lunes, 31 de marzo de 2025
Annual Medication Use and Costs Among Children
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2831871
An AHRQ-supported study in JAMA Network Open identified opportunities for improved patient safety and cost savings if medication therapy management coverage is made available to pediatric patients. For adult beneficiaries who meet the pharmaceutical cost threshold, Medicare covers the cost of a comprehensive management program proven to reduce spending and medication-related problems. Researchers reviewed the records of 529,055 children prescribed one or more medications annually in the 2022 Colorado All Payers Claims Database and found that 50 percent of patients had no concurrent medications, 44 percent had two to four concurrent medications and 6 percent had five or more concurrent medications. Of the $1.1 billion spent on prescriptions, 47 percent was spent for patients taking five or more medications. According to the article, 5 percent of pediatric patients in Colorado met the 2022 medication cost threshold for adults enrolled in Medicare to receive medication therapy management.
AHRQ Summit to Address Emergency Department Boarding
https://www.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/topics/ed-boarding-summit-report.pdf
A new AHRQ report released today shows the causes of emergency department (ED) boarding originate at the hospital or health system level and require solutions beyond the walls of the ED. ED boarding occurs after the decision is made to admit a patient to the hospital but there is no inpatient bed available, so the patient ends up waiting in the emergency department for hours, days or even weeks. Boarding has serious impacts on patients, including excess in-hospital mortality, increased medical errors and costly delays in care delivery. It also negatively impacts hospital staff and public safety. The report presents solutions from this broad contextual view and notes opportunities for health systems, states and federal partners to lead efforts moving forward. The report highlights findings from the AHRQ Summit to Address Emergency Department Boarding held on Oct. 8, 2024, in response to a bipartisan letter from 44 members of Congress to HHS.
AHRQ in the Professional Literature ++++ ++++
AHRQ in the Professional Literature
Randomized controlled trial to evaluate a new tool to support patient decision-making on transplant centers. McKinney WT, Israni K, Schaffhausen CR, et al. Clin Transplant. 2024 Dec;38(12):e70043. Access the abstract on PubMed®.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39620865/
Workflow analysis of breast cancer treatment decision-making: challenges and opportunities for informatics to support patient-centered cancer care. Salwei ME, Reale C. JAMIA Open. 2024 Jul;7(2):ooae053. Epub 2024 Jun 24. Access the abstract on PubMed®.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38911330/
Birthing parent and companion verbal reactions following interactions with inpatient postpartum health care team members: an observational study using naturalistic filming. Mangas M, Saggi NS, Macias MP, et al. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2024 Dec 20;24(1):841. Access the abstract on PubMed®.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39707269/
Reducing stigma through conversations in primary care about unhealthy alcohol use. Bishop D, Parsons D, Villalobos G, et al. Ann Fam Med. 2025 Jan 27;23(1):83. Access the abstract on PubMed®.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39870537/
Hospital-level variation in cardiac rehabilitation metrics. Pollack LM, Chang A, Thompson MP, et al. Am Heart J. 2025 Apr;282:58-69. Epub 2024 Dec 13. Access the abstract on PubMed®.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39675500/
Changes in coverage stability and churning for private, individual insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Hill SC, Jacobs PD. Health Affairs Scholar. 2025 Jan;3(1):qxae169. Epub 2024 Dec 10. Access the abstract on PubMed®.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39839084/
A systems engineering approach to alarm management on pediatric medical-surgical units. Ruppel H, Luo B, Rasooly IR, et al. J Hosp Med. 2025 Jan;20(1):98-103. Epub 2024 Oct 17. Access the abstract on PubMed®.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39417242/
Developing a clinical decision support framework for integrating predictive models into routine nursing practices in home health care for patients with heart failure. Chae S, Davoudi A, Song J, et al. J Nurs Scholarsh. 2025 Jan;57(1):165-77. Epub 2024 Nov 7. Access the abstract on PubMed®.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39508345/
domingo, 30 de marzo de 2025
RFK Jr. plans to slash HHS workforce by 25% in massive reorganization Plan consolidates authorities, creates a new agency for a ‘Healthy America’
https://www.statnews.com/2025/03/27/rfk-jr-10000-job-cuts-hhs-restructuring-health-agency-impacts-cdc-fda-nih-cms/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8G2AEY-c0sr1PUcsRXUPwL9xLJhyiqj_HpS6rINDfbvYox3yXZdjf6F8VNn_kBRNRAKNNhX5pFxi12d2RHUjWznw_BBg&_hsmi=354000676&utm_content=354000676&utm_source=hs_email
The Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday its plan to fire 10,000 employees and radically reorganize what they see as a bloated federal health care bureaucracy. The moves will save $1.8 billion per year, cut the agency’s 28 divisions by almost half, and prioritize reducing chronic illness, according to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The cuts balloon to 20,000 including buyouts and early retirements, but the plan is currently short on details, including who will be laid off and how these reorganizations will shake out. Many high-level officials were left in the dark about the announcement.
The Food and Drug Administration will be hit hardest: about 3,500 employees, or about 19% of the agency’s workforce, according to an HHS fact sheet. The document says that FDA cuts will not affect drug, medical device, or food reviewers, nor will they affect inspectors. More details here. The agency’s brain drain was not limited to the layoffs. Two key administrators that regulate cancer drugs are expected to step down. Read more about the flood of talent that has fled the FDA in recent months.
Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will lose 2,400 employees, or about 18% of its workforce. The agency will return to its core mission of preparing for and responding to disease epidemics and outbreaks, though one former HHS administrator questioned this change.
“How progress will be made to reverse the chronic disease epidemic by cutting chronic disease programs from CDC is an open question,” said Anand Parekh, chief medical adviser at the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Stay tuned for more details about this upheaval and its broader implications for health care in the United States. But for now, here's the scoop. And for the visual learners out there, here’s a graph detailing the HHS workforce, compared with other government agencies.
sábado, 29 de marzo de 2025
Trump Turns Homelessness Response Away From Housing, Toward Forced Treatment By Angela Hart March 27, 2025 +++
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/trump-homelessness-policy-housing-first-forced-treatment/?utm_campaign=KHN%20-%20Weekly%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-93w0oVe1wi3h3MFOlaK79nKrJDtKqmZ7kYZpFQKdHCMRq_a6SaA-DmWqEQpXOLs9uvp7Ra-lMeORBDqjLdiE2yD0pL-Q&_hsmi=354093985&utm_content=354093985&utm_source=hs_email
CONTINUUM OF CARE PROGRAM (Assistance Listing# 14.267)
GRANT AGREEMENT
https://californiahealthline.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/03/Housing-First-SF-R.pdf?utm_campaign=KHN%20-%20Weekly%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_Bp5Y8Nydb-z3sn3T9G0xMdxjrkckrz77yR80rq6HwpcP_EgK8o7ba9hVMN3AWTbZWCGSefP48we9t_SdlTqiwH4D0Mw&_hsmi=354093985&utm_content=354093985&utm_source=hs_email
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Continues the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy
https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/03/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-continues-the-reduction-of-the-federal-bureaucracy/?utm_campaign=KHN%20-%20Weekly%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9kdWzmG6KHXFNJwtgbdezkWCFfhVCAYzr2zB5VQissVYhKcXN-pg-V3c3K8faYal2YFNiFkz26W1eEOcvD4fpvWTmHiQ&_hsmi=354093985&utm_content=354093985&utm_source=hs_email
Behavioral Health and Homelessness Findings from the California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness
https://homelessness.ucsf.edu/sites/default/files/2025-03/Behavioral%20Health%20Report.pdf?utm_campaign=KHN%20-%20Weekly%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--acGLPLtAm5CO51pVegnnFV8__rgm5nSRW2v5SZ8WzUNWgDTpUDqQLSHb6Hr7lXvTbRURvZC6yUP6uBst5TlHP56nzYw&_hsmi=354093985&utm_content=354093985&utm_source=hs_email
Hi. I’m Angela Hart, KFF Health News senior correspondent based in Sacramento, California. I’m tracking the state and national shift in homelessness policy. Send me tips at ahart@kff.org.
By Angela Hart
Is homelessness a mental health and addiction crisis, or is it driven by an affordable housing crisis? That question underpins the debate among policymakers and politicians struggling to move people off the streets faster than they become homeless.
Researchers say housing is the most important intervention to end homelessness, and now a report from the University of California-San Francisco sheds deeper insight: While California’s high housing costs and low incomes drive people into homelessness, those with behavioral health conditions face added risk of becoming homeless. And once people lose housing, homelessness makes them more likely to use drugs or experience a mental health problem.
The report found that nearly half of homeless adults in California have a serious mental health condition or use drugs or alcohol, and 42% of people who regularly use drugs began doing so after becoming homeless.
“Complex behavioral health needs, including substance and mental health problems, increase the risk of becoming homeless, and homelessness exacerbates these problems,” said Margot Kushel, director of the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative at UCSF.
Kushel and others argue that housing and supportive services are critical. Instead, President Donald Trump is pushing a treatment-first approach.
During his campaign, Trump called for relocating homeless people to large camps and forcing treatment, a punitive approach that he says will come with jail time if people refuse.
Now in office, Trump has launched a broad assault on “Housing First.”
The nationwide anti-homelessness policy, aimed at getting people into permanent housing, was created under President George W. Bush and for decades has steered federal funding into housing and social service programs.
Already, city and county officials are being told that the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development “will not enforce” homelessness contracts if they follow the Housing First model. And as Trump officials seek major funding cuts, the president this month issued an order shrinking the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, which was established under President Ronald Reagan to coordinate homelessness initiatives around the nation.
The focus has been on offering housing and voluntary treatment, even if those promises elude too many people. Now, those programs will be eroded.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters of Los Angeles warns: “Make no mistake that Trump’s reckless attacks across the federal government will supercharge the housing and homelessness crisis in communities across the country.”
jueves, 27 de marzo de 2025
Bird Flu Knowledge, Misleading Claims About Measles Prevention, and Health Content Restrictions Irving Washington, Hagere Yilma, and Joel Luther
https://www.kff.org/the-monitor/bird-flu-knowledge-misleading-claims-about-measles-prevention-and-health-content-restrictions/?utm_campaign=KFF-Misinformation-Trust&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--d5F71VRcbzjlHjhH0CIPlJFyHaOHVZj4uF7bv9QQtaHEL74BYY727pS8ZTk6mBzL23DxkUOKFEY3vPMk6FsrGSlesfQ&_hsmi=353750856&utm_content=353750856&utm_source=hs_email
This volume features findings on beliefs about bird flu from KFF’s latest Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust, as well as the false promotion of vitamin A as a preventative for measles. The Monitor also shares developments in content moderation on social media and how a study about mental health after gender-affirming care is misrepresented to make false claims about health care for transgender and non-binary people. Additionally, this volume explores when people prefer to use an AI chatbot, instead of a person, for health information.
Commemorating the 15th Anniversary of the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act
https://www.fda.gov/drugs/cder-conversations/commemorating-15th-anniversary-biologics-price-competition-and-innovation-act?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
Commemorating the 15th Anniversary of the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act
https://www.fda.gov/drugs/biosimilars/biological-product-innovation-and-competition?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
The Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA), enacted March 23, 2010, was designed to create a regulatory pathway for the approval of biosimilars. It provides a framework for FDA to approve biosimilars, ensuring they are highly similar to an FDA-approved biological product (biologic), called a reference product, with no clinically meaningful differences in safety, purity, and potency from the reference product.
Similar to the Hatch-Waxman Amendments of 1984 that paved the way for the approval of generic drugs, the BPCIA was enacted to promote competition, reduce healthcare costs, and increase access to biologic therapies by introducing biosimilar treatment options for already FDA-approved reference products.
In this CDER Conversation, Sarah Yim, M.D., director of the Office of Therapeutic Biologics and Biosimilars (OTBB) in CDER’s Office of New Drugs, discusses how the BPCIA has impacted public health, biologics manufacturing, and the future of biosimilars.
How is the BPCIA important to public health?
This historic legislation’s key significance was creating a pathway for biosimilar approvals where none had existed. The BPCIA also had a significant public health impact by expanding access to biologics, which provide life-saving treatments for many serious illnesses. Biological products are used to treat conditions such as diabetes, cancer, autoimmune diseases, and other chronic illnesses. The cost of treatment for some of these therapies can be expensive, and the BPCIA was a way to potentially reduce the cost through competition by allowing the development of biosimilars and interchangeable biosimilars.
The BPCIA has shaped public health by promoting innovation and competition in the biologics industry. Reference products enjoy a period of exclusivity, a twelve-year time frame when other companies are unable to obtain approval of and market a biosimilar to that biologic, to encourage innovation. Once that period ends, biosimilars to the reference product may be approved, potentially increasing competition, decreasing prices, and benefiting patients, healthcare systems, and insurers.
Provisions of the BPCIA also embody FDA’s public health mission to increase access while also ensuring that patients can expect the same safety and efficacy with biosimilars. The BPCIA requires rigorous testing to confirm that biosimilars are just as safe and effective as their reference products. FDA uses comprehensive testing that compares a biosimilar’s structural and functional characteristics to the reference product to ensure the biosimilar is as safe and effective as the reference product without unnecessary duplication of human testing.
How has the BPCIA impacted the biologic product industry over the last 15 years?
Prior to the BPCIA, there was not a pathway for approval of biosimilars. Now there are nearly 70 FDA approved biosimilars for 19 different reference products, since the first FDA approval of a biosimilar in 2015. Biosimilars are approved to treat a variety of serious conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, osteoporosis, and diabetes. With a record 18 biosimilar approvals in 2024, we’re optimistic that the number of FDA biosimilar approvals will continue to grow each year as the exclusivity period ends for additional reference products, increasing the potential for biosimilar applications and approvals.
The BPCIA also contributed to the growth of the biologics industry by enabling new and existing pharmaceutical companies to begin developing and producing biosimilars. Having new companies continue to enter the biologics and biosimilars market is critical to creating a more dynamic and diverse pharmaceutical landscape and is a key factor in driving price competition and innovation. According to IQVIA, the U.S. biologics market has grown 12.5% annually over the last 5 years and is projected to grow to as much as 129 billion in sales by 2027, suggesting the number of manufacturers entering the biosimilar market will continue to grow.
What are some challenges the BPCIA and biosimilar approvals have encountered?
Under the BPCIA, once the reference product exclusivity period ends, there may still be patent disputes between reference product manufacturers and biosimilar manufacturers that delay the marketing of a biosimilar product. Patents for many widely used biological products will expire in the next several years and we’ll likely see more and more biosimilars enter the U.S. market as a direct result.
As with any new medical treatment, biosimilars have had to overcome challenges gaining acceptance and dispelling misperceptions that may exist. CDER created a robust biosimilar education and outreach program to help assure the public and health care community that biosimilars are just as safe and effective as their reference products. One sizeable hurdle we’ve faced with the educational program has been delineating why biosimilars are “similar to” a reference product rather “the same as” or “identical to” as we see for generic drugs. The reason is that biologics are large, complex molecules derived from living organisms that cannot be replicated exactly. This is why CDER’s biosimilar education and outreach program is so important, it takes a complicated topic like this one and makes it easier to understand.
What is the future of biosimilars under the BPCIA?
The implementation of the BPCIA has paved the way for increasing numbers of biosimilars to enter the U.S. market. As the total number of biosimilar approvals increases, market competition is more likely to intensify, possibly leading to lower prices which may improve access for patients. For our part, FDA will continue to complete thorough and timely evaluations of each biosimilar application that is submitted, only approving those that meet our rigorous standards. In addition, CDER will continue outreach to increase knowledge of biosimilars through numerous new education and outreach materials, including new curriculum materials for health care professionals to help them make informed decisions when prescribing biosimilar products.
The BPCIA has created a pathway for biosimilar approvals to enhance competition, potentially reduce the cost of biologics, and increase patient access to treatments. While it has brought significant benefits, the biosimilar market still faces some challenges related to acceptance by the patients and health care professionals and delays in market entry following approval. Despite these challenges, the future of biosimilars under the BPCIA appears very promising.
miércoles, 26 de marzo de 2025
Integrating large language models into medical ethics education
Registration Now Open for FDA-CRCG Workshop: Implementing FDA’s IVPT Guidance Recommendations: A Step-By-Step Illustration
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/implementing-fdas-ivpt-recommendations-a-step-by-step-illustration-tickets-1116605179149?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
Join the FDA and CRCG for the
Implementing FDA’s IVPT Guidance Recommendations: A Step-By-Step Illustration
on April 29-30, 2025
Register Now
Get ready to dive into the world of In Vitro Permeation Tests (IVPT) and specifically discuss how to implement the recommendations in the Guidance for Industry: In Vitro Permeation Test Studies for Topical Drug Products Submitted in ANDAs
https://www.complexgenerics.org/education-training/implementing-fdas-ivpt-guidance-recommendations-a-step-by-step-ilustration/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
The workshop will clarify the intent of FDA recommendations for IVPT studies, with step-by-step demonstrations illustrating how IVPT study procedures can be performed in a manner compatible with recommendations in FDA’s Guidance for Industry: In Vitro Permeation Test Studies for Topical Drug Products Submitted in ANDAs. The focus will be on IVPT method procedures that abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) applicants frequently struggle to implement successfully, and the procedures will be demonstrated using different IVPT diffusion cell systems from major manufacturers.
Choose your experience:
In-person: Interactive sessions, hands-on activities, and learning from industry experts
Virtual: Presentations and discussions with live explanations, pre-recorded demonstrations
This workshop will be held virtually and in-person at The Universities at Shady Grove, Rockville, MD.
https://shadygrove.umd.edu/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
Register now and get ready to revolutionize your understanding of IVPT!
For more information, please visit https://www.complexgenerics.org/education-training/implementing-fdas-ivpt-guidance-recommendations-a-step-by-step-ilustration/.
Check out these upcoming events hosted by FDA and CRCG:
2025 Upcoming Events
https://www.complexgenerics.org/education-training/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
Marty Makary and Jay Bhattacharya confirmed by Senate as FDA commissioner and NIH director Trump’s health team is taking shape as key picks advance
https://www.statnews.com/2025/03/25/marty-makary-fda-jay-bhattacharya-nih-senate-votes/?utm_campaign=breaking_news&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--Tw8Qvp6s0Z_cqfF5mqrf8JPScm3twSgTqgramGsoSlbAUgoNrsGnP1ZfMfpUkOHo9VAjjlguRUv-Ty1j3B0SlEVRPNQ&_hsmi=353592232&utm_content=353592232&utm_source=hs_email
The Senate voted largely along party lines Tuesday to confirm Marty Makary as the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and Jay Bhattacharya as director of the National Institutes of Health. The two Trump picks will now assume leadership of agencies that have been pummeled by workforce cuts and are lagging in morale.
martes, 25 de marzo de 2025
Avoidable Mortality Across US States and High-Income Countries
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2831735?guestAccessKey=6e140777-9347-46e6-bc5d-f78fca5cb2ee&utm_term=032425&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_medium=referral&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_z2sYZb5STJIwT1N3zO2S7nL070xQaJvNqshI3lvqKKhyYD8d7rmfks5zqqMjHIH7LSwya2dm6HtEdmDbuxGuDcxm_RA&_hsmi=353393995&utm_content=tfl&utm_source=for_the_media
The world reduces avoidable deaths & the U.S. adds them, study says
In most high-income countries around the world, the number of avoidable deaths (avoidable thanks to preventative measures or treatments) has been decreasing over the past decade. But in the U.S., that number is increasing, according to a study published yesterday in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Between 2009 and 2021, avoidable deaths in the U.S. increased from around 20 to 44 avoidable deaths per 100,000, the study found. The number of deaths increased in all 50 U.S. states, but the variation between each state also increased. Other countries saw about 14 fewer avoidable deaths per 100,000. In the European Union, the reduction was even greater, with an average of almost 24 fewer deaths per 100,000.
The U.S. spends more on health care than every other high-income country, but the increase in avoidable deaths “suggests that there are concerning broad and systemic issues at play,” the study authors write. They write that policy solutions promoting healthy food, limiting exposure to harmful products, addressing gun violence, and regulating motor vehicle safety are potential ways to address the multifaceted problem.
Cuts to Medicaid will set the U.S. back 35 years in dementia care Reducing, rationing, or even closing services will be catastrophic for patients, families
https://www.statnews.com/2025/03/25/alzheimers-demetia-medicaid-services-support-pace-budget-cuts-caregivers/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8k8R_J4MHM2pm_743yXhFcwzw7ZB1ES4DnIPp1yFzHdvCMKPU3cVnQ90WBAvhGU-DxlJe2oD2ngPMYHRoRbVGR1kT0EQ&_hsmi=353393995&utm_content=353393995&utm_source=hs_email
Over the past 35 years, the U.S. has built up systems to support people living with dementia and their caregivers — often through programs that rely on Medicaid funding. But the proposed federal budget calls for $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid over 10 years. If that happens, these programs that rely on Medicaid will likely need to reduce their services or potentially close down.
“People are afraid. I’m afraid. They are afraid of what will happen to them if they get this disease. They are even more afraid of how their families will cope,” Hilda Pridgeon, a founder of the Alzheimer’s Association, told Congress in 1990 while advocating for more support. In a new First Opinion essay, physician Jason Karlawish argues that this fear “will once again beset the American family” if the dramatic budget cuts are made. Read the essay, which includes the stories of two patients from Karlawish’s memory clinic whose lives have been changed by Medicaid-funded programs.
NIH is removing some outside scientific advisers who evaluate agency research Terminations are unexplained but appear to be related to Trump executive orders
https://www.statnews.com/2025/03/24/nih-outside-scientific-advisers-being-removed/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8i9ifVfbYkMObqz1JoJTOQ-0b7uMRQ8pMudOenvufYWz7BXuSxA3-ymysf3lRkDglqJvEwImwij6rG3eL69f89nBbzvA&_hsmi=353393995&utm_content=353393995&utm_source=hs_email
NIH removes outside advisers who evaluate research
Prominent outside scientists who help the NIH evaluate its internal research programs are being abruptly removed, according to five advisers whose positions were terminated and a recording of an internal meeting obtained by STAT’s Megan Molteni and Jason Mast.
It’s unclear why this is happening. The advisers who spoke to STAT were not given a reason, and have yet to receive an official notification of termination from the NIH. “I asked where this order came from and nobody seemed to know,” one person said. Among those being terminated are people without U.S. citizenship, women, people from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, and people who work in newly taboo areas like diversity and equity. Read more.
Kidney Transplant Wait Times Under Waiting List Expansion Scenarios
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2831868?guestAccessKey=45474923-36fb-4aa7-b7e0-15dd2eefd95f&utm_term=032425&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_medium=referral&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-86qGsEMAXjcvxN1mMM5dnwMAKlBwpRsKlQxAyLLiBPksmUoKZj3fVyRaiKLD4BqDt9FmxGwOU3fv33EftU4eO6GBmK6g&_hsmi=353393995&utm_content=tfl&utm_source=for_the_media
Does the kidney transplant system need to change?
A new study says yes — if the wait list for a kidney transplant were expanded to improve access, fundamental changes to the current model would be required to reduce or even maintain existing wait times. While there are about 90,000 people on the waitlist at any given time, per federal data from the fall, only about 25,000 kidney transplants take place each year. Adding 10% more patients to the waitlist would increase the average wait time by 4 months; adding 50% more patients would increase the time by almost two years. It would take an additional 2,800 kidneys to offset the 10% increase or 11,000 for a 50% increase, according to the analysis published yesterday in JAMA Network Open.
Right now, it’s especially difficult for people with kidney failure (the most sick patients) to get on the wait list for a transplant, and once there, it takes them longer to actually get a new kidney. But it’s not just the extreme cases that would benefit from more kidneys and shorter wait times — that could save lives across the board. Overall, large increases in kidneys from living donors are likely needed, as are research and policy initiatives that would promote it, the authors wrote. (They did not discuss xenotransplantation, which has received a lot of attention but is still in early days of research.)
https://www.statnews.com/2025/02/03/united-therapeutics-xenotransplantation-clinical-trial/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-893QHpcfGevsrDTHwxSl3LoWBP8mMBa7xRPUl-r-FGzflSLBwHZRrROSsWTgObZiTnQOeREJUMKeNugoyEYxBBXzhHKQ&_hsmi=353393995&utm_content=353393995&utm_source=hs_email
lunes, 24 de marzo de 2025
Five years ago, early career researchers needed help to survive the pandemic. Now they need it again Without them, American medicine faces huge setbacks
https://www.statnews.com/2025/03/24/early-career-researchers-medicine-nih-grants-pipeline/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-90fyniGkxQkrI_sUa9y5Nn3TvrMYFle0eHN-mcwxDRdb-rvkggcZ_N6TolzLoiepcnQAKdNzCAv1-cbdlthqMvemL1wA&_hsmi=353208413&utm_content=353208413&utm_source=hs_email
A new crisis for early career researchers
When Covid-19 began sweeping across the country, young and early career scientists were hit the hardest by the challenges faced by the field as a whole. With in-person conferences cancelled, labs closed, social distancing policies in place, and some staff redeployed to work on the frontlines of clinical care, it’s no wonder this group reported career struggles, worse productivity, and poorer mental health in those early years.
Five years later, there’s a new disruption roiling academic research, but it’s the same people who are most at risk after a slew of federal actions, three physicians and professors write in a new First Opinion essay. The freeze in study section meetings, proposed cut to indirect costs, and the termination of grants with “prohibited terms” are threatening the careers of researchers, Ph.D. students, post-docs, and prospective students.
Read more about what institutions can do to ensure a generation of scientists and their future work isn’t lost.
Enhancing others through information selection: Establishing the phenomenon and its preconditions.
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2025-96179-001?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8xDbKX45Jj913kAJhktS5Tn0TbaVK2NxTCvgOnSbEvsevokN8h9D018gzBYCGCRzd1JXXKMdI2zcMkxzd2qnMaS-Xawg&_hsmi=353208413&utm_content=353208413&utm_source=hs_email
If I like you, I'll comfort you
If not? Well … we’ll see. When providing feedback to others, people are more likely to choose information that might make the other person feel good about themselves — unless they dislike them. That’s according to a study published last week in the American Psychological Association’s Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, in which more than 3,100 people were tasked over seven similar experiments with providing feedback to an unseen partner on their results from personality and intelligence tests.
I won’t get into the nitty-gritty details of each experiment here. But essentially, participants were asked to pick an article out of a varied selection to be given to their partner. Some articles emphasized the validity of the test taken, while others undermined the test. Participants repeatedly provided articles to their partners that would enhance the partner’s self-image (i.e. if the partner performed badly, providing an article that says the test is unreliable).
That tendency to help enhance the other person’s self-image disappeared when participants thought their partner showed “reproachable” characteristics. But even then, the participants were never providing negative feedback more often than they were providing positive feedback.
It’s the first study to systematically investigate how a person may or may not choose to build up another person that they are unlikely to interact with in real life, the authors write. And maybe this is a bit cerebral for a Monday morning newsletter, but they also wrote that the findings show that people follow different principles when selecting information to tell other people, as opposed to what we tell ourselves. (May this be the reminder you need to be kind to yourself today.)
Racial and Ethnic Inequalities in Actual vs Nearest Delivery Hospitals
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2831848?guestAccessKey=c0957767-f5eb-4d6d-88a4-15c747418b57&utm_term=032125&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_medium=referral&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--hx-j8eAuiGS5FeIR_qZTxtNsyCj1OVtImWNiOmNYE4m6XMYvf6GSwaIHIcaSZSGk3Pu7R5z2LI4NwX1O_KOuo8S1-Dg&_hsmi=353208413&utm_content=tfl&utm_source=for_the_media
The closest hospital vs. the one people actually deliver at
American Indian and Black birthing people deliver their babies at lower-quality hospitals than white people, a study published Friday in JAMA Network Open found. There was no significant difference in hospital quality between Asian and Hispanic people and white people. The researchers determined that if Black people gave birth at the closest hospital, the disparity in care received would disappear.
The findings are based on a cohort study of more than six million people who gave birth at 549 hospitals in five states (Mich., Ore., S.C., Pa., and Calif.) between 2008 and 2020. Overall, Black people lived closer to lower-quality hospitals than white people. But they also lived closer to a better hospital than the one they actually delivered at, the study found. The factors that lead someone to pick one hospital over another are not well-understood, the authors write, but insurance coverage and residential segregation likely play a part. Importantly, they noted that Black people giving birth at their nearest hospital is not “a comprehensive solution to reducing disparities.” More work on maternal mortality disparities is needed.
Lawmakers are pushing the HALT Fentanyl Act as the solution to the overdose crisis. Experts warn it will fall short The bill would increases penalties, but doesn’t address addiction treatment
https://www.statnews.com/2025/03/24/halt-fentanyl-act-bipartisan-congressional-support-but-experts-have-questions/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9E2ioNiReZ-is7LqMfToyBdIbMT2f4H2-OKmhCrmRpEZ-n6VsRzpdirmmXqBNOslUzw7QENqPrC8d0A4djhRQjNlPW4Q&_hsmi=353208413&utm_content=353208413&utm_source=hs_email
This bill has bipartisan support — but scientific experts question it
Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate easily passed the HALT Fentanyl Act, which focuses on increasing penalties for fentanyl-related substances (FRS). Much less prevalent than the drug itself, FRS have slightly different chemical structure but provide comparable effects. Supporters of the bill say that cracking down on these other substances is necessary to address the opioid crisis. But experts see a few key problems.
“The thing that is killing people right now when it comes to drug overdose is that there is fentanyl — not fentanyl analogs — illegally manufactured, unregulated fentanyl in the streets,” Travis Rieder, a program director at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, told STAT contributor Samanta Habashy. Nevermind the lack of evidence (as discussed in a previous issue of this newsletter) around targeting the supply of drugs as a way to reduce drug use or drug-related health problems. Read more from Habashy about what the experts had to say.
Cancer research, long protected, feels ‘devastating’ effects under Trump Budget cuts and research delays threaten to reverse progress on what had been a bipartisan cause
https://www.statnews.com/2025/03/24/trump-cancer-research-funding-cuts-patients-researchers-worried/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--ZOGg89GvAE4xOquxm7kefv2jzOtVdDwJ7Qq_eCus8l8PRKm3jiF-YDNrCVmbgxzPR7LiCXUvoUQpDV79jz5GgPLya9A&_hsmi=353208413&utm_content=353208413&utm_source=hs_email
Over the last three decades, an abundance of federal funding has brought cancer science to its peak. New discoveries are accelerating, and the stage is set to introduce a dizzying number of advances over the next 10 years. And when President Trump accepted the Republican nomination for the Oval Office last year, he promised he was the leader who would “get the cure to cancer, Alzheimer’s, and other things.”
But STAT’s Angus Chen reviewed a draft congressional budget that leaves no funds allocated specifically to kidney, pancreatic, lung, or brain cancer and reduces funding for breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer. He also spoke to more than a dozen experts who said that the administration’s actions could bring about long-lasting damage to cancer research — and that patients will die when they otherwise might have lived.
“Sometimes, we want to call out people who are cheering these cuts,” cancer patient Natalie Phelps told Angus. “I don’t know if they realize or if they’re willing to accept and look me in the eye and know that means I potentially won’t be around very long.”
Adversarial Machine Learning: A Taxonomy and Terminology of Attacks and Mitigations
https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/ai/100/2/e2025/final
Adversaries can attack artificial intelligence (AI) systems to make them malfunction. In January 2024, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published voluntary guidelines on how to identify and mitigate these attacks. The guidelines are primarily intended for those who design, develop, deploy, evaluate and govern AI systems.
Now, NIST has finalized the guidelines. Adversarial Machine Learning: A Taxonomy and Terminology of Attacks and Mitigations (NIST AI.100-2e2025), created with input from industry and academia, has a number of revisions that may interest AI developers and users. These include:
The section on GenAI attacks and mitigation methods has been updated and restructured to reflect the most recent developments regarding these technologies and how businesses are using them.
A new section, an index of attacks and mitigations, has been added to allow for fine-grain definition and navigation of attacks. This improves the usability of the guidelines and will promote efficient and consistent communication between practitioners and other stakeholders.
For more information, visit this page.
Media contact: Chad Boutin, boutin@nist.gov
Adversarial Machine Learning A Taxonomy and Terminology of Attacks and Mitigations
https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/ai/NIST.AI.100-2e2025.pdf
Adversaries can attack artificial intelligence (AI) systems to make them malfunction. In January 2024, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published voluntary guidelines on how to identify and mitigate these attacks. The guidelines are primarily intended for those who design, develop, deploy, evaluate and govern AI systems.
Now, NIST has finalized the guidelines. Adversarial Machine Learning: A Taxonomy and Terminology of Attacks and Mitigations (NIST AI.100-2e2025), created with input from industry and academia, has a number of revisions that may interest AI developers and users. These include:
The section on GenAI attacks and mitigation methods has been updated and restructured to reflect the most recent developments regarding these technologies and how businesses are using them.
A new section, an index of attacks and mitigations, has been added to allow for fine-grain definition and navigation of attacks. This improves the usability of the guidelines and will promote efficient and consistent communication between practitioners and other stakeholders.
For more information, visit this page.
Media contact: Chad Boutin, boutin@nist.gov
NIST Identifies Types of Cyberattacks That Manipulate Behavior of AI Systems
https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2024/01/nist-identifies-types-cyberattacks-manipulate-behavior-ai-systems
Adversaries can attack artificial intelligence (AI) systems to make them malfunction. In January 2024, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published voluntary guidelines on how to identify and mitigate these attacks. The guidelines are primarily intended for those who design, develop, deploy, evaluate and govern AI systems.
Now, NIST has finalized the guidelines. Adversarial Machine Learning: A Taxonomy and Terminology of Attacks and Mitigations (NIST AI.100-2e2025), created with input from industry and academia, has a number of revisions that may interest AI developers and users. These include:
The section on GenAI attacks and mitigation methods has been updated and restructured to reflect the most recent developments regarding these technologies and how businesses are using them.
A new section, an index of attacks and mitigations, has been added to allow for fine-grain definition and navigation of attacks. This improves the usability of the guidelines and will promote efficient and consistent communication between practitioners and other stakeholders.
For more information, visit this page.
Media contact: Chad Boutin, boutin@nist.gov
domingo, 23 de marzo de 2025
Association of Digestible Carbohydrate Intake With Cardiovascular Disease, Type 2 Diabetes, Obesity, and Body Composition
Association of Digestible Carbohydrate Intake With Cardiovascular Disease, Type 2 Diabetes, Obesity, and Body Composition: We conducted two systematic reviews to evaluate (1) the association between dietary digestible carbohydrate intake and the incidence of cardiovascular disease and (2) the association between dietary digestible carbohydrate intake and the incidence of T2D and the effect on growth, size, and body composition. These two reviews intend to inform the upcoming U.S. and Canadian government DRI guideline about dietary digestible carbohydrate intake.
sábado, 22 de marzo de 2025
STYPA 2025 - Shaping the Future of Digital Health and AI
https://www.eu-patient.eu/capacity-building-programme/summer-training-course/stypa-2024-shaping-the-future-of-digital-health-and-ai/#:~:text=How%20to%20apply%3F,%40eu%2Dpatient.eu.
STYPA 2025 - Digital Health and AI application deadline
The application deadline for STYPA 2025 is approaching, and you can apply by 16 March! STYPA is a unique training program for young patient advocates focused on digital health and AI in healthcare. The meeting will be held in Brussels, Belgium, on 3-6 July, with additional webinars before and after. Don't miss this opportunity to engage in patient advocacy and shape the future of healthcare!
Fundamentals of statistics in clinical trials
https://openacademy.eurordis.org/courses/statistics-clinical-trials/
Fundamentals of Statistics in Clinical Trials
Eager to learn more about a treatment's efficacy is evaluated? The EURORDIS Open Academy offers a Fundamentals of Statistics in Clinical Trials course. During the course, you will explore the concept of a "treatment effect" in randomised controlled trials, different summary measures for treatment effects, and how to interpret confidence intervals and significance tests. You will also examine the relationship between study power, sample size, and false-negative results. Access the course today!
https://openacademy.eurordis.org/
Checking the Facts on Medicaid Use by Latinos By Paula Andalo and Isabel Rubio, March 17, 2025
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/medicaid-latinos-immigrants-fact-check-misinformation-social-media-work/?utm_campaign=KHN%20-%20Weekly%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--fp-2-udcTY-VJuGukpb3Wl8MjeHcDedOIrFUsjA4fT4pju3YKpWxh4pl6heSTu4Xb2zM7T4hRxTkIuUDI-SpH29uwgA&_hsmi=353017963&utm_content=353017963&utm_source=hs_email
Checking the Facts on Medicaid Use by Latinos
By Paula Andalo and Isabel Rubio, Factchequeado
Republicans’ moves to scale back Medicaid are leading to more misinformation about immigrants, especially Latinos, circulating on social media platforms. The misconceptions include the myths that Latinos covered by Medicaid don’t work and that they use Medicaid significantly more than others.
5 Key Facts about Medicaid Program Integrity – Fraud, Waste, Abuse and Improper Payments Elizabeth Hinton, Jessica Mathers, and Robin Rudowitz Published: Mar 18, 2025
https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/5-key-facts-about-medicaid-program-integrity-fraud-waste-abuse-and-improper-payments/?utm_campaign=KFF-This-Week&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9zYbUL9taPliSHjKFut7CVaJXpJ9LBx8yO0nXTuTIJ6zgVJc4rTYJKZnYVO-1v47JnqxQWAwkZdESCgjH8hqvrIP9NZQ&_hsmi=353003891&utm_content=353003891&utm_source=hs_email
5 Key Facts about Medicaid Program Integrity – Fraud, Waste, Abuse and Improper Payments
As Congress considers reducing Medicaid spending to help pay for extending tax cuts, President Trump and some in Congress have suggested that savings could be achieved by addressing fraud, waste, and abuse.
KFF's new brief examines what is known about fraud and abuse in Medicaid and ongoing state and federal actions to address program integrity. While often cited when discussing fraud, waste and abuse, “improper payments” or error rates are not a measure of fraud or abuse, and are often tied to missing documentation or administrative steps.
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