Closing the Information Gap: Making COVID-19 Information Accessible for People with Disabilities.

It is essential that people with disabilities have equitable access to COVID-19 communication resources to protect themselves, their families, and their communities. The Accessible Materials and Culturally Relevant Messages for Individuals with Disabilities project aimed to deliver essential COVID-19 information in braille, American Sign Language (ASL), simplified text, and other alternative formats, along with providing additional tools and trainings that people with disabilities and organizations that serve them can use to apply the COVID-19 guidance. Lessons learned from this project can be implemented in future public health emergencies as well as in general public health messaging for people with disabilities.

Health plan adaptations to a mailed outreach program for colorectal cancer screening among Medicaid and Medicare enrollees: the BeneFIT study.

Background: Promoting uptake of evidence-based innovations in healthcare systems requires attention to how innovations are adapted to enhance their fit with a given setting. Little is known about real-world variation in how programs are delivered over time and across multiple populations and contexts, and what motivates adaptations.

Methods: As part of the BeneFIT study of mailed fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) to increase colorectal cancer screening, we interviewed 9 leaders from two participating Medicaid/Medicare health insurance plans to examine adaptations to their health plan-initiated mailed FIT outreach programs in the second year of implementation.

Challenges in Reaching Medicaid and Medicare Enrollees in a Mailed Fecal Immunochemical Test Program.

BeneFIT was a demonstration project that worked with a Medicaid/Medicare health plan to implement a mailed fecal immunochemical test (FIT) program. The goal was to reach age-eligible enrollees who were due for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening and prompt them to complete a FIT. One health insurance plan collaborated with six federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) in Oregon.

Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates Increased after Exposure to the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH).

Objective: The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) includes comprehensive chronic illness and preventive services, including identifying patients who are overdue for colorectal cancer screening (CRCS). The association between PCMH implementation and CRCS during the Systems of Support to Increase Colorectal Cancer Screening Trial (SOS) is described.

Methods: The SOS enrolled 4664 patients from 21 clinics from August 2008 to November 2009.

Guidance for researchers developing and conducting clinical trials in practice-based research networks (PBRNs).

Background: There is increased interest nationally in multicenter clinical trials to answer questions about clinical effectiveness, comparative effectiveness, and safety in real-world community settings. Primary care practice-based research networks (PBRNs), comprising community- and/or academically affiliated practices committed to improving medical care for a range of health problems, offer ideal settings for these trials, especially pragmatic clinical trials. However, many researchers are not familiar with working with PBRNs.

Variation in refill protocols and procedures in a family medicine residency network.

Background And Objectives: Efficient and accurate medication refill authorization is an integral service provided by family physicians and an essential skill to teach family medicine residents. The goal of this study was to examine the variation in medication refill protocols, procedures, and resources in family medicine residency practices across a five-state region as a background for development of best practices.

Methods: Structured telephone interviews with a key informant at each of 11 clinical practices in a five-state (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho) family medicine residency network focused on refill protocols and procedures, which personnel have authorization authority, and other factors related to refill protocols and medication prescribing curriculum.

Techniques for repair of gastric prolapse after laparoscopic gastric banding.

Laparoscopic gastric banding is a valuable surgical option for treating morbidly obese patients. Its operative technique is continually being refined. Since its inception, many changes in technique have helped to reduce the complication rate.