September’s top stories in family medicine

Healio.com/Family Medicine presents the month’s top news stories, including maintenance-of-certification costs, state level gun laws and obesity trends across the country.

Task force recommends diet, exercise programs in primary care to reduce diabetes

The Community Preventive Services Task Force has recommended that intervention programs that combine the promotion of both diet and physical activity be utilized in health care settings for patients at increased risk for type 2 diabetes. Results from the systematic review demonstrated that combination programs were effective in reducing the number of newly diagnosed cases of diabetes, as well as increasing the likelihood of reversion to normoglycemia and decreases weight, blood glucose levels, BP and lipid levels, among adolescents and adults. Read more.

Physician time likely to drive costs for ABIMs 2015 MOC program

Researchers estimate that the 2015 MOC program from the American Board of Internal Medicine will generate considerable costs, primarily attributed to demands on physician time. Analyses indicated internists will incur an average of $23,607 (95% CI, $5,380-$66,383) in MOC costs over 10 years, ranging from $16,725 for general internists to $40,495 for hematologists-oncologists. Read more.

More restrictive gun laws may reduce prevalence of youth gun carrying

High school students living in states with more restrictive gun laws are less likely to carry a gun. Results from the study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, demonstrated that significant disparities in gun carrying, among both adults and youths, existed across the country. Among high school student in grades nine through 12, the average prevalence of gun carrying was 6.7%; New Jersey had the lowest prevalence at 1.4% and Wyoming had the highest at 11%. Read more.

Adult obesity rates highest in Southern, Midwest states

Out of 25 states with the highest rates of obesity, 23 are in the South or Midwest regions of the United States; however, overall rates of obesity have remained steady across most of the country, according to a recent report from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The rate of severe obesity among adults increased more than 125% over the past two decades — with the current rate at more than 6% — according to the report. Additionally, about 5% of children aged between 6 and 11 years are severely obese. Read more.

Researchers determine appropriate use of IV catheters

Researchers at the University of Michigan reviewed scientific literature and gathered a group of experts to create The Michigan Appropriateness Guide for Intravenous Catheters, which determines appropriate use of IV catheters in adults. “PICCs are associated with important complications, including thrombosis and infection. Moreover, some PICCs may not be placed for clinically valid reasons. Defining appropriate indications for insertion, maintenance, and care of PICCS is thus important for patient safety,” Vineet Chopra, MD, assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan, and colleagues wrote. Read more.