Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Palliative Care Doc Wary Of $100M Infusion For Medicare; Rare Disease Treatment Breakthrough Near
Stat: As A Palliative Care Physician, I’m Nervous About The Medicare Infusion Of $100 Million For ‘Functional Or Lifestyle Medicine’
My field should be cheering this investment in whole-person care. Instead, I’m watching it with one eye on the evidence and the other on a pattern I’ve seen up close: When uncertainty is high and emotions are higher, sectarian certainty moves in fast. (Kyle P. Edmonds, 4/9)
The New York Times: This May Be The Most Important Medical Story Of The Decade
Rare disease, in aggregate, is one of the largest unmet medical needs on earth. What makes this moment different is that the technology to do something about it finally exists. (Jeff Coller, 4/9)
Stat: The Pasteur Institute Of Iran Illustrates Important Truths About Global Public Health
The global network of Pasteur Institutes, like the one in Tehran, offers three important lessons about war, innovation, and welfare. (Charentan Chatterjee and Guy Vernet, 4/9)
Los Angeles Times: How A Dependence On Painkillers Took Down Golf Great Tiger Woods
Bothersome backs are common among golfers. Scotland-based osteopath Gavin Routledge, who has teamed with renowned golf coach Gary Nicol in developing a treatment program for spinal injuries, views Tiger Woods’ medical history as particularly telling. “I honestly can’t see a way out for him,” Routledge told Golfweek. “We have known for decades that once you have one disc surgery, the chances of having another are substantially higher, especially if you use the fusion technique like Tiger. It’s a domino effect.” (Steven Henson, 4/8)
Stat: Tastiness Is Not Why People Overeat
We tend to think of tastiness as a quality inherent to food: Cheesecake is delicious, cauliflower is not. However, perception of tastiness is strongly influenced by conditioning and our internal metabolic state. Remember your first sip of coffee or beer? It probably seemed disagreeably bitter. But many people learn to savor these beverages, as the pleasant biological effects of caffeine and alcohol become paired with their taste. Similarly, the same freshly baked bread and butter taste better before a large meal, when blood calorie levels are low, than after. (David S. Ludwig, 4/9)
