The CDC recommends vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) routinely for adolescents aged 11 through adults aged 26 year olds. It also recommends vaccination for adults ages 27-45 based on a shared decision-making conversation. HPV vaccines prevent certain types of cancers caused by HPV, including: cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancers in women penile cancer in men anal
Category: QI and Public Health
Northwestern Medicine recently released its first set of quality equity metrics (both across the organization and for individual physicians), focused on influenza vaccination rates in the primary care setting. This is an important example of how QI can address disparities in care – more to come on this area in the future! Some key take-home
The United States Preventive Services Task Force updated its 2013 lung cancer screening guidelines in March 2021 to expand the population that should be screened. The recommendation for low dose chest CT screening now includes adults aged 50 to 80 years who have a 20 pack-year smoking history and currently smoke or have quit within
As you probably noticed, there have been multiple emails about the national blood collection tube shortage. What has led to this shortage? The pandemic not only increased demand for blood draws but also impacted national supply chains. The current national shortages are listed below. Increasing inventory supply will take time, and the best way for
We received an update from healthcare epidemiologists on a rise in Legionella detected in the community in Chicago. 16 cases have been reported to the Chicago Department of Public Health since July 1st 2021 and are currently under investigation. Here are a few clinical pearls: -Consider Legionella in anybody presenting with a pneumonia. Risk factors