Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Ways The Pandemic Has Affected New Mothers; Benefits Of Artificial Intelligence In Health Care
Chicago Tribune: New Motherhood In A ‘New Normal’ World
When it comes to pregnancy amid a pandemic, there is no manual. Where once expecting moms could find answers to most of their questions within a copy of “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” the book contains no chapter on how to navigate pregnancy and new motherhood during a pandemic. For many women, questions regarding their health — and the safety of their child — cast a shadow on what should be a joyful experience. (Ellen Stang, 12/20)
Stat: Embrace The Reality: How AI Can Improve Health Outcomes Right Now
The story of artificial intelligence (AI) driving better health care outcomes has been a convoluted one, with hype-laden chapters on algorithmic cures for cancer and the future of robots replacing doctors. As those promises eventually proved overly ambitious, many people have lost the plot. When the world fixed its collective gaze on the Covid-19 pandemic and AI innovation fell off the hype cycle, it did not die. Instead, it has quietly emerged as a critical link between patients, providers, and payers by helping identify gaps in care, guide strategic decision-making, and improve patient engagement with care managers and primary care providers. Bots may not have replaced clinicians, but they have emerged as an important link in the care-management process. (Prasad Dindigal, 12/21)
Modern Healthcare: Whole Person Health Finally Starting To Get The Attention It Deserves
It’s taken a pandemic for the world to fully grasp the interdependent nature of mental, physical and socioeconomic health. Yet, while COVID-19 has exponentially increased Google search trends for terms like “social determinants of health,” the foundations of whole person health run centuries deep. In words variably attributed to Osler, Moxon and even Hippocrates, generations of aspiring clinicians have learned the primacy of “knowing what sort of a patient has the disease than what sort of disease the patient has.” (Kody Kinsley and Dr. Chris DeRienzo, 12/21)
The Boston Globe: For Laura’s Law To Succeed, DPH Must Heed Our Advice
After pushing two long years for Laura’s Law to be passed by the Legislature and seeing it signed into law by Governor Charlie Baker last January, I thought my work was over trying to make a difference in my late wife’s name. I couldn’t have been more wrong. There was plenty more to do to implement the law. Since August, I have been meeting with a group of experts and concerned leaders — officially the Patient Access to Emergency Care (Laura’s Law) Workgroup — to come up with a list of recommendations for hospitals to adhere to ensure patients can find and get inside emergency departments as quickly as possible. Common-sense safety checks you might reasonably assume are already in place at your local hospital but, shockingly, often are not. (Peter DeMarco, 12/21)
Los Angeles Times: Amid Blood Shortage, Your Donation Could Save My Life
I’ve never been very good at math, but here are some numbers about me: my age; how old I was when I received my first blood transfusion; and how many transfusions I’ve had since. 35; 6 months; and, at this point, nearly 900. Needing blood is something I can set a watch to — it’s an unavoidable aspect of my life and routine, and has been since I was diagnosed with a chronic blood disorder (beta thalassemia major) as an infant. No matter what else is going on — holidays, work events, global health crises — I still always need another transfusion. (Joelle Zarcone, 12/21)
