(PDF) The Spread in Hospital Chargemaster Prices for Common Drugs
How New Hospital Transparency Regulations Fall Short More
Blog
Prohibited, unlisted, even dangerous ingredients turn up in dietary supplements
Consumers may think they’re safer or more “natural” than pharmaceuticals, but multiple studies show they are sometimes adulterated with medicines and unknown additives. More
A Hippocratic Oath for your AI doctor
A new WHO reports lays out ethical principles for AI in medicine, but applying them won't be easy More
Inside ‘Project Onyx’: How Biogen used an FDA back channel to win approval of its polarizing Alzheimer’s drug
When Aduhelm’s prospects appeared dead, Biogen mounted a secret campaign to resurrect the drug and convince the FDA to approve it. More
Doctor acquisitions spiked amid the pandemic
Nearly 70% of all U.S. physicians are now employed by hospitals or corporations. More
Double the number of Blacks entering med school by 2030 to help close the health equity gap
If the most important measure of society is the well‐being of its populace, then dismantling the direct linkage between one's health and race should be our most urgent priority. More
US News to add new metrics to Best Hospitals Ranking
Overtreatment and low-value care may cost more than $100 billion per year. In the new Back Surgery (Spinal Fusion) rating, we incorporate a measure of overuse that was calculated for U.S. News by data scientists at the Lown Institute, a nonpartisan think tank. This measure is also a component of the Overuse metric of the Lown Institute Hospitals Index. Because a pattern of overuse or low-value care is not compatible with being a high-quality provider, U.S. News will explore additional opportunities to incorporate measures of value in future editions of Best Hospitals. More
The Evidence Behind Robot-Assisted Abdominopelvic Surgery
Use of robot-assisted surgery has increased dramatically since its advent in the 1980s, and nearly all surgical subspecialties have adopted it. However, whether it has advantages compared with laparoscopy or open surgery is unknown. More
Will Biogen’s new Alzheimer’s drug’s burden on Medicare be big, huge, or catastrophic?
Estimates vary wildly about how much Biogen’s new Alzheimer’s drug will cost Medicare — and the total will have real consequences. More
‘An ongoing nightmare’: People with obesity face major obstacles when seeking medical care
The case of Laura Baker, a brain cancer patient who was unable to get a CT scan because of her size, highlights the health care challenges very heavy people face. More
Screening for Bipolar: Have You Ever Been “Unusually Happy” for More than a Week?
A new questionnaire funded by AbbVie conflates antidepressant side effects with bipolar disorder and isn't actually a "screening" tool. More
Despite new regulation, few hospitals are transparent about their prices
Two new studies analyzing hospital price transparency find that fewer than 25% of hospitals are complying with the new CMS rule. More
The harms of hospital segregation
New research on racial disparities in Covid-19 mortality show how hospital segregation harms Black patients. More
India’s doctors — at home and abroad — face Covid’s unrelenting toll
The dire situation in India is affecting thousands of U.S. doctors of Indian origin, who are struggling in different ways. More
Is the FDA’s Drug Approval Process Broken?
A Q&A with physician and former FDA advisor Aaron Kesselheim on why he resigned to protest the approval of a new Alzheimer’s drug — and the reforms necessary to prevent it from happening again. More
The Covid-19 relief bill created 1,000 more residency slots for new doctors. Wealthy hospitals should be last in line to get them
The 1,000 new residency slots funded by the American Rescue Plan should go first to hospitals in rural, underserved, and tribal areas. More
Black and Hispanic Americans Suffer Most in Biggest US Decline in Life Expectancy Since WWII
In addition to killing 600,000 in the United States and afflicting an estimated 3.4 million or more with persistent symptoms, the pandemic threatens the health of vulnerable people devastated by the loss of jobs, homes and opportunities for the future. More
Transforming Health Care to Address Value and Equity
This Viewpoint explains the national Vital Signs initiative—developed by the National Academy of Medicine to track improvements in health, health care costs, engagement of the public in its health, and health care and quality. More
A crucial, overlooked question on the new Alzheimer’s drug: When should patients stop taking it?
Doctors told STAT it will be critical — and exceedingly difficult — to determine whether Aduhelm's effects are waning with time. More
Does CBD Have Any Value as a Treatment?
Last week we covered CBD and mental health, finding that data to back up health claims are scarce and that consumer CBD products are often sketchy. In this week’s episode on CBD and other health ailments, we find that many of the same caveats apply. More