|
|
|
|
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Happy Wednesday, everyone! Here's what you need to know about health and medicine this morning.
|
The persistent pay gaps among physicians
(physician compensation report 2018 / medscape)
There are striking, persistent pay gaps among doctors, according to a new physician compensation
report released by Medscape this morning. The pay survey found that male primary care doctors make 18 percent more than female primary care doctors — and men who specialize in one area of medicine earn a whopping 36 percent
more than women who are specialists. The pay gaps grow even wider when salary data is broken down by race. The report found that white men who are primary care doctors make $335,000 a year, on average, compared to black women who are primary care doctors,
who make $225,000 a year on average.
|
A detailed look at disease prevalence across the U.S.
A new report out in
JAMA gives a detailed look at how causes of death and disease prevalence have changed over time — and how they vary across the U.S. Here are some of the highlights:
§
The top five causes of death from 1990 to 2016: Ischemic heart
disease, lung, tracheal, or bronchial cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Alzheimer’s and other dementias, and colon and rectal cancers.
§
Premature deaths are rising in 21 states, from West Virginia
to New Mexico, driven in part by rising rates of substance abuse and suicides in some states.
§
Deaths from self-harm involving guns declined
between 1990 and 2016, but deaths due to other forms of self-harm climbed 17 percent.
§
Hawaii had the highest life expectancy in 2016 at 81.3 years.
Mississippi had the lowest: 74.7 years, marking a nearly seven-year disparity between the two states.
|
Congress turns its attention to opioid legislation
Congress is back in session this week — and lawmakers are turning their attention back to the opioid epidemic. Today, the Senate HELP committee is
convening to talk about the Opioid Crisis Response Act, a
package of legislative proposals that would require the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to focus its grant funds on the states and tribes that've been hit hardest by the crisis. The legislation
would also require HHS to come up with "best practices" guidelines for addiction treatment facilities, among other policies. Also on the docket today: two House hearings on the opioid epidemic.
|
Inside STAT: The attorney behind a crucial abortion rights case
Brigitte amiri in her office in new york city. (biz herman for stat)
When the Trump administration blocked a pregnant 17-year-old immigrant known as Jane Doe from obtaining an abortion last fall, her advocates knew whom to call for help: Brigitte Amiri. The reproductive rights
attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union has a reputation as a fierce champion of women battling government restrictions on abortion and contraception. Now, she’s at the center of a lawsuit over abortion access that’s captured the nation’s attention.
“Ever since I was little, I had a streak in me that fought back against what was unfair, particularly when it came to girls being treated differently than boys,” Amiri told me. I profiled Amiri and her work — read
here.
|
How cutting salt consumption could curb health costs
The government’s plan to help curb salt consumption in the U.S. could make a big impact on public health and on health spending, according to a new
analysis. The FDA has said it plans to update its voluntary goals for food manufacturers to reduce the amount of sodium in processed and commercially prepared foods next year. The CDC says about 90 percent of people in the U.S. consume too much
sodium, which is linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. Researchers found that if the industry fully complied with the FDA’s 10-year sodium reduction goals — which is a lofty goal — it could prevent 450,000 cases of cardiovascular disease and save
$40 billion over 20 years.
|
A new plan for combating yellow fever epidemics
Health organizations across the globe are teaming up to vaccinate nearly 1 billion people against yellow fever by 2026. It’s part of the WHO’s plan to eliminate yellow fever epidemics in Africa. At a meeting
in Nigeria this week, the WHO, UNICEF, and other groups are coming up with a plan to roll out new vaccination efforts. Yellow fever outbreaks in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo killed 400 people in 2016. And right now, Brazil is battling its worst
yellow fever outbreak in decades, the WHO says, with more than 1,000 confirmed cases of the disease.
|
What to read around the web today
§
Kenyan woman abused by nursing during childbirth wins landmark case.
NPR
§
Sacklers who disavow OxyContin may have benefited from it.
ProPublica
§
Could artificial intelligence get depressed and hallucinate?
Science
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thanks for reading! More tomorrow,
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
