Study On Importance Of Physicians’ Race In Infant Mortality Is Debunked
The findings in a 2020 study, which claimed Black babies treated by white doctors were twice as likely to die within 12 months, are being reevaluated. Survival is now thought to be linked to birth weight and not race. Also: lawsuits, the No Surprises Act arbitration, and new treatment for shingles.
Stat:
Study On Physicians' Race Affecting Black Babies' Health Challenged
New research calls into question the high-profile conclusion of the first major study to show that the race of physicians influences health outcomes. In August of 2020, a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science made headlines with its finding that Black infants were half as likely to survive to their first birthday when they were cared for by white doctors instead of Black ones. (McFarling, 10/23)
Modern Healthcare:
UT Southwestern To Pay $900K For Alleged Hiring Discrimination
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center will pay $900,000 and make more than 100 job offers to settle Labor Department allegations that the health system discriminated against Black applicants. A routine compliance evaluation of UT Southwestern, a federal contractor, found the Dallas-based system's hiring practices allegedly discriminated against 6,123 Black applicants between August 2016 and August 2018, potentially violating Equal Employment Opportunity laws, the Labor Department said Monday. (DeSilva, 10/22)
More news about health care personnel —
Los Angeles Times:
More Patients Sue Cedars-Sinai Over Alleged Misconduct By OB-GYN
Twenty-five more women have filed suit against a former Cedars-Sinai Medical Center obstetrician-gynecologist and the facilities where he worked, accusing Dr. Barry J. Brock of sexual abuse and medical misconduct. The lawsuit, filed late Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleges “a generations-long history of covering up Brock’s serial sexual exploitation and abuse of female patients” at Cedars-Sinai, where Brock practiced medicine from the early 1980s until the recent termination of his hospital privileges. (Purtill and Alpert Reyes, 10/22)
North Carolina Health News:
Doctor’s Lawsuit Tests Constitutionality Of How NC Regulates Health Care Facilities
Jay Singleton, owner of an ophthalmology practice in New Bern, has spent the past four years challenging a state law that caps the kinds of medical services offered in a region. Now, the Singleton Vision Center proprietor is at the center of a case that has the potential to upend how the health care and hospital industries have done business in North Carolina for decades. (Blythe, 10/23)
Modern Healthcare:
How The No Surprises Act Arbitration Strains Physician Groups
Providers are often waiting months for insurers to pay out-of-network bills, leading to strapped finances and a pile up of complaints and lawsuits. Physician groups have filed hundreds of complaints with the federal government and sued insurers to collect overdue payments stemming from the dispute resolution process established by the No Surprises Act of 2022. In just one example, an orthopedic physician practice in New Jersey recently sued Cigna, alleging the insurer has not paid a $42,000 dispute settlement in the 30-day period required by the law. (Kacik, 10/22)
CBS News:
Former Eye Surgeon Tests New Way To Treat Shingles Of The Eye For A Year. Here's What She Found Out
There's a potential new treatment for people who develop shingles that spread to the eye. Doctors say about 8% of shingles cases impact the eyes, and now, for the first time there's a new treatment plan that might help. Shingles of the eye can cause scarring and vision loss. ... Patients with zoster eye disease, who received a placebo, had a 44% risk of developing new or worsening eye disease over the next 18 months. With low-dose daily Valacyclovir or Valtrex, that risk was 22% lower at 12 months and became 26% lower at 18 months. (Stahl, 10/22)
Fox News:
New Jersey Medical Students Offer Haircuts And Grooming Services To Patients
Basic grooming can be a challenge during an extended hospital stay, taking a toll on patients' moods and mental health. A group of medical students is on a mission to change that through a program called Bergen Barbers, named for the street in Newark, New Jersey, where University Hospital is located. Launched in 2021 by Vaishali Ravikumar, a Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) student, the program provides haircutting, shaving and detangling services for hospitalized patients. (Rudy, 10/22)
