‘We’ve Become Witch Doctors’: Prestigious Hospitals Embracing Alternative Medicine
Stat examines top hospitals and medical schools to see just how deeply rooted the new acceptance for alternative therapies is. In other public health news: social media and isolation; the disappointment of potential medical breakthroughs; elusive diagnoses; eating disorders in young children; asthma and more.
Stat:
Top US Hospitals Aggressively Promoting Alternative Medicine Offerings
[Hospitals] affiliated with Yale, Duke, Johns Hopkins, and other top medical research centers also aggressively promote alternative therapies with little or no scientific backing. They offer “energy healing” to help treat multiple sclerosis, acupuncture for infertility, and homeopathic bee venom for fibromyalgia. A public forum hosted by the University of Florida’s hospital even promises to explain how herbal therapy can reverse Alzheimer’s. (It can’t.) This embrace of alternative medicine has been building for years. But a STAT examination of 15 academic research centers across the US underscores just how deeply these therapies have become embedded in prestigious hospitals and medical schools. (Ross, Blau and Sheridan, 3/7)
NPR:
Heavy Social Media Use Linked To Isolation In Young Adults
For young adults, social media may not be so social after all. Among people in that age group, heavy use of platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram was associated with feelings of social isolation, a study finds. (Hobson, 3/6)
NPR:
Medical Breakthroughs Often Don't Pan Out In The Long Run
When you pick up a newspaper and read a story about the latest results on breast cancer, autism, depression or other ailments, what are the odds that finding will stand the test of time? The answer, according to a study in the journal PLOS One is: flip a coin. (Harris, 3/6)
WBUR:
The Diagnosis Is Never Easy
Over his four-decade medical career, Dr. Stuart Mushlin has cracked countless medical mysteries. Putting on his detective hat to figure out an elusive diagnosis when the signs and symptoms point elsewhere: syphilis, leprosy, tuberculosis. He’s seen it all. And seen how medicine has changed over the years. (Clayson, 3/6)
The Washington Post:
Here’s How To Get Your Kids To Eat Well And Avoid Eating Disorders
A friend’s 8-year-old daughter packs her own lunch for school. One day, her dad noticed that lunch consisted of a single cherry tomato, one slice of apple and one spoonful of yogurt. When asked, the child replied that she didn’t think she’d be hungry at school. My friend wanted to know: Was this the beginning of problem eating? (Adams, 3/6)
The Baltimore Sun:
Children's Asthma Symptoms Improve When Families Educated On Reducing Household Allergens
Children with asthma related to mouse allergies show as much improvement when their families are taught how to clean allergens and trap mice as they do when professional pest managers treat the home, a new study by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine researchers suggests. The results, published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, could help doctors and scientists who have long looked for ways to reduce rates and symptoms of asthma in Baltimore. (Cohn, 3/6)
The Wall Street Journal:
Advanced Cancer Treatments Far From Big-Name Hospitals
Community health-care systems are taking steps to embrace genetic testing in treating cancer, a cutting-edge approach offered at most major academic medical centers. The changes mean patients can get treatment close to where they live. The hospitals and small practices treat most cancer patients but may be far from major research centers and have fewer resources than them. (Kincaid, 3/6)
Kansas City Star:
CDC Warns Parents About Children Drinking Hand Sanitizers
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a new warning to parents and caregivers to be aware of children drinking hand sanitizers — sometimes on purpose. The caution comes with a new CDC report released March 3 that found 70,669 cases of children younger than 12 exposed to sanitizer poisoning from 2011 to 2014. (Gutierrez, 3/6)
Center for Investigative Reporting:
Congress Kills Rule Forcing Contractors To Disclose Safety Problems
Companies vying for federal contracts will not be required to disclose serious workplace safety violations after the Senate narrowly voted today to overturn one of President Barack Obama’s executive orders. The move follows a vote by the House last month to dismantle the 2014 order, which required companies vying for federal contracts of $500,000 or more to disclose workplace safety, wage and civil rights violations from the previous three years. (Gollan, 3/6)
