Category: Policy

Renewing Covid’s Status As A Public Health Emergency Was The Right Call. Here’s Why

Public health law experts Lawrence Gostin and James Hodge explain the importance of the public health emergency declaration as Covid cases and hospitalizations begin to rise.

Negotiating a raise with the right compensation data

As a physician, do you know the average salary for your specialty and location? What about the average signing or relocation bonus? If you don’t know or are unsure of how to get that information, you are not alone. In a society where most employe…

Key Democratic Goal Could Harm The “Well-Being Of The Rest Of The World”

Democrats are pushing for a government takeover of healthcare. Their success would be bad for American medicine.

Breaking the cycle of violence in hospitals: the role of trauma-informed care

“We use a punishment mindset that exacerbates the trauma (people have already suffered). We have to change that.” – Bryan Stevenson, Director of the Equal Justice Initiative  In the months preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, our quality …

Healthcare Competition Isn’t Just A Republican Messaging Point

Republicans have promised to make “transparency, choice, and competition” the centerpieces of their approach to improving America’s healthcare system. Those principles are missing from the government-dominated status quo.

New proposals for universal health care in Oregon and Washington

Once again, it’s time to consider universal health care. What are the implications? Could it happen? After something of a hiatus during the passage of the Affordable Care Act and the battles over its implementation, legislative committees in Oregon and…

Neither Party Has A Good Plan For Social Security And Medicare

Securing these essential programs will require a far more serious conversation than the one voters have been hearing in the closing weeks of this election.

Permanent Daylight Saving Time Would Cut Collisions With Deer And Save Lives, Study Finds

Researchers estimate the annual clock change in November kills 33 people and 36,550 deer in car crashes and causes nearly $1.2 billion in damages.

Russia’s Tear Gas Bombings In Ukraine May Be First Step In Dangerous Chemical Escalation

Russia’s use of tear gas, which has failed to generate headlines, may be the start of a creeping shift toward chemical attacks that would allow Russia to sow fear and uncertainty among Ukrainians without any international backlash.

Punishing doctors for spreading misinformation

When I was in high school, I read George Orwell’s 1984, a novel about a dystopian future where the government (a.k.a. Big Brother) monitors everything the citizenry says or thinks. Anyone deviating from government “doublespeak” is swi…