VA Can Be a Leader in Healthcare AI, Lawmakers Say
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) must balance innovation with careful implementation of emerging artificial intelligence (AI) technology, lawmakers and witnesses said during a House hearing on Thursday. “The VA is not an island. AI efforts within the federal government are proceeding in parallel, while private industry is significantly ahead of the public sector. Even […]
Biden Administration Announces Actions to Strengthen the Drug Supply Chain
The U.S. must keep the supply chain for drugs and other commodities “stable and secure in the long term to keep preserving a little bit of breathing room for American families,” President Biden said Monday. Fortunately, the administration is making progress, the president noted in a press conference held in the Indian Treaty Room at […]
Policymakers Must Balance Innovation With Patient Safety for AI in Healthcare
When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, policymakers must balance innovation with potential harms to patients and healthcare workers, lawmakers and witnesses said during a Senate hearing Wednesday. “I have concerns because when we talk about the promises of AI, we need to also talk about its risks,” chair Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said […]
Healthcare Mergers Need More Regulation and Oversight, Senators Told
Congress must act to rein in consolidation in the healthcare system while still encouraging competition, Shawn Martin of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) said Thursday during a Senate hearing. “A competitive healthcare marketplace benefits patients,” Martin, executive vice president and CEO of the AAFP, in Leawood, Kansas, said at a Senate Finance Committee […]
Multiple Solutions Needed to Fix Drug Supply Chain Problems, Lawmakers Told
WASHINGTON — Drug shortages continue to plague the U.S., and a variety of solutions must be employed to solve the problem, witnesses said here Thursday at a hearing held by the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. “According to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, we currently have over 247 active drug […]
Doc Groups Ask Congress to Extend Payment Bonus for Alternative Payment Models
WASHINGTON — Congress must extend Medicare’s payment bonus to doctors participating in alternative payment models (APMs) to incentivize them to continue, doctors and health policy experts said Thursday at a Capitol Hill briefing. “It’s not like you can go from fee-for-service today and then jump into an APM tomorrow,” said Kisha Davis, MD, MPH, vice […]
Front-loading calories early in the day reduces hunger but does not affect weight loss
There’s the old saying in dieting that one must “breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dine like a pauper,” based on the belief that consuming the bulk of daily calories in the morning optimizes weight loss by burning calories more efficiently and quickly. But according to a new study publishing September 9 […]
Snorkeling Discovery Proves Something To Smile About
There must have been something in the water. A Mississippi man snorkeling in the Gulf of Mexico this month discovered something another man lost in the waves earlier in the week: his teeth. Advertisement “As I stuck my head in the water, they were literally sitting there on the bottom, just smiling at me,” Welborn […]
Nanotherapy offers new hope for the treatment of Type 1 diabetes
Individuals living with Type 1 diabetes must carefully follow prescribed insulin regimens every day, receiving injections of the hormone via syringe, insulin pump or some other device. And without viable long-term treatments, this course of treatment is a lifelong sentence. Pancreatic islets control insulin production when blood sugar levels change, and in Type 1 diabetes, […]
A missing genetic switch at the origin of malformations: Scientists have discovered how the absence of a genetic switch can lead to malformations during embryonic development.
Embryonic development follows delicate stages: for everything to go well, many genes must coordinate their activity according to a very meticulous scheme and tempo. This precision mechanism sometimes fails, leading to more or less disabling malformations. By studying the Pitx1 gene, one of the genes involved in the construction of the lower limbs, a team […]