Pneumococcal vaccination for adults: History and updates.

Although pneumococcal vaccination programs have significantly reduced the incidence of pneumococcal infections in the US, pneumococcal pneumonia continues to be a burdensome cause of morbidity and mortality. Pneumococcal vaccination recommendation updates were recently published and introduce two new pneumococcal conjugate vaccines for use in adults ages 19 and older.

Treatment update: Outpatient management of community-acquired pneumonia.

Pneumonia is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the US and a primary cause of hospitalization nationwide. A recent guideline update from the American Thoracic Society and Infectious Diseases Society of America provides evidence-based recommendations for managing adults with community-acquired pneumonia in the outpatient setting.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Asthma in Nonpregnant Women.

Asthma is a common condition affecting 8.3% of the adult population in the United States. The disease is characterized by chronic airway inflammation that leads to airway hyperresponsiveness and obstruction that results in coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and a feeling of chest tightness.

Adverse childhood experiences and implementing trauma-informed primary care.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) include exposures such as abuse and household dysfunction. These exposures are associated with long-term sequelae and unfavorable health outcomes in adulthood. NPs working in primary care can help to reduce the impact of ACEs in adulthood by identifying individuals with these experiences and implementing trauma-informed care strategies.

Case Management and the Documentation of Avoidable Days.

Purpose Of Study: Avoidable Days/Delays (ADs) account for a large portion of dollars lost for many health care organizations, and with ongoing changes in health care reimbursement, available funds will become increasingly limited. Avoidable Days cannot be reduced or eliminated without accurate causal documentation. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a system upgrade with a change in documentation layout for AD tracking increased case manager compliance with AD documentation.

Patient-centered group diabetes care: a practice innovation.

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the efficacy of group diabetes care for an underserved population using a patient-centered approach with the inclusion of interactive diabetes self-management education. In place of the traditional office visit, patients attended three group visits. Improvements in diabetes knowledge and patient-perceived self-efficacy resulted.