Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: Making Mental Health Care Accessible To Gen Z; More Oversight Vital To Avert Medical Errors
Modern Healthcare: Stepping Up To Handle The Mental Health Needs Of Gen Z
Few of us have fond memories of our teenage years, myself included. Now imagine being 16 again during a pandemic and not seeing friends in person for more than a year. Plus, you’re glued to a device that tells you all about the bad stuff happening in the world … or the amazing, curated lives that look so different from yours. We know that teens face a growing mental health crisis—and that this is a critical time to intervene. About half of all lifetime mental illnesses develop by age 14 and 75% by the age of 24, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Globally, depression is the fourth leading cause of illness and disability among adolescents ages 15 to 19 years, according to the World Health Organization. (Chrissy Farr, 8/2)
Stat: Medical Errors And Accidents: An Ongoing Threat To Health
This summer, surgeons at University Hospitals in Cleveland transplanted a donor kidney into the wrong patient, while the patient the kidney had been destined for had to go back on the waiting list for another one to become available. The most surprising thing about the story is not that a serious medical error occurred, but that it found its way into the news. (Michael J. Saks and Stephan Landsman, 8/4)
The Boston Globe: The Pathetic Politics Of Anti-Public-Health Pandering
Even by the cynical standard of contemporary politics, it’s stunning to see the way that public-health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have been politicized and demagogued. It’s as if we are watching a limbo contest as certain Republicans shimmy lower and lower as they pander to those who believe that their choice to go unvaccinated or unmasked includes an inalienable right to be spared any inconvenience based on the risk their decisions present to others. (Scot Lehigh, 8/3)
Scientific American: Deaf Children In Developing Countries Are Getting Inferior Cochlear Implants
In 2018 I visited twins in Bangalore, India who had recently underwent cochlear implant surgery. Their surgery had taken place the previous month and their implants had been activated, or turned on, a few weeks after the surgery. When I met them, they were fiddling with the processors that sat behind their ears and they massaged their still-tender scalps. They wanted to show me the big cardboard box that had held their processors, and that still held extra cables, magnets, and microphone covers to eventually be used. (Michele Friedner, 8/3)
The Washington Post: Where Conservatives’ Arguments About Public Health Mandates Go Wrong
As with everything else covid-related, vaccine passports were a political flash point even before New York City announced Tuesday that it would mandate proof of vaccination for many indoor settings. Liberals are enthusiastic, while conservatives have variously derided them as “Jim Crow,” “authoritarianism” or “un-American” — and denounced as a quisling anyone on the right who seems to support them. (Megan McArdle, 8/3)
Stat: The Regulatory Landscape For Digital Health Apps Needs Reform
When people seek health information, they expect what they get to be reliable and accurate. But these expectations can be dashed, especially by digital health devices, many of which are not reviewed the Food and Drug Administration or other regulatory body. (Ryan Knox and Cara Tenenbaum, 8/3)
Modern Healthcare: Staying Connected During And Past The Pandemic
When I reflect back on the past 18 months, two themes emerge—tragedy and triumph. Tragedy is seen in the unimaginable suffering and death we continue to experience in our nation and across the globe, claiming the lives of more than 600,000 Americans and 4 million worldwide. The physical and emotional toll on families and individuals, whether they lost someone to the virus or contracted it themselves, will also continue to mount. (Chip Kahn, 8/2)
