Health & Veritas

Howie and Harlan are joined by Michael Sherling, a dermatologist and a founder of Modernizing Medicine, which aims to save doctors time with an intelligent, specialty-specific electronic health record. Harlan provides updates on COVID-19 variants and vaccines, and on the acquisition of CareBridge, which provides value-based home care for Medicaid patients. Howie explains why cases of pertussis—whooping cough—are increasing.  Links: COVID-19 and CareBridge Akiko Iwasaki, PhD CareBridge Health “The Accidental Entrepreneur: Brad Smith’s Journey From Politics to Business” “America's Fastest-Growing Company Is Tackling the Greatest Challenge in Health Care | Inc.com” “Elevance unit plans to buy CareBridge” Michael Sherling and Modernizing Medicine Modernizing Medicine Dan Cane, CEO of Modernizing Medicine: “I sold my start-up for $1.6 billion. Here’s what I did next” “Alumni team crafts electronic medical record that cuts down paperwork and saves time” “Ambient AI Is Having Its ‘Moment’ In Healthcare” Dawn Harris Sherling: Eat Everything Pertussis CDC: Whooping Cough “Whooping Cough Is on the Rise, Returning to Pre-Pandemic Trends” “Whooping cough spikes, especially among unvaccinated teens” “Falling Vaccinations Contribute to Rising Pertussis Numbers” Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan discuss health and healthcare issues in the headlines, including a powerful—but dangerous—new gene therapy, racial disparities in excess deaths during the COVID pandemic, and the limited insurance coverage for highly effective new obesity drugs.  Links: The Physician Shortage “Opening the Door Wider to International Medical Graduates—The Significance of a New Tennessee Law” “New Licensure Pathway for Some Internationally Trained Physicians” “Brain-drain and health care delivery in developing countries” “Talk of an Immigrant ‘Invasion’ Grows in Republican Ads and Speech” Subspecialty Expertise from AI “Towards Democratization of Subspeciality Medical Expertise” Gene Therapy “7 children developed blood cancer after Bluebird Bio gene therapy for rare neurological disease” National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: Adrenoleukodystrophy An AI Warning from a Nobel Laureate Nobel Prize: Nobel Prize in Physics “Why the Godfather of A.I. Fears What He’s Built” “Unions Give Workers a Voice Over How AI Affects Their Jobs” Conflicts of Interest and the Role of Peer Reviewers “Medical journal peer reviewers are paid millions by industry, study finds” “Does industry funding equal conflict of interest? Often it does, Yale authors claim” COVID, Race, and Excess Deaths “Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Age-Specific All-Cause Mortality During the COVID-19 Pandemic” Insurance Coverage for GLP-1 Drugs KFF: 2024 Employer Health Benefits Survey “The Miracle Weight-Loss Drug Is Also a Major Budgetary Threat” CDC: Adult Obesity Facts Mothers in Medicine “So Visibly a Mother” Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Max Laurans, a Yale neurosurgeon and hospital administrator, and a founder of the healthcare staffing company Nomad Health. Harlan discusses the problem of doctors giving too much weight to suggestions from AI; Howie celebrates a milestone in the campaign to eliminate trachoma, a common cause of preventable blindness in the developing world.   Links: Automation Bias “Some doctors are using public AI chatbots like ChatGPT in clinical decisions. Is it safe?” “Measuring the Impact of AI in the Diagnosis of Hospitalized Patients: A Randomized Clinical Vignette Survey Study” “Automation Bias and Assistive AI: Risk of Harm From AI-Driven Clinical Decision Support” “Combining Human Expertise with Artificial Intelligence: Experimental Evidence from Radiology” Max Laurans Maxwell Laurans, MD, MBA, FAANS Nomad Health: Travel Nurse and Travel Allied Health Jobs 2003 residency placements for Yale medical students “Yale New Haven Hospital breaks ground on $838 million, 505,000 square foot Neurosciences Center” “Hospitals across the U.S. face IV fluid shortage after Hurricane Helene” Trachoma Mayo Clinic: Trachoma “Elimination of trachoma as a public health problem in India” The Carter Center: Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan welcome Vivek Murthy, the 19th and 21st Surgeon General of the United States and a graduate of the Yale School of Medicine and the Yale School of Management. They talk about his campaigns to tackle parental stress, gun violence, and the dangers of social media, and the importance of communicating across political divides. Links: Parents Under Pressure: The U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory on the Mental Health & Well-Being of Parents  Youth Mental Health: The Surgeon General’s Advisory Yale School of Medicine | Auguste Fortin VI, MD, MPH, MACP Vivek Murthy: “Surgeon General: Why I’m Calling for a Warning Label on Social Media Platforms” Firearm Violence: A Public Health Crisis in America: The Surgeon General’s Advisory The Surgeon General’s 1964 report on smoking and health Vivek Murthy at Yale College Class Day Exercises Health Misinformation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on Building a Healthy Information Environment Social Media and Youth Mental Health: The Surgeon General’s Advisory Log Off Movement “Fetterman, Britt Introduce Bill to Require Mental Health Warning Labels on Social Media Platforms” “The Outrage Industrial Complex” Instagram: Vivek Murthy and his family at his swearing-in Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan discuss recent headlines, including the latest round of COVID and flu vaccines, a lousy report card for the U.S. healthcare system, and a rare case of swine flu. Plus: Howie investigates a mysteriously escalating pharmacy bill.  Links: COVID and Flu Vaccines CDC FluView: Weekly US Influenza Surveillance Report: Key Updates for Week 36, ending September 7, 2024 CDC: Staying Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines “Florida discourages use of mRNA Covid vaccines in older adults” “Florida’s New Covid Booster Guidance Is Straight-Up Misinformation” CDC: COVID Data Tracker A Failing Grade “Mirror, Mirror 2024: A Portrait of the Failing U.S. Health System” CMS Health Equity Conference “What is Driving Widening Racial Disparities in Life Expectancy?” Swine Flu “Minnesota reports 2 H3N2v flu infections in fairgoers” Shohei Ohtani “Shohei Ohtani reaches 50-50 in spectacular style as Dodgers clinch postseason berth” “The Shohei Ohtani Goal Matrix” Baseball Almanac: A Definition of 50-50 Club Drug Prices Mayo Clinic: Flecainide “Column: Less choice, higher prices feared in CVS’ takeover of health insurer Aetna” “How to Save Money on Your Prescription Drugs” Brain Age “Brain clocks capture diversity and disparities in aging and dementia across geographically diverse populations” “Brain aging patterns in a large and diverse cohort of 49,482 individuals” “Associations between alcohol consumption and gray and white matter volumes in the UK Biobank” “Environmental Cardiology: Studying Mechanistic Links Between Pollution and Heart Disease” AirPods as Hearing Aids “FDA Authorizes First Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Software” Oak Street Health Department of Justice: Oak Street Health Agrees to Pay $60M to Resolve Alleged False Claims Act Liability for Paying Kickbacks to Insurance Agents in Medicare Advantage Patient Recruitment Scheme “CVS Reaches $10.6 Billion Deal to Buy Clinic Owner Oak Street Health”  

Howie and Harlan are joined by Ania Jastreboff, a Yale endocrinologist and an expert on obesity medication, to talk about the remarkable range of diseases treated by drugs like Ozempic, Mounjaro, and Wegovy. Harlan discusses new Apple devices with the ability to detect sleep apnea and aid in hearing; Howie reports on outbreaks of polio in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Gaza.  Links: Apple and Health “FDA clears Apple’s sleep apnea detection feature for use. Here’s how it works” FDA: “FDA Authorizes First Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Software” “FDA approves some Apple AirPods to be used as hearing aids” National Council on Aging: Reasons for Low Hearing Loss Treatment Obesity Drugs “Semaglutide vs Tirzepatide for Weight Loss in Adults With Overweight or Obesity” “An Obesity Drug Prevents Covid Deaths, Study Suggests” “Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Obesity without Diabetes” “The New Anti-Obesity Drugs: What You Should Know” Video: Oprah Winfrey and Ania Jastreboff, “What Exactly Is Obesity? A Yale Doctor Explains” “Obesogenic environments and obesity: a comment on ‘Are environmental area characteristics at birth associated with overweight and obesity in school-aged children? Findings from the SLOPE (Studying Lifecourse Obesity PrEdictors) population-based cohort in the south of England’” “Oprah Takes on Weight Stigma in the Ozempic Era” “Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity” Ania Jastreboff: “Tirzepatide Once Weekly for the Treatment of Obesity” Ania Jastreboff: “Triple-Hormone-Receptor Agonist Retatrutide for Obesity—A Phase 2 Trial” “Daily Oral GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Orforglipron for Adults with Obesity” “Obesity drug black market thrives online in S. Korea” “Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy Weight-Loss Drug Gets Approval in China” “A Popular Weight Loss Drug Is Getting a Price Cut” Polio Poliovirus outbreak in New York State, August 2022: qualitative assessment of immediate public health responses and priorities for improving vaccine coverage CDC: Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus WHO: “Humanitarian pauses vital for critical polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip” Howard Forman Discusses Polio in Gaza on TikTok CDC: Progress Toward Poliomyelitis Eradication—Pakistan, January 2023–June 2024 “Afghanistan risks polio outbreak as Taliban restricts women from delivering vaccines” “Polio eradication: the CIA and their unintended victims” Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Margaret McGovern, deputy dean for clinical affairs at the Yale School of Medicine, CEO of Yale Medicine, and chief physician executive of the Yale New Haven Health System. They discuss her path from the lab to healthcare leadership, and her efforts to better align Yale's medical school and its health system. Harlan reflects on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks; Howie provides an update on the bird flu outbreak.  Links: September 11 “60 Minutes remembers 9/11: The FDNY” Margaret McGovern “McGovern Welcomed as Yale Medicine CEO” “Margaret McGovern, MD, PhD, Appointed YSM Deputy Dean and CEO of Yale Medicine” “What is Translational Research?” “Three SBU Leaders Honored for Outstanding Service During Pandemic” “What Are Relative Value Units (RVUs)?” “You’re Invited: Alignment-Focused Town Halls” “Clinically Integrated Networks” “Elevating Patient Access and the Consumer Experience” Bird Flu “Current H5N1 Bird Flu Situation in Dairy Cows” “How CDC is monitoring influenza data among people to better understand the current avian influenza A (H5N1) situation” “5 burning questions about Missouri’s mysterious H5 bird flu case” Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Lee Schwamm, associate dean for digital strategy and transformation for Yale School of Medicine and chief digital health officer for Yale New Haven Health System, to discuss how AI and other digital tools can be part of fixing a broken healthcare system. Harlan reports on lightly regulated compounding pharmacies producing anti-obesity drugs; Howie gives an update on efforts by the FDA and CDC to fight bird flu. Links: "2023 Paul Dudley White Award: Dr. Lee Schwamm" Yale School of Medicine | Lisa Leffert, MD Health & Veritas | Dr. Lisa Leffert: Leading in Anesthesiology Testimony Prepared by Dr. Lee Schwamm Submitted to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Heath "Ambient AI Is Here, And We Are Blissfully Unaware Of It" "Yale New Haven Health to provide AI-driven clinical documentation" "Abridge, Mayo Clinic, And Epic Collaborate To Develop An Integrated Artificial Intelligence Documentation Solution For Nurses" "Are You Sure Your Ozempic Is Real? Fakes Are on the Rise." "Bill on Drug Compounding Clears Congress a Year After a Meningitis Outbreak" CDC | H5 Bird Flu: Current Situation "Is Bird Flu Spreading Widely to Farm Workers? A Small Study Offers Some Reassurance" Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Joshua Sharfstein, a longtime public health official in federal, state, and local government, to discuss the state of the opioid epidemic, lessons from the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, and our readiness for a bird flu outbreak. Harlan reports on the summer surge in COVID-19; Howie remembers his mentor Gail Wilensky, a health economist who directed Medicaid and Medicare programs and led many other organizations over a 50-year career.  Links: COVID-19 Update CDC: COVID Data Tracker CDC: COVID-19 Current Wastewater Viral Activity Levels Map “What to Know About COVID FLiRT Variants” Joshua Sharfstein Joshua Sharfstein: The Public Health Crisis Survival Guide: Leadership and Management in Trying Times Joshua Sharfstein: The Opioid Epidemic: What everyone needs to know” “How Can Over-the-Counter Naloxone Prevent Opioid Overdose Deaths?” CDC: H5 Bird Flu: Current Situation“Millions of US Children Experience Range of Long COVID Effects” Joshua Sharfstein: “The Role for Policy in AI-Assisted Medical Diagnosis”“External Validation of a Widely Implemented Proprietary Sepsis Prediction Model in Hospitalized Patients” “Epic’s overhaul of a flawed algorithm shows why AI oversight is a life-or-death issue” Podcast: “Baltimore cut infant mortality and helped moms thrive, too” Remembering Gail Wilensky “In Remembrance Of Gail Wilensky” “Gail Wilensky, Former CMS Administrator, Dies at 81” “In Memoriam: Gail Wilensky, Renowned Health Economist & NORC Trustee”Gail Wilensky: “The Health Care Quality Improvement Initiative” Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Kate Goodrich, chief medical officer for Humana and a former Medicare staffer, to discuss the improvements in care and outcomes that result when providers are paid for each patient, not each service. Harlan looks at the challenge of payment for AI-based diagnostic tools; Howie asks if free tuition at Johns Hopkins medical school will address the real problems in medical education.  Links: AI Diagnostic Tools “Tempus Receives U.S. FDA 510(k) Clearance for Tempus ECG-AF, an AI-based Algorithm that Identifies Patients at Increased Risk of AFib” “Ensight-Ai Awarded Fda's Breakthrough Device Designation For Their Ecgvision-Ttr© Technology For Early Detection Of Attr-Cardiomyopathy Image” The Cardiovascular Workforce Crisis: Navigating the Present, Planning for the Future “American Medical Association Grants PLA Code to Tempus Algorithmic Test, PurISTSM” Kate Goodrich Humana: Value Based Care Report Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: Value Based Care “Medicare Spending on Ozempic and Other GLP-1s Is Skyrocketing” Free Tuition at Johns Hopkins “Bloomberg gives $1 billion to Hopkins to make tuition free for most medical students” Johns Hopkins School Of Medicine: Tuition And Financial Aid “Free med school tuition won’t solve the shortage of primary care physicians” Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.