The novel coronavirus has decimated our economy at the same time as it has directly threatened our health. As if that weren’t bad enough, the economic damage Covid-19 is causing could have an indirect impact on our health. Consider what we already know about economic downturns and opioid overdoses. A research team led by Atheendar…
The FDA plays a critical role in our nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It helps decide which medicines are safe and effective to treat the disease. It evaluates the accuracy and reliability of laboratory tests. And it will play a central role in assessing potential vaccines. But will the FDA bureaucracy move with the…
The contribution of tuition towards medical school revenue is a tiny fraction of what it once was. How this harms the academic mission of medical schools, especially during the pandemic.
Science cannot lead us out of this pandemic. Whatever paths we take to navigate COVID-19 need to be chosen through political processes. The true role of science is to illuminate these pathways, guiding our policy choices by showing us what’s at stake.
A lot of hope on reopening businesses and returning to work in the U.S. hinges on COVID-19 testing and the development of treatments and a vaccine. But as the country ramps up antibody testing – analyzing blood samples for signs someone has been exposed to or infected with the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 – physician…
The slow growth in coronavirus cases in North Carolina relative to New York and some other states puts North Carolina in better position to respond to the pandemic, according to a Duke University professor. Economist Mark McClellan, the director of the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, was U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner during the…
On March 14, 1942, an American soldier with bacteria coursing through his bloodstream was treated with penicillin, a new wonder drug that saved his life. That single treatment exhausted half the nation’s supply of the drug. Two years later, as U.S. troops prepared to launch the D-Day invasion, America had more than 2 million doses of the drugready…
It has always been financially rewarding for doctors to take care of rich patients. People with more money…well, they have more money to spend on healthcare. But shouldn’t this more money/higher payment relationship go away in Medicare? It doesn’t, and some recent payment reforms may be making matters worse. (To read the rest of the…
Yes, I’ve ranted about healthcare prices before. On more than one occasion. But I have a new rant for you. It’s not about the high price of new drugs It’s not about a couple pharmo-bro CEOs hiking prices of generic medications by 4 or 5,000% It’s about brand name drugs already on the market, that,…
One of my elderly relatives was in line at the grocery store one day and saw the person ahead of him charging what looked like a cart full of junk food to her food assistance card. My relative was incensed: Why, should his hard earned tax dollars be used to pay for someone’s Cheetos? Currently,…