How proposed NIH budget cuts could derail Alzheimer’s research

Conditions
June 11, 2025

Recent budget cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have dominated the headlines since February of this year, when the NIH announced a 15 percent cap on indirect costs — a move that jeopardizes essential research infrastructure by slashing funding for facilities and administrative support vital to the advancement of scientific innovation.

Now, leaked documents threaten to compound this issue: The Trump administration plans to cut the NIH’s …

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Removing vaccine advisers could jeopardize lives

Physician
June 11, 2025

“Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Didn’t take long, did it?

The quote in the title is from George Santayana. The movie is It’s a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey along with Clarence Odbody, who played Clarence the angel. The scenes are from the moments when Clarence shows George what the world would have been without him and his value to his family, his friends, …

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Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

Policy
June 11, 2025

As a pediatrician and public health advocate, I’ve spent my career serving families whose lives often depend on a strong safety net. Medicaid is that safety net. It provides care for over 70 million Americans — including children, pregnant women, seniors, and people with disabilities.

Right now, federal policymakers are considering dramatic Medicaid cuts that would threaten coverage for millions. This is not just a policy debate. It will spark a …

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What teenagers on TikTok are saying about skin care—and why that’s a problem

Social media
June 10, 2025

“We’re six minutes in now, and she’s applied almost ten products.”

That’s how Dr. Molly Hales begins the video abstract for her recent Pediatrics study on TikTok skin care trends. The clip she’s referring to features a young girl layering product after product—acids, toners, serums—each promising glowier, cleaner, brighter skin.

This child isn’t an outlier. In a recent study analyzing 100 viral TikTok skin care videos posted by users aged 7 to …

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Professional identity: a new narrative for medical education [PODCAST]

Podcast
June 10, 2025
YouTube video

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Otolaryngologist Kevin C. McMains discusses his article “The hero’s journey: Understanding professional identity formation in graduate medical education.” Kevin discusses the ongoing crisis of burnout and mental health issues in medical training, …

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A spoonful of vinegar: Why simple glucose hacks deserve more medical attention

Conditions
June 10, 2025

In the age of glucose monitors, blood sugar charts, and wearable tech, one of the most effective strategies for stabilizing post-meal glucose levels might already be sitting in your kitchen cabinet: vinegar.

As someone with a strong interest in endocrinology and women’s’ metabolic health, I’ve found myself increasingly drawn to the work of educators like Jessie Inchauspé (popularly known as Glucose Goddess), who break down blood sugar science in ways that …

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Living through injury: one family’s journey to the other side

Conditions
June 10, 2025

For a while, I enjoyed telling Dave’s story. In the beginning, I found it therapeutic. It was just as unbelievable to me as it was to the person I was telling it to. Somewhere along the line, telling the story of Dave’s accident and the health care nightmare that followed became more matter of fact. Then, it became heavy.

What I didn’t tell most is that Dave’s injury took more than …

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Why retail pharmacies are the future of diverse clinical trials

Meds
June 10, 2025

The importance of diversity in clinical trials is well-documented, yet unfortunately the lack of diversity still occurs at an alarming rate. As a result, we continue to have less effective treatments, poorer health outcomes, one-size-fits-all medicine that falls short of many patients, and many more negative impacts on health care.

The reason for lack of diversity in clinical trials is similarly known, with language barriers, limited access to health care facilities …

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Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

Tech
June 10, 2025

There’s a growing disconnect between the promises being made about artificial intelligence in health care and what’s being delivered. If you’re a health system leader, it’s time to take a discerning view—not because AI lacks potential, but because many of the solutions entering the market are more marketing than medicine.

We’ve seen this dynamic before.

Earlier this month, a fintech founder was charged with defrauding investors after promoting an AI-powered shopping app …

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How school meals can transform health [PODCAST]

Podcast
June 9, 2025
YouTube video

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Osteopathic medical student Scarlett Saitta discusses her article “The school cafeteria could save American medicine.” Scarlett discusses the profound connection between childhood nutrition and long-term health outcomes, drawing from her personal experiences …

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Why would any physician believe that the practice of medicine will become less abusive for them in the future?

Physician
June 9, 2025

The perpetuation of the increasing abuse of physicians across our nation has reached a level now that is essentially unrepairable. The Medical-Industrial-Economic Complex (Deep State of Medicine) has been the aggressive predator of the medical profession for decades. It is not by chance that the planning for the takeover of health care and the medical profession came into being decades ago.

Older physicians have seen and experienced all the tactics that …

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Why congenital CMV should be on every parent and doctor’s radar

Conditions
June 9, 2025

My son was born with a congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection.

Unless you specialize in prenatal care, infectious disease, or pediatric audiology, you’ve probably never heard of it.

That’s the first part of the problem.

And, even if you have heard of it, unless you’re a public health advocate or a parent (or both, like me), you probably don’t know enough about it—at least, not in the ways that matter most to patients.

That’s the …

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What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

Conditions
June 9, 2025

At 9:32 a.m., shortly after Hind and her family left their home in Tel al-Hawa, an Israeli military spokesperson issued an evacuation notice on social media, instructing residents of western Gaza City to head south. At approximately 2:30 p.m., Layan Hamada, Hind’s cousin, made the initial call to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) dispatch after their car was struck by gunfire. At that moment, Layan and Hind were …

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Bridging the rural surgical care gap with rotating health care teams

Education
June 9, 2025

Compared to urban areas, rural communities had a 21 percent higher rate of deaths due to heart disease and a 15 percent higher rate of cancer deaths from 2001 to 2019. The per capita number of general surgeons decreased from 6.4 to 5.2 per 100,000 population (−18 percent) during the same period, further highlighting disparities in rural care.

The recruitment of rural physicians and surgeons remains a challenge. …

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Understanding the ethical injury of moral distress in clinicians [PODCAST]

Podcast
June 8, 2025
YouTube video

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Licensed clinical psychologist and health care ethicist Jenny Shields discusses her article, “DSM-5 doesn’t name it, but moral distress is everywhere in medicine.” Jenny illuminates the pervasive issue of moral distress among …

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Why real growth in psychotherapy takes time, courage, and teamwork

Conditions
June 8, 2025

What is the purpose of psychotherapy? What are the goals?

Psychotherapy is a talking process between a patient and a psychotherapist that involves looking at feelings, behaviors, impulses, and thoughts through a process of self-reflection. The purpose of psychotherapy is to explore life patterns and to learn what works and what gets in the way of feeling successful and fulfilled. The goals are to reach one’s fullest potential. This is done …

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What a dying patient’s handshake taught me about life and love

Conditions
June 8, 2025

I was working in my oncology ward as usual when I received a call from the medical ICU to evaluate a patient. The patient was a young male who had been admitted a few days earlier with severe respiratory distress. His workup raised suspicion of a possible malignancy (cancer). This was the information provided to me by the doctor in the ICU.

When I entered the ICU, I met a young …

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The hidden war on doctors: Understanding administrative violence

Physician
June 8, 2025

Administrative violence in medicine is often understood as harm to patients due to systemic issues; however, administrative violence in medicine is also a process used to inflict harm on physicians, destabilizing the medical field on both systemic and individual levels. While much attention is given to how institutions and governments perpetuate administrative violence, it can also be enacted by individuals toward individual physicians with great harm, particularly by other physicians …

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HHS at rock bottom: Could the current crisis be a blessing for U.S. health? [PODCAST]

Podcast
June 7, 2025
YouTube video

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Psychiatrist, internist, and addiction medicine specialist Muhamad Aly Rifai discusses his article, “When rock bottom is a turning point: Why the turmoil at HHS may be a blessing in disguise.” Muhamad offers …

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How doctors can stop frivolous lawsuits before they start

Physician
June 7, 2025

All medical malpractice lawsuits stem from complications caused by medical interventions. Some complications are random errors of nature, which are unpreventable. Others are systemic medical errors, caused by medical interventions gone astray. Clinically, a medical error and an error of nature are indistinguishable. Herein lies the problem in medical malpractice.

It is not that the inability to differentiate a systemic medical error from a random error of nature is unknown. On …

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