Low-dose aspirin appears to have little if any benefit in primary prevention of vascular events in older patients while inducing more frequent serious bleeding episodes based on good recent studies. We will advise many (but not all) of you now taking baby aspirin to stop.
We believe Question 1 mandating detailed minimum nursing staffing ratios points to a real problem, but as a solution it is undesirable and likely will have substantial adverse unintended consequences. We suggest you vote “No.”
Influenza killed almost 80,000 people in the US last year, more than opioid overdoses, more than breast cancer, more than car accidents. The flu vaccine works and is benign. Get your flu shot with us before Thanksgiving!
Apple cider pressing at the Orchard Health Care orchard (a.k.a. Kanner Family Orchard) in North Lincoln next Sunday, 9/23/18, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Bring a 1/2 gallon jug. Come juice some apples for yourselves. OHC members and close family are invited.
Shingrix is highly effective against shingles infections, but has meaningful side effects in terms of sore arms and also fever and systemic symptoms that may result in missed work for 2 days or so. In addition, supply is problematic and back ordered. We are now unsure when to expect we will have adequate supply, possibly not till New Year’s.
Generic drugs are equally effective and safe as brand name pharmaceuticals. Prior authorization for expensive brand names is difficult to obtain and hard to justify. If a brand name is desired, the member will be asked to help provide the rationale for the approval process.
Influenza vaccine is now available in our office. We want to get everyone immunized before Thanksgiving.
Hearing aids are essential devices for many older people, but often are not obtained because of the persistently high expense. I recently explored Costco as a source of high-technology major-brand hearing aids at dramatically lower prices.
Contaminated valsartan antihypertensive medication was discovered and is being recalled. No one is likely to have been injured by the NDMA contamination, but we intend to switch everyone to irbesartan, a comparable medication in the same ARB class that has not shown any contamination issues.
AIMOVIG is a new monoclonal antibody preventive treatment for chronic and severe episodic migraine that appears to be effective and safe. This is the first new news in a long time in this field.