First Edition: August 20, 2018
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
The Man Who Sold America On Vitamin D — And Profited In The Process
The doctor most responsible for turning the sunshine supplement into a billion-dollar juggernaut has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the vitamin D industry, according to government records and interviews. (Szabo, 8/20)
Kaiser Health News:
Babies Dependent On Opioids Need Touch, Not Tech
One doctor in Kansas works to make sure every hospital in the state can provide the soft start, ideally with their mothers, that babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome need. (Smith/KCUR, 8/20)
The New York Times:
States Rush To Rein In Prescription Costs, And Drug Companies Fight Back
States around the country are clamping down on pharmaceutical companies, forcing them to disclose and justify price increases, but the drug manufacturers are fighting back, challenging the state laws as a violation of their constitutional rights. Even more states are, for the first time, trying to regulate middlemen who play a crucial role by managing drug benefits for employers and insurers, while taking payments from drug companies in return for giving preferential treatment to their drugs. (Pear, 8/18)
USA Today:
2018 Election Exclusive: Health Care, Trump Dominate Political Ads In Senate Races
Senate Democratic candidates and allied outside groups have devoted more than 40 percent of their TV ads this year to health care – spending a combined $17 million on spots pledging to protect people with pre-existing conditions, fight for lower drug prices and guard against cuts to Medicare. (Shesgreen and Groppe, 8/20)
The Wall Street Journal:
Regulators Threaten Funding Of Indian Health Hospital In South Dakota
An intoxicated 12-year-old girl tried to strangle herself with a call-light cord and shoe laces after being left alone last month at a hospital on the Rosebud Sioux reservation. A mentally disturbed 35-year-old man died of cardiac arrest the next day at the same hospital after being restrained by medical staff, who didn’t follow proper procedures. These incidents, cited in a federal report released Friday, were among the reasons that regulators are threatening to withdraw critical funding from the South Dakota facility, operated by the U.S. Indian Health Service. (Frosch, 8/17)
NPR/The Center for Public Integrity:
Texas Tightens Disclosure Rules Following Medicaid Investigation
A Medicaid committee in Texas is requiring those who comment at its meetings to disclose more details about their ties to pharmaceutical companies after a Center for Public Integrity and NPR investigation into the drug industry's influence on such boards. ... Officials in Arizona, Colorado and New York have already taken action. The Texas committee, which helps decide which medicines are best for patients and should therefore be preferred by Medicaid, will now ask speakers to disclose verbally and in writing if they have "directly or indirectly received payments or gifts" from any pharmaceutical companies and to identify those firms, Texas Health and Human Services Commission spokeswoman Kelli Weldon said in an email. (Essley Whyte, 8/17)
Reuters:
U.S. Senators Demand Answers From Army After Reuters Report On Lead Poisoning
Four U.S. senators on Friday urged the Army to detail the steps it is taking to safeguard children from lead poisoning, citing a Reuters investigation into hazards on military bases. “We write to you today concerned about recent reports of lead poisoning at a number of Army installations,” the senators wrote. “The health and safety of our servicemembers and their families are of the utmost importance.” (Januta and Schneyer, 8/17)
The New York Times:
This E.R. Treats Opioid Addiction On Demand. That’s Very Rare.
Every year, thousands of people addicted to opioids show up at hospital emergency rooms in withdrawal so agonizing it leaves them moaning and writhing on the floor. Usually, they’re given medicines that help with vomiting or diarrhea and sent on their way, maybe with a few numbers to call about treatment. ... Highland [Hospital E.R. in Oakland], a clattering big-city hospital where security wands constantly beep as new patients get scanned for weapons, is among a small group of institutions that have started initiating opioid addiction treatment in the E.R. (Goodnough, 8/18)
The New York Times:
In San Francisco, Opioid Addiction Treatment Offered On The Streets
The addiction treatment program at Highland Hospital’s emergency room is only one way that cities and health care providers are connecting with people in unusual settings. Another is in San Francisco, where city health workers are taking to the streets to find homeless people with opioid use disorder and offering them buprenorphine prescriptions on the spot. (Goodnough, 8/18)
The Associated Press:
Chronic Pain Patients Says They're 'Treated Like Criminals'
Doctors are looking at opioid prescriptions through a microscopic lens because since 2013, more people in Virginia have died from drug overdoses than vehicle accidents or guns, according to the Virginia Department of Health. ... As a result, the health care industry has reduced the number of opioid prescriptions, hoping to curtail “drug seekers” who may start with pain pills, which become a gateway drug to more illicit substances. But the cutback also is affecting those with legitimate pain problems. (Dyson, 8/19)
The Associated Press:
Synthetic Pot Seen As A Public Health Danger
A decade after first appearing in the United States, synthetic marijuana is seen as a growing health danger. Some marijuana smokers turned to it because it is relatively cheap and not detected in routine drug testing. Dozens of people in New Haven, Connecticut, went to the hospital this week after overdosing on a batch of synthetic pot. (Stobbe, 8/17)
Los Angeles Times:
With An Epidemic Of Mental Illness On The Streets, Counties Struggle To Spend Huge Cash Reserves
When California voters passed a tax on high-income residents in 2004, backers said it would make good on the state’s “failed promise” to help counties pay for the treatment of the mentally ill. After nearly 15 years, Proposition 63 — the Mental Health Services Act — has steered billions of dollars to the counties across the state. But huge sums remain unspent at a time when mental illness has become an epidemic among the homeless population. (Curwen, 8/19)
The Wall Street Journal:
An Ex-Husband Moves Back In—For Cancer Care
Chad Burnheimer and Holly Platt, both in their 40s, had been divorced for eight years when he was diagnosed with brain cancer in April 2017. At that point, Ms. Platt became his caregiver, taking him to the doctor, monitoring his medicine and joining him at support groups for those with brain tumors. He moved into her Pittsburgh home with their three children, ages 11, 14 and 21. ... The profile of the nation’s 40 million unpaid caregivers is evolving. Family members—typically spouses and adult children—still provide the majority of care for the sick and aging, but as families become smaller and more far-flung, others are stepping in, including grandchildren, neighbors, stepchildren, and partners. Now, with high rates of divorce, especially among baby boomers, a relatively new face is emerging in the caregiving landscape: ex-spouses. (Ansberry, 8/19)
NPR:
Why Hospitals Are Getting Into The Real Estate Business
But why is a hospital getting into the housing business? A body of evidence points to a link between living in areas of concentrated poverty and health. It's something doctors at Nationwide Children's were seeing first-hand. "It's remarkably frustrating as a physician to see patients over and over and over again from these very high-risk communities," says Dr. Kelly Kelleher, director of the Center for Innovation in Pediatric Practice at Nationwide Children's Hospital. "Houses that are falling apart, plumbing problems, mold, rat infestations, violence. You see 25 kids a day, and maybe two-thirds of them are in these desperate straits." (Chisholm, 8/19)
The New York Times:
The Secret To Keeping Black Men Healthy? Maybe Black Doctors
Black men have the lowest life expectancy of any ethnic group in the United States. Much of the gap is explained by greater rates of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease, which afflict poor and poorly educated black men in particular. But why is that? Lack of insurance? Lack of access to health care? Now, a group of researchers in California has demonstrated that another powerful force may be at work: a lack of black physicians. (Kolata, 8/20)
NPR:
Should You Get That Scan? Your Doctor Might Not Be Great At Helping You Decide
Your doctor probably nags you to schedule cancer screening tests like mammograms and colonoscopies. These tests, after all, can be life-saving, and most doctors want to make sure you get them done. But when it comes to explaining the ways that certain screenings can cause you harm, your doctor may not be doing such a good job. (Gordon, 8/18)
The New York Times:
This Drug Is Safe And Effective. Wait. Compared With What?
We spend many billions of dollars each year on the discovery and development of new drugs, but almost none of it addresses two crucial questions: How do these new therapies compare with already known ones? What are the relative benefits and harms in a particular situation, for a person like you? Such questions can best be answered by comparative effectiveness research. (Carroll, 8/20)
The Washington Post:
If You Are Young And Have Cancer, Help Can Be Hard To Find. That’s Changing.
Adolescents and young adults with cancer, often called AYAs, have been an in-between, often forgotten population. Groups that advocate for them argue that research, treatment and survival rates have not kept pace with those of young children and older adults. “We are the invisible cancer generation,” Zachary says. Furthermore, this group has age-specific concerns, including body image, sexuality, fertility, relationships, education and career. (Cimons, 8/18)
The Wall Street Journal:
The Woman Who Has A Plan For Wall Street To Help Cure Blindness
Karen Petrou, an influential adviser to bankers and regulators, has made a career of deciphering complicated financial regulations. Now she’s trying to decode another type of puzzle. The conundrum: Matching medical researchers who need money with investors who have it. A bill outlining her strategy, which would include a government guarantee, was introduced in the House of Representatives last month. (Rexrode, 8/18)
Los Angeles Times:
'Killed Me Little By Little.' Family Detention Left Lasting Scars For One Mother And Son
While critics of family separation say splitting parents and children can traumatize children, Katie Shepherd, national advocacy counsel for the Immigration Justice Campaign, said children also can suffer when kept with their parents. Shepherd represented families like Oliva and Cristhian who were detained in Texas under the Obama administration. She saw children regressing behaviorally, crying a lot, becoming listless, fighting more and lashing out. (Castillo and Bernhard, 8/19)
USA Today:
No Prison Time For Ex-Houston Doctor Who Raped Heavily Sedated Patient
A former Texas doctor who raped a heavily sedated patient won't serve prison time after he was found guilty of the crime Thursday. Shafeeq Sheikh, a former Baylor College of Medicine physician, was sentenced to 10 years' probation Friday, and he must now register as a sex offender. (Miller, 8/18)
The Washington Post:
Nurses Helped Make Us Understand Domestic Violence As A Serious Health Issue
Even though intimate-partner violence has long been all too common, it hasn’t always been considered a serious health issue. Passionate nurses helped change that. “Confronting Violence: Improving Women’s Lives,” a traveling exhibition produced by the National Library of Medicine, brings their work to life.I t’s a compact exhibit with a massive story to tell. (Blakemore, 8/18)
The Wall Street Journal:
Martin Shkreli’s Former Lawyer Sentenced To 18 Months In Prison
Evan Greebel, a former corporate lawyer found guilty last year for helping “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli defraud a publicly traded pharmaceutical company, was sentenced Friday by a federal judge in Brooklyn to 18 months in prison. (Davis O’Brien, 8/18)
NPR:
Vacation Days Piling Up? Even A Short Get-Away Can Boost Well-Being
About half of full-time workers recently surveyed by the U.S. Travel Association didn't take all the paid vacation days they earned last year. ... If you're among this group, you could be missing out on some of the benefits of leisure time. It may seem obvious that vacation makes us feel good, but its health benefits are, in fact, measurable. For instance one study finds engaging in more frequent enjoyable leisure activities, including vacation, is linked to improvements in mood, sleep and blood pressure, and can help buffer "the negative psychological impact of stress." (Aubrey, 8/20)
Politico:
I’m Coping With Cancer By Reporting On It
I’ve got direct access to the cumbersome and complicated and hopefully lifesaving American health care system. I am in reporter heaven even if I am in cancer-patient hell. Straddling that line is bizarre. To write this story, I filled out a patient consent form that allows me to write about getting treated for my own disease. I went through the Moffitt Cancer Center’s press office to fact-check this article with my own doctor. I always fear misquoting or mischaracterizing someone, but now, the person I fear misquoting will soon cut me open on an operating table. (Glorioso, 8/19)
The Associated Press:
Birth Control App Highlights Emerging Health Tech Market
The condom, the pill and now, the smartphone? Natural Cycles, a mobile fertility app, this month became the first ever digital contraceptive device to win FDA marketing approval. Women take their temperatures and track their menstrual cycle on the app, which uses an algorithm to determine when they’re fertile and should abstain from unprotected sex or use protection. In effect, it’s a form of the rhythm or calendar method. (Chan, 8/17)
The Washington Post:
New Blood Pressure Guidelines Can Cause Problems For The Elderly.
In recent years, doctors have been urged to treat high blood pressure more aggressively, especially in older people. My mother’s doctors seemed intent on lowering her blood pressure despite what I thought were side effects that were diminishing her quality of life. (Neumann, 8/19)
The Washington Post:
Childhood Exposure To Secondhand Smoke Is Linked To Lung Disease Decades Later
Childhood exposure to secondhand smoke is linked to lung disease decades later, according to a study published last week by the American Cancer Society. For 22 years, researchers have been following more than 70,000 adults who have never smoked. At the beginning of the study, the participants were asked whether they lived in a household with a smoker while they were children. Those who did were 31 percent more likely to die of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. This is the first study to find a correlation between the two. (Furby, 8/18)
The Wall Street Journal:
Gut Feeling: To Stay Healthy, Keep Your Body’s Microbes In Line
You probably know the human body hosts a variety of microbes, but you might be surprised by the volume. If the collection of bacteria, fungi and other organisms could be shed all at once, it would weigh 2 to 4 pounds and fill one or two quarts. En masse, scientists call it the microbiome and have come to believe it is as important to good health as a sound brain, heart, kidneys, liver and lungs. (McGinty, 8/17)