Celebrating diversity

Faculty, physicians, staff and students at UF Health have many unique cultural characteristics but we are all joined by a singular desire to do our best for our patients and clients. This year, employees marked UF Health Shands Diversity Week with a gathering in the UF Health Shands Hospital Atrium for activities that included ethnic food samples and informational literature. — Greg Hamilton

UF is first Florida school to be ranked among top 10 public universities 

The University of Florida has become the first Florida school to break into the list of top 10 public universities, coming in at No. 9, according to the 2018 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings. UF last year was ranked No. 14 among publics and No. 50 overall. The rankings are based on up to 15 measures that are used to capture the various dimensions of academic quality. The measures fall into seven broad areas: undergraduate academic reputation; graduation and retention rates; faculty resources; student selectivity; financial resources; alumni giving; and graduation rate performance. “This is a significant milestone that we can all be proud of, and it happened as the result of many years of focused work and a keen sense of purpose,” UF President Kent Fuchs said. — Steve Orlando

Florida’s prescription drug database underused, UF Health researchers find

Nearly seven years after a statewide database was created to encourage safer prescribing and to reduce opiate abuse and diversion, the number of emergency medicine providers who use the system remains low, UF Health researchers have found. The Florida Legislature created the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program to prevent patients from obtaining multiple prescriptions for painkillers from different physicians. Yet the database isn’t being used consistently in emergency rooms, where opioids are commonly prescribed. Fifty-one percent of health providers surveyed said they only use the database when they suspect a patient may misuse the medication. About 21 percent said they rarely use the database and 9 percent reported never using it. Just 3 percent of providers reported using the database every time they prescribe opioid pain relievers. — Doug Bennett

UF study: Lack of clinical trials supporting many popular diets on “best” list

UF Health researchers studied clinical trials evaluating the effectiveness of 38 popular diets listed on U.S. News & World Report’s 2016 ranking of “Best Weight-Loss Diets.” After cutting diets listing specific calorie targets and/or exercise recommendations, they were left with 20 popular diets. Of these, only six had been evaluated in long-term clinical trials. The low-carbohydrate Atkins Diet had eight studies that demonstrated meaningful long-term weight loss, followed by the moderate-carbohydrate Zone Diet, with three studies, two of which were long-term. Researchers said the review suggests high-fat, low-carbohydrate diets “are the most advantageous” for promoting long-term weight loss. — Bill Levesque