News Releases

A one-star disparity on health care facility Yelp reviews could indicate a 60-death-peryear difference between some United States counties where those facilities are located, according to researchers at the Penn Medicine Center for Digital Health.

In an unprecedented effort to address the harmful effects of structural racism on health, 60 predominantly Black neighborhoods in Philadelphia will be part of an ambitious study to assess the impact of a multi-component intervention addressing both environmental and economic injustice on health and well-being.

“We can now add structural home repairs to the growing list of place-based neighborhood interventions with strong evidence that they can help reduce violent crime,” said lead author Eugenia South, MD, MSHP.

In addition to sickening and taking the lives of millions across the globe, COVID-19 complicated patient care in a range of less-direct ways, from increased incidence of heart attacks to decreased cancer screenings.

The latest generation of personal alcohol breath testing devices pair with smartphones. While some of these devices were found to be relatively accurate, others may mislead users into thinking that they are fit to drive, according to a new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

When evaluating the opioid crisis, research reveals that external factors – such as the volume of pre-filled syringes, or a default number of opioid tablets that could easily be ordered at discharge for the patient – can shift prescribing and compel emergency department (ED) physicians to administer or prescribe greater quantities of opioids.

A new service piloted at Penn Medicine allowed a proportion of patients to avoid hospitalization by providing them with greater support after visiting the emergency department.

A new study published today in Health Affairs reveals that Medicaid expansion is associated with substantial improvements in access to medications for OUD for individuals referred to substance use treatment by criminal justice agencies.

While the emergency department (ED) functions as an integral part of the United States healthcare safety net by handling all medical complaints regardless of insurance status, ED visits are expensive, and many are for lower-acuity conditions that may be amenable to care in other settings.

In a study led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, researchers found that Pennsylvania’s financial incentive policy encouraged hospitals to enact rapid system and practice changes to support treatment for opioid use disorder for patients visiting the ED.