Viewpoints: Fast-Tracking Leucovorin Sets Unsettling Precedent; Debt Pushes Med Students Away From Primary Care
Opinion writers discuss these public health topics.
Something remarkable, and controversial, is unfolding in American medicine. The Food and Drug Administration says it is fast-tracking leucovorin, a long-established drug, for potential use in treating cerebral folate deficiency, a condition connected to the presence of folate receptor autoantibodies estimated to be present in up to 76% of children diagnosed with autism. Like many parents of children with autism for whom there are no other treatment options, I had asked my child’s physician about prescribing leucovorin off-label after hearing about it on Facebook groups and other social media. (Srinivas Sridhar, 10/28)
The path to becoming a primary care physician is hindered by too many barriers, says Shawn Martin, CEO of the American Academy of Family Physicians. (Shawn Martin, 10/28)
If the past few decades have shown anything, it’s that a surprising amount of money can be made off a hospital’s carcass. (Bethany McLean, 10/27)
My wife Mary Klein underwent radical surgery and aggressive chemotherapy that almost killed her at the same time that she was lobbying nonstop for the Washington, D.C., law that allows medical aid in dying. A contradiction? No. Medical aid in dying, also known as MAID, is not suicide: It is choosing a peaceful end when all other means of living are exhausted. (Stella Dawson, 10/27)
At the World Health Summit in Berlin earlier this month, I was pleased to hear discussions highlighting the crucial role of health initiatives in overall global security. This is hardly a new topic, but it’s increasingly relevant. (Seth Berkley, 10/28)
