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Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 9-Jun-2026 15:16 ET (9-Jun-2026 19:16 GMT/UTC)

Family medicine practice redesigns patient dismissal process

American Academy of Family Physicians
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Clinicians at an academic family medicine practice in upstate New York serving more than 25,000 patients revised their patient dismissal process after a review found that all immediate dismissals during a six-month period involved Black patients, who represent about 36% of the practice population. The clinic replaced the expedited dismissal approach with a structured review process led by an interdisciplinary Practice Concerns Review Committee.

Journal: The Annals of Family Medicine

Bleeding events largely outnumber thromboembolic events in patients with cancer during the last phase of life, most patients continue antithrombotic therapy

American Academy of Family Physicians
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers in the Netherlands examined blood thinner use and related events in people with cancer during this period using routine general practitioner (GP) records from 2018 to 2022. They analyzed data from 2,860 adults starting when the GP first registered palliative care and reviewed records until death or their last GP visit (median follow up period was about six weeks).

Journal: The Annals of Family Medicine

Integrating social risk alerts into primary care workflows may improve blood pressure control

American Academy of Family Physicians
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Screening for social risks has expanded in recent years. However, less is known about how integrating social risk information into clinical workflows influences patient outcomes. The study was conducted in the OCHIN network, a national consultancy for community health care organizations. Six clinics imple

Journal: The Annals of Family Medicine

Tip sheet and summaries Annals of Family Medicine March/April 2026

American Academy of Family Physicians
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Tip sheet and summaries Annals of Family Medicine March/April 2026

Journal: The Annals of Family Medicine

Patients with floaters or flashes could face higher risk of retinal detachment

American Academy of Family Physicians
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In this study, researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study using electronic records from seven family practices in the Netherlands to examine whether patients presenting with floaters, flashes, or both had different risks of retinal detachment in primary care.

Journal: The Annals of Family Medicine

Study explores frameworks for improved indigenous data sovereignty

American Academy of Family Physicians
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In Canada, current approaches to managing health data do not always reflect principles of Indigenous data sovereignty, which emphasize Indigenous peoples’ rights to control how data about their communities are collected, used, and shared. This study examined how practice-based research and learning networks (PBRLNs) currently approach data governance and explored how Indigenous data sovereignty frameworks could apply.

Journal: The Annals of Family Medicine

Isolation and financial hardship linked with lower odds of receiving preventive health care in the U.S.

American Academy of Family Physicians
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers analyzed data from the U.S. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a national telephone survey, to better understand how social isolation and physical isolation intersect with material deprivation, including financial strain and inadequate health care access. The study examined six preventive services: COVID-19, flu and pneumococcal vaccination, and breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screenings.

Journal: The Annals of Family Medicine

Primary care continuity remained high in community health centers despite COVID-19 disruptions

American Academy of Family Physicians
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Continuity of care — seeing one’s own primary care clinician for most visits — is a basic tenet of primary care. This study examined continuity trends from 2019 through 2023 in a national sample of community-based health centers spanning the period before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Journal: The Annals of Family Medicine

Innovative panel management strategy benefits patients who need more intensive primary care

American Academy of Family Physicians
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Primary care panel sizes are often determined without detailed data on patient complexity, which can strain access to care and contribute to clinician burnout. Geisinger Health System used Charlson Comorbidity Health Analytics (CCHA) and Needs-Based Segmentation (NBS) tools to support complexity-based panel management across 45 primary care clinics serving more than 350,000 patients.

Journal: The Annals of Family Medicine