Background: There is evidence that significantly disruptive health events, such as hospitalizations, may increase patients’ receptiveness to interventions that lead to healthier lifestyle choices and medication adherence. For example, research has shown that hospitalizations are particularly effective settings for delivering some interventions aimed at preventing chronic disease morbidity, such as intervening on tobacco use. Additional [...]

Background: Chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, are the leading causes of disability and death in New York State (NYS) and throughout the United States. County Health Rankings (CHR) is a program assessing the nation’s health on a county-by-county basis to provide a summary z-score for each county and determine county health [...]

Background: In the US, 60% of adults have at least one chronic disease (such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease) and 42% have more than one. Chronic disease is the leading cause of death and disability and significantly contributes to annual healthcare spending (1). Studies have shown that patient education interventions can improve outcomes in [...]

Background: Social determinants of health (SDH) are living and work conditions which affect health and functioning. [1] Unmet social needs may contribute to increased medical utilization and worse health outcomes. For example, patients with sickle cell who report financial strain have more admissions and readmissions. [2] Adults with cancer and housing insecurity are more likely [...]

Background: Heart failure (HF) is a major public health concern that affects over 5 million adults in the US. HF is among the most common reasons for hospital admissions and presents a considerable cost burden to the medical system. Patients are stabilized and carefully monitored at the hospital but often go home without adequate follow-up [...]

Case Presentation: A 37-year-old Asian-American woman with a past medical history significant for PCOS, HPV, HSV- 1, iron malabsorption/deficiency, and vitamin B12 deficiency-related anemia presented to the ED with body aches, fever, fatigue, cough, and recurrent URI for the past 3 months. Following treatment, she presented two weeks later to the hematology clinic for scheduled [...]

Background: It is known that anemia is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic comorbidities. Here, we establish an association between mild and moderate anemia with increased healthcare utilization (HU). Methods: We conducted a retrospective study analyzing HU comprising Emergency Room (ER) visits and Inpatient (IP) admissions over 12 months in patients [...]