervals to assess changes in distrust before and after April 23, 2014 ("day 0") in linear mixed models. To explore sex and racial/ethnic differences in temporal patterns, we stratified models by sex and tested for interactions of race/ethnicity with time., Results: For women (n=600), distrust scores (mean=2.09) increased by 0.45 in days 0-90 (P<0.01), then decreased by 0.45 in days 90-180 (P<0.01). Among men (n=575), distrust scores (mean=2.05) increased by 0.18 in days 0-90 (P=0.059). Distrust levels were significantly higher for Black versus White women (time adjusted mean difference=0.21) and for Black and Hispanic versus White men (differences=0.26 and 0.18). However, the temporal patterns did not vary by race/ethnicity for women or men (interaction P=0.85 and 0.21, respectively)., Conclusions: Health system distrust increased in women following media coverage of VA access problems and was higher in Black/Hispanic versus White Veterans at all time periods. Such perceptions could influence Veteran decisions to seek health care in the community rather than VA., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Background and Objectives: Many kidney transplant recipients enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration are also enrolled in Medicare and eligible to receive both Veterans Health Administration and private sector care. Where these patients receive transplant care and its association with mortality are unknown., Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of veterans who underwent kidney transplantation between 2008 and 2016 and were dually enrolled in Veterans Health Administration and Medicare at the time of surgery. We categorized patients on the basis of the source of transplant-related care ( i.e ., outpatient transplant visits, immunosuppressive medication prescriptions, calcineurin inhibitor measurements) delivered during the first year after transplantation defined as Veterans Health Administration only, Medicare only ( i.e ., outside Veterans Health Administration using Medicare), or dual care (mixed use of Veterans Health Administration and Medicare). Using multivariable Cox regression, we examined the independent association of post-transplant care source with mortality at 5 years after kidney transplantation., Results: Among 6206 dually enrolled veterans, 975 (16%) underwent transplantation at a Veterans Health Administration hospital and 5231 (84%) at a non-Veterans Health Administration hospital using Medicare. Post-transplant care was received by 752 patients (12%) through Veterans Health Administration only, 2092 (34%) through Medicare only, and 3362 (54%) through dual care. Compared with patients who were Veterans Health Administration only, 5-year mortality was significantly higher among patients who were Medicare only (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.5 to 3.1) and patients who were dual care (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.5; 95% confidence interval, 1.1 to 2.1)., Conclusions: Most dually enrolled veterans underwent transplantation at a non-Veterans Health Administration transplant center using Medicare, yet many relied on Veterans Health Administration for some or all of their post-transplant care. Veterans who received Veterans Health Administration-only post-transplant care had the lowest 5-year mortality., (Copyright © 2021 by the American Society of Nephrology.)

Because peer review publication is essential for academic advancement across scientific fields, when authorship is wrongly attributed the consequences can be profound, particularly for junior researchers who are still establishing their professional norms and scientific reputations. Professional societies have published guidelines for authorship, yet authorship dilemmas frequently arise and have harmful consequences for scientific careers. Researchers have noted the complexities of authorship and called for new mechanisms to foster more ethical research cultures within institutions. To address this call, we organized a panel discussion at the Institute for Clinical Research Education at the University of Pittsburgh in which senior faculty members from diverse backgrounds and professional disciplines discussed their own authorship challenges (e.g., renegotiating author order, reconciling inter-professional authorship norms, managing coauthor power differentials) and offered strategies to avoid and/or resolve them. Informed by growth mind-set theory, our storytelling format facilitated an open exchange between senior and junior researchers, situated authorship dilemmas in specific contexts and career stages, and taught researchers how to address authorship challenges not adequately informed by guideline recommendations. Though not empirically assessed, we believe this approach represents a simple, low-cost, and replicable way to cultivate ethical and transparent authorship practices among researchers across scientific fields.

Introduction: Previous studies have demonstrated cross-sectional associations between social media use and depression, but their temporal and directional associations have not been reported., Methods: In 2018, participants aged 18-30 years were recruited in proportion to U.S. Census characteristics, including age, sex, race, education, household income, and geographic region. Participants self-reported social media use on the basis of a list of the top 10 social media networks, which represent >95% of social media use. Depression was assessed using the 9-Item Patient Health Questionnaire. A total of 9 relevant sociodemographic covariates were assessed. All measures were assessed at both baseline and 6-month follow-up., Results: Among 990 participants who were not depressed at baseline, 95 (9.6%) developed depression by follow-up. In multivariable analyses conducted in 2020 that controlled for all covariates and included survey weights, there was a significant linear association (p<0.001) between baseline social media use and the development of depression for each level of social media use. Compared with those in the lowest quartile, participants in the highest quartile of baseline social media use had significantly increased odds of developing depression (AOR=2.77, 95% CI=1.38, 5.56). However, there was no association between the presence of baseline depression and increasing social media use at follow-up (OR=1.04, 95% CI=0.78, 1.38). Results were robust to all sensitivity analyses., Conclusions: In a national sample of young adults, baseline social media use was independently associated with the development of depression by follow-up, but baseline depression was not associated with an increase in social media use at follow-up. This pattern suggests temporal associations between social media use and depression, an important criterion for causality., (Copyright © 2020 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Importance: Socioeconomic factors are associated with worse outcomes after hospitalization, but neither the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) nor the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system adjust for socioeconomic factors in profiling hospital mortality., Objective: To evaluate changes in Veterans Affairs medical centers' (VAMCs') risk-standardized mortality rates among veterans hospitalized for heart failure and pneumonia after adjusting for socioeconomic factors., Design, Setting, and Participants: In this cross-sectional study, retrospective data were used to assess 131 VAMCs' risk-standardized 30-day mortality rates with or without adjustment for socioeconomic covariates. The study population included 42 892 veterans hospitalized with heart failure and 39 062 veterans hospitalized with pneumonia from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2014. Data were analyzed from March 1, 2019, to April 1, 2020., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was 30-day mortality after admission. Socioeconomic covariates included neighborhood disadvantage, race/ethnicity, homelessness, rurality, nursing home residence, reason for Medicare eligibility, Medicaid and Medicare dual eligibility, and VA priority., Results: The study population included 42 892 veterans hospitalized with heart failure (98.2% male; mean [SD] age, 71.9 [11.4] years) and 39 062 veterans hospitalized with pneumonia (96.8% male; mean [SD] age, 71.0 [12.4] years). The addition of socioeconomic factors to the CMS models modestly increased the C statistic from 0.77 (95% CI, 0.77-0.78) to 0.78 (95% CI, 0.78-0.78) for 30-day mortality after heart failure and from 0.73 (95% CI, 0.72-0.73) to 0.74 (95% CI, 0.73-0.74) for 30-day mortality after pneumonia. Mortality rates were highly correlated (Spearman correlations of ≥0.98) in models that included or did not include socioeconomic factors. With the use of the CMS model for heart failure, VAMCs in the lowest quintile had a mean (SD) mortality rate of 6.0% (0.4%), those in the middle 3 quintiles had a mean (SD) mortality rate of 7.2% (0.4%), and those in the highest quintile had a mean (SD) mortality rate of 8.8% (0.6%). After the inclusion of socioeconomic covariates, the adjusted mean (SD) mortality was 6.1% (0.4%) for hospitals in the lowest quintile, 7.2% (0.4%) for those in the middle 3 quintiles, and 8.6% (0.5%) for those in the highest quintile. The mean absolute change in rank after socioeconomic adjustment was 3.0 ranking positions (interquartile range, 1.0-4.0) among hospitals in the highest quintile of mortality after heart failure and 4.4 ranking positions (interquartile range, 1.0-6.0) among VAMCs in the lowest quintile. Similar findings were observed for mortality rankings in pneumonia and after inclusion of clinical covariates., Conclusions and Relevance: This study suggests that adjustments for socioeconomic factors did not meaningfully change VAMCs' risk-adjusted 30-day mortality rates for veterans hospitalized for heart failure and pneumonia. The implications of such adjustments should be examined for other quality measures and health systems.

Objective: To identify sociodemographic profiles of patients prescribed high-dose opioids., Design: Cross-sectional cohort study., Setting/patients: Veterans dually-enrolled in Veterans Health Administration and Medicare Part D, with ≥1 opioid pre-scription in 2012., Main Outcome Measures: We identified five patient-level demographic characteristics and 12 community variables re-flective of region, socioeconomic deprivation, safety, and internet connectivity. Our outcome was the proportion of vet-erans receiving >120 morphine milligram equivalents (MME) for ≥90 consecutive days, a Pharmacy Quality Alliance measure of chronic high-dose opioid prescribing. We used classification and regression tree (CART) methods to identify risk of chronic high-dose opioid prescribing for sociodemographic subgroups., Results: Overall, 17,271 (3.3 percent) of 525,716 dually enrolled veterans were prescribed chronic high-dose opioids. CART analyses identified 35 subgroups using four sociodemographic and five community-level measures, with high-dose opioid prescribing ranging from 0.28 percent to 12.1 percent. The subgroup (n = 16,302) with highest frequency of the outcome included veterans who were with disability, age 18-64 years, white or other race, and lived in the Western Census region. The subgroup (n = 14,835) with the lowest frequency of the outcome included veterans who were with-out disability, did not receive Medicare Part D Low Income Subsidy, were >85 years old, and lived in communities within the second and sixth to tenth deciles of community public assistance., Conclusions: Using CART analyses with sociodemographic and community-level variables only, we identified sub-groups of veterans with a 43-fold difference in chronic high-dose opioid prescriptions. Interactions among disability, age, race/ethnicity, and region should be considered when identifying high-risk subgroups in large populations.

Importance: Low-value care is associated with harm among patients and with wasteful health care spending but has not been well characterized in the Veterans Health Administration., Objectives: To characterize the frequency of and variation in low-value diagnostic testing for 4 common conditions at Veterans Affairs medical centers (VAMCs) and to examine the correlation between receipt of low-value testing for each condition., Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective cohort study used Veterans Health Administration data from 127 VAMCs from fiscal years 2014 to 2015. Data were analyzed from April 2018 to March 2020., Exposures: Continuous enrollment in Veterans Health Administration during fiscal year 2015., Main Outcomes and Measures: Receipt of low-value testing for low back pain, headache, syncope, and sinusitis. For each condition, sensitive and specific criteria were used to evaluate the overall frequency and range of low-value testing, adjusting for sociodemographic and VAMC characteristics. VAMC-level variation was calculated using median adjusted odds ratios. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to evaluate the degree of correlation between low-value testing for each condition at the VAMC level., Results: Among 1 022 987 veterans, the mean (SD) age was 60 (16) years, 1 008 336 (92.4%) were male, and 761 485 (69.8%) were non-Hispanic White. A total of 343 024 veterans (31.4%) were diagnosed with low back pain, 79 176 (7.3%) with headache, 23 776 (2.2%) with syncope, and 52 889 (4.8%) with sinusitis. With the sensitive criteria, overall and VAMC-level low-value testing frequency varied substantially across conditions: 4.6% (range, 2.7%-10.1%) for sinusitis, 12.8% (range, 8.6%-22.6%) for headache, 18.2% (range, 10.9%-24.6%) for low back pain, and 20.1% (range, 16.3%-27.7%) for syncope. With the specific criteria, the overall frequency of low-value testing across VAMCs was 2.4% (range, 1.3%-5.1%) for sinusitis, 8.6% (range, 6.2%-14.6%) for headache, 5.6% (range, 3.6%-7.7%) for low back pain, and 13.3% (range, 11.3%-16.8%) for syncope. The median adjusted odds ratio ranged from 1.21 for low back pain to 1.40 for sinusitis. At the VAMC level, low-value testing was most strongly correlated for syncope and headache (ρ = 0.56; P < .001) and low back pain and headache (ρ = 0.48; P < .001)., Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study, low-value diagnostic testing was common, varied substantially across VAMCs, and was correlated between veterans' receipt of different low-value tests at the VAMC level. The findings suggest a need to address low-value diagnostic testing, even in integrated health systems, with robust utilization management practices.

Background and Aims: Despite the significant medical and economic consequences of coexisting alcohol use disorder (AUD) in patients with cirrhosis, little is known about AUD treatment patterns and their impact on clinical outcomes in this population. We aimed to characterize the use of and outcomes associated with AUD treatment in patients with cirrhosis., Approach and Results: This retrospective cohort study included Veterans with cirrhosis who received Veterans Health Administration care and had an index diagnosis of AUD between 2011 and 2015. We assessed the baseline factors associated with AUD treatment (pharmacotherapy or behavioral therapy) and clinical outcomes for 180 days following the first AUD diagnosis code within the study time frame. Among 93,612 Veterans with cirrhosis, we identified 35,682 with AUD, after excluding 2,671 who had prior diagnoses of AUD and recent treatment. Over 180 days following the index diagnosis of AUD, 5,088 (14%) received AUD treatment, including 4,461 (12%) who received behavioral therapy alone, 159 (0.4%) who received pharmacotherapy alone, and 468 (1%) who received both behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy. In adjusted analyses, behavioral and/or pharmacotherapy-based AUD treatment was associated with a significant reduction in incident hepatic decompensation (6.5% vs. 11.6%, adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.52, 0.76), a nonsignificant decrease in short-term all-cause mortality (2.6% vs. 3.9%, AOR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.57, 1.08), and a significant decrease in long-term all-cause mortality (51% vs. 58%, AOR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.80, 0.96)., Conclusions: Most Veterans with cirrhosis and coexisting AUD did not receive behavioral therapy or pharmacotherapy treatment for AUD over a 6-month follow-up. The reductions in hepatic decompensation and mortality suggest that future studies should focus on delivering evidence-based AUD treatments to patients with coexisting AUD and cirrhosis., (© 2019 by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.)

Background: After non-fatal opioid overdoses, opioid prescribing patterns are often unchanged and the use of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUDs) remains low. Whether such prescribing differs by race/ethnicity remains unknown., Objective: To assess the association of race/ethnicity with the prescribing of opioids and MOUDs after a non-fatal opioid overdose., Design: Retrospective cohort study., Participants: Patients prescribed ≥ 1 opioid from July 1, 2010, to September 30, 2015, with a non-fatal opioid overdose in the Veterans Health Administration (VA)., Main Measures: Primary outcomes were the proportion of patients prescribed: (1) any opioid during the 30 days before and after overdose and (2) MOUDs within 30 days after overdose by race and ethnicity. We conducted difference-in-difference analyses using multivariable regression to assess whether the change in opioid prescribing from before to after overdose differed by race/ethnicity. We also used multivariable regression to test whether MOUD prescribing after overdose differed by race/ethnicity., Key Results: Among 16,210 patients with a non-fatal opioid overdose (81.2% were white, 14.3% black, and 4.5% Hispanic), 10,745 (66.3%) patients received an opioid prescription (67.1% white, 61.7% black, and 65.9% Hispanic; p < 0.01) before overdose. After overdose, the frequency of receiving opioids was reduced by 18.3, 16.4, and 20.6 percentage points in whites, blacks, and Hispanics, respectively, with no significant difference-in-difference in opioid prescribing by race/ethnicity (p = 0.23). After overdose, 526 (3.2%) patients received MOUDs (2.9% white, 4.6% black, and 5.5% Hispanic; p < 0.01). Blacks (adjusted OR (aOR) 1.6; 95% CI 1.2, 1.9) and Hispanics (aOR 1.8; 95% CI 1.2, 2.6) had significantly larger odds of receiving MOUDs than white patients., Conclusions: In a national cohort of patients with non-fatal opioid overdose in VA, there were no racial/ethnic differences in changes in opioid prescribing after overdose. Although blacks and Hispanics were more likely than white patients to receive MOUDs in the 30 days after overdose, less than 4% of all groups received such therapy.

Introduction: Racial/ethnic disparities exist in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), despite financial barriers to care being largely mitigated and Veterans Administration's (VA) organizational commitment to health equity. Accurately identifying minority veterans is critical to monitoring progress toward equity as the VHA treats an increasingly racially and ethnically diverse veteran population. Although the VHA's completeness of race and ethnicity data is generally better than its public sector and private counterparts, the accuracy of the race and ethnicity in the various databases available to VHA is variable, as is the accuracy in identifying specific minority groups. The purpose of this article was to develop an algorithm for constructing race and ethnicity variables from data sources available to VHA researchers, to present demographic differences cross the data sources, and to apply the algorithm to one study year., Materials and Methods: We used existing VHA survey data from the Survey of Healthcare Experiences of Patients (SHEP) and three commonly used administrative databases from 2003 to 2015: the VA Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW), VA Defense Identity Repository (VADIR), and Medicare. Using measures of agreement such as sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and Cohen kappa, we compared self-reported race and ethnicity from the SHEP and each of the other data sources. Based on these results, we propose an algorithm for combining data on race and ethnicity from these datasets. We included VHA patients who completed a SHEP and had race/ethnicity recorded in CDW, VADIR, and/or Medicare., Results: Agreement between SHEP and other sources was high for Whites and Blacks and substantially lower for other minority groups. The CDW demonstrated better agreement than VADIR or Medicare., Conclusions: We developed an algorithm of data source precedence in the VHA that improves the accuracy of the identification of historically under-identified minorities: (1) SHEP, (2) CDW, (3) Department of Defense's VADIR, and (4) Medicare., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2019. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.)

Importance: Prior studies have reported declines in mortality for patients admitted to Veterans Health Administration (VA) and non-VA hospitals using claims-based risk adjustment. These apparent mortality reductions may be influenced by changes in coding practices., Objective: To compare trends in the VA for 30-day mortality following hospitalization for heart failure (HF) and pneumonia using claims-based and clinical risk-adjustment models., Design, Setting, and Participants: This observational time-trend study analyzed admissions to a VA Medical Center with a principal diagnosis of HF, pneumonia, or sepsis/respiratory failure (RF) with a secondary diagnosis of pneumonia. Exclusion criteria included having less than 12 months of VA enrollment, being discharged alive within 24 hours, leaving against medical advice, and hospice utilization., Exposures: Admission to a VA hospital from January 2009 through September 2015., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was 30-day, all-cause mortality. All models included age and sex. Claims-based covariates included 22 (30) comorbidities for HF (pneumonia). Clinical covariates included vital signs, laboratory values, and ejection fraction., Results: Among the 146 924 HF admissions, the mean (SD) age was 71.6 (11.4) years and 144 502 (98.4%) were men; among the 131 325 admissions for pneumonia, the mean (SD) age was 70.8 (12.3) years and 127 491 (97.1%) were men. Unadjusted 30-day mortality rates were 6.45% (HF) and 11.22% (pneumonia). Claims-based models showed an increased predicted risk of 30-day mortality over time (0.019 percentage points per quarter for HF [95% CI, 0.015 to 0.023]; 0.053 percentage points per quarter for pneumonia [95% CI, 0.043 to 0.063]). Clinical models showed declines or no change in predicted risk (-0.014 percentage points per quarter for HF [95% CI, -0.020 to -0.008]; -0.004 percentage points per quarter for pneumonia [95% CI, -0.017 to 0.008]). Claims-based risk adjustment yielded declines in 30-day mortality of 0.051 percentage points per quarter for HF (95% CI, -0.074 to -0.027) and 0.084 percentage points per quarter for pneumonia (95% CI, -0.111 to -0.056). Models adjusting for clinical covariates attenuated or eliminated these changes for HF (-0.017 percentage points per quarter; 95% CI, -0.039 to 0.006) and for pneumonia (-0.026 percentage points per quarter; 95% CI, -0.052 to 0.001). Compared with the claims-based models, the clinical models for HF and pneumonia more accurately differentiated between patients who died after 30 days and those who did not., Conclusions and Relevance: Among HF and pneumonia hospitalizations, adjusting for clinical covariates attenuated declines in mortality rates identified using claims-based models. Assessments of temporal trends in 30-day mortality using claims-based risk adjustment should be interpreted with caution.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common heart rhythm disorder and is associated with a 5-fold increased risk of ischemic stroke. Racial/ethnic minorities and women with AF have higher rates of stroke compared to white individuals and men respectively. Oral anticoagulation reduces the risk of stroke, yet prior research has described racial/ethnic and sex-based variation in its use. We sought to examine the initiation of any oral anticoagulant (warfarin or direct-acting oral anticoagulants, DOACs) by race/ethnicity and sex in patients with incident, non-valvular AF. Further in those who initiated any anticoagulant, we examined DOAC vs. warfarin initiation by race/ethnicity and sex., Methods: We used claims data from a 5% sample of Medicare beneficiaries to identify patients with incident AF from 2012 to 2014, excluding those without continuous Medicare enrollment. We used logistic regression to assess the association between race/ethnicity (white, black, Hispanic), sex, and oral anticoagulant initiation (any, warfarin vs. DOAC), adjusting for sociodemographics, medical comorbidities, stroke and bleeding risk., Results: The cohort of 42,952 patients with AF included 17,935 women, 3282 blacks, and 1958 Hispanics. Overall OAC initiation was low (49.2% whites, 48.1% blacks, 47.5% Hispanics, 48.1% men, and 51.5% women). After adjusting, blacks (odds ratio (OR) 0.84; 95% CI, 0.78-0.91) were less likely than whites to initiate any oral anticoagulant with no difference observed between Hispanics and whites (OR 0.92; 95% CI, 0.83-1.01). Women were less likely than men to initiate any oral anticoagulant, OR 0.59 (95% CI 0.55-0.64). Among initiators of oral anticoagulation, DOAC use was low (35.8% whites, 29.3% blacks, 40.0% Hispanics, 41.6% men, and 42.4% women). After adjusting, blacks were less likely to initiate DOACs than whites, OR 0.75 (95% CI 0.66-0.85); the odds of DOAC initiation did not differ between Hispanic and white patients or between men and women., Conclusion: In a national cohort of Medicare beneficiaries with newly-diagnosed AF, overall oral anticoagulant initiation was lower in blacks and women, with no difference observed by Hispanic ethnicity. Among oral anticoagulant initiators, blacks were less likely to initiate novel DOACs, with no differences identified by Hispanic ethnicity or sex. Identifying modifiable causes of treatment disparities is needed to improve quality of care for all patients with AF., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: There is systemic undercoding of medical comorbidities within administrative claims in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This leads to bias when applying claims-based risk adjustment indices to compare outcomes between VA and non-VA settings. Our objective was to compare the accuracy of a medication-based risk adjustment index (RxRisk-VM) to diagnostic claims-based indices for predicting mortality., Methods: We modified the RxRisk-V index (RxRisk-VM) by incorporating VA and Medicare pharmacy and durable medical equipment claims in Veterans dually-enrolled in VA and Medicare in 2012. Using the concordance (C) statistic, we compared its accuracy in predicting 1 and 3-year all-cause mortality to the following models: demographics only, demographics plus prescription count, or demographics plus a diagnostic claims-based risk index (e.g., Charlson, Elixhauser, or Gagne). We also compared models containing demographics, RxRisk-VM, and a claims-based index., Results: In our cohort of 271,184 dually-enrolled Veterans (mean age = 70.5 years, 96.1% male, 81.7% non-Hispanic white), RxRisk-VM (C = 0.773) exhibited greater accuracy in predicting 1-year mortality than demographics only (C = 0.716) or prescription counts (C = 0.744), but was less accurate than the Charlson (C = 0.794), Elixhauser (C = 0.80), or Gagne (C = 0.810) indices (all P < 0.001). Combining RxRisk-VM with claims-based indices enhanced its accuracy over each index alone (all models C ≥ 0.81). Relative model performance was similar for 3-year mortality., Conclusions: The RxRisk-VM index exhibited a high level of, but slightly less, accuracy in predicting mortality in comparison to claims-based risk indices., Implications: Its application may enhance the accuracy of studies examining VA and non-VA care and enable risk adjustment when diagnostic claims are not available or biased., Level of Evidence: Level 3., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Problem: Although scholarship during residency training is an important requirement from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, efforts to support resident scholarship have demonstrated inconsistent effects and have not comprehensively evaluated resident experiences. Intervention: We developed the Leadership and Discovery Program (LEAD) to facilitate scholarship among all non-research-track categorical internal medicine (IM) residents. This multifaceted program set expectations for all residents to participate in a scholarly project, supported faculty to manage the program, facilitated access to faculty mentors, established a local resident research day to highlight scholarship, and developed a didactic lecture series. Context: We implemented LEAD at a large university training program. We assessed resident scholarship before and after LEAD implementation using objective metrics of academic productivity (i.e., scientific presentations, peer-reviewed publications, and both presentations and publications). We compared these metrics in LEAD participants and a similar historical group of pre-LEAD controls. We also assessed these outcomes over the same two periods in research track residents who participated in research training independent from and predating LEAD (research track controls and pre-LEAD research track controls). We conducted focus groups to qualitatively assess resident experiences with LEAD. Outcome: Compared to 63 pre-LEAD controls, greater proportions of 52 LEAD participants completed scientific presentations (48.1% vs. 28.6%, p  = .03) and scientific presentations and peer-reviewed publications (23.1% vs. 9.5%, p  = .05). No significant differences existed for any academic productivity metrics among research track controls and pre-LEAD research track controls ( p  > .23, all comparisons). Perceived facilitators of participation in LEAD included residents' desire for research experiences and opportunities to publish prior to fellowship training; the main barrier to participation was feeling overwhelmed due to the time constraints imposed by clinical training. Suggestions for improvement included establishing clearer programmatic expectations and providing lists of potential mentors and projects. Lessons Learned: Implementation of a multifaceted program to support scholarship during residency was associated with significant increases in academic productivity among IM residents. Residents perceived that programs to support scholarship during residency training should outline clear expectations and identify available mentors and projects for residents who are challenged by the time constraints of clinical training.

Background: This document provides evidence-based clinical practice guidelines on the management of adult patients with community-acquired pneumonia. Methods: A multidisciplinary panel conducted pragmatic systematic reviews of the relevant research and applied Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation methodology for clinical recommendations. Results: The panel addressed 16 specific areas for recommendations spanning questions of diagnostic testing, determination of site of care, selection of initial empiric antibiotic therapy, and subsequent management decisions. Although some recommendations remain unchanged from the 2007 guideline, the availability of results from new therapeutic trials and epidemiological investigations led to revised recommendations for empiric treatment strategies and additional management decisions. Conclusions: The panel formulated and provided the rationale for recommendations on selected diagnostic and treatment strategies for adult patients with community-acquired pneumonia.

Background: The 2014 Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act (i.e., "Choice") allows eligible Veterans to receive covered health care outside the Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System. The initial implementation of Choice was challenging, and use was limited in the first year., Objective: To assess satisfaction with Choice, and identify reasons for satisfaction and dissatisfaction during its early implementation., Design and Participants: Semi-structured telephone interviews from July to September 2015 with Choice-eligible Veterans from 25 VA facilities across the USA., Main Measures: Satisfaction was assessed with 5-point Likert scales and open-ended questions. We compared ratings of satisfaction with Choice and VA health care, and identified reasons for satisfaction/dissatisfaction with Choice in a thematic analysis of open-ended qualitative data., Results: Of 195 participants, 35 had not attempted to use Choice; 43 attempted but had not received Choice care (i.e., attempted only); and 117 attempted and received Choice care. Among those who attempted only, a smaller percentage were somewhat/very satisfied with Choice than with VA health care (17.9% and 71.8%, p < 0.001); among participants who received Choice, similar percentages were somewhat/very satisfied with Choice and VA health care (66.6% and 71.1%, p = 0.45). When asked what contributed to Choice ratings, participants who attempted but did not receive Choice care reported poor access (50%), scheduling problems (20%), and care coordination issues (10%); participants who received Choice care reported improved access (27%), good quality of care (19%), and good distance to Choice provider (16%). Regardless of receipt of Choice care, most participants expressed interest in using Choice in the future (70-82%)., Conclusions: Access and scheduling barriers contributed to dissatisfaction for Veterans unsuccessfully attempting to use Choice during its initial implementation, whereas improved access and good care contributed to satisfaction for those receiving Choice care. With Veterans' continued interest in using services outside VA facilities, subsequent policy changes should address Veterans' barriers to care.

Background/objectives: Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening can be of low value in older adults. Our objective was to quantify the prevalence and variation of low-value PSA screening across the Veterans Health Administration (VA), which has instituted programs to reduce low-value care., Design: Retrospective cohort., Setting: VA administrative data, 2014 to 2015., Participants: National random sample (N = 214 480) of male veterans, aged 75 years or older., Measurements: We defined PSA screening in men aged 75 years or older without a history of prostate cancer as low value, per established definitions in Medicare. We calculated screening rates overall and by VA Medical Center (VAMC), adjusting for patient and VAMC-level factors. We characterized variation across VAMCs using the adjusted median odds ratio (OR) and compared the adjusted OR of screening between VAMCs in different deciles of low-value screening rates. In separate sensitivity analyses, we assessed screening in veterans at greatest risk of 1-year mortality and among veterans after excluding those who underwent prostatectomy, had a prior PSA elevation, or had a clinical indication for testing., Results: Overall, 37 867 (17.7%) of veterans underwent low-value PSA screening (VAMC range = 3.3%-38.2%). The adjusted median OR was 1.88, meaning the median odds of screening would increase by 88% were a veteran to transfer his care to a VAMC with higher screening rates. Veterans at VAMCs in the top decile had an adjusted OR of 12.9 (95% confidence interval = 11.0-15.2) compared to those veterans in the lowest decile. Among veterans with the greatest mortality risk (n = 23 377), 3496 (15.0%) underwent screening (VAMC range = 1.7%-46.3%). After excluding veterans with a prior prostatectomy, PSA elevation, or a potential clinical indication, 31 556 (14.7%) underwent screening (VAMC range = 2.0%-49.9%)., Conclusions: In a national cohort of older veterans, more than one in six received low-value PSA screening, with greater than 10-fold variation across VAMCs and high rates of screening among those with the greatest mortality risk. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:1922-1927, 2019., (Published 2019. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.)

Background: Few studies have assessed prescription opioid supply preceding death in individuals dying from unintentional prescription opioid overdoses, or described the characteristics of these individuals, particularly among Veterans., Objectives: To describe the history of prescription opioid supply preceding prescription opioid overdose death among Veterans., Methods: In a national cohort of Veterans who filled ≥1 opioid prescriptions from the Veterans Health Administration (VA) or Medicare Part D during 2008-2013, we identified deaths from unintentional or undetermined-intent prescription opioid overdoses in 2012-2013. We captured opioid prescriptions using both linked VA and Part D data, and VA data only., Results: Among 1181 decedents, 643 (54.4%) had prescription opioid supply on the day of death, and 735 (62.2%) within 30 days based on linked data, compared to 40.1% and 46.7%, respectively, using VA data alone. Decedents with prescription opioid supply were significantly older and less likely to have alcohol or illicit drugs as co-occurring substances involved in the overdose. Using linked data, 241 (20.4%) decedents lacked prescription opioid supply within a year of death., Conclusions: Many VA patients who die from prescription opioid overdose receive opioid prescriptions outside VA or not at all. It is important to supplement VA with non-VA data to more accurately measure prescription opioid exposure and improve opioid medication safety., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)