Twitter Round-Up (11/11-11/17)

By Casey Thomson

Don’t just read the summaries – check out the tweets themselves! From now on, links to the original tweets will be included in our round-up. Additionally, as a reminder from the last post, retweeting should not be read as an endorsement of or agreement with the content of the original tweet. With that, read on for this week’s round-up…

  • Arthur Caplan (@ArthurCaplan) posted an article about the growing trend of paying for convenience in healthcare with privacy, sometimes without formal consent. The latest example (and the subject of this article) is palm-scanning at New York University Langone Medical Center. (11/11) [Note: Dan Vorhaus also tweeted this the next day.]
  • Frank Pasquale (@FrankPasquale) linked to a post on the potential valuables (medicines, solvents, chemical treatments) hidden amongst newly-discovered marine micro-organisms. With regulations hefty on land but largely non-existent for water, there are concerns that damage from harvesting could result in ecosystem damage or exploitation of water resource-rich developing nations. (11/11)
  • Dan Vorhaus (@genomics lawyer) brought up a link describing the “particularized consent approach” of the website my46, meant to facilitate the process of helping people decide what results of genetic testing to see and when to see such results. Combining this with his post about the direct-to-consumer genomics of 23andMe, it is clear that this is an area to watch. (11/12)
  • Daniel Goldberg (@prof_goldberg) exclaims his love for the term “empathotoxin” in conjunction with the link for this blog post. The post talks about the declining sense of empathy correlated with medical training as according to a research review by American Medicine, with results based on self-reporting. (11/12)
  • Kevin Outterson (@koutterson) tweeted an article about the oncoming scrutiny likely to hit Congress in the throngs of the current meningitis outbreak. While state boards and the F.D.A. are receiving much of the onslaught as a result of their lax oversight, Congress has hindered stronger regulation for drug compounders particularly in regards to defining the F.D.A.’s policing authority – and thus, say some, is partly deserving of blame. (11/14)
  • Daniel Goldberg (@prof_goldberg) also linked to an article that talked of lessening the gaps between the mainstream views concerning disability (the “outside” view) and those within the disability community (the “inside” view) when considering law. By proposing a certain set of “framing rules” facilitated by input from the inside view, nondisabled people can make more informed decisions regarding the relationship to disability. (11/14)
  • Dan Vorhaus (@genomicslawyer) posted an article that followed up on an earlier tweet from our weekly round-ups detailing China’s new draft regulation for human genetic materials, including but not limited to organs. (11/15)
  • Frank Pasquale (@FrankPasquale) included a link to the The New York Times piece on the massive drug shortages plaguing the nation’s healthcare system.  Pasquale noted in his tweet that organizations which purchase on behalf of groups, often for hospitals, may be contributing to this shortage. (11/17)

Twitter Round-Up (11/4-11/10)

By Casey Thomson

[Ed. Note. 11/12/12: Just to be clear, retweeting should not be read as an endorsement of or agreement with the content of the original tweet.]

With Election Day now come and gone, our bloggers were tweeting this week about the results, in addition to the greater happenings in health law and ethics. Read below for this week’s round-up:

  • Arthur Caplan (@ArthurCaplan) retweeted a post about the recent clinical trial done on chelation, a “fringe” heart disease treatment whose popularity often hinges on a patient’s distrust of conventional medicine. Evidence of the treatment’s effectiveness looks to be marginal, at best. (11/4)
  • Michelle Meyer (@MichelleNMeyer) retweeted an article that explained the problems in the intersection between neuroscience and law, namely how emerging technologies in neuroscience are not being used appropriately to understand criminal behavior. The author advocates for a renewed look at how neuroscience and law can work together, not only to evaluate defendants effectively, but also to customize plans that can serve the interests of both the defendant and the public. (11/5)
  • Dan Vorhaus (@genomicslawyer) linked to a new piece he co-authored on clinical data and genetics, entitled “The Next Controversy in Genetic Testing: Clinical Data as Trade Secrets?” (11/6)
  • Michelle Meyer (@MichelleNMeyer) aptly summarized the results of Massachusetts’ ballot questions with her tweet: “Sick folk in MA can now smoke pot but, it seems likely, not have the aid of their doc in controlling the timing & nature of their death.” (11/6)
  • Daniel Goldberg (@prof_goldberg) linked to a study done on children with epilepsy  and their families. Goldberg noted that the study’s results indicate a serious “ethically pernicious” problem that in fact worsens the condition of those afflicted with epilepsy more so than may be originally perceived: stigmatization. (11/7)
  • Frank Pasquale (@FrankPasquale) tweeted a blog post that talked of the need to increase the FDA’s power in order to curb the fungal meningitis outbreak now affecting individuals nationwide. Lamentations of the state-based system’s inability to handle the problem had undertones of concern for future situations similar to this one sprouting up again. (11/8)
  • Frank Pasquale (@FrankPasquale) also published a news update from Georgia, where legislators are ending the discount on license renewal prices that had previously been given to motorists who signed up to be organ donors. While many expressed fear that the policy would decrease the number of donors, others in the medical community admitted that there had been no demonstrated link between the policy and increases in donor sign-ups. (11/10)

Twitter Round-Up: What Our Bloggers Are Tweeting About (10/28-11/3)

By Casey Thomson
[Ed. Note: Several of our bloggers are active on Twitter.  In a new feature, we’ll be posting some highlights of their tweets each week so you can stay in the know – or think about following them directly!]
  • Dan Vorhaus (@genomicslawyer) linked to Bloomberg’s article on the current underutilization of genetic tests for Lynch Syndrome, responsible for potentially 3% of all cases of colon cancer. Authors Langreth and Lauerman note that the lack of testing is but one example of the tendency to avoid such tests due to “doctors’ ignorance and financial disincentives.” (10/29)
  • Daniel Goldberg (@prof_goldberg) shared Iona Heath’s article on the problematic nature of current breast cancer screening awareness programs, discussing how women are not given enough information to decide if the potential treatments that follow are indeed worth the psychological devastation often invoked. (10/30)
  • Michelle Meyer (@MichelleNMeyer) retweeted an editorial on medical genetic paternalism. The post by Razib Khan discussed how physicians deciding whether to tell parents about unforeseen genetic test results of their children can be considered not only an act of malpractice, but also morally wrong. (10/30)
  • Einer Elhauge (@elhauge) linked to a new review of his acclaimed book, Obamacare On Trial by the National Law Review. (10/31)
  • Daniel Goldberg also tweeted a review by Boddice of Javier Moscoso’s new book, Pain: A Cultural History. (10/31)
  • Arthur Caplan (@ArthurCaplan) linked to news about China’s promised initiative to reduce the dependence on death row inmates for organs. A new national organ donation system, based on a system previously piloted by the Red Cross Society of China, could take effect as soon as early 2013. (11/2)
  • Arthur Caplan also posted on the Vatican’s announcement to hold its second “International Adult Stem Cell Conference,” revisiting this complicated issue. (11/2)
  • Arthur Caplan additionally linked to a report on the debate and complications regarding feeding tube use, as published by Krieger of Mercury News. (11/2)