Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: We're Getting Desensitized To The Overdose Crisis; Are Crop Top Medical Scrubs Unprofessional?
Stat: 72,000 Drug Overdoses A Year Is Not Acceptable
In May 2025, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that drug overdose deaths had fallen 27%, from roughly 110,000 in 2023 to about 80,000 in 2024. Provisional data through late 2025 projects a further drop to around 72,000. (Wayne Kepner, 3/9)
MedPage Today: Scrubs Were Never Meant To Be About You
It is not that a cropped scrub top prevents clinical excellence (you could presumably perform CPR just as well with your belly hanging out), or that lash extensions cannot be worn by a highly skilled doctor or nurse. It is that the aesthetic shift risks reframing healthcare from a solemn profession into an arena for curated self-presentation. It makes it more about the nurse or doctor, and less about the patient. (Caroline Rubin, 3/8)
Stat: 5 Lessons From Vinay Prasad's Turbulent Tenure At The FDA
Food and Drug Administration official Vinay Prasad self-destructed last week. The FDA announced Friday evening that he would step down next month after a series of controversial decisions about vaccines and gene therapies. His unique ability to attract criticism — even when his bosses, including the president, wanted him to keep his head low — did him in. (Matthew Herper, 3/8)
Stat: Parents Want Autism Diagnosis So Insurance Will Cover ABA Therapy
“Does he have autism?” Robert’s mother asked anxiously. I’m a behavioral/developmental pediatrician working in a front-line private practice for the last 45 years in a Bay Area suburb. The family had asked me to perform an evaluation on Robert, a 6-year-old who had already been to two other expert teams. (Lawrence Diller, 3/9)
The Washington Post: I’m A Computer Scientist. Here’s How We Should Help Aging Parents With Technology.
This past Christmas, I helped my parents choose a water filter. The latest “smart” models all came with a smartphone app that promised to monitor filter life, track water quality and automatically request service. Yet my father, age 75, and mother, 67, were quick to reject them in favor of a nondigital model. “Every time it updates or I forget how to use it, we’ll have to call you,” my dad said. (Debaleena Chattopadhyay, 3/8)
