Category: Public Health & Policy

Quality improvement: Helping boost everyone’s triple aim

Recently, the Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH), L.A. Care Health Plan, and the Southwest Pediatric Practice Transformation Network (a partnership of CHOC Children’s Hospital and Rady Children’s Hospital) came together to announce some incredible…

Gun violence in America is a national emergency.

Gun violence in America is a national emergency. We are tired of suturing closed bullet holes that our society refuses to prevent. Congress should return to Washington during the August recess and legislate universal background checks for all gun sales…

Is direct contracting an answer to soaring health costs?

Colorado’s ski resort areas in Summit County have a high cost of living, among the highest in the country. The people who visit these places — Keystone, Breckenridge and Copper Mountain ­— can afford it. Many of those who live and work there can’t, esp…

The trauma of separating young children at the border

Being a medical resident is really hard. This is not only due to the infamous number of hours you work, but you are truly responsible for patient care for the first time. That is a heavy responsibility, especially when you constantly feel inadequately …

Privilege is your superpower

The team stood around the older woman’s bedside. As one of the medical students, I prepared to meet my assigned patient. While being assigned to me, Mrs. R yelled, I’m not letting that  n***** take care of me! As the only Black person in th…

5 ways to lessen the physician burden in the product evaluation process

Keeping tabs on the sheer volume of medical drugs and devices on the market is nearly impossible – the FDA approved a record 105 novel medical devices and 59 new drugs in 2018 alone. At the same, hospitals and physicians face ever-growing pressure to c…

Should USMLE Step 1 be pass-fail?

On March 11th and 12th, representatives from the NBME, AMA, AAMC, Federation of State Medical Boards and the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates gathered in Philadelphia for InCUS — the Invitational Conference on USMLE Scoring — to dis…

While pharmacy benefit managers are watching cable, patients are streaming Netflix

Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) including Express Scripts, CVS Health, and OptumRX are the subject of intense criticism by virtually everyone in medicine and politics. While the purpose of PBM’s group purchasing business model was intended to contribu…

Taking guns away from people in crisis: Does it work?

In his response to mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, President Donald Trump called for an expansion of state laws that temporarily prevent someone in crisis from buying or possessing a gun. A flurry of states have recently passed such…

Taking guns away from people in crisis: Does it work?

In his response to mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, President Donald Trump called for an expansion of state laws that temporarily prevent someone in crisis from buying or possessing a gun. A flurry of states have recently passed such…