Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Are Safe Injection Sites Safe?; Thinking About Fake [Health] News
Los Angeles Times: Safe Injections Centers Are Not Opium Dens
Goovernment-sanctioned and supported “supervised injection centers,” where addicts can bring their illicitly obtained drugs and shoot up with little fear of arrest or a fatal overdose, have been in service in Europe for decades. There’s only one in all of North America, though. It’s in Canada — a Vancouver, Canada, center called Insite. Research found that after the center opened in 2003 fatal drug overdoses decreased by 35% in the nearby community. Earlier this month Canadian officials authorized injection centers in Montreal, Toronto and other cities. (6/24)
The Atlantic: 'Of All The Categories Of Fake News, Health News Is The Worst'
“Let’s take this back a couple hundred years,” said Brian Southwell, the director of the “Science in the Public Sphere” program at the Center for Communication Science at RTI International. “There was an ongoing debate between a couple guys in Europe: Spinoza and Descartes.” These two philosophers were debating, essentially, about whether people are able to readily identify fake news. (Julie Beck, 6/25)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Berea Cop Sees Assisting Addicts, Not Just Arresting, As The Right Way To Protect And Serve
Berea Police Patrolman David Kammerman fumbled for the ringing cell phone. It was 4 a.m. and his shift in this low-crime college town didn't start for another few hours. "Hello?" On the other end was a drug addict whom Kammerman had encountered on the job. But he never arrested him. Instead, the guy came to Kammerman for help and the officer gave it, reassuring him that "addiction is not a choice, but recovery is." Then, as part of a cooperative program with Olmsted Township Police called "Safe Passages," the cop worked the phones and lined up a coveted inpatient treatment bed. (Michael K. McIntyre, 6/25)
WBUR: Dear Jeff Bezos, Please Help Save My Patients' Lives By Cutting Whole Foods Prices
But recently, as a result of talking with the patients I treat as a primary care physician, my organic blueberries come with a topping of guilt and concern about what my high-end groceries mean for the low-income people who live near Whole Foods markets. For them, my neighborhood is what I would call a “food desert of plenty,” with plenty of healthy foods in walking distance but economically out of reach. (Elisabeth Poorman, 6/23)
The Kansas City Star: It’s Time To Think About Replacing Osawatomie State Hospital
Osawatomie State Hospital, one of two state facilities for the severely mentally ill, has once again failed to achieve federal certification. That fact should disturb every Kansan. This should also prompt a serious discussion about the state of mental health treatment in Kansas, including the possibility of demolishing all or part of the existing Osawatomie facility and building a new 21st-century treatment center. (6/24)
