View this email in your browser<http://mailchi.mp/statnews/isyuoki1g1-577929?e=4aad33fd68> [STAT]<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=848cd59bc6&e=4aad33fd68> Tuesday, November 7, 2017 [Morning Rounds by Megan Thielking] Sponsored by [https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f8609630ae206654824f897b6/images/1066b07c-9820-4346-b06e-b4ad6759cbbc.png] Happy Election Day, everyone! If you're in the D.C. area, check out our STAT Plus event next Monday on the FDA, which is on pace to approve a record number of drugs this year. STAT's Ed Silverman and Erin Mershon will chat with Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Sign up here<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=7a3a2f34f4&e=4aad33fd68>. Keep an eye on these ballot measures today Voters headed to the polls in Ohio and Maine are tackling two big health care measures. Here's your quick rundown: § Maine takes Medicaid expansion into its own hands: Maine’s Republican Gov. Paul LePage has vetoed measures that would expand Medicaid under the ACA five separate times. Now, for the first time, a state will put the decision to voters in a referendum. It’s a closely watched vote — particularly in the 18 other states where Republican lawmakers have chosen not to expand Medicaid. Activists in Utah and Ohio are pushing to get a similar question on their own ballots next year. § Ohio moves to rein in drug prices: There’s a proposal on the ballot to stop state agencies from paying higher prices for drugs than the prices paid by the VA, which gets a 24 percent discount off average prices. The pharma industry has spent millions<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=15f0b88b83&e=4aad33fd68> to fight the measure, and they’re supported by several physician and hospital groups that are concerned drug prices will go up for most people if the state takes a mandatory discount<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=23c616ad5e&e=4aad33fd68>. STAT’s Casey Ross is talking to Ohio voters headed to the polls today — follow him on Twitter @CaseyMRoss. How to start a conversation about end-of-life care [87396691-e5ca-4560-8a09-e04a5b7a5bdb.png] here's what the kaiser family foundation found about end-of-life conversations. (Megan thielking / stat) The Conversation Project — a nonprofit aimed at boosting discussion about end-of-life care — has created a new video<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=6a0842cee1&e=4aad33fd68> to make those conversations a little easier. Most of the public doesn’t have a document outlining their health care wishes if they became seriously ill, but 62 percent of those without a written document have had a conversation with a loved one about who’d make their medical decisions if they couldn’t do so, according to a recent report <https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=63e760140b&e=4aad33fd68> from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Another 54 percent said they’d had a conversation about what kind of care they’d want if they became seriously ill. If you’re looking for more help on how to have that chat yourself, the Conversation Project also has a free conversation starter kit<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=b1b92accb0&e=4aad33fd68>. Studies from high-income countries are viewed as better A new analysis finds clinicians are more likely to see research as relevant and refer it to their peers if an abstract’s source is a high-income country rather than a low-income one. I chatted with author Matt Harris of Imperial College London about the work, published in Health Affairs<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=6c132c5573&e=4aad33fd68>. What can the research community do to address this unconscious bias? This is about levelling the playing field so that research is treated equally wherever it is from... To my mind, there are a few options. First, we need awareness at an individual level... Ask yourself: Would I think differently about this research if I didn’t know who conducted it? The perception that research from low-income countries may be of less quality [also] needs addressing. What could scientific journals do? Removing the information that potentially elicits a biased response is probably the quickest and best way to level the playing field. We would urge the scientific community to explore the possibility of publishing research without any author affiliations on it. The author’s institution should have no bearing on the merit of the research, so why include it? Sponsor content by NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL The collapse of biofilms? If two Nationwide Children's Hospital scientists could collapse a biofilm, a host of chronic infections — urinary tract infections, endocarditis, middle ear infections — might be treatable in a way they aren't now. When a biofilm collapses in a body site and the bacteria are cleared, it means the disease is cured. Read more about their progress.<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=35dfd2a843&e=4aad33fd68> Inside STAT<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=bafe647fb3&e=4aad33fd68>: Eggs might be hampering your flu vaccine People often complain about the shortcomings of the flu vaccine, which doesn't always offer as much protection as expected. The source of at least some of those problems is found in all grocery stores and many of our fridges: the egg. The overwhelming majority of flu vaccines are created from viruses grown in eggs in an inexpensive, time-tested process. But the method isn't ideal — and it leads to issues that could undermine the vaccine's effectiveness this year. Experts are increasingly questioning whether the benefits of producing vaccines in eggs are worth putting up with the downsides. STAT's Helen Branswell has the story here<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=c0e3fe3983&e=4aad33fd68>. Health apps are a booming business The market for health apps is booming — the number of apps available has nearly doubled since 2015, according to a new analysis <https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=f092de323f&e=4aad33fd68> from QuintilesIMS Institute, a health care information company. The report found that there are nearly 319,000 health apps available, with roughly 200 new apps added every day to platforms like the iPhone App store. Those apps are increasingly being used in clinical trials. Right now, there are 860 trials underway across the globe testing health apps for clinical use. If the evidence supporting some of those apps pans out — like if they’re able to reduce ER visits or improve medication adherence — they could help cut health care costs in the future. Senators push to change how we handle Alzheimer's A bipartisan crew of senators is making a push to build a public health infrastructure around Alzheimer's disease. Their bill<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=c6524ffa05&e=4aad33fd68> would improve early detection mechanisms, local health program coordination, and data-gathering operations. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) are spearheading the effort. “Five and a half million Americans are living with the disease, and that number is soaring as our overall population grows older and lives longer,” Collins said in a statement. “After decades of expanding biomedical research in Alzheimer’s, we are ready for the next step: to translate research into practice.” What to read around the web today § Doctors are getting rich on urine tests for opioid patients. Bloomberg<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=0a1ce3d571&e=4aad33fd68> § ‘Unprecedented’ Pentagon health committee could undermine FDA. Politico<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=1f8896c088&e=4aad33fd68> § Drug wholesaler CEO to step down amid WV pain-pill probe. Charleston Gazette-Mail<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=cab6ca44af&e=4aad33fd68> More reads from STAT § Personalized genetic tests show up rink-side<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=e712c6147b&e=4aad33fd68> at hockey games. § ‘This is just the beginning’: Scope of opioid lawsuits widens<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=fb29803ac9&e=4aad33fd68> to include hospital accreditor. § FDA clears the way for more consumer genetic health tests<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=dc1e5fbf17&e=4aad33fd68> to hit the market. The latest from STAT Plus § Sen. Kamala Harris calls for probe into Vivitrol promotion<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=6839f0befb&e=4aad33fd68> for opioid treatment. § Valeant sells its Addyi female libido pill <https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=341fd7cb6a&e=4aad33fd68> to former owners, but will it ever sell? Thanks for reading! More tomorrow, [Megan] [Facebook]<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=a8a2d8bfaf&e=4aad33fd68> [Twitter]<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=816a1f90a5&e=4aad33fd68> [STAT]<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=7554bd4847&e=4aad33fd68>