- Evidence that blogging is effective.
- Eating disorders: They’re on the rise and people with one type of disorder often transition to a different one.
- Americans seeking health care are increasingly likely to get it from people who aren’t doctors. While a nationwide physician shortage has been mounting for decades, nurse practitioner numbers have tripled since 2010.
- In a first, the FDA has granted conditional approval for a new drug to extend lifespan. The manufacturer only has to prove safety. Proof of efficacy can come later. The catch: the drug is only approved for dogs. I have argued for this for humans for 40 years.
Category: Drug Prices & Regulations
An Old Scourge is Back (several actually)
Syphilis infections are soaring in the United States. Once thought to be nearly eradicated, it’s making a huge comeback.
Rapid Antigen Tests and Covid Deaths in nursing Homes
These cascading errors meant that by the time a facility had a positive test, the virus would already have spread throughout the facility, contributing to COVID’s devastation of nursing homes, especially in the early stages of the pandemic.
Friday Links
- Senators propose to remove barriers to telemental health services for Medicare beneficiaries.
- Bidenomics: The typical American household must spend an additional $11,434 annually just to maintain the same standard of living they enjoyed in January of 2021.
- Thanks to a Trump initiative, if wait times for veterans do not meet an “access standard” (e.g., 20 days for primary care and mental health care and 28 days for specialty care), they may seek private sources of care. However, private wait times may be longer than VA wait times.
- A flexible spending account (FSA) or health savings account (HSA) likely won’t cover wearable devices like an Apple Watch or Fitbit, but blood pressure monitors, blood sugar test kits, thermometers, hearing aids and Oura rings—which monitor biometrics primarily focused on sleep—are typically eligible.
- Alex Tabarrok on how much regulation is needed in medical care.