Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Librarians Are Also Frontline Health Workers; We Should Be Able To Text 911 In An Emergency
As University of Pennsylvania health researcher Anna U. Morgan explains, libraries in America are an important part of the public health environment because they offer two foundational components of a successful health-care network 鈥 accessibility and trustworthiness. (John Herron, 11/6)
A few years ago, during a medical emergency, my Deaf father was not able to call 911. This caused a delay in getting him the help he urgently needed. The terrifying experience led me to establish the nonprofit organization accesSOS, aimed at creating a text-to-911 solution. (Gabriella Wong, 11/7)
Artificial intelligence is already widely used in health care 鈥 to enhance cancer detection, reduce paperwork and tailor treatments. The question is, does it actually improve patient outcomes? (Leana S. Wen, 11/7)
Advances in precision medicine have fueled an evolution in the availability of laboratory-developed tests (LDTs). Defined as in vitro diagnostic tests that are 鈥渄esigned, manufactured, and used in a single laboratory,鈥 LDTs were initially conceived as simple tests offered to limited, local groups of patients.1 But LDTs have grown in complexity, and some hospital and commercial laboratories now accept specimens from around the world. (Udit Singhal, M.D., Caroline Horrow, J.D., Aaron S. Kesselheim, M.D., J.D., M.P.H., and Todd M. Morgan, M.D., 11/4)
In August 2013, the FDA made news when it issued cybersecurity guidance for medical devices. But several years earlier, government officials recognized the risk: Soon after the FDA made its announcement, former Vice President Dick Cheney revealed in a 鈥60 Minutes鈥 interview that when his pacemaker was replaced in 2007, his doctors took precautions to make it hack-proof. (Paul Jones, 11/7)
Kindbody, a fast-growing fertility chain, knowingly exposed countless eggs and embryos to unsafe conditions and suffered repeated embryo mix-ups, according to a months-long Bloomberg investigation published recently. Here we go again. Five years ago, a Pacific Fertility Center clinic in San Francisco suffered a massive storage tank failure that ended my dreams of ever becoming a mother. In all, 4,000 eggs and embryos from 400 people died that day in San Francisco. (Monica Coakley, 11/7)
