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All doctors encounter patients who express preferences for non–evidence-based therapies — organic food for coronary disease or detox cleanses for cancer, for example. Personally, I’ve never come up with an effective response. I offer facts, and then, sensing that I’m getting nowhere, I offer more facts. I blink rapidly to avoid rolling my eyes. Eventually, I resort to the “I statements” taught in medical school: “I understand that’s what you believe,” though my body language surely gives me away. Not surprisingly, I haven’t had much success in overcoming disbelief of science. And though many physicians may approach this challenge more skillfully one on one, as a scientific community, we often seem trapped in a similar dynamic. Whether it’s the science of vaccines, climate change, or gun control, we tend to endlessly emphasize the related evidence, and when that fails, exude a collective sense of disgust. (Lisa Rosenbaum, 3/1)

The opioid epidemic, which has swept much of the country since the turn of the 21st century, has brought tragedy to millions, cost the country enormously, and spawned a huge new industry in opioid treatmeant.As former Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy said last year: “Substance use disorders represent one of the most pressing public health crises of our time.” (Andrew Yarrow, 3/3)

Many medicines are making headlines these days not for their breathtaking ability to save lives, but for their soaring prices. Part of the problem occurs because pharmaceutical companies have become adept at converting regulatory pathways into vehicles for profit-boosting pricing strategies. Consider the citizen-petition process that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implemented in the 1970s to give the average citizen a way to voice concerns. A recent large-scale study we conducted using 12 years of FDA data reveals that the concerned citizen is frequently a drug company raising frivolous or questionable claims in a last-ditch effort to hold off competition. (Robin Feldman and Connie Wang, 3/1)

People are afraid to deal with what they do not understand. It is much easier for them to simply define Kendra as autistic and non-verbal. They use the labels to justify their ignorance and move on with their lives. They call her voiceless because they think the communication gap between her and them is too large. If only they would give her the chance to respond. (Kyra Ann Dawkins, 2/3)

The prevalence of autism in the United States has risen steadily since researchers first began tracking it in 2000. The rise in the rate has sparked fears of an autism ‘epidemic.’ But experts say the bulk of the increase stems from a growing awareness of autism and changes to the condition’s diagnostic criteria. Here’s how researchers track autism’s prevalence and explain its apparent rise. (Jessica Wright, 3/2)

Rooted in pre-Americans with Disabilities Act thinking, the nation’s core programs for individuals with disabilities, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) fail to reflect its aspirations: ensuring that those with impairments integrate into employment and society to the fullest extent their abilities allow. Why the failure? Partly because states view these programs as federal responsibilities and have avoided developing their own solutions... As Gov. Scott Walker and the Legislature consider employment policy reforms, developing state-led approaches to disability programs should top the list. (Richard Burkhauser, 3/2)

When I met Pebbles, she was 15 and had been admitted to the emergency room with a pelvic infection. We diagnosed her on the spot with HIV. Pebbles had a life filled with trauma – she had spent most of her youth in foster care and in the juvenile justice system. When she was 17, her mother died. Despite her other problems, it was her HIV diagnosis that caused her the most shame and isolation. (Edward Machtinger, 2/28)

For many Americans, the effects of climate change seem distant: island nations will sink beneath rising seas, areas of the Middle East will become uninhabitable because of extreme heat. But though the worst effects will be felt by poorer people in poorer countries that are less resilient to droughts, floods, and heat, climate change already affects the health of vulnerable U.S. populations, and U.S. health professionals see these effects. (David J. Hunter, Howard Frumkin and Ashish Jha, 3/1)

Before he became defense secretary, Gen. Jim Mattis once pleaded with Congress to invest more in State Department diplomacy.“If you don’t fund the State Department fully, then I need to buy more ammunition,” he explained. Alas, President Donald Trump took him literally but not seriously. The administration plans a $54 billion increase in military spending, financed in part by a 37 percent cut in the budgets of the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. (Nicholas Kristof, 3/2)