How can reporters responsibly cover preliminary research on COVID-19 drugs and vaccines?
“My major piece of advice to anyone encountering preliminary studies is to be skeptical,” said journalism professor Sharon Dunwoody. More
Doctors Heavily Overprescribed Antibiotics Early in the Pandemic
Now they are using lessons from the experience to urge action on the growing problem of drug-resistant infections before it’s too late. More
COVID-19 should be a catalyst to get quality right, experts say
COVID-19 could be an opportunity for the federal government to take a step back and decide whether quality programs should be significantly changed or permanently sunset, healthcare insiders said. More
Hype Collides With Science As FDA Tries To Rein In ‘Wild West’ of COVID Blood Tests
Last month, the CDC issued new guidelines warning that, given the low prevalence of the virus in the general population, even the most accurate tests could be wrong half of the time. More
Healthy people shouldn’t take daily aspirin to prevent heart disease, review finds
There's no evidence that a daily aspirin should be taken by most adults in good cardiovascular health, according to a new review. The risk of a major bleeding event due to the drug's blood thinning effects outweighs the benefit, the research said. More
Antibody Tests Aren’t Accurate, But You Can Still Buy One
There are no clear lifesaving benefits to detecting past Covid-19 infections — and obvious risk of harm if the tests give misleading results. More
OPTIMISE trial demonstrates safety of deprescribing for older adults
Clinicians may avoid deprescribing a blood pressure medication because they fear that patients' blood pressure will rise dangerously. For those clinicians, the new OPTIMISE trial results may put their mind at ease. More
Antibody Tests Were Hailed As Way To End Lockdowns. Instead, They Cause Confusion.
Some communities considered community antibody testing as a way out of lockdown. But they’ve pulled back as they realized antibody testing is the Wild West in an oversight vacuum. More
FDA can’t rely on just trusting test makers when the stakes are life and death
Producers looking to meet “unprecedented” demand were told they could sell tests as long as they validated them internally and filed for FDA emergency use authorization within 15 days. Shortly after came complaints of scams and unreliable tests. More
Covid-19 — A Reminder to Reason
Perspective from The New England Journal of Medicine — Covid-19 — A Reminder to Reason More
The data-free zone of Covid-19 complicates medical, family decision-making
Covid-19 makes it difficult to practice evidence-based medicine and just as hard to make decisions about the small questions that dictate day-to-day life. More
The unexpected side effect of Covid-19
H. Gilbert Welch and Vinay Prasad write that since the pandemic forced the medical care system to cancel elective surgeries and have fewer outpatient visits, Covid-19 provides a once in a lifetime opportunity to study if some, who are not acutely ill, do better with less medical care. More
Single Negative Colonoscopy Tied to Lower Long-Term CRC Risk
But an important caveat: exam quality matters More
Adverse Consequences of Rushing a SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Implications for Public Trust
This Viewpoint discusses the importance of carefully evaluating SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates for safety and efficacy in the context of political pressure to accelerate the process, widespread vaccine hesitancy and refusal, and distrust of science. More
More People Are Taking Drugs for Anxiety and Insomnia, and Doctors Are Worried
As coronavirus health concerns, social isolation and job-loss stress take a toll, people turn to medications; “It can very quickly become a habit.” More
Coronavirus Tests The Value Of Artificial Intelligence In Medicine
Overall, AI’s implementation in everyday clinical care is less common than hype over the technology would suggest. Yet the coronavirus crisis has inspired some hospital systems to accelerate promising applications. More
Can PCPs Survive COVID-19? Only If Fee-for-Service Goes
Some form of prospective payment is needed, experts say More
Moderna’s claim of favorable results in its vaccine trial is an example of ‘publication by press release’
Without the underlying data, promising vaccines and treatments are impossible to evaluate. More
Utah went all-in on an unproven Covid-19 treatment, then scrambled to course-correct
The saga of the drugs’ rise and fall in Utah provides a case study of what happens when hope and excitement about therapies outpace the evidence. More
Coronavirus spotlights overuse of hospital emergency rooms
Patient visits to emergency rooms have dropped precipitously since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. This could be a sign of emergency room overuse. More