Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Who Should Have The Final Say In Assisted Suicide?; Doctors Are Struggling With Mental Health
The Star Tribune: Denying Sufferer's Wishes Is No Triumph Of Civilization
A number of countries — and a few American states — permit some form of assisted suicide for terminally ill patients, but Canada is one of only a handful that have legalized euthanasia. Medical practitioners are permitted to use drugs to end the lives of patients who are suffering, even those who are not immediately terminal. (John M. Crisp, 12/12)
Stat: It's Time To Flip The Primary Care Archetype To Teamwork
My colleague, Skip, was the kind of primary care doctor I always wanted to be. He could riff on the evaluation of a patient with new joint or liver inflammation like an improvising jazz musician. He could discern a familiar rash in the most puzzling plumes of hot, angry bumps. When I had lab results that flummoxed me, I’d go see Skip. Six months before the Covid-19 pandemic emerged, Skip died by suicide. (Audrey Provenzano, 12/13)
Stat: Lessons From Ecuador On Increasing Access To Mental Health Care
In his assessment of governments’ work to provide sufficient mental health resources to their citizens, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization, warned that “good intentions are not being met with investment." (John Q. Young, 12/13)
Los Angeles Times: Kids Keep Getting Sick, Overwhelming Parents Once Again. Will The U.S. Offer Us Any Help?
If you’re a parent with a young child, odds are that your child is or has recently been sick, sending you and your partner scrambling to figure out who will miss work again to stay home. (Sarah Hunter Simanson, 12/12)
The New York Times: Experience The Great Outdoors From Prison
Years ago, I read about an exploratory program that showed nature imagery to people in prison to improve their mental health. (Merete Mueller, 12/13)
Los Angeles Times: How Rising Hospital Costs Increase Healthcare Inequities
In 2020, healthcare costs represented nearly 20% of the United States’ gross domestic product, a sharp rise from 2019 and more than four times higher than in 1960. COVID-19 helped fuel the rapid acceleration of healthcare costs, pushing hospitals to the brink. For America’s urban safety net hospitals, these increases have made it even harder to provide care in high-need communities. (Julianne Malveaux, 12/12)
