- When it comes to outrageous drug prices, policymakers often focus on an easy target: insulin. But research shows that prices for many top-selling drugs have escalated over the past few years, Rachana Pradhan writes ~ It’s Not Just Insulin: Lawmakers Focus on Price of One Drug, While Others Rise Too (Kaiser Health News/The Washington Post)
- The loan hospitals received to keep them afloat during the pandemic will be need to be repaid soon, which leaves many rural hospitals that are still struggling in a tough situation, Sarah Jane Tribble writes ~ Rural Hospitals Teeter on Financial Cliff as COVID Medicare Loans Come Due (Kaiser Health News)
- “Reversing the effects of hundreds of years of racism is a daunting undertaking, but academic medicine can begin by adopting an antiracist approach to training and supporting physicians centered on three main goals,” write Hisham Yousif, MD, Nworah Ayogu, MD, MBA, Taison Bell, MD, who explore how to foster allyship, representation and influence in medicine ~ The Path Forward — An Antiracist Approach to Academic Medicine (New England Journal of Medicine)
- Earlier this month, nine pharmaceutical companies pledged that they would not seek approval for a COVID vaccine until they had adequate evidence of its safety and effectiveness, despite President Trump’s claim of an “October surprise” approval. Jerry Avorn, MD, and Aaron S. Kesselheim, MD, JD, MPH, discuss the “dueling statements” and what that means for the “public’s eroding trust” in the FDA ~ Up Is Down — Pharmaceutical Industry Caution vs. Federal Acceleration of Covid-19 Vaccine Approval (New England Journal of Medicine)
- David S. Stephens, MD, and M. Juliana McElrath, MD, PhD, detail what we know about coronavirus immunity and whether vaccine candidates can provide long-term protection ~ COVID-19 and the Path to Immunity (JAMA)
- Homeless shelters are fertile ground for the spread of coronavirus. Julia H. Rogers, MPH, and colleagues examined cases across homeless shelters in King County, Washington to identify the extent and nature of the transmission ~ Characteristics of COVID-19 in Homeless Shelters (Annals of Internal Medicine)
- Taimur Sher, MD, and colleagues explore the ethical landscape surrounding whether to provide or withhold CPR and how to allocate scarce resources during the pandemic ~ Resuscitation and COVID-19: Recalibrating Patient and Family Expectations During a Pandemic (Mayo Clinic Proceedings)
Fred N. Pelzman, MD, of Weill Cornell Internal Medicine Associates and weekly blogger for MedPage Today, follows what’s going on in the world of primary care medicine. Pelzman’s Picks is a compilation of links to blogs, articles, tweets, journal studies, opinion pieces, and news briefs related to primary care that caught his eye.
Source: MedicalNewsToday.com
