Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Will AI Help Or Hinder Doctors And Health Care?; We Can Learn From Mpox Management
USA Today: Will AI Replace Doctors? How New Tech Could Harm Healthcare
Artificial intelligence can be a useful scientific tool, but it also could threaten a doctor’s essential role. (Dr. Marc Siegel, 4/17)
Bloomberg: How Artificial Intelligence Like ChatGPT Is Influencing Medical Diagnoses
AI may not care whether humans live or die, but tools like ChatGPT will still affect life-and-death decisions — once they become a standard tool in the hands of doctors. (Faye Flam, 4/15)
The New York Times: How Gay Men Saved Us From Monkeypox
It was July of 2022, just last summer, and an outbreak of mpox — formerly known as monkeypox — was in full swing. From a handful of cases in a few cities in early May, the outbreak surged to more than 16,000 cases in 75 countries and territories just two months later. It was terrifying. (Ina Park and Dan Savage, 4/16)
The Washington Post: Chinese Lab Leak Mystery Remains Amid Reports Of Biosafety Problems
More than three years into the coronavirus pandemic, the question has yet to be answered: How and why did it begin? (4/15)
Modern Healthcare: More Due Diligence Needed Before That Next Hospital Purchase
The immediate effects of a hospital closing: The hulking facility sits empty with little chance of being repurposed and workers lose their jobs. Patients, who frequently have transportation challenges, have one fewer place to receive care. There are other repercussions too, as reporters Kara Hartnett and Alex Kacik detail in their story this week, “What happens when a safety-net hospital closes?” (Mary Ellen Podmolik, 4/17)
The Star Tribune: We Must Retain Nurses To Protect Patient Care In Minnesota Hospitals
While other states may face nursing shortages, Minnesota is fortunate to have a surplus of registered nurses, with thousands more graduating every year. Last year the number of RNs rose by 4,000 to 122,000. But hospital CEOs created crisis conditions for patients and workers in our hospitals that are driving those nurses away faster than hospitals can hire them. (Mary C. Turner and Chris Rubesch, 4/16)
Miami Herald: Pass Florida Law On Medical Titles, Who Is A Doctor Or Nurse
FGCU Professor Robert Bland was identified in writing and in a photograph as, “Dr.” without clearly labeling his degree as that of a non-physician, and the report quoted Bland as saying that, “nurse anesthesiology is basically the same as medical anesthesiology.” (Rebekah Bernard and Mitchell Zeitler, 4/14)
