Via LLRX – Long COVID puzzle pieces are falling into place – the picture is unsettling – Long COVID is a term that describes the constellation of long-term health effects caused by infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. These range from persistent respiratory symptoms, such as shortness of breath, to debilitating fatigue or brain fog that… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Medicine
2024 State Scorecard on Women’s Health and Reproductive Care
The Commonwealth Fund: Our Scorecard ranks every state’s health care system based on how well it provides high-quality, accessible, and equitable health care. Read the report to see health care rankings by state. Scorecard Highlights: Massachusetts, Vermont, and Rhode Island top the rankings for the 2024 State Scorecard on Women’s Health and Reproductive Care, which… Continue Reading
A terrific primer on all things Long Covid
Via Boing Boing: “If you have an hour to spare and want to learn more about Long Covid, here’s a great, thorough overview by a public health and science communicator who goes by the name of “Lola Germs” on social media. They describe their educational project on their YouTube: “I’m a public health and science… Continue Reading
Overcoming Hurdles And Shaping The Future Of Legal Tech In The Age Of Artificial Intelligence
Above the Law – Legal professionals are confronted with challenges such as technological barriers, ethical concerns, and evolving legal frameworks and regulations, by Iman Badri. “One of the cornerstones of the United States’ (US) legal system is stare decisis, a principle established in the early 1800s. Stare decisis mandates that courts and judges should uphold… Continue Reading
Pharmacy Benefit Managers – Middlemen Inflating Drug Costs, Squeezing Main Street Pharmacies
StatNews: FTC report finds PBMs profit at the expense of patients and independent pharmacies Pharmacy Benefit Managers: The Powerful Middlemen Inflating Drug Costs and Squeezing Main Street Pharmacies Interim Staff Report July 2024 U.S. Federal Trade Commission Office of Policy Planning. Continue Reading
Insurers Pocketed $50 Billion From Medicare for Diseases No Doctor Treated
WSJ via MSN: “…Insurer-driven diagnoses by UnitedHealth for diseases that no doctor treated generated $8.7 billion in 2021 payments to the company, the Journal’s analysis showed. UnitedHealth’s net income that year was about $17 billion. UnitedHealth’s Wiggin said the Journal’s calculations appear accurate. He said the added payments are “not simply earnings for the company,”… Continue Reading
No surprises act
ProPublica: “In 2020, Congress passed the No Surprises Act to protect patients from exorbitant medical bills that had burdened Americans with tens of thousands of dollars in debt. The law was designed to decrease the charges for patients treated by an out-of-network doctor during medical emergencies. Such ER visits often left people vulnerable to so-called… Continue Reading
Here’s how machine learning can violate your privacy
Via LLRX – Here’s how machine learning can violate your privacy – Jordan Awan, Assistant Professor of Statistics, Purdue University explains how machine learning has pushed the boundaries in several fields, including personalized medicine, self-driving cars and customized advertisements. Research has shown, however, that these systems memorize aspects of the data they were trained with in order… Continue Reading
Project 2025, Election 2024, and America’s Future
TIME: “…Project 2025 led by the right-wing think tank the Heritage Foundation, Project 2025 is a presidential transition operation—basically a government-in-waiting if former President Donald Trump returns to office on Jan. 20, 2025. The $22 million effort does not say it is specifically intended for Trump, but that it wants a conservative as the next… Continue Reading
How do we know how many people died of Covid-19?
YouTube: “After four years and dozens of studies, we know everything we’re going to know about the death toll of the Covid pandemic. After four years and dozens of studies, we know everything we’re going to know about the death toll of the Covid pandemic. WELCOME TO HOWTOWN! Our small but mighty team of two… Continue Reading
The Opaque Industry Secretly Inflating Prices for Prescription Drugs
The New York Times [unpaywalled] – Pharmacy benefit managers are driving up drug costs for millions of people, employers and the government. “Americans are paying too much for prescription drugs. It is a common, longstanding complaint. And the culprits seem obvious: Drug companies. Insurers. A dysfunctional federal government. But there is another collection of powerful… Continue Reading
If Opiates Are Killing Americans, Why Won’t the FDA Let Us Try an Alternative?
Reason: “For more than a decade, patients who’ve needed certain controlled medications have suffered from ill-advised, untenable policies the U.S. government has instituted, allegedly to mitigate the ever-surging numbers of drug overdose deaths. These policies have been a dismal failure on multiple fronts: Not only have deaths continued to surge, but the terrifying intrusion of… Continue Reading
