Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: What Are Microplastics Inside Our Bodies Doing?; How To Prevent A Nationwide Abortion Ban
The New York Times: What Is The Plastic In Our Bodies Doing To Us?
There is plastic in our bodies; it’s in our lungs and in our bowels and in the blood that pulses through us. We can’t see it, and we can’t feel it, but it is there. It is there in the water we drink and the food we eat, and even in the air that we breathe. (Mark O'Connell, 4/20)
Los Angeles Times: Would A Nationwide Abortion Ban Be Consitutional?
The Supreme Court has given itself until midnight Friday to make an “emergency” decision on access to mifepristone, a drug used in half of all U.S. abortions. Whatever the outcome, it’s just a preliminary round in the battle over U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s ruling earlier this month to block FDA approval of the drug. (Aaron Tang, 4/20)
Miami Herald: Eradicated Diseases Are Reappearing Across The Region
From measles outbreaks to reported cases of polio, dangerous diseases thought long gone are making a comeback in Latin America and the Caribbean. How is this possible in a region once declared measles- and polio-free? (Garry Conille, 4/20)
Dallas Morning News: Raise State Rates For Home Caregivers
Before founding Outreach Health in 1975, my father was a nursing home administrator. He saw firsthand that so many residents could be better served in their homes and communities than in institutional facilities. (John David Ball, 4/21)
The New York Times: Medical Assistance In Dying Should Include The Mentally Ill
I am a Canadian, where eligible adults have had the legal right to request medical assistance in dying (MAID) since June 2016. Acceptance of MAID has been spreading, and it is now legal in almost a dozen countries and 10 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. (Clancy Martin, 4/21)
Also —
Stat: Why Hospital Residents Should Unionize
As a third-year neurology resident at Mass General Brigham, I started my career at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Now Covid numbers may be down, but hospitals continue to overflow. On a 28-hour shift, I cared for more than 40 patients, 11 of whom were newly admitted to the hospital overnight. Stretched too thin, I skimmed through the patients’ medical charts and did a quick physical exam to make sure each person was stable. (Minali Nigam, 4/21)
Stat: Why I Want A Pause On Unionization Of Medical Residents
Medicine is a calling. But far too often, trainees — residents and fellows — at hospitals don’t receive the support necessary to deliver the best clinical care. In response, many trainees are calling for unions, including at Mass General Brigham, where I’m currently a third-year orthopedic surgery resident. But while many consider unionizing to be a “yes” or “no” proposition, at this moment, I suggest a third option: a pause. (David N. Bernstein, 4/21)
