America ’ s pain management nightmare: How the DEA shaped the opioid epidemic
First, it’s essential to understand that your prosecution doesn’t define you as a person. Most likely, the DEA never bothered to speak with you before deciding to arrest and prosecute you. Even if they did, the decision to prosecute you had been made long before any conversation took place. Your prosecution is the result of Read more… America’s pain management nightmare: How the DEA shaped the opioid epidemic originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - December 10, 2023 Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Physician Pain Management Source Type: blogs

Study doesn ’t find evidence to link internet access with poorer psychological well-being and mental health
Is the internet bad for mental health? What the latest study really means. (Mashable): … Enter a study published Tuesday by researchers in the journal Clinical Psychological Science, which tried but did not succeed in finding a compelling link between internet access and poor mental health and well-being. Business Insider, for example, declared that the study found no link between social media use and “mental health harm.” Except that’s not what the researchers evaluated. Instead, they contrasted internet access in the form of yearly per capita internet and mobile-broadband subscriptions and various measures of wel...
Source: SharpBrains - December 7, 2023 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Brain/ Mental Health Technology & Innovation Internet internet age Internet-technology neuroscience psychological psychological well-being Source Type: blogs

Are clinicians complicit in the Fentanyl epidemic?
I have a friend. He is non-medical, just a person who knows a lot of people. He grew up on the rough side of town. He has lost five friends or relatives this past year, he tells me. All to Fentanyl overdoses. Most were young, in their twenties or thirties. Two were friends of his Read more… Are clinicians complicit in the Fentanyl epidemic? originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - November 19, 2023 Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Meds Pain Management Source Type: blogs

TikTok on the Gender Gap
By MIKE MAGEE The juxta-positioning of Tuesday’s New York Times headlines was disturbing. The first “Why Does This Bride Look So Mad?”, was followed by “An ‘Unsettling’ Drop in Life Expectancy in Men.” The “reluctant bride” referred to in the first article is (by now) an estimated 175 years old intended bride was 18 in the painting. The painting itself was the work of artist, Auguste Toulmouche, in 1866. The original title was “The Hesitant Fiancee”. Its current fame has a much shorter timeline – 2 weeks to be exact. That’s when it began to appear on TikTok, hosted as a statement of disg...
Source: The Health Care Blog - November 15, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: matthew holt Tags: Health Policy Gender gap Life Expectancy Mike Magee tiktok Source Type: blogs

The critical link between America ’ s obesity epidemic and the liver
Obesity has undeniably become the top health issue of our time, with its prevalence and impact on our bodies making headlines across health care and popular media. This isn’t merely a matter of carrying extra pounds; it’s about the multitude of serious health complications that come in its wake. The conversation around obesity often gravitates Read more… The critical link between America’s obesity epidemic and the liver originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - November 3, 2023 Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Conditions Gastroenterology Source Type: blogs

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the Partnerships of Equitable Vaccine Access
Sam Halabi (O ’Neill Institute), Lawrence O. Gostin (Georgetown University), Kashish Aneja (Georgetown University), Francesca Nardi (Georgetown University), et al., The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the Partnerships of Equitable Vaccine Access, 51 J. of L. Med.& Ethics... (Source: HealthLawProf Blog)
Source: HealthLawProf Blog - October 31, 2023 Category: Medical Law Authors: Katharine Van Tassel Source Type: blogs

Some Like It Hot! A Century-Old Disease on Our Southern Shores
By MIKE MAGEE Naomi Orestes PhD, Professor of the History of Science at Harvard, didn’t mince words  as she placed our predicament in context when she said, “If you know your Greek tragedies you know power, hubris, and tragedy go hand in hand. If we don’t address the harmful aspects of human activities, most obviously disruptive climate change, we are headed for tragedy.” At the time, as a member of the Anthropocene Workgroup, she and a group of international climate scientists were focused on defining and measuring nine “planetary boundaries,” environmental indicators of planetary health. At...
Source: The Health Care Blog - October 30, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: matthew holt Tags: Health Policy Avian Flu Climate Change Pandemic Sea level change Yellow Fever Source Type: blogs

Just say no
I just finished reading Dopesick, by Beth Macy. You don ' t need to take my word that it ' s worth your while, the book was a huge bestseller.  However, it does have a fairly narrow focus. It tells the story of the opioid epidemic largely within the confines of a region of rural Virginia, but this is a disaster of national scope that manifests somewhat differently in different places. Here ' s the really sad news:  source:U.S. Department of Health and Human Services I know it ' s a little small but you can see it full size if you click the link. The short version of the story is that deaths from opioid ...
Source: Stayin' Alive - October 17, 2023 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs

Out of Control Health Costs or a Broken Society
Flawed Accounting for the US Health Spending Problem By Jeff Goldsmith Source: OECD, Our World in Data Late last year, I saw this chart which made my heart sink. It compared US life expectancy to its health spending since 1970 vs. other countries. As you can see,  the US began peeling off from the rest of the civilized world in the mid-1980’s. Then US life expectancy began falling around 2015, even as health spending continued to rise. We lost two more full years of life expectancy to COVID. By  the end of 2022, the US had given up 26 years-worth of progress in life expectancy gains. Adding four more ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - October 9, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: matthew holt Tags: Health Policy COVID Drug Overdoses gun violence Hospitals Jeff Goldsmith Maternal mortality Mental Health Obesity Poverty Regional Economy Society Source Type: blogs

Out of Control Health Costs or a Broken Society
Flawed Accounting for the US Health Spending Problem By Jeff Goldsmith Source: OECD, Our World in Data Late last year, I saw this chart which made my heart sink. It compared US life expectancy to its health spending since 1970 vs. other countries. As you can see,  the US began peeling off from the rest of the civilized world in the mid-1980’s. Then US life expectancy began falling around 2015, even as health spending continued to rise. We lost two more full years of life expectancy to COVID. By  the end of 2022, the US had given up 26 years-worth of progress in life expecta...
Source: The Health Care Blog - October 9, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: matthew holt Tags: Health Policy COVID Drug Overdoses gun violence Hospitals Jeff Goldsmith Maternal mortality Mental Health Obesity Poverty Regional Economy Society Source Type: blogs

Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change
I am rattled as I read the headlines. Another bright, incredible physician has ended her life. I feel numb with horror as I read the details. I want to scream, cry, and punch the wall. Wiping my tears away, I try to focus on the needs of my whining toddler as she tugs at my Read more… Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - September 12, 2023 Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Physician Psychiatry Source Type: blogs

Weekly Roundup – September 2, 2023
Welcome to our Healthcare IT Today Weekly Roundup. Each week, we’ll be providing a look back at the articles we posted and why they’re important to the healthcare IT community. We hope this gives you a chance to catch up on anything you may have missed during the week. Improving Security When Lives Are on the Line. John Lynn spoke to John Wilson and Scott Pross at SolarWinds about the importance of proactive security in healthcare. That means everything from configuring new security features right away to closing the security gaps that appear when disparate clinical systems are integrated. Read more… How Healthca...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - September 2, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Brian Eastwood Tags: Healthcare IT Healthcare IT Today Weekly Roundup Source Type: blogs

Social Isolation: A Broader View
The previous articles in this series explain how technology is being used to bring people out of social isolation. But sometimes, loneliness springs from other mental conditions, such as anxiety and depression. Targeting these problems can help bring the patient back into a community. Treating Psychological Conditions One of subtler negative effects of moving online is that people lose the small, casual social interactions that previously would buoy their spirits and leave them smiling: asking for help from the post office staff, chatting with cashiers while bagging purchases, greeting people in the elevator, etc. The mi...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - August 31, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Andy Oram Tags: AI/Machine Learning Analytics/Big Data Clinical Health IT Company Healthcare IT LTPAC Caretakers Carta Healthcare Dor Skuler ElliQ Facebook Gather Healthcare AI Healthcare Metaverse Intuition Robotics loneliness Matt Hollin Source Type: blogs

Preventative Health and Longevity Company, Viome Life Sciences, Closes $86.5M Oversubscribed Series C Funding Round
Additional Financing Supports the Further Development of its Suite of Advanced Personalized Health Tests and Expansion into Key Nationwide Retailers such as CVS Viome Life Sciences, a longevity company committed to translating scientific advancements into practical and individualized health solutions, today announced the successful closure of its $86.5 million oversubscribed Series C funding round. Lead investors include Khosla Ventures and Bold Capital with participation from other existing ones as well as new ones. The raise brings Viome’s total to $175 million and will be used to support research and development and r...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - August 31, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Healthcare IT News Tags: Health IT Company Healthcare IT Bold Capital CVS Gut Intelligence Test Health IT Funding Health IT Fundings Health IT Investment Khosla Ventures Naveen Jain Robbie Schwietzer Viome Viome Life Sciences Source Type: blogs