Category: Weekly Round-Up

Twitter Round-Up (12/2-12/8)

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By Casey Thomson
This week’s Twitter Round-Up features an “American Idol-style” selection of research grant winners, the problems facing children in Syria attempting to be vaccinated, and a review of where we stand with current patient health information privacy and security.
  • Michelle Meyer (@MichelleNMeyer) retweeted an article about a newly emerging landmark case in the United Kingdom. In the suit, a childless couple denied IVF funding due to the woman’s age is suing Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt (because he is “ultimately accountable for healthcare in England”) on the basis of age discrimination. Thought to be the first venture to sue the Health Secretary concerning decisions about this NHS fund rationing, this case also will be the first instance where age discrimination laws have been employed to try for fertility treatment. (12/3)
  • Alex Smith (@AlexSmithMD) shared an article about a problem patients must deal with when approaching post-hospitalization care: Medicare’s offer to pay for hospice care or for a Skilled Nursing Facility (S.N.F.), but only rarely at the same time. Not only does the choice create a financial predicament, but it also has extensive repercussions for the patient’s health. Calls for a combined benefit process between hospice/palliative care and S.N.F. have been made, including a proposed “concurrent care” demonstration project in the Affordable Care Act. (12/6)
  • Dan Vorhaus (@genomicslawyer) linked to a summary of the Ponemon Institute’s Third Annual Benchmark Study on Patient Privacy & Data Security, reporting on the challenges still being faced to safeguard protected health information (“PHI”). (12/6)
  • Michelle Meyer (@MichelleNMeyer) additionally retweeted a link explaining Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s attempt to deal with the rising difficulty of choosing which research grants to support: an “American Idol-style” public online voting. With almost 6,500 votes cast, the public engagement experiment picked a project hoping to research methods for integrating genomic sequencing into newborns’ routine medical care. When future grant holders are struggling to award between a set of equally deserving project proposals, this push for public involvement (after having confirmed scientific rigor) may have intriguing implications. (12/6)
  • Daniel Goldberg (@prof_goldberg) also linked to a study in Denmark testing the relationship between socio-economic status (SES) and blood pressure levels. Despite having a healthcare system that is free and equal-access regardless of factors like SES, the study found that SES had a “significant effect on BP [blood pressure] control” in this survey. (12/7)
  • Arthur Caplan (@ArthurCaplan) posted a report by UNICEF on the efforts by parents in the Syrian Arab Republic to get their children vaccinated. With many medical centers destroyed by the conflict, and with health practitioners having to operate and transport supplies in the dangerous environment, children have been unable to receive routine vaccinations for several months. This campaign aims to provide such vaccinations (specifically for measles and polio) to children, having advertised via churches, mosques, schools, television, and even by SMS to get greater coverage. (12/7)
  • Frank Pasquale (@FrankPasquale) included a book review of Pharmageddon by David Healy, a look at how pharmaceutical companies are excessively influencing the medical industry particularly with “diagnostic categories and clinical guidelines.” The result, according to Healy: a society where people “think about their bodies as a bundle of risks to be managed by drugs,” with a workforce that is “getting ‘sicker,'” and with “major pharmaceutical companies…banking on further overdiagnosis and overtreatment,” all “undermining universal health care.” (12/8)

Note: As mentioned in previous posts, retweeting should not be considered as an endorsement of or agreement with the content of the original tweet.

Petrie-Flom Interns’ Weekly Round-Up: 12/1-12/7

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By Hyeongsu Park and Kathy Wang

Twitter Round-Up (11/25-12/1)

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By Casey Thomson

From policy adoption at the federal level to debate over the health concerns of political figures, this week’s round-up focuses largely on the news for bioethics and health law in the realm of politics.

  • Dan Vorhaus (@genomicslawyer) posted a feature on the history of gene patent litigation and implications for next-generation sequencing technologies. (11/26)  He also included a link summarizing key information on H.R.6118, newly passed in the House and Senate and now being presented to the President. Otherwise known as the Taking Essential Steps for Testing (TEST) Act 2012, the bill gives the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) “greater flexibility in enforcing CLIA [Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments] proficiency testing violations” (as noted by Vorhaus). (11/26)
  • Daniel Goldberg (@prof_goldberg) included a post on the inequality in self-rated health as considered by gender. The study, done in Spain, found that females’ lower sense of self-rated health is a reflection of the higher burden of disease in women, and encouraged systems of health to reconsider the approach towards afflictions with lesser impact on mortality that are possibly receiving less attention than is deserved. (11/26)
  • Daniel Goldberg (@prof_goldberg) additionally included a report on the problems parents with disabilities are facing in terms of retaining (or even gaining) their right to be a parent. Such bias against parents, the article notes, may not recognize that ensuring essential support may be all that is needed to discourage problems or eradicate risks for the majority of cases. (11/26)
  • Frank Pasquale (@FrankPasquale) linked to a blog post on the recent protests by AIDS activists in the office of House Speaker John Boehner. The protesters, stripped naked in order to reveal the painted “AIDS Cuts Kill” written on their chests, were there to protest the possible cuts to HIV/AIDS program funding that may follow a fiscal cliff deal.  (11/28)
  • Arthur Caplan (@ArthurCaplan) featured his talk with Boston Public Radio on the fine line politicians must walk when balancing their struggle with a health crisis along with the responsibilities of being a public official. The recent health concerns facing Boston’s Mayor Thomas Menino served as inspiration for this discussion. (11/28)
  • Frank Pasquale (@FrankPasquale) added a news article detailing the recent speech made by principal deputy national coordinator David Muntz of HHS’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. Muntz, in addition to discussing the need to better incorporate technology for fostering stronger communication between patient and doctor, mentioned some striking statistics: “only 15% of patients have renewed a prescription online,” while “just 10% have a personal health record.” (11/29)
  • Arthur Caplan (@ArthurCaplan) posted a link to a new feature on concierge medicine, where appointments can be paid for solely through cash and not through insurance. While previously considered an option only for the rich, concierge medicine has possible implications for the greater body of patients: as the article noted, it may become a more viable option especially as threats of regulation and backlash in a doctor shortage encourage traditionally high-priced firms to backtrack. (11/29)
  • Arthur Caplan (@ArthurCaplan) also shared a video by Canadian comedian Rick Mercer on getting flu shots. (12/1)

Note: As mentioned in previous posts, retweeting should not be considered as an endorsement of or agreement with the content of the original tweet.

Petrie-Flom Interns’ Weekly Round-up: Nov 17-Nov 30

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By Kathy Wang and Hyeongsu Park

Twitter Round-Up (11/18-11/24)

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By Casey Thomson

After what we hope was a hearty meal (or at least a restful, happy holiday) this past Thanksgiving for all of our readers, we are back with this week’s Twitter round-up – just a few days behind schedule.

  • Daniel Goldberg (@prof_goldberg) tweeted an article by Stefan Fatsis on the different perspectives regarding child participation in tackle football. As Goldberg noted in his tweet, from the perspective of neuroethics, the choice is clear: tackle football (or American football) is harmful for kids. (11/19)
  • Frank Pasquale (@FrankPasquale) included a link to a piece describing why data from all clinical trials should be readily accessible to doctors, or the origins of the BMJ Open Data Campaign. The article used the case of the Tamiflu anti-flu drug as an example, where the article authors described their hurdles in communicating with the drug’s producers concerning drug test results while trying to review the efficacy of the drug through Cochrane Collaboration. (11/21)
  • Kevin Outterson (@koutterson) posted his article, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, concerning the path for new federal regulations for compounding pharmacies in the wake of the meningitis outbreak and the New England Compounding Center (NECC). (11/23)
  • Arthur Caplan (@ArthurCaplan) brought up a recent post concerning the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and their declaration that making birth control pills over-the-counter (OTC), rather than prescription, could reduce the rate of unplanned pregnancies in the United States (which has not changed in 20 years). While the change would not occur overnight, there are many consequences that remain unclear – including changes in price and insurance coverage. (11/23)
  • Michelle Meyer (@MichelleNMeyer) retweeted a link to David Shaywitz’s article, which noted the increased criticism and distrust facing industry studies as compared to those of university scientists. Shaywitz encouraged contextualization of industry criticism to recognize that such critiques often plague medical science in general, not just industry. (11/24)

Note: 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.

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

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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)

Petrie-Flom Interns’ Weekly Round-Up: 11/10-11/16

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By Hyeongsu Park and Kathy Wang