Rebecca Torrence

The FTC has voted to ban noncompetes, without an exception for doctors. The final rule (which could face a legal challenge as soon as tomorrow) has sweeping ramifications on the healthcare sector - along with lowering healthcare costs by an estimated $194 billion over ten years, it’s also expected to cause wages to rise by freeing up medical workers to switch between employers. Read more on Tuesday’s 3-2 vote, including how banning noncompetes includes an interesting wrinkle for nonprofit hospitals - and tell me what you think. Is this a good thing for the healthcare sector?

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Some seniors across the United States continue to take a daily aspirin in the hopes of reducing their cardiovascular disease risk, even though the practice is only recommended for certain high-risk patients — and taking it without a doctor’s recommendation can come with significant risks. Cardiovascular diseases affect the heart and blood vessels and sometimes can lead to heart attacks or strokes. Most heart attacks and strokes occur when a blockage in the arteries, caused by plaque buildup, stops blood from traveling to the heart muscle or the brain — but here’s where aspirin comes in. Aspirin helps thin the blood, which can prevent these blood clots from forming. That is why it had long been recommended to take a daily low-dose aspirin to reduce your risk. However, because aspirin thins the blood, it comes with the risk of excessive bleeding. In recent years, the medical and scientific communities have realized that the risk of aspirin may outweigh the benefits for many patients, especially older adults and adults already taking statins or other medications. The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends against adults 60 or older starting to take a low-dose aspirin for the prevention of a first cardiovascular disease event. But according to the American Heart Association, aspirin may be recommended for adults with a history of heart attack and stroke looking to reduce their risk of another event. Here's the latest: https://lnkd.in/eXAhDKET

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My latest piece at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. (Note that I am laughing at the prompt below that asks if I want to rewrite my post with AI.)

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I had the honor of getting to speak to Children's National Hospital new vice president and chief data and artificial intelligence officer Alda Mizaku about her top priorities, challenges to AI implementation and gaining buy-in from staff who may be apprehensive about the technology in healthcare. Read the full article to learn more about Alda's innovative approach and the future of AI at Children's National Hospital:

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Something you might have missed over the July 4th holiday... A federal judge partially blocked the FTC's noncompete ban. And based on how the judge is looking at the rule now, the prospects for the rule's survival are not great. #behavioralhealth #mentalhealth #addictiontreatment #regulations #policy #politics #healthcare #hr https://lnkd.in/ePFd_r5Y

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At its inaugural, Margaret Chan, then D.G WHO, called " Universal Health Coverage is the single most important concept that public health has to offer." Yet a decade later there has been no progress on financial protection and almost none on service coverage and outcomes. And these problems precede and continue after the Covid Pandemic. In this conversation we look beyond implementation issues to more basic questions about UHC as strategy and as a discourse.

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It sure is hot outside. What can the healthcare industry do to minimize the negative impact of climate change on population health? We talked about it on the new episode of the 4sight Health Roundup podcast. https://ow.ly/LWzy50SrEUR

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Interested in recent health policy research? Check out Research Roundup! In April, we read studies that evaluated the cost and health equity implications of public option plans and provider price regulation. We also got caught up on self-reported insurance coverage during the Medicaid unwinding.

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🚀 I'm excited about this, y'all! 🚀 I'm thrilled to share details about the AIM-AHEAD Clinicians Leading Ingenuity IN AI Quality (CLINAQ) Fellowship Program! This one-year fellowship (with funding), running from September 16, 2024, to August 29, 2025, is designed to empower a diverse range of clinicians—including physicians, nurses, physician assistants, therapists, and pharmacists—to lead innovation in Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) within healthcare. The CLINAQ Fellowship promotes an interdisciplinary approach, allowing fellows to: 🔹 Actively participate in developing AI tools. 🔹 Assess AI/ML solutions for clinical and workflow challenges. 🔹 Identify AI/ML approaches to enhance equity in care delivery. Key components of the program include courses on AI and Ethics, Clinical AI workshops, mentoring, leadership training, and peer networking. The program aims to mitigate biases, enhance cultural competence, and address healthcare disparities among diverse patient populations. The CLINAQ Fellowship aims to bring diverse perspectives to healthcare technology and improve patient outcomes through innovative, team-based approaches by equipping clinicians with AI/ML skills. Applications are due 6/30. #populationhealth #healthequity #innovation #AI #ML

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It’s been a great ~18 months for peer support models in behavioral health. Not only do they help to address the massive shortage of healthcare workers, they’ve also been well-received by both patients and providers. And now investors are really climbing in, with $55M+ going toward peer-support startups since February last year. The latest raise (just announced) is $11M for Marigold Health’s peer-based addiction support. Other behavioral health headlines to know: 📲 Drug dealers are using Snapchat to sell fake fentanyl-laced pills to teens, fuelling an overdose crisis. 🌿 Colorado’s weed market is coming down hard as sales plunge by $700M — and it’s making other states nervous. 🚨 The CEO and clinical president of telehealth startup Done, which prescribes Adderall online, have been arrested and charged with fraud. ❤️ Sensory kits for patients with autism to use in emergency departments are now being offered by Dignity Health across Southern California. 🤔 AMA delegates have voted to decriminalize drug use and possession — an interesting move amid a slew of failed decriminalization experiments. 🤑 Youth education and behavioral health platform FullBloom acquired two Mesa, Arizona locations from Lexington Life Academy. 🧠 Headspace is expanding its reach to college students through a new exclusive higher-education partnership with Uwill. 💻 In yet another move toward intermediate care, Brightside Health now offers virtual IOPs for SUD via its acquisition of Lionrock Recovery. 🗣️ Canary Speech, maker of vocal biomarker tech that detects patients’ mood and stress levels before clinical screening, scored a $13M Series A. 🎮 DeepWell DTx launched Zengence, its first action video game treating mental health. (40+ of these, with links to go deeper on each, go out in The Census each Wednesday.)

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Thoughts! (On my front page story about the rise of DIY testing from the always-thoughtful Anarghya Vardhana)

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If you're not familiar with the work that HealthNewsReview did, and you're interested in how to communicate clearly and effectively about research in general (and health in particular), it's very much worth checking this out.

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Amazon's Ring, years into a shift from a self-styled crime-fighting shop to a hub for peace of mind (and pet videos), is getting a new mission statement: "Keeping people close to what’s important" has come a long way from the original pitch, "Reduce crime in neighborhoods." More bits: -Ring boss Liz Hamren tells me the unit recently became profitable, thanks to a subscription push (and a few rounds of price hikes). It's a bet that users would pay to save videos and do more with their doorbells and cameras -It's tough to overstate how single-minded Ring was in its early years. Veterans say projects without a clear home security mandate didn't tend to last long. Employee docs outlined Ring product set like one might describe a fortress. -Ring's Always Home Cam, three years after it was supposed to hit the market, is still in development. Teams are working to enable the drone to navigate unusual home setups -- curved walls, low ceilings, and the like. read the rest here: https://lnkd.in/gAsY_Bcx

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📢 Attention All MCH Champions, Colleagues, Collaborators, and Communities! The USCDI+ Maternal Health draft data set is now available for public comment! https://lnkd.in/en_96YJJ This is an incredible opportunity to shape the future of maternal health data interoperability, and we need your insights and expertise at the table. 🔍 What's Happening? The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has opened a 60-day public comment period for the USCDI+ Maternal Health draft data set. Your feedback is crucial in understanding how maternal health data impacts outcomes for both mothers and children. 📝 Why Participate? As someone who has served on the GA Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC) for 3 years, I've seen firsthand that 80% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. One key contributing factor is the lack of continuity of care due to poor interoperability of critical health information. We need a health information system that acts as an agnostic connective tissue, ensuring seamless sharing and access to vital maternal health data. Your input on the importance and ease of collecting these data elements and the potential burden of capturing and sharing them electronically is essential. This feedback will advance the interoperability of maternal health data, ensuring better health outcomes. 💡 Get Started To help you begin, a Knowledge Brief is available, including framing questions to consider. This will guide you through the key aspects of the data set and the feedback process. Here is a link to the Knowledge Brief: https://lnkd.in/eX-U6tg9 🔑 How to Submit Feedback 1. Create an Account: Go to the USCDI+ Platform and click 'log in' at the top right. Select 'Create USCDI+ Account' and follow the prompts. 2. Submit Your Comments: Navigate the platform to find the USCDI+ Maternal Health draft data set. Share your insights and suggestions. For more detailed instructions, refer to the USCDI+ User Guides. If you need any assistance, please email USCDI.Plus@hhs.gov. 🗓️ Deadline Submit your comments by July 31, 2024, at 11:59 PM ET. Let's work together to improve #maternalhealth outcomes! Share this announcement widely and encourage others to participate. Our voices matter! #populationhealth #healthequity #healthIT #maternalhealthdata #interoperability #USCDI+

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Digging deeper into one of my favorite topics to report on...psychedelics! Psychedelic medicines are becoming increasingly popular in healthcare. But with that popularity comes concerns around equity. In 18 clinical trials of psychedelic medicines that took place from 1993 to 2017, 82.3% of the participants were white. Read more: #psychedelics #psychedelicmedicine #health #healthcare

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Fair argument in favor of AI-enabled diagnosis. World Health Organization has even more alarming stats: Nearly 7 million children die due to misdiagnosis, even when their diseases are preventable. But the question remains: Would AI-enabled diagnosis outperform human diagnosis? This is yet to be seen in practice. #AI #misdiagnosis #freelancemedicalwriter #medicalwriting #healthcare

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I did something a little different than what I normally do. I went super broad as opposed to as specific as possible. In that work, I gathered some insights on the latest of what science is telling us about #autism as a health condition and as a field of work. #behavioralhealth #mentalhealth #venturecapital #research #science https://lnkd.in/eP6tew_p

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Public Health Policy Reviews Debut: Alexandra Hunt and the Politics of Sex The new Substack blog from "Public Health Policy Reviews." As the 2024 #american #presidential #election approaches in #november, our goal at #publichealth #policy #reviews will be to highlight the #economic, #social, #cultural, and #public #health impacts of #donaldtrump's #maga #policies and executive orders since 2016. The first article examines the impact of the overturning of #roevwade and the #arizona #supremecourt allowing a #civilwar era #abortion #law to take effect in the #grandcanyon #state We analyze these issues from the perspective of #philadelphia #community #activist Alexandra Hunt's new #youtube #venture, "The Politics of Sex." We will be at #writers & #books in #rochester #newyork on May 11th to discuss Y. Kerry Sara's #fiction #novel "J-Villains." ORDER TICKETS: https://lnkd.in/gG6dnX-m #mentalhealth #wellness #reproductiverights

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