Millions of people already chat about their mental health with large language models (LLMs), the conversational form of artificial intelligence. Some providers have integrated LLM-based mental healthcare tools into routine workflows. John Torous, MD, MBI and colleagues, of the Division of Digital Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, urge clinicians to take immediate action to ensure these tools are safe and helpful, not wait for ideal evaluation methodology to be developed. In the November issue of the Journal of Psychiatric Practice®, part of the Lippincott portfolio from Wolters Kluwer, they present a real-world approach and explain the rationale.

Young Americans use nicotine, tobacco and cannabis in multiple ways, but smoking those items––the most dangerous method––is still involved for most users, a new University of Michigan study found.

Adults with chronic pain who participated in New York State's (NYS) Medical Cannabis Program were significantly less likely to require prescription opioids, according to a new study published today in JAMA Internal Medicine and led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System.

Immunotherapy for sepsis is effective when doctors tailor the treatment precisely to the patient’s immune system condition. While earlier research showed little benefit of immunotherapy in sepsis, a new study demonstrates that a targeted approach of immunotherapy does improve clinical outcomes. This is reported by a consortium of 33 hospitals in JAMA, led by Radboud university medical center and the Hellenic Institute for the Study of Sepsis.

About The Study: This cohort study of adults ages 45 or older with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection found a significant excess risk of cardiovascular events over 1 year, comparable in magnitude to influenza infection. These findings underscore the importance of RSV as a potential risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and highlight the need for vaccination to mitigate this burden. 

About The Study: This economic evaluation found that insurance premiums have increased at 3 times the rate of workers’ earnings since 1999, accompanied by escalating hospital prices. Health insurance prices increased at rates close to hospital prices during the COVID-19 pandemic but have since stabilized. This volatility reflects both pandemic-era shifts in health care utilization (e.g., limited clinician visits) and higher retained earnings for insurers.

About The Study: In this cohort study, participation in New York State’s medical cannabis program was associated with reduced prescription opioid receipt during 18 months of prospective follow-up, accounting for unregulated cannabis use. 

New evidence from a six-country study led by the Montreal Children’s Hospital and Children’s National Hospital shows simple blood and urine tests could spare many young infants with fevers from more invasive procedures.