Get the health information and medications you need every weekday with STAT’s free newsletter Morning Rounds. Sign up here.
Good morning everyone. This is Alison. I’ll be covering this for Teresa today.
I have to say that the recent news about the presidential physical fitness test reminded me. I remember the “sit and reach” exam. I know that my school had climbing ropes, but I don’t think we were allowed to actually climb on them for fear of falling and getting hurt. Do any other Millennial Morning Round readers remember what activities they did on the test? Send your memories to (email protected).
Well, today’s news.
Secret Shopper uncovers disturbing GLP-1 prescribing practices online
These days, it seems like everyone wants to get their hands on the GLP-1 drugs semaglutide and tirzepatide. But remember the recent Secret Shopper study — which showed that prescribing processes often fall well short of clinical standards?
Katie Palmer reports on a new study published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association detailing one researcher’s efforts to obtain prescriptions for weight-loss drugs at 49 different telemedicine sites. The results upset several weight loss doctors. One of the five centers did not inquire about patients’ weight loss goals. Almost half did not ask about eating disorders. Additionally, a few telemedicine platforms did not involve direct contact with a clinician before receiving a prescription.
Doctors are calling on regulators to enforce clinical standards of care. Click here to learn more about the research results.
Astronomical costs threaten employer-based health insurance
Bob Herman speaks passionately about the inflation and fraud of employer-sponsored health benefits in a multi-part series.
Health insurance premiums are rising across the country due to soaring hospital, physician and prescription drug prices and an increase in intensive care. As a result, employer-sponsored health insurance has become so expensive that some companies have abandoned it. The percentage of working-age adults who have health insurance through their jobs has declined, from 67% in 1998 to about 60%. Mr. Herman heard from several people directly affected by this decision.
He also brought up a lawsuit in New Jersey in which a whistleblower sought to clear Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield from allegations that it intentionally overpaid hospitals and doctors and fraudulently won state contracts.
This is a rich series that deserves attention. Access all articles here.
Ebola outbreak exposes broken infection response system
Ebola has re-emerged in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We have contained this disease before. But what if the threat this time around is not only that we can’t stop the spread, but that the outbreak never ends?
In a new First Opinion article, humanitarians Ivan Buendia Gayton and Eric D. Peraksulis examine how the methods used to contain past outbreaks may not apply this time. While previous outbreaks occurred in small villages, the current wave of Ebola has spread to one of Africa’s most densely populated regions. Some of the first lines of defense against the spread of the disease, including the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are operating at significantly reduced capacity. And America’s highly specialized treatment facilities remain underutilized.
The risk in all of this is that Ebola becomes endemic and continues to threaten millions of people in Central Africa, while periodically spilling over into other parts of the world. When such a future arrives, the authors argue, containment will become a recurring expense that will be impossible to control. read more.
In memory of a legendary virus researcher
CJ Peters, a legendary figure in the world of discovering and researching viruses that pose a threat to humans, passed away on July 4th. Peters’ knowledge was incredible and his style unique. He had a cowboy-like personality, but he liked wearing Hawaiian-print shirts.
One of my first encounters with Peters, a phone interview, was about Ebola (which I think was a long time ago) and how some people can get Ebola from eating bats. I was surprised and asked why people eat bats. His answer was a gentle education: “You live in a world with too much protein.” In 2018, I sat down with him for an in-depth interview at his home in Galveston, Texas. There he told me so many amazing stories about his time in the field that I had a hard time knowing what to begin with. We hope the following profile here captures his essence.
Because Mr. Peters has been in declining health for years, I did not seek his opinion on the current administration’s approach to keeping people infected with or at risk of contracting Ebola, including American citizens, from entering the United States. I already knew his opinion. “Fences don’t keep viruses out,” he told me in 2018.
Peters was a unique figure who lived in a very different era. I’ll never meet someone like him again, but I was so lucky to have him. RIP. — Helen Branswell
Gen Z doctors are our future
Will Gen Z physicians entering the workforce fill the void left by retired physicians and burnout? And even if they can, will they be welcomed into the field?
Healthcare executive Franz Bartow tackles these questions in a new first opinion essay. The dire need for new clinicians is contradicted by what leaders actually say about the younger generation, viewing them as “soft” and too focused on the wrong areas. Berthaud shares her recent experience in care and argues that Gen Z actually has a thing or two to teach healthcare leaders. read more.
what we are reading
- Autism breakthrough or illusion? The battle over spelling aids, New York Times
- Declined admissions for Ph.D.s could endanger ‘a new generation of talent’, New York Times
- Vertex buys Crinetics Pharmaceuticals for $10 billion amid biotech M&A boom, STAT
