Is U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval the gold standard for whether a drug truly does what it’s supposed to? Not according to a recent analysis. A review by Harvard and Yale researchers found that one-in-ten drugs approved by the FDA between 2018-2021 failed one or more of the stated endpoints.
Author: Devon Herrick
Food for Thought: How Much Does Food Effect Your Health?
The United States government maintains a dietary pyramid of foods we’re supposed to eat (see image above; that’s not the real USDA food diet pyramid). Guidelines purport to enlighten Americans on what foods they should eat and in what proportions. Supposedly, women need a diet of roughly 2,000 calories a day while men need a diet that doesn’t exceed 2,500 calories a day. That’s not just any calories, however. Our caloric intake has to be made up of certain foods in specific proportions.
Fewer Doctors Staff Hospital ERs (Saves Money, Boosts Profits)
I only recall going to the emergency room once in my life. It was afterhours and I fell and cut my knee on a floor HVAC grate putting, parallel cuts on my knee cap. I was 12 or 13 at the time and had to have between 20 and 30 stitches. The cost to have my knee sewed up afterhours was around $150 as I recall. When adjusted for inflation that’s about $800. Go figure. If I had the same injury today the ER cost would be just short of $1 million assuming it was in-network. Of course, ER providers are never in-network thanks to private equity buying up emergency medical practices and investing in ER staffing firms.
Mental Health Apps are Spying on You and Selling Your Information
There is a conspiracy of sorts to learn everything possible about you and sell your information to those who may profit from it. That information includes information about your health concerns. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was supposed to make personal health information confidential. We’ve all likely experienced being told by a doctor’s office staff they can’t receive email because it could possibly violate HIPAA, since a third party may be able to intercept it. (I’m not sure why the fax machine is seemingly exempt.) Yet, despite these precautions there is a thriving business in personal health data.