The pharmacist will see you now: Pharmacist prescribed contraceptives and fertility rates.

Policies that increase contraceptive access for young women and their partners are a potentially low-cost way of reducing unintended pregnancies and improving later life outcomes. Several states have recently implemented laws that allow pharmacists to prescribe contraceptives to women without the need to see a physician. We study the effect of these state laws on fertility rates.

Rural-urban divide in risk perception of LSD: Implications for psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Background: Recent legislative initiatives in the United States have focused on the medical and legal status of psychedelics, prompting interest in understanding public perceptions of their risks. This study investigates rural-urban differences in the perception of LSD and cannabis risks using national survey data.

Methods: Data from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) between 2015 and 2021 were analyzed.

Challenges and lessons learned in recruiting participants for school-based disease prevention programs during COVID-19.

Schools provide an ideal setting for delivery of disease prevention programs due to the ability to deliver health education and counseling, including health behavior interventions, to large numbers of students. However, the remote and hybrid learning models that arose during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic created obstacles to these efforts. In this article, we provide insights on collaborating with schools to deliver disease prevention programming during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in subsequent years.

Reducing UVR Exposure in Pregnant Women and Infants: A Pilot Study.

Sun protection during pregnancy is critical for both maternal and infant skin cancer prevention, yet gaps remain in addressing this behavior in pre and postnatal settings. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a peer-led intervention for expectant mothers' sun protection behaviors for themselves and their newborns and examine the preliminary effects on mothers' skin cancer knowledge, attitudes, and sun protection behaviors for themselves and their infants. Expectant mothers were recruited from medical clinics and community settings and were asked to complete surveys and interviews.

Electrical Impedance Dermography: Background, Current State, and Emerging Clinical Opportunities.

Electrical impedance dermography (EID), based on electrical impedance spectroscopy, is a specific technique for the evaluation of skin disorders that relies upon the application and measurement of painless, alternating electrical current. EID assesses pathological changes to the normal composition and architecture of the skin that influence the flow of electrical current, including changes associated with inflammation, keratinocyte and melanocyte carcinogenesis, and scarring. Assessing the electrical properties of the skin across a range of frequencies and in multiple directions of current flow can provide diagnostic information to aid in the identification of pathologic skin conditions.

The benefit of sentinel lymph node biopsy in elderly patients with melanoma: A retrospective analysis of SEER Medicare data (2010-2018).

Background: Sentinel lymph node status is critical for melanoma staging and treatment. However, the factors influencing SLNB and its oncologic benefits in elderly patients are unclear.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients aged ≥65 with clinically node-negative melanoma and Breslow depth ≥1 ​mm, using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Medicare database (2010-2018).

Young People's Support for and Personal Interest in an Advance Provision Model for Medication Abortion.

Purpose: To assess young people's interest in advance provision (AP) of medication abortion-receiving mifepristone and misoprostol from a clinician in advance for their future use.

Methods: From November 2022-August 2023 we administered an electronic survey regarding advance provision to patients assigned female at birth at four Bay Area youth-serving clinics.

Results: Among 152 people ages 14-24 years (mean 17.

Self-Managed Abortion Attempts Before vs After Changes in Federal Abortion Protections in the US.

Importance: With decreasing access to facility-based abortion in the US, an increase in self-managed abortion (SMA) using various methods is anticipated. To date, no studies have examined changes in SMA in the shifting policy landscape.

Objective: To estimate changes in SMA prevalence among the general US population from before to after the Supreme Court's June 2022 decision overturning federal abortion protections.

Brief of over 300 reproductive health researchers as Amici Curiae in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine.

On January 30, 2024, over 300 researchers filed an amicus brief in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, a United States (US) Supreme Court case that could have severely impacted access to mifepristone, one of the two drugs commonly used in medication abortion. The researchers summarize the legal challenges to the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) original approval of mifepristone in 2000 and its 2016 and 2021 decisions modifying mifepristone's Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) Program and label, the responses from the FDA and drug manufacturer to the challenges, and the potential implications of the Court's decision on access to mifepristone in the US.

Amicus brief of over 300 reproductive health researchers supports mifepristone's safety and effectiveness.

On January 30, 2024, over 300 researchers filed an amicus brief in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, a United States (US) Supreme Court case concerning the regulatory status of mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortion. In this Comment we summarize the legal challenge, responses from the FDA and drug manufacturer to these challenges, oral arguments presented before the Court, and the implications of the Court's decision on access to mifepristone in the US.

MicroRNA Signatures Associated with Basal Cell Carcinoma Subtypes.

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is classified histologically into subtypes that determine treatment decisions. MicroRNAs (miRs) are short noncoding RNAs that may serve as diagnostic biomarkers. We investigated if particular miRs could distinguish BCC subtypes.

Primary care and abortion provider perspectives on mail-order medication abortion: a qualitative study.

Background: This qualitative study aims to assess perspectives of clinicians and clinic staff on mail-order pharmacy dispensing for medication abortion.

Methods: Participants included clinicians and staff involved in implementing a mail-order dispensing model for medication abortion at eleven clinics in seven states as part of a prospective cohort study, which began in January 2020 (before the FDA removed the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone). From June 2021 to July 2022, we invited participants at the participating clinics, including six primary care and five abortion clinics, to complete a semi-structured video interview about their experiences.

Comparison of No-Test Telehealth and In-Person Medication Abortion.

Importance: In the US, access to medication abortion using history-based (no-test) eligibility assessment, including through telehealth and mailing of mifepristone, has grown rapidly. Additional evidence on the effectiveness and safety of these models is needed.

Objective: To evaluate whether medication abortion with no-test eligibility assessment and mailing of medications is as effective as in-person care with ultrasonography and safe overall.

Examining service delivery patterns before and after implementation of a direct-to-patient telehealth service providing medication abortion in Australia.

In August 2016, MSI Australia (MSIA) brought to scale a direct-to-patient telehealth medication abortion service. We used MSIA's patient management systems from January 2015 to December 2018 to assess changes in the proportion of abortion patients obtaining care after 13 weeks' gestation, proportion of abortion patients obtaining medication abortion versus procedural abortion and proportion of abortion patients from regional and remote versus metropolitan areas. The proportions of abortion patients obtaining care before 13 weeks' gestational duration and those from regional and remote residents did not change between the pre- and post-periods.

Mail-Order Pharmacy Dispensing of Mifepristone for Medication Abortion After In-Person Screening.

Importance: Before 2021, the US Food and Drug Administration required mifepristone to be dispensed in person, limiting access to medication abortion.

Objective: To estimate the effectiveness, acceptability, and feasibility of dispensing mifepristone for medication abortion using a mail-order pharmacy.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This prospective cohort study was conducted from January 2020 to May 2022 and included 11 clinics in 7 states (5 abortion clinics and 6 primary care sites, 4 of which were new to abortion provision).

Video-assisted thoracic surgery and robotic-assisted first-rib excision and thoracic outlet syndrome decompression.

Multiple surgical approaches have been used in the management of thoracic outlet syndrome. These approaches have traditionally been "open" approaches and have been associated with the inherent morbidities of an open approach, including a risk of injury to the neurovascular structures due to traction and trauma while resecting the first rib. In addition, there has been concern that recurrence of symptoms may be related to incomplete resection of the rib with conventional open techniques.

Money and place: Quantifying the types of obstacles associated with seeking an abortion after 10 weeks' gestation, 2019-2020.

Objectives: Identify factors associated with presenting for abortion after 10 weeks' gestation in a large, geographically diverse sample.

Study Design: From October 2019 to March 2020, we surveyed 1089 patients seeking abortion at seven U.S.

Interest in and Support for Alternative Models of Medication Abortion Provision Among Patients Seeking Abortion in the United States.

Introduction: Medication abortion is safe and effective, but restrictions still limit patients from accessing this method. Alternative models of medication abortion provision, namely advance provision, over-the-counter (OTC), and online, could help improve access to care for some, although there is limited evidence about abortion patients' interest in these models.

Methods: Between 2017 and 2019, we administered a cross-sectional survey to abortion patients at 45 clinics across 15 U.