Moon Bin’s Death Is A Painful Reminder Of The Mental Health Crisis In Asian Communities
In recent years, many members of the Korean entertainment industry have been more vocal about mental illness — especially after the deaths of several rising stars, including actor Yoo Joo-eun in 2022 and actor/singer Kim Jong-hyun in 2017. The community’s most recent loss is Moon Bin, a 25-year-old K-pop star and member of the boy […]
Opinion | Death Literacy Among Healthcare Professionals Is Dismal
During a recent meeting with our hospice team, several staff members raised concerns about the limited understanding of the signs of dying and appropriate interventions to care for patients at the end of life. This is a particular challenge in the facilities where our patients reside — nursing homes and assisted living facilities. In another […]
Drug Czar Issues Challenge to Docs: Help Us Devise Better Substance Use Tx Options
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration’s drug czar has a challenge for America’s doctors, especially members of the American Medical Association (AMA): help figure out the best way to treat substance use disorder (SUD) patients. “While the Biden administration has improved access to care for millions of people with OUD [opioid use disorder], we’ve got a […]
Biden Seeks More Info on Medication Abortion Barriers
WASHINGTON — President Biden signed an executive order Sunday giving three members of his cabinet 2 months to report to a White House task force on the barriers U.S. women face when trying to receive a medication abortion. “Since the day of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, President Biden […]
Genetic Testing for Opioid Use Disorder Heads to FDA Advisors
On Thursday, members of the FDA’s Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Toxicology Devices Advisory Committee will meet to discuss AvertD, a prescription genetic risk assessment tool for opioid use disorder (OUD). AvertD detects the presence or absence of 15 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to help identify adults with an increased genetic risk of OUD. It’s intended […]
Republicans in Congress Introduce Bill to Restrict Abortion Nationwide
WASHINGTON — Republican members of the House and Senate introduced a bill on Tuesday that would ban abortion nationwide after 15 weeks’ gestation. “Working closely with the preeminent pro-life groups in the country, we are today introducing legislation to ban abortion at a time when unborn children can feel pain,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the […]
MedPAC Commissioners Mull Proposals to Change Part B Drug Payment
WASHINGTON — Members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) spoke up Friday in favor of considering new approaches to the way Medicare pays for Part B drugs. “I think we’re going in the right direction,” said commissioner Gary Poulsen, MBA, of Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City, Utah. “I think this is an improvement.” […]
House Members Remain Divided on Universal Healthcare
WASHINGTON — Democratic and Republican House members appeared as far apart as ever Tuesday on the issue of the best way to achieve universal healthcare coverage in the U.S. “Republicans are serious on this committee about trying to solve the healthcare problems we have in America, but bigger government and government-run healthcare is not the […]
AMA Debates Value of Natural Immunity to COVID
During the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates annual meeting, members debated whether natural immunity or previous infection with SARS-CoV-2 was sufficient for the merit of immunity credentials. Gregory Pinto, MD, a delegate from New York, called for policy recommending “that vaccination credentials be provided on the basis of natural immunity or previous SARS-CoV-2 […]
After Pandemic Missteps: Senators Seek Lessons for Future Emergencies
Members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee played the blame game for false steps during the pandemic. At a hearing on Tuesday, HELP committee chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said the nation was ill-equipped to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic because of a weak and underfunded public health infrastructure. She called for […]