These stories are a little like the fabled unicorn - hard to find, but special if you do. Mayo Clinic has a wide range of research ongoing, and continues to publish their findings. Sharing those findings in this current time of "all COVID, all the time," is challenging. Some of our research and researchers is highlighted in the articles below.

Providers Are Inappropriately Prescribing Opioid-Tolerant Only Medications

By Samara Rosenfeld, HCP Live

Most patients who initiated in opioid-tolerant only medications did not have evidence of prior tolerance, according to new study findings.

The findings suggested that such patients were at an increased risk of opioid-related harms, including fatal overdose.

Molly Jeffery, Ph.D., was the study's lead author. Dr. Jeffery is also the scientific director of Emergency Medicine Research at Mayo Clinic.

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Fighting Vaccine Hesitancy, One Parent at a Time

By Amelia Harnish, The New York Times

Note: This article was originally published in NYT Parenting, Oct. 25, 2019. The Times republished because of the timeliness of the topic. Subscription may be required to read full article.

Most parents do vaccinate, but the effects of even a slight downturn in vaccination rates for highly infectious diseases can result in outbreaks. What’s more, roughly 30 percent of parents are “vaccine hesitant” — meaning they have significant concerns about vaccines and may spread out the timing of vaccinations against medical advice or refuse certain vaccines altogether, said Dr. Robert M. Jacobson, a professor of pediatrics and medical director for the population health science program at the Mayo Clinic Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery. This practice is perceived as a middle road and safe bet by parents, but it’s also risky — particularly if providers or the community don’t nip it in the bud.

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Skin Cancer Test Reduces Need for Surgery

-- Yahoo! Finance

"Typically, when treating patients with melanoma, surgeons remove lymph node(s) to check for metastasis and determine the patient's disease stage and best treatment strategy," explains Alexander Meves, M.D., a dermatologist at Mayo Clinic, [in Rochester, Minnesota] and senior author. "However, studies have shown these surgeries do not consistently provide additional diagnostic information."

The study, published in JCO Precision Oncology, discusses a diagnostic test being developed by SkylineDx and Mayo Clinic which identifies patients who are at low risk of metastasis in their lymph nodes and will not benefit from surgical removal of their lymph nodes.

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Tags: Alexander Meves, Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery, dermatology, melanoma, Molly Jeffery, News, oncology, opioids, Robert Jacobson, surgery, vaccines