Here are two reports about bribery and health-care enterprises. Greasing the wheels of government with cash is another contributor to high medical costs.
Policy & Ethics
It was about two years ago that this northeastern city imposed a tax on sugary beverages to raise revenue and hopefully help improve the health of its residents. Of course, in terms of health, there have been no reports as to whether it made a difference. But there were some surprises, at least for the policymakers.
The self-proclaimed expert on opioids and addiction "agreed" to sit down with me and answer some tough questions about his background, medical insight and plans for the future. (Keep in mind that this "interview" took place on April 1.)
U.S. Senator Kristin Gillibrand (D-NY) has officially announced her plans to run for president in 2020. Part of her platform is women's health. Yet, her recently announced (and totally misguided) plans for "solving" the "opioid crisis" will disproportionately hurt women, an irony that Gillibrand obviously missed.
Dawn Anderson, a former nurse who was dying from multiple, painful conditions, faced far worse than just death. She was dying in agony, as hospital staff refused to provide opioid pain relievers that had worked well in the past. Here is Dawn's chilling story, which is the quintessential example of the consequences of "opioid madness" and the cruelty it brings with it.
The Lancet is a highly respected biomedical journal that's taken an odd turn toward sensationalism and clickbait. That is troubling. Here's what we've been noticing.
A former high school science teacher, who believes the biotech industry commits crimes against humanity, attacked our organization on an anti-Semitic website. We, of course, are honored. And we have a few things to point out as a result.
A heartbreaking tale of technology use gone awry. Despite the many wondrous advances in digital healthcare, its use in end-of-life cases requires well-defined parameters. And customized for families to facilitate humanity, not to replace or undermine it.
Our Dr. Josh Bloom responded to a March 7th article in the New York Times, titled Good News: Opioid Prescribing Fell. The Bad? Pain Patients Suffer, Doctors Say. Here's his take -- brief and right to the point.
The 29-member Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force, led by Dr. Vanila Singh, recently released an important 100-page draft report. The Federal Register docket already shows nearly 2,000 comments, and doubtlessly the HHS email gateway has received many more. Dr. Richard Lawhern, the Director of Research of the Alliance for the Treatment of Intractable Pain, shares his thoughts.
Insurance providers use big sticks. They call them co-payments and high deductibles, used to try and lower their costs. Yet, when they try the carrot of rewards -- using actual dollars -- we have little interest.
Some science positions are so well-supported by data that every literate adult should embrace them. For those who reject facts, an appeal to emotion with funny pictures and clever text can sometimes work to persuade. So, let's celebrate some of our favorite pro-vaccine memes.
In the science wars, some positions are so well-supported by mountains of data ("vaccines are safe and effective"), that every literate adult should embrace them. Alas, they do not. For people who reject facts, an appeal to emotion might work. Hence, the meme. It's simply a matter of reality that memes with funny pictures and clever text go viral, while the latest research paper from the Journal of the American Medical Association does not. So, let's celebrate pro-vaccine memes.