Medical school ranking and provider outpatient Medicare Part D claims for antibiotics among older patients in the USA.

Background: Our study aimed to assess whether there was a relationship between graduating from higher-ranked medical schools and the rate of prescribing antibiotics among Medicare Part D providers in the USA.

Methods: The study obtained data from the Medicare Part D Prescribers (FY2013-2021) and the Doctor and Clinicians National repositories. A regression model was fitted to assess the relationship between provider medical school ranking and the rate of antibiotic days supplied per 100 beneficiaries at the provider level.

The impact of Mpox virus incidence and Mpox virus first-dose vaccination on recent HIV testing.

Understanding the impact of Mpox incidence and Mpox first dose vaccination on recent HIV testing is critical to better address both epidemics. We conducted a regression analysis of Mpox incidence and Mpox first dose vaccinations with recent HIV testing during the 2022 Mpox epidemic. We found that increased Mpox first dose vaccination was associated with a decrease in recent HIV testing in men but not women.

The impact of COVID-19 on alcohol sales and consumption in the United States: A retrospective, observational analysis.

Understanding the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on alcohol sales and consumption is critical in mitigating alcohol abuse and morbidity. We sought to determine how the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in viral incidence affected alcohol sales and consumption in the United States. We conducted a retrospective observational analysis regressing National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) alcohol sales data and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey data for 14 states for 2017 to 2020 with COVID-19 incidence in 2020 in the United States.

Texas Senate Bill 8 significantly reduced travel to abortion clinics in Texas.

The decision by the United States Supreme Court has rescinded the constitutional guarantee of abortion across the United States. As a result, at least 13 states have banned abortion access with unknown effects. Using "Texas" SB8 law that similarly restricted abortions in Texas, we provide insight into how individuals respond to these restrictions using aggregated and anonymized human mobility data.

The 1982 Medicaid Funding Cessation for Circumcision in California and Circumcision Rates.

We investigated California's 1982 decision to stop funding Medicaid neonatal circumcision. We examined male neonatal circumcision rates for those born 1977-1981 and 1983-1987 by region, race, and insurance status. Overall, West-Medicaid circumcision rates decreased from 56.

Blood Lead Testing in Flint Before and After Water Contamination.

Objective: Lead is a neurotoxicant that negatively affects health. Reducing lead exposure and early detection among children are important public health goals. Our objective with this study was to determine if the September 2015 lead advisory in Flint, Michigan affected lead testing among children when possible exposure was widely publicized.

The Impact of Driving Time to Family Planning Facilities on Preventive Service Use in Ohio.

Introduction: Publicly funded family planning clinics provide preventive health services to low-income populations in the U.S. In recent years, several states, including Ohio, have restricted public funds for organizations that provide or refer patients to abortion care, often resulting in clinic closures.

Sunlight and Protection Against Influenza.

Recent medical literature suggests that vitamin D supplementation protects against acute respiratory tract infection. Humans exposed to sunlight produce vitamin D directly. This paper investigates how differences in sunlight, as measured over several years across states and during the same calendar week, affect influenza incidence.

The Impact of the Flint Water Crisis on Fertility.

Flint switched its public water source in April 2014, increasing exposure to lead and other contaminants. We compare the change in the fertility rate and in health at birth in Flint before and after the water switch to the changes in other cities in Michigan. We find that Flint fertility rates decreased by 12 % and that overall health at birth decreased.

Did UberX reduce ambulance volume?

Ambulances are a vital part of emergency medical services. However, they come in single, high intervention form, which is at times unnecessary, resulting in excessive costs for patients and insurers. In this paper, we ask whether UberX's entry into a city caused substitution away from traditional ambulances for low-risk patients, reducing overall volume.

Reproductive health care in Catholic-owned hospitals.

Mergers that affiliate a hospital with a Catholic owner, network, or system reduce the set of possible reproductive medical procedures since Catholic hospitals have strict prohibitions on contraception. Using changes in ownership of hospitals, we find that Catholic hospitals reduce the per bed rates of tubal ligations by 31%, whereas there is no significant change in related permitted procedures such as Caesarian sections. However, across a variety of measures, we find minimal overall welfare reductions.