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Professional Sporting Events Increase Seasonal Influenza Mortality In Us Cities, Alexander Cardazzi, Brad Humphreys, Jane E. Ruseski, Brian P. Soebbing, Nicholas Watanabe

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

The COVID-19 pandemic shut down sporting events worldwide. Local policy makers and league officials face important decisions about restarting play, especially in professional leagues that draw large numbers of spectators to games. We analyze the impact of professional sporting events on local seasonal influenza mortality to develop evidence that will help inform sports league reopening policy decisions. Results from a difference-in-differences model applied to data from a sample of US cities that gained new professional sports teams over the period 1962-2016 show that the presence of games in these cities increased local influenza mortality by between 4% and 24%, depending …

Just Because (Most) Hospitals Are Publishing Charges Does Not Mean Prices Are More Transparent, Cody L. Mullens, J Andres Hernandez, Evan D. Anderson, Lindsay Allen

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently mandated that all hospitals publish their charge description masters (CDMs) online, in a machine-readable format, by January 1, 2019. In addition, CMS recommended that CDM data be made available in a manner that was consumer friendly and accessible to patients.

Objective: This study aimed to (1) examine all hospitals across the state of Pennsylvania to understand policy compliance and (2) use established metrics to measure accessibility and consumer friendliness of posted CDM data.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted to quantify hospital website compliance with the recent CMS policies requiring …

Statewide Cross-Sectional Survey Of Emergency Departments' Adoption And Implementation Of The Ohio Opioid Prescribing Guidelines And Opioid Prescribing Practices, Jonathan Penm, Neil J. Mackinnon, Rebecca Mashni, Michael S. Lyons, Edmond A. Hooker, Erin L. Winstanley, Steve Carlton-Ford, Chloe Connelly, Erica Tolle, Jill Boone, Kathleen Koechlin, Jolene Defiore-Hyrmer

Clinical and Translational Science Institute

Study objective To evaluate the implementation of the Ohio Emergency and Acute Care Facility Opioids and Other Controlled Substances Prescribing Guidelines and their perceived impact on local policies and practice. Methods The study design was a cross-sectional survey of emergency department (ED) medical directors, or appropriate person identified by the hospital, perception of the impact of the Ohio ED Opioid Prescribing Guidelines on their departments practice. All hospitals with an ED in Ohio were contacted throughout October and November 2016. Distribution followed Dillman’s Tailored Design Method, augmented with telephone recruitment. Hospital chief executive officers were contacted when necessary to encourage …