Trending News: CDC Guidelines Address Shift in Care for STDs to Primary Care Providers

The CDC has issued new guidelines to help primary care providers treat patients with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), according to Contagion Live. The recommendations are a response to a shift in how American patients access health care for STDs, seeking treatment at primary care clinics, emergency departments, and family planning clinics. The researchers noted that STD clinics will continue to play an important role, particularly in providing patients with access to pre-exposure prophylaxis, as well as specialty care.

Prenatal psychological distress among women whose fetuses have congenital heart disease (CHD) can lead to damaging outcomes for the mother and child, according to MD Magazine. Researchers from the Children’s National Hospital analyzed women whose unborn fetuses had been diagnosed with CHD and those who had not. They found that women who knew their unborn fetus had CHD experienced increased maternal stress, anxiety, and depression, leading to impaired development in key brain regions of the fetus.

Survey findings from CareMore Health suggest that a house call from a physician, common nearly a century ago, could offer a way for the very ill to get care they need with less stress for the patient, according The American Journal of Managed Care. The survey of 2009 adults offers insights into the potential benefits of in-home care for the chronically ill, while pinpointing barriers that keep people from getting the care they need. The findings show 64% of adults expressed interest in a house call, defined as a team of health care professionals traveling to a home-bound or chronically ill patient’s home or care facility for medical care, consultations, and social services, for both regular checkups and non-emergency care situations.