There is a new source of stress for Americans and it’s called “Christmas Creep.” It’s enough to make you want to bring out the holiday cocktails. Back when I was a child the Christmas holiday season began the day after Thanksgiving. Indeed, in 1939 Thanksgiving was set to take place on November 30 and that left just 25 days until Christmas. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt decreed Thanksgiving would take place one week early in an attempt to extend the Christmas season. People derisively called it Franksgiving.
Author: Devon Herrick
Mass hysteria: 90% of Americans Believe US is Suffering a Mental Health Crisis
According to a new survey from CNN and the Kaiser Family Foundation an overwhelming majority of Americans believe the United States is suffering through a mental health crisis.
Nine out of 10 adults said they believed that there’s a mental health crisis in the US today. Asked to rate the severity of six specific mental health concerns, Americans put the opioid epidemic near the top, with more than two-thirds of people identifying it as a crisis rather than merely a problem. More than half identified mental health issues among children and teenagers as a crisis, as well as severe mental illness in adults.
The broad concern is well-founded, rooted in both personal experience and national trends.
Do You Want Your Test Results Before Your Doctor?
The Cures Act signed into law in 2016 by then President Obama included many provisions. One was medical test results must be available for patients to review without delay. While doctors and patients universally think this is a desirable outcome, The New York Times found reasons to criticize it.
Its intention was to bring health care into the modern era. And the provision has successfully given patients easy access to their medical records, empowering them to play a more active role in their care by eliminating the doctor as gatekeeper.
But it has also led to experiences like mine, in which patients are confronted with material they never wanted to see. Some have learned about life-altering diagnoses and developments — from cancer to chronic illness to miscarriage — through emails and online portals, left to process the information alone.
The $1 Million a Year Drug Club is Growing
On September 30 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved, Relyvrio, a drug to slow the progression of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The approval was controversial. The FDA usually requires at least two clinical trials but will on occasion accept one trial if the trial was robust and the data provides persuasive evidence…