Company Taps Into Public’s Angst To Push Questionable Genetic Testing
A Stat investigation looks at a California company that claims it can offer a DNA test to determine how a patient would react to pain medication. In other public health news: organ donations; facial expressions; heart disease; and more.
Stat:
Genetic Lab Pays Doctors To Push Dubious Tests, Employees Say
A STAT investigation found that Proove employees stationed in physicians’ offices pushed unnecessary tests on patients — a practice called “coercion” by one former manager — and they sometimes completed research evaluation forms on behalf of doctors, rating the tests as highly effective when they weren’t. In fact, Proove tests of DNA captured by swabbing inside a patient’s cheek were so unreliable that many physicians disregarded the results. There was scant evidence, said the company’s former chief scientist, that the tests improved patient outcomes. (Piller, 2/28)
CQ Roll Call:
Contentious Liver Redistribution Model Shelved
A controversial proposal to change the way life-saving organs are allocated across the United States for transfers will not advance in its current form. The contractor in charge of developing a plan will instead present several possible alternatives at a meeting in May. The United Network for Organ Sharing in 2014 released a concept document detailing a proposal to transition the current organ redistribution system from the current 11-region model to a new eight-district model. A final proposal was released for public comment in August 2016. Critics, who largely included Southern and Midwestern hospitals, denounced the plan and argued it would favor states with lower liver donation rates. (Williams, 2/27)
NPR:
Your Name May Influence Your Facial Expressions
In my head, a person with the name Danny has a boyish face and a perpetual smile. Zoes have wide eyes and wild hair and an air of mild bemusement. There might actually be something to the idea that people who share a name also share a stereotypical "look" to them, researchers say. In one experiment, published Monday in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, scientists found that when people are shown a stranger's face and a choice of five names, they pick the right name about 35 percent of the time. (Chen, 2/27)
Marketplace:
New Blood Test Could Improve Treatment For Heart Disease
A simple blood test could help doctors determine whether someone suffers from coronary heart disease, the most common form of heart disease, killing more than 370,000 Americans every year. This test may more accurately identify the condition compared to the current crop of diagnostic tools, including stress tests and CT scans. If approved by the FDA, the blood test could improve health and save money. (Gorenstein, 2/27)
The Wall Street Journal:
How To Get Patients To Take More Control Of Their Medical Decisions
For years, patients have been hearing the same message from the health-care industry: Get involved. They’re told they need to do more to monitor their chronic conditions. They are directed to be more active in deciding what treatments to have, or whether to treat a condition at all. That has proved easier said than done. (Landro, 2/27)
Kaiser Health News:
For Some Hospice Patients, A 911 Call Saves A Trip To The ER
Her mother’s breathing had become labored in the wee hours of the night, during what would prove to be the Fort Worth woman’s final days living with lung cancer. Distraught, the daughter called 911.“Her mother was having some pretty severe shortness of breath,” said Tim Gattis, the third paramedic to arrive on scene late last year. “She was certainly working very hard to obtain a breath, and was just not being successful.” (Huff, 2/28)
