Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'Right-To-Try' Advocates Help Pass Laws In 33 States As Movement Gains National Foothold
Stat: 'Right To Try' Is Becoming The Law Of The Land, State By State
Over the past three years, “right-to-try” advocates in 33 states have helped enact legislation to eliminate legal obstacles blocking terminally ill patients from treatments that aren’t yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Those advocates are showing considerable momentum in the remaining 17 states, potentially upending the established order for experimental drugs. The movement has been fueled in no small part by the anti-regulatory sentiment that propelled Donald Trump’s rise to the presidency and by the explicit support of Vice President Mike Pence. (Tedeschi, 3/23)
NPR: Doctor Turns Up Possible Treatment For Deadly Sepsis
It's hard not to get excited about news of a potentially effective treatment for sepsis, a condition that leads to multiple organ failure and kills more people in the hospital than any other disease. But there have been so many false promises about this condition over the years, it's also wise to treat announcements — like one published online by the journal, Chest — with caution. The study, from Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Va., reported some remarkable success in treating patients who were at high risk of sudden death. (Harris, 3/23)
Los Angeles Times: Olympus' Redesigned Scope Linked To Infection Outbreak
Doctors have tied a superbug outbreak at a foreign health facility to a medical scope that Olympus modified last year in an attempt to reduce its risk of spreading bacteria between patients. Five patients treated with the modified device tested positive for the same potentially deadly bacteria, according to a report filed with the Food and Drug Administration. (Petersen, 3/22)
The Associated Press: FDA Links Very Rare Cancer, 9 Deaths, To Breast Implants
The FDA said it now agrees with the World Health Organization, which concluded years ago this type of lymphoma can develop following breast implants. Concerns were first raised at the FDA in 2011, but the agency said then that there were too few cases to know if there was a connection. (Johnson, 3/22)
NPR: Breast Implants Linked To Rare Blood Cancer In Small Proportion Of Women
The Food and Drug Administration says at least nine women have died of a rare blood cancer after receiving breast implants, and that the agency is officially acknowledging an association between the implants and the disease. On Tuesday, the agency announced that as of Feb. 1, it had received 359 breast implant-associated reports of a rare type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma called anaplastic large cell lymphoma, or ALCL. (Hersher, 3/22)
The Associated Press: Expert: Bird Flu Outbreak Nation's Worst Since 2015
A bird flu outbreak that has led officials to euthanize more than 200,000 animals in three Southern states already is the nation's worst since 2015 and new cases are still popping up, an expert said Wednesday. (Reeves, 3/22)
