Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: AI In Health Care Not Living Up To The Hype; FDA's Expanded Access Process Needs Updating
Bloomberg: The Promise Of Artificial Intelligence Hasn't Borne Fruit In Health Tech
Without much fanfare, some of the biggest names in tech have been pulling back on once-enthusiastic efforts to disrupt healthcare. Within the past nine months, Alphabet Inc. has dismantled its healthcare division Google Health while IBM sold its Watson Health data and analytics business to a private equity firm, having struggled to turn a profit. It turns out healthcare is a highly complex industry and much of the hype around the transformative promise of artificial intelligence may have been overblown. (Parmy Olson, 5/11)
The New York Times: When Hope Hinges On An Unapproved Drug
My patient was so close. After emails to politicians and pharmaceutical executives, after a social media campaign and months spent swinging between hope and fear, Michael Forbes had won. A drug company decided that he could receive a new, unapproved drug for advanced lung cancer that might prolong his life. When the news came, his family posted a video of Mr. Forbes, 55, dancing to “Lovely Day” on a balcony overlooking the ocean. (Daniela J. Lamas, 5/12)
The Tennessean: Does Your Mental Health Make You Feel Like You’re Dragging An Anchor?
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and I’ve been thinking a lot about something a relative said recently. Not long ago they underwent an aortic valve replacement. Most cardiac valve conditions left unrepaired lead to chronic fatigue, limits on activity output, bouts of sleepiness, and can even foster depression. (Michael Yates, 5/12)
The CT Mirror: Connecticut Needs Comprehensive Sex Education
I have been exceptionally lucky as a sexual health educator to have worked in LGBTQ+ inclusive and sex-positive environments. However, working in these settings has also made it painfully obvious how lacking the sex education folks have received before coming to us really is. Many clients are seriously undereducated on sexual health and wellness, which reflects poorly on the systems we have in place to educate young people on sexuality. It’s well-known that sex education is inconsistent in quality between towns and states. Curricula range from abstinence-only programs to comprehensive, LGBTQ+ inclusive sexual health education. Many states (including Connecticut) don’t require sex education at all; over half the states that do mandate sex ed have no requirements about its medical accuracy. (Kimberly Adamski, 5/12)
Chicago Tribune: I Watched Male Loved Ones Deny Their Hearing Loss. Left Untreated, It Devastated Their Lives
The gift I would bestow on all fathers is the courage to address the curse that took the intellect of my father, one grandfather and my father-in-law: age-related hearing loss, also known as ARHL. Not being able to hear or properly process information made these men first defensive, then blameful, isolated and in denial. Eventually it rendered them less companionable and less interesting to people around them, ignored and, ultimately, avoided by those who might have helped them prevent the dementia that resulted from ARHL. (Louise Andrews, 5/11)
Modern Healthcare: Addressing Concerns About Improper Denials In Medicare Advantage
A Medicare Advantage plan denied coverage for a walker a physician ordered for a 76-year-old patient at risk of falling. The insurance company reported denying the walker because the patient received a cane in the past five years. A cane no longer provided the support the patient required to walk safely, and no Medicare coverage requirement imposes such five-year limit. Another plan denied the MRI a physician ordered to assess why a 69-year-old's pain and weakness continued five months after a fall. The insurance company's stated reason was that the patient did not first receive an X-ray. An X-ray could not detect the damage the physician suspected, and no Medicare rule mandates such X-ray prior to MRI. (Christi Grimm and Dr. Julie Taitsman, 5/11)
Chicago Tribune: Working In A Clinic Taught Me To Celebrate Patients, No Matter Their Prognosis
As an oncologist who often works with patients walking the thin line between life and death, I am always humbled by working in the clinic. It’s where I constantly realize that my troubles are incomparable to the pain that my patients experience. However, the more I am humbled, the more I discover there is to learn. The more I learn about humility, the more I look forward to growth. (Young Kwang Chae, 6/11)
