Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Abortion Exceptions Aren't Worth The Paper They're Printed On; We Need Better Ways To Regulate PFAS
The New York Times: When Pregnant Patients ‘Become Radioactive To Emergency Departments’
Complaints that pregnant women were turned away from U.S. emergency rooms spiked in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, federal documents obtained by The Associated Press reveal. (Jamelle Bouie, 4/20)
The New York Times: We Regulate A Tiny Fraction Of The 12,000 ‘Forever Chemicals.’ There’s A Better Way.
The environmental violence exacted by PFAS, like the effects of radiation and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, can be difficult to prove. Only a few studies have examined the relationship between PFAS exposure and colorectal cancer (though the Yale School of Public Health has estimated that around 80 percent of cases are linked to environmental exposure). But on April 10 the Environmental Protection Agency announced the first federal mandate to limit the level of six PFAS in tap water. (Kathleen Blackburn, 4/21)
Stat: Primary Care Doctor Shortage Won't Be Solved By Free Med School Tuition
Last month, nearly 40,000 medical students were accepted into residency programs on “Match Day.” Surrounded by family and friends, these soon-to-be-physicians opened envelopes revealing where they would begin their careers. This moment marked the culmination of a residency match process that requires medical students to make a series of choices and rankings about which medical specialty to practice and at which health system, along with the various lifestyle factors inherent in such a decision. (Ezekiel J. Emanuel and Matthew Guido, 4/22)
Stat: Accelerating Treatments For Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
In human biology, the protein dystrophin is a shining example of Joni Mitchell’s classic line, “you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.” Dystrophin stabilizes muscle cells. In its absence, the house of cards comes down. For my 6-year-old son, Charlie, dystrophin will govern how long he lives. And how much dystrophin he has in his body depends on the ability of drug developers to continue improving it with innovation. (Jennifer Handt, 4/22)
Stat: Sudan Civil War: How Public Health Officials Nurture Resilience
On a Friday morning one year ago this week, my colleagues in Sudan’s Ministry of Health and I met for the relatively routine business of endorsing a plan to deal with looming epidemics of cholera, dengue fever, and measles. The next morning, my family and I awoke to gunfire in the streets of the capital, Khartoum; we lived near the headquarters of the Army General Command, where the fighting began, and heard the sound of jet fighters bombing the airport and other targets. Civil war had erupted between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group, and the Sudanese army. (Heitham Mohammed Ibrahim Awadalla, 4/21)
