Viewpoints: Applause For Push To Rescue Mo.’s In-Home, Nursing Care For Senior Citizens, Disabled People; Moving Toward Medical Quality

The Kansas City Star: Don’t Give Up On Restoring In-Home And Nursing Care In Missouri
Kudos to those Democratic Missouri lawmakers who still have not given up on trying to stop Gov. Eric Greitens from single-handedly taking in-home and nursing care away from 8,300 seniors and disabled people. On Monday, several legislators asked the state to drop plans to request a federal waiver from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that would allow them to cut the program. (7/25)

KevinMD: 5 Steps To Create Medical Quality Without Trying
The need for what we are calling medical “quality” is acute, yet the strategies employed to obtain it are destroying medicine. Patient outcomes are inconsistent, care varies depending on many factors outside of disease state, and the cost of our medical system is not sustainable. But to fix this, most health systems employ non-clinicians to audit charts while checking boxes such as “A1C<8%?” and “DVT prophylaxis ordered within 24 hours?” These non-providers then send threatening letters and cut salaries with “pay-for-performance.” Unsurprisingly, such efforts are not working, and only end up creating distorted physician-patient relationships. Yet, obtaining improved quality requires only a few key steps. (Kjell Benson, 7/25)

Stat: Adding ‘Right To Try’ To FDA User Fee Bill Would Undermine The Agency’s Work
Despite its benevolent intention to help patients without approved treatment options gain access to drugs in development, right-to-try legislation threatens the integrity of clinical trials, which remain the safest way for patients to try experimental drugs. (Kelly McBride Folkers, 7/25)

Stat: Doctors Have The Power To Help Their Patients Thrive Financially
StreetCred’s formula is simple. It takes advantage of the trusting relationships that families have with their pediatricians and makes productive use of the time typically wasted in doctors’ waiting rooms. In partnership with the IRS-sponsored Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program and other government agencies, StreetCred uses trained volunteers and staff to help families file taxes, attain tax refunds, and apply for anti-poverty government programs. (Andrea Levere, 7/25)

Stat: Human Trafficking Must Be Officially Recognized As A Medical Diagnosis
Early this week, nearly 100 people were found trapped in a sweltering tractor-trailer in San Antonio, Texas. Ten have died and others are in critical condition. Many were sent to local hospitals for treatment of severe dehydration and shock, medical conditions that are common in the emergency department. What may not be as obvious to emergency physicians is that these people are possibly victims of human trafficking. As physicians who have treated victims of human trafficking and research this scourge, we believe that this form of severe exploitation is under-recognized in health care settings and live are being lost because of that. (Abraar Karan and Hanni Stoklosa, 7/25)

Los Angeles Times: The 'it's All In Your Head' Diagnosis Is Still A Danger To Women's Health
TV personality Maria Menounos stunned fans when she announced this month that she was in recovery from surgery for a nonmalignant brain tumor, which she discovered while her mother was battling brain cancer. Perhaps most surprising was how quickly Menounos was treated. She explained to People magazine that when she told her mother’s doctor about her symptoms — headaches, dizziness, slurred speech — he immediately investigated what was wrong. (Emily Dwass, 7/26)

The Des Moines Register: Attorney General Sessions Should Not Re-Escalate War On Drugs
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has apparently learned nothing regarding the War on Drugs. He wants to re-escalate this failed policy at a time when many states are realizing its futility and trying to move in different directions. Drug treatment doesn't work 100 percent of the time, but it is certainly more effective (and less costly) than incarcerating people with this illness. And as long as there are addicts, there will always be dealers, so incarcerating dealers has little long-term impact on the drug problem. (Allen Hays, 7/25)

Boston Globe: Mass. Should Pass Gun Restraining Order Bill
Representative David P. Linsky, a Natick Democrat, has filed legislation that would allow family and household members, police, district attorneys, and health care providers to go to court and seek “extreme risk protective orders” for individuals who pose a significant danger to themselves or others. The bill, which has raised the hackles of gun rights groups, stands up to constitutional scrutiny and builds in an important hearing mechanism before long-term restrictions can be imposed. (7/26)