Epilepsy by the numbers - From the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Six in 10 adults with active epilepsy saw a neurologist or epilepsy specialist in the past year, United States, 2017.

This study used the most recent national data on epilepsy from the 2017 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to examine the distribution of types of provider visits in the last 12 months among 2.9 million adult respondents aged ≥18 years with active epilepsy (self-reported doctor-diagnosed epilepsy taking antiseizure medications and/or having ≥1 seizure in the past year) and compared these estimates with 2010 NHIS data. We calculated age-standardized percentages of visits to a general doctor and an epilepsy specialist during the past 12 months, accounting for the complex survey design. Among US adults with active epilepsy in 2017, 27.1% saw a general doctor only, 9.0% saw a neurologist/epilepsy specialist only, 53.0% visited both a general doctor and a neurologist/epilepsy specialist, and 11.4% did not see either a general doctor or a neurologist/specialist. Overall, 62.0% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 55.2%-67.5%] of adults with active epilepsy visited a neurologist or epilepsy specialist in the past year. A visit in the past 12 months with both provider types was not significantly different in 2017 compared with 2010 (53.0% vs 46.2%) while seeing a general doctor only had declined (41.8% vs 27.1%, p < 0.05). Given that 79.8% of US adults with active epilepsy reported being seen by a general doctor within the past 12 months, epilepsy stakeholders have an opportunity to enhance epilepsy care by ensuring that general practitioners have access to the latest information about epilepsy diagnosis and new treatment options. National Health Interview Survey data can be used to track the distribution of provider visits in the coming decade to assess changes in access to primary care, specialty care, or other types of healthcare for people with epilepsy.

Beyond content: leadership development through a journal club.

CDC designed its Health Systems Integration Program to prepare leaders to function at the interface of public health and health care. Specific Health Systems Integration Program competencies in the areas of communication, analysis and assessment, and health systems were developed to nurture evidence-based decision-making and leadership skills crucial for future public health leaders. The program therefore designed an innovative journal club as part of its competency-based curriculum not only to meet the standard goals for a journal club-critical reading, interpretation, and acquiring content knowledge-but also to foster leadership development. This report describes the Health Systems Integration Program journal club format, its implementation, challenges, and key elements of success. Other programs using a journal club model as a learning format might consider using the Health Systems Integration Program's innovative approach that focuses on leadership development.