Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Getting To Delivery Room A Harrowing Journey For Some Amid Rural Hospital Crisis
Stat: A Crisis In Rural Health Care Puts Mothers-To-Be On A Risky Road
Financial pressures, insurance problems, and doctor shortages forced more than 200 hospitals to close their birthing units between 2004 and 2014, according to the University of Minnesota’s Rural Health Research Center. That’s left millions women of reproductive age facing longer drives to deliver babies — who sometimes arrive en route. The long drives, understandably, increase anxiety. They also make mothers and babies less safe; studies show these distances bring with them increased rates of complications and infant deaths, as well as longer stays in neonatal intensive care units. (Ross, 4/17)
Stat: Former CDC Head: Outbreaks ‘Tremendous Threats To Business’
The world has faced a string of infectious disease threats in the past dozen or so years, with SARS, bird flu, swine flu, MERS, and Ebola wreaking havoc. Yet despite the abundance of evidence that microbes pose major threats, both to human health and economies, global preparedness is not where it needs to be, Dr. Julie Gerberding warned this week. Gerberding was a former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — a post she held during the 2003 SARS outbreak. She is now Merck’s executive vice-president for strategic communications, global health policy and population health. (Branswell, 4/14)
The Washington Post: Stroke Rates Appear To Be Rising Steadily In Young Adults
The rate of stroke among young people has apparently been rising steadily since 1995, according to a study published this week. Hospitalization rates for stroke increased for women between the ages of 18 and 44, and nearly doubled for men in that age range from 1995 through 2012. (Naqvi, 4/15)
The Washington Post: Giving Young Blood To Older Animals Raises Tantalizing Possibilities For People
Dracula may have been onto something. It wasn’t just blood, but the blood of youth that was the secret to staying alive for centuries. The rejuvenating effect of young blood has been demonstrated in strange, draculoid experiments first done 150 years ago. Two genetically compatible animals, one young and one old, are sewn together. With their circulatory systems connected, the old animal gains access not only to the younger animal’s blood but also to the detoxifying and metabolizing function of its organs. The state is known as heterochronic parabiosis. (Brown, 4/14)
Los Angeles Times: What The New, FDA-Approved 23andMe Genetic Health Risk Reports Can, And Can't, Tell You
Genetic testing firm 23andMe got approval from the Food and Drug Administration last week to sell reports that show customers whether they have an increased genetic risk of developing certain diseases and conditions. The go-ahead is the first time the federal agency has approved such direct-to-consumer genetic tests and comes about three years after the FDA warned Mountain View, Calif.-based 23andMe to stop marketing its health reports because they lacked agency authorization. (Masunaga, 4/14)
The New York Times: A Baby Or Your Money Back: All About Fertility Clinic Package Deals
Trying to have a baby with the aid of modern reproductive technology can feel like visiting a gambling parlor with the highest possible stakes. So consider the pitch that many fertility clinics now put in front of people like Kristi and Carleton Chambers. (Lieber, 4/14)
Tampa Bay Times: Here's Why Two Doctors Who Treated Pulse Victims Oppose A Plan For More Trauma Centers
But many trauma doctors, including some who treated the Pulse shooting victims, say that's a bad idea. They say caps on the number of trauma centers ensure each is filled with highly trained specialists, in densely populated areas where they get plenty of practice treating everything from bullet wounds to car crash injuries. Critical lawmakers say Republicans are trying to fix something that already works. (Auslen, 4/17)
Boston Globe: Rethinking Dialysis: A Movement To Offer Choices, Including The Choice To Say ‘No’
But as more elderly people suffer kidney failure, new data reveal a troubling pattern for dialysis patients: A high percentage die anyway, and even those who live longer often don’t live well. That has led some patients and doctors to consider what once might have been unthinkable: disconnecting the dialysis machine. (Freyer, 4/17)
Dallas Morning News: Are Heartburn Medicines Linked To A Serious Gut Infection?
The pills you take to control heartburn and suppress stomach acid may be linked to increased risk of a serious gut infection. A study published late last month in JAMA Internal Medicine reports that people who take commonly used prescription and over-the-counter indigestion medicines such as Prilosec and Zantac are at risk of repeat infection with the bacteria Clostridium difficile. (Yasmin, 4/15)
