Viewpoints: Treating Politics Like Medicine; Parsing Donald Trump’s Drug-Import Policy
A selection of opinions from around the country.
USA Today:
Politics Should Be More Like Medicine: Column
Doctors have a unique perspective into disadvantaged segments of society. We are among the most well-educated, well-compensated and resourceful professionals — but we’re also intimately familiar with the most marginalized populations. We don’t just grasp intellectually what it means for poor families when politicians cut affordable housing initiatives, slash food-assistance programs, or refuse health insurance expansions. We feel it. We’re frustrated when a mother can’t get approval for the medications she needs; we’re helpless when consoling families of dead teenagers in violent communities. As physicians, we’re uniquely situated to give voice to the voiceless because we know what politicians know, but also because we feel what patients feel. We have stories to tell, particularly for those who can’t tell their own. (Dhruv Khullar, 4/6)
The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Drug-Import Proposal Would Compromise Safety
Presidential front-runner Donald Trump recently unveiled a proposal that would authorize Americans to buy prescription drugs imported from countries like Canada. The measure sounds appealing; who wouldn't want cheaper medicines from our northern neighbor's safe pharmacies? Unfortunately, there's a reason this proposal sounds too good to be true: It is. (Robert Blancato, 4/6)
Chicago Tribune:
The Hypocrisy And Incoherence Of Donald Trump's Latest Abortion Stance
The memo to which I refer is the confidential talking-points briefing from organized opponents of abortion rights on how to deal with the difficult question: "If abortion is tantamount to murder, then shouldn't a woman who obtains an abortion be prosecuted as an accessory to murder?" Trump, the Republican presidential hopeful, famously stammered his way though an answer to a version of this question last week during a town hall interview, concluding that "there has to be some form of punishment" for the woman. (Eric Zorn, 4/5)
Louisville Courier-Journal:
Health Is A Social Justice Issue
My granny is 97 this year. Papaw died more than a decade ago. For 50+ years, they ran a little country store in rural Appalachia where most everyone was poor. The store was next door to a school, built not long after the civil war. It's where granny went (1st-12th grade). Education was a value. The entire community took part in making sure it happened for young people. Granny was postmistress and mentor to generations of kids who came to her for help with almost everything. If she didn't know the answer, she would work with them to figure it out. Papaw would regularly take people in our community the 15 or so miles back and forth to town for doctor's appointments. He would haul coal to help people stay warm in winter. I never saw Papaw say no to anyone who needed help. Papaw himself had been raised by his grandmother in Alabama. His mother died in childbirth and his father was not around much. In part, I am convinced this is where his deep humanity came from. (Theo Edmonds, 4/5)
STAT:
Why Every Clinical Trial Should Have An App For Participants
Using predictive algorithms that prioritize consumer preferences, these companies are finding inventive new ways to engage customers with games, stories, and sharing tools sent to their mobile devices. Pharmaceutical companies should be doing the same thing. But many of them aren’t, or aren’t doing it well. (Glen de Vries, 4/5)
Louisville Courier-Journal:
Need To Fight Anti-Abortion Violence
Instead of the ongoing lawsuits that Gov. Bevin has filed against abortion clinics, it would be much more prudent to focus the public’s and state’s attention on a necessary cause -- ending anti-abortion harassment, targeting, violence, and terrorism. Based on our extensive research into extreme anti-abortion harassment, baseless attacks by politicians on doctors and medical facilities providing safe, comprehensive reproductive medical care exacerbate a dire situation in this country where abortion providers rightfully fear for their lives because of ongoing threats from anti-abortion extremists. (David S. Cohen and Krysten Connon, 4/5)
Chicago Tribune:
Restoration Plan For Old Cook County Hospital Has Welcome Elements
Still rough but basically sound, the redevelopment plan for the beloved but battered old Cook County Hospital building and its surroundings has the makings of a good design prescription. The plan would breathe new life into one of Chicago's great buildings, a palace of healing that symbolizes compassionate care for the poor. It also could bring urban vibrancy to the Illinois Medical District, a sprawling collection of medical research buildings, labs and university facilities that now resembles a dull suburban office park. (Blair Kamin, 4/5)
Health Affairs Blog:
To Fight Antimicrobial Resistance, Allow FDA To Approve New Drugs For Limited Populations
Over the past several months, microbiologists and public health experts around the world have been alarmed by the discovery of a gene conferring resistance to colistin, a so-called “last resort” antibiotic. The gene, MCR-1, was discovered in China last year, and thereafter quickly identified in E. coli samples from six continents. Because this type of gene is highly transferable, it will, in all likelihood, spread to other hard-to-treat bacteria. What global health leaders have been warning of for years has now become reality. (Allan Coukell, 4/5)
The New York Times:
Mosquito Vs. Mosquito In The Battle Over The Zika Virus
Genetically modified mosquitoes are in the news for good reason: They may be our best hope for controlling the mosquito-borne Zika virus. The Food and Drug Administration has issued a preliminary finding of no significant environmental impact and is seeking public comment on a plan to test them in a field trial in the Florida Keys. So you might think this will resolve the Zika crisis, which has caught the world’s attention because of an unexpected spike in microcephaly in babies born to women infected during pregnancy and in the incidence of the paralytic Guillain-Barré syndrome in Zika-infected adults. (Nina Fedoroff and John Block, 4/6)
Chicago Tribune:
Why The World Health Organization Responded So Differently To Zika And Ebola
The World Health Organization jumped into action on the Zika virus outbreak in 2016, in sharp contrast with the WHO’s much slower 2014 response to the Ebola outbreak. Research on international organizations and on how health issues are framed can help explain the difference. The WHO confirmed an Ebola outbreak in March 2014. Five months and nearly 1,000 deaths later, the WHO announced that the West African Ebola outbreak was a “public health emergency of international concern.” (Amy S. Patterson, 4/5)
