Americans are reporting improved health and better healthcare two years after health insurance became available under the Affordable Care Act, according to a new study published on Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Benjamin Sommers, assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, lead the research.
Earlier this month, the federal health program for the elderly proposed to start paying physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants to talk with patients about their end-of-life wishes. Details of the plan are expected later this year, with possible adoption next year. Jennifer S. Temel, associate professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital; Lachlan Forrow, associate professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Susan Block, professor of psychiatry at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Holly Thomas, instructor in population medicine; and Angelo E. Volandes, assistant professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital are quoted.
Last summer the Stoneham resident suffered a devastating brain stem stroke that left her unable to walk, dress herself, or sing a note. The stroke seemed like a fluke. And yet, strokes are far more common in younger adults than previously thought. Aneesh Singhal, associate professor of neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, is quoted.
Doctors sometimes wind up as patients. When facing difficult decisions about the best treatment for themselves and close relatives, what questions do they ask? What risks do they consider? What calculations do they make? Bill Clark, lecturer on medicine at Cambridge Health Alliance, and Edward Ahn, clinical fellow in radiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, are quoted.
You’ve heard the expression, “I feel your pain,” but some people actually do, including a neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital who is able to connect with his patients on a level most can’t. Joel Salinas, clinical fellow in neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, is quoted.
A new study suggests health care providers might show implicit and explicit bias against lesbian and gay patients. Data collection of patient sexual orientation and gender identity could provide a solution. Harvey Makadon, professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is the author of the article.
There’s no doubt that sleeping just four hours a night catches up to people within a few nights, leading to impairments of attention, learning and memory and worse performance in school and at work. Matt Bianchi, assistant professor of neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Charles Czeisler, Frank Baldino, Jr., Ph.D. Professor of Sleep Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, are quoted.
Understanding how drugs are developed matters crucially because the government and companies pour billions of dollars into the endeavor. Jon Clardy, Hsien Wu and Daisy Yen Wu Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology; Daniel A. Haber, Kurt J. Isselbacher/Peter D. Schwartz Professor of Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital; and Thomas Bernhardt, associate professor of microbiology and immunobiology, are quoted.
As complaints grow about exorbitant drug prices, pharmaceutical companies are coming under pressure to disclose the development costs and profits of those medicines and the rationale for charging what they do. Jerry Avorn, professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is quoted.
