Health Policy News

November 20, 2024

Top Headlines

Climate Change and Air Pollution Could Risk 30 Million Lives Annually by 2100

Nov. 20, 2024 — Mortality attributable to air pollution and extreme temperatures is a major concern, and it is expected to heighten in the future. An international research team found that, under the most probable ...

Changing the Definition of Cerebral Palsy

Nov. 19, 2024 — Defining cerebral palsy only as a childhood condition fails to acknowledge the many adults living with the ...

Time in Nature Benefits Children With Mental Health Difficulties

Nov. 15, 2024 — Researchers found that spending two hours a week of class time in a natural environment can reduce emotional distress among 10- to 12-year-olds who had the most significant mental health problems before the program ...

New Study Links Air Pollution With Higher Rates of Head and Neck Cancer

Nov. 12, 2024 — A recent study correlates higher levels of pollutant particulate matter to higher occurrences of head and neck aerodigestive ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:53pm EST

Finland Introduces a New Care Pathway for Epilepsy

Nov. 12, 2024 — A new model for epilepsy care provides a streamlined, multidisciplinary approach to the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy, and combines modern digital tools, data sharing and peer ...

Updated Guidance Reaffirms CPR With Breaths Essential for Cardiac Arrest Following Drowning

Nov. 12, 2024 — The American Heart Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics update recommendations for untrained lay rescuers and trained rescuers ...

Why Health and Price, Not Sustainability, Drive US Meat Consumption Choices

Nov. 8, 2024 — Environmental sustainability isn't a major factor influencing meat consumption decisions for most Americans, despite increasing awareness of the climate impacts of red meat production, according to ...

Sewage Surveillance Proves Powerful in Combating Antimicrobial Resistance

Nov. 6, 2024 — Sewage surveillance is emerging as a powerful tool in the fight against antimicrobial resistance with the potential to protect vulnerable communities more ...

High Cost of Childbirth and Postpartum Care Causes Biggest Financial Hardship for Lower-Income Families With Commercial Insurance

Nov. 6, 2024 — The cost of childbirth and postpartum health care results in significant, ongoing financial hardship, particularly for lower-income families with ...

Lack of Health Insurance Coverage Contributes to Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Advanced-Stage Diagnosis of Multiple Cancers, Study Finds

Oct. 30, 2024 — A new, large study found that lack of health insurance coverage accounts for a significant proportion of racial and ethnic disparities in ...

Researchers Identify 'Sweet Spot' for Safe Surgery After Heart Attack

Oct. 30, 2024 — New research suggests older adults wait 3-6 months after a heart attack before elective noncardiac surgery to reduce the risk of serious complications like stroke or another heart ...

Transforming Patient Care: Study Finds Bedside Interdisciplinary Rounds Boost Satisfaction for Patients and Providers

Oct. 29, 2024 — A study reveals patients and providers have more positive overall care experiences when the entire healthcare team is a part of bedside ...

More Than Half of European Heat-Related Deaths in Summer 2022 Attributed to Anthropogenic Warming

Oct. 29, 2024 — A new study has now found that more than half -- 56% -- of the heat-related deaths in the summer of 2022 were related to human-induced climate ...

RSV Vaccines Effective, but More People Need to Get Them

Oct. 28, 2024 — Doctors detail what we learned after the first season following the approval of RSV vaccines. The vaccine effectively prevented severe illness in older, but only 24 percent of eligible US adults ...

Organ Donation: Opt-out Defaults Do Not Increase Donation Rates, Study Finds

Nov. 13, 2024 — A recent study shows that switching to an opt-out organ donation policy, where all adults are presumed organ donors unless they explicitly opt out, does not increase donations from deceased ...

Prevalence of Unrecognized Cognitive Impairment in Socially and Economically Vulnerable Older Adults Is High

Nov. 7, 2024 — One of the first studies to investigate the prevalence of unrecognized cognitive impairment among patients seen at Federally Qualified Health Centers, has found that it is ubiquitous, especially ...

Does More Virtual Care Mean More Low-Value Care? Study Suggests No

Nov. 7, 2024 — One of the top worries about telehealth is that it will drive up the use of tests and scans that patients don't need, wasting money and resources. In fact, a new study shows, low-value care ...

Drug Supply Chain Issues More Likely to Result in Shortages in US Than Canada

Oct. 31, 2024 — Reports of drug-related supply-chain issues were 40 percent less likely to result in drug shortages in Canada versus the United States, according to a new ...

COVID-19 Pandemic Worsened Patient Safety Measures, Study Finds

Oct. 30, 2024 — A new study has found that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted patient safety indicators in U.S. hospitals. The study examined data from the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators ...

Nearly 6 Percent of Pregnant Women Report Marijuana Use, U.S. Study Finds

Oct. 30, 2024 — A new study, using responses from the U.S. National Survey on Drug Use and Health, has found that about 6 percent of pregnant women reported using marijuana during the last month, and many did not ...

Political Polarization Poses Health Risks, New Analysis Concludes

Oct. 25, 2024 — A new analysis shows that political polarization also poses significant health risks -- by obstructing the implementation of legislation and policies aimed at keeping Americans healthy, by ...

Curbing Air Pollution Control Devices Would Cost Thousands of Lives and Billions of Dollars

Oct. 25, 2024 — A new commentary found that power plants' use of these devices saved up to 9,100 lives and up to $100 billion in health costs in 2023. These estimates reveal the substantial health benefits that ...

Study Finds Bariatric Surgery Declined With Rise in GLP-1 Drugs to Treat Obesity

Oct. 25, 2024 — A new study has examined a large sample of privately insured patients with obesity and found that use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) as anti-obesity medications more than ...

Experts Call for Clear and Concise Regulation of Exosome-Based Treatments

Oct. 24, 2024 — Clinics that offer exosome therapies claim they have the ability to repair and regenerate tissues and treat inflammatory and other immune-related conditions in a noninvasive way. Now, a team of ...

Researchers Show Why Cannabis Policies Should Shift to a Harm Reduction, Health Promotion Approach to Safeguard Public Health

Oct. 23, 2024 — A new paper explains why there needs to be a shift in cannabis policies to a public health approach as opposed to the prevailing, more punitive approach that pushes abstinence instead of public ...

How Limiting New Fast-Food Outlets May Reduce Childhood Obesity

Oct. 23, 2024 — Planning policies to restrict the number of new fast-food outlets leads to fewer overweight and obese children according to research. Researchers examined the impact of policy in the North East of ...

Expanding Access to Weight-Loss Drugs Could Save Thousands of Lives a Year

Oct. 22, 2024 — Expanding access to new, highly effective weight-loss medications could prevent more than 40,000 deaths a year in the United States, according to a study. The findings highlight the critical need to ...

New Study Urges Enhanced Recruitment Strategies to Help Address US Primary Care Physician Shortages

Oct. 18, 2024 — A new study evaluated the effects of citizenship status on physician specialty choice and practice location among U.S. citizen and non-citizen international medical graduates (IMGs), which account ...

Big Data, Real World, Multi-State Study Finds RSV Vaccine Highly Effective in Protecting Older Adults Against Severe Disease, Hospitalization and Death

Oct. 17, 2024 — This multi-state study is a real world data analyses of the effectiveness of the RSV -- short for respiratory syncytial virus -- vaccine. VISION Network researchers report that across the board these ...

Study Highlights Key Challenges and Opportunities in Transitioning Autistic Individuals Into Adulthood

Oct. 17, 2024 — The Autism Transitions Research Project has released new findings that underscore critical challenges and opportunities in transitioning autistic youth into ...

Study Finds Use of Naloxone by Good Samaritans Is Up, but Not Nearly Enough

Oct. 14, 2024 — Use of a lifesaving drug to reverse opioid drug overdoses is growing, but not fast ...

Smaller Vial Size for Alzheimer's Drug Could Save Medicare Hundreds of Millions Per Year

Oct. 14, 2024 — Medicare could save up to 74% of the money lost from discarded Alzheimer's drug lecanemab by the simple introduction of a new vial size that would reduce the amount of unused medication that is ...

How Can We Reduce the Probability of Dying Before Age 70 by 50% Globally by 2050?

Oct. 14, 2024 — A team of 50 leading international experts found that this goal can be reached by focusing on just 15 priority health conditions and suggest cost-effective ...

Medicare Prior Authorization Affecting Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Didn't Have Hoped-for Effect

Oct. 9, 2024 — A new policy increased wait time for patients, but didn't speed up the move from hospital-based to outpatient-based ...