Via LLRX – Mifepristone is under scrutiny in the courts, but it has been used safely and effectively around the world for decades – A flurry of court rulings in April 2023 has left the future of the abortion pill mifepristone in question. For now, a U.S. Supreme Court decision on April 21 allows the drug… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Medicine
Lessons from the Covid War: An Investigative Report Paperback
“What went right and wrong in our nation’s response to the pandemic? What can we do to avoid the next one? In Lessons from the Covid War: An Investigative Report, the nonpartisan Covid Crisis Group offers crucial recommendations to prepare for the inevitable next public health crisis. The Covid Crisis Group—led by UVA history professor Philip Zelikow, the… Continue Reading
WHO releases the largest global collection of health inequality data
“Today, WHO is launching the Health Inequality Data Repository, the most comprehensive global collection of publicly available disaggregated data and evidence on population health and its determinants. The repository allows for tracking health inequalities across population groups and over time, by breaking down data according to group characteristics, ranging from education level to ethnicity. The… Continue Reading
Long COVID Is Being Erased—Again
The Atlantic: “…Most Americans simply aren’t thinking about COVID with the same acuity they once did; the White House long ago zeroed in on hospitalizations and deaths as the measures to worry most about. And what was once outright denial of long COVID’s existence has morphed into something subtler: a creeping conviction, seeded by academics… Continue Reading
HHS Making Ownership Data for All Medicare-Certified Hospice and Home Health Agencies Publicly Available
CMS – “The Biden-Harris Administration has made promoting competition and protecting consumers a top priority. Today, in support of the President’s Executive Order on promoting competition and the Administration’s commitment to transparency, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is releasing ownership data for all Medicare-certified hospice and home health agencies. For the… Continue Reading
GPT-4 will hunt for trends in medical records thanks to Microsoft and Epic
ars technica – Generative AI promises to streamline health care, but critics say not so fast. “On Monday [April 17, 2023], Microsoft and Epic Systems announced that they are bringing OpenAI’s GPT-4 AI language model into health care for use in drafting message responses from health care workers to patients and for use in analyzing… Continue Reading
Primer – Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law
The Alan Turing Institute and the Council of Europe: Primer – Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law: “…It is a remarkable fact that rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and data-driven technologies over the last two decades have placed contemporary society at a pivot-point in deciding what shape the future of… Continue Reading
U.S. appeals court preserves limited access to abortion pill
Reuters: “The abortion pill mifepristone will remain available in the United States for now but with significant restrictions, including a requirement for in-person doctor visits to obtain the drug, a federal appeals court ruled late on Wednesday. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals put on hold part of last Friday’s order by… Continue Reading
ReproductiveRights.gov
ReproductiveRights,gov: Update on Medication Abortion – “While the April 7, 2023, Texas district court’s decision in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA threatens access to mifepristone, it is important to know that medication abortion continues to be approved and available for the time being. The Biden-Harris Administration will vigorously fight to protect access to critical… Continue Reading
What is misoprostol? Crucial questions about the other abortion drug
Vox – A Texas judge’s ruling could take mifepristone off the market. An alternative, however, exists. “In a move that could further curtail Americans’ already limited reproductive options, a federal judge in Texas ruled on Friday to reverse the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, an abortion medication that has been used in the US for more… Continue Reading
FDA Plans to Allow a Second Updated Covid Booster for Vulnerable Americans
NPR: The Food and Drug Administration has decided to allow some people to get a second booster with one of the COVID-19 vaccines that have been updated to target the omicron variant, NPR has learned. The second shots will be limited to those age 65 and older who got their first shot of the bivalent… Continue Reading
How to avoid sticker shock on prescriptions
Consumer Reports via Washington Post: “Do you experience sticker shock when you’re at a pharmacy to fill prescriptions? Many older people say they have. Eleven percent of Americans 65 and older — 6 million people — report that they or a loved one have skipped prescribed meds to save money, according to a 2021 Gallup… Continue Reading
