Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: FDA's Peptide Plan Fails On Consumer Safety; Health Care Is Hindered By Constant Second-Guessing
Bloomberg: Are Peptides Just Snake Oil? Don't Ask The FDA
The Food and Drug Administration will hold meetings this summer to discuss whether compounding pharmacies should be allowed to manufacture half a dozen commonly sought, yet unproven peptides. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claims the move will help shut down the black market for these products. (Lisa Jarvis, 4/21)
Stat: Second- And Third-Guessing Decisions Is Now Central To Medicine
In outpatient medicine, decisions move quickly. A prescription is sent to a pharmacy. A referral goes out to a specialist. A test is ordered. From the patient’s perspective, the process feels immediate. Care begins moving forward as soon as the visit ends. But often that is only the beginning of the story. (Holland Haynie, 4/21)
Stat: A Chief Executive With Diminished Executive Function Is Dangerous
Circa 1970, the renowned Russian neuropsychologist Alexander Luria together with Karl Pribram from Stanford University and other neuroscientists of that era introduced the term “executive functions” into the scientific lexicon to denote complex behaviors such as attention and awareness. They identified the frontal lobe — the front of the brain — as the “executive of the brain” responsible for these behaviors based on their experiments with primates and patients with specific brain injuries. (Anand Kumar and Neil Pliskin, 4/21)
The New York Times: My Child Died Of Measles
That last weekend in the hospital, watching Renae die, was so traumatic. I told the doctors that I didn’t want them to continue the treatments. I could tell Renae was in distress, and I just wanted her to be at peace. We turned off the machines on a Friday. My family and I stayed in the room that weekend. On Monday morning, Sept. 25, 2023, Renae took her last breath. It was nine days before her 11th birthday. (Rebecca Archer, 4/21)
