Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center

Development and Validation of a Coronary Artery Calcium Volume and Density Score

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring is a useful tool for coronary heart disease (CHD) risk prediction. The current standard method, the Agatston score, weights plaque area upward by density. However, higher density is inversely associated with CHD. We aimed to devel...

Health Care Use Among Recently Enrolled Young Adults in an Integrated Health Plan

INTRODUCTION: Early establishment of a primary care practitioner (PCP) may enhance young adults' ability to navigate the health care system, particularly those new to integrated care. METHODS: The study population included 18- to 26-year-old individuals newly enrolled in 2023 at...

Natural Language Processing to Improve Vertebral Fracture Identification in Older Adults Receiving Osteoporosis Therapy

INTRODUCTION: Vertebral fracture identification using administrative codes is challenging because diagnoses often occur outside hospital and orthopedic care settings. Outpatient diagnoses improve capture but increase misclassification. Accurate methods are important for populatio...

Association of lipoprotein(a) with cardiovascular outcomes and breast arterial calcification in postmenopausal women

This study examined the association of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] with breast arterial calcification (BAC) and incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) in postmenopausal women. We analyzed data from 2,799 women in the MINERVA cohort (ages 60–79 years; 34% non-white) free of CVD at basel...

The hematology workforce in the United States: past, present, and strategies for the future

From 2017-2021, the American Society of Hematology (ASH) completed the largest study ever conducted of the hematology workforce in the United States (US). The study highlighted a deficit in the classical hematology (CH) workforce: despite very high CH clinical volumes encountered...