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Doctors across the country say it’s rare that migrants receive medical screenings or anything beyond care for medical emergencies when they arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border, and there’s no overarching national system to track the care, either. You have these little islands of shelter,” said Deliana Garcia, of the nonprofit Migrant Clinicians Network, which supported more than 1,000 migrants in need of medical care in the first 10 months of this year. The challenges of careMigrants face a lack of access to steady medical care in the U.S., as well as healthy food and stable housing. Some avoid asking for help entirely out of fear of a large bill or longstanding distrust of the medical system. The shelter system in Massachusetts is so full that the governor brought in the National Guard in August to assist.

Persons: Julio Figuera, he’d, Figuera, ”, Deliana Garcia, “, anyone’s, Craig Williams, Cook, we’ve, Steve Federico, they’re, Federico, ” Federico, Jon Ewing, Ewing, Doctors, they’ve, Garcia, Ted Long, Stephanie Lee, who'd, Lee, ” Lee, Fiona Danaher, Danaher, Brigham, Sophia Tareen, Jesse Bedayn, Shastri, Robert Wood Johnson Organizations: International, Network, Border Patrol, Associated Press, Denver, New York City Health, Denver Health, New York, Penn State, National Institutes of Health, National Guard, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, AP Locations: Cook County, Chicago, Venezuela, United States, U.S, Mexico, New York, Los Angeles, Boston, New York City, Denver, Massachusetts, Milwaukee

☆ British health agency warns of fake Ozempic pens linked to hospitalizations
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Amanda Musa | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Britain’s health agency is warning the public not to buy pre-filled pens claiming to contain the weight loss drugs Ozempic and Saxenda without a prescription, after a small number of people were hospitalized. Ozempic is used to treat adults with type 2 diabetes, and is used off-label for weight loss. More than 350 potentially fake Ozempic pens have been seized since January of this year, according to the MHRA. The agency has also received reports that patients have obtained fake Saxenda pens in the UK through “through non-legitimate routes.”No fake weight-loss pens were seized before January 2023, the agency says. The maker of both drugs, Novo Nordisk, told CNN Thursday that it is aware that counterfeit pens are being circulated.

Persons: Ozempic, ” Allison Schneider, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, Alison Cave, ” Ozempic, “, Meg Tirrell Organizations: CNN, Medicines, Healthcare, Agency, Novo Nordisk, “, “ Novo Nordisk, General Pharmaceutical Council, Get CNN, CNN Health, European Medicines Agency, European Union Locations: Ozempic, “ Novo, Novo, Germany, Europe

☆ Health workers face mental health crisis, CDC says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Giri Viswanathan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are sounding the alarm on a mental health crisis for health workers around the country. The report, released on Tuesday, also shows that health workers face worse mental health outcomes than employees in other industries. The study found that health care workers reported an increase in poor mental health days between 2018 and 2022. According to the CDC report, harassment had major impacts on health workers’ mental health: Health workers who reported being harassed were 5 times as likely to report anxiety compared to those who were not. The CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health also plans to launch a national campaign this fall to help hospital leaders address challenges to health workers’ well-being — part of an ongoing initiative by the agency to raise awareness about health workers’ mental health challenges.

Persons: Kaiser Permanente, ”, Debra Houry, Houry, ” Houry, ideation, —, Casey Chosewood, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, Chosewood, ” Chosewood, “ Organizations: CNN, US Centers for Disease Control, Health, Kaiser, District of Columbia, National Institute for Occupational Safety, Worker Health, CNN Health, “

But Mintz also acknowledges that having more places to access PrEP likely will not be enough to substantially increase its use in more vulnerable communities. “There needs to be a couple of levers that need to be pulled for everybody to access PrEP who are eligible to access PrEP,” Mintz says. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)Meanwhile, a pending ruling in a federal appellate court looms as a threat that could more broadly undermine PrEP coverage. “We don’t know what the 5th Circuit could do.”In the wake of the March court ruling, insurers expressed support for preventive services. “Right now, PrEP uptake is quite good among gay white men, but among people of color and among women PrEP access is quite limited,” Dawson says.

Persons: Apretude, ”, Omar Martinez Gonzalez, Sean Bland, we’re, ” Bland, Truvada, ” Martinez Gonzalez, Laura Mintz, Mintz, ” Mintz, Truvada –, AIDSVu, Joe Raedle, Laurie Sobel, “, ” Sobel, Lindsey Dawson, ” Dawson, Torrian Baskerville, Baskerville, ” Baskerville, who’d, Biden, Bland Organizations: U.S . Preventive Services Task Force, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Affordable, AIDS Foundation Chicago, “, Centers for Disease Control, Santa Clara University School of Law, Georgetown University’s O’Neill Institute for National, Global Health, Blacks, PrEP, Emory University, Gilead Sciences, Black PrEP, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Pride Network of, ViiV Healthcare, GlaxoSmithKline, U.S, Circuit, Appeals, Supreme, Human Rights, Navigators, Department of Health, Human Services Locations: U.S, Black, Cleveland, Gilead, –, Miami, Texas, Ohio

Blue Shield of California will no longer use CVS Health’s Caremark as its pharmacy benefit manager and instead will partner with several companies, including Amazon Pharmacy and Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company. They have come under fire from other players in the health care industry and from Congress because of their opaque practices. Most adults take at least one prescription drug annually, while more than a third take at least three, Blue Shield said, citing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. CVS Caremark will continue to work with Blue Shield, providing specialty pharmacy services for members with complex conditions. The company bought online pharmacy PillPack in 2018, launched its own Amazon Pharmacy in 2020 and last year created a virtual health care clinic.

Persons: ” Paul Markovich, Mark Organizations: New, New York CNN, CVS, Amazon Pharmacy, Cuban, Plus Drug Company, Pharmacy, Blue, for Disease Control, ”, Mark Cuban, Plus, CVS Health, Amazon Locations: New York, California

☆ The US eliminated malaria in 1951. How can it keep it under control now?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Meg Tirrell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“The risk is very low,” Dr. Peter McElroy, chief of the malaria branch in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, told CNN. In an effort to limit its impact in the southeastern US during World War II, particularly around military training bases, the US created the Office of Malaria Control in War Areas in 1942. The April 1945 edition of the Malaria Control in War Areas field bulletin. Malaria was eliminated in the United States in 1951, but modern mosquito control is mostly managed locally. Oxitec also says it’s working on applying the approach to anopheles mosquitoes for malaria control as well.

Persons: ”, Janneth Rodrigues, Rodrigues, tsuruhatensis, National Institutes of Health’s Dr, Carolina, Dr, Peter McElroy ,, haven’t, McElroy, Wade Brennan, Chandan Khanna, “, ” McElroy, Daniel Markowski, ” Markowski, They’re, Markowski, Mury, Sanjay Gupta, Aedes, Oxitec, “ We’ve Organizations: CNN, GSK, Malaria, National Institutes of Health’s, of Malaria, Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy, US Centers for Disease Control, Prevention’s, Sarasota County Mosquito Management, of Malaria Control, CDC, American Mosquito Control Association, Public Health Service, National Library of Medicine, Getty, “, CNN Health, Google Locations: Tres Cantos, Madrid, Burkina Faso, Africa, United States, Sarasota, Sarasota , Florida, Atlanta, Sarasota County , Florida, Palm Beach County , Florida, Florida, New Jersey

☆ STIs are on the rise in the US. A pill taken after sex could help slow them down
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Yet recent research suggests that one pill of the drug can be effective in preventing such infections among men who have sex with men if taken within 72 hours after unprotected sex. He added that any guidance from the CDC will help “fill gaps,” provide direction to clinics and offer a framework for using doxyPEP for STI prevention. “Drug resistance when taking doxyPEP is currently being studied in people using this treatment for STI prevention. “There are still many STI prevention and treatment gaps left to fill. “In STI prevention, we’ve been relying on tools that are decades, sometimes centuries old.

Persons: Dr, Jonathan Mermin, ”, doxyPEP, Stephanie Cohen, “, “ We’re, ” Cohen, ” David C, Harvey, ” Harvey, DoxyPEP, someone’s, Annie Luetkemeyer, gonorrhea, ” Luetkemeyer, Connie Celum, Kenya Medical Research Institute —, Jenell Stewart, Stewart, ” Stewart, Suneer Chander, Wisp, ” Chander, Sanjay Gupta, Mermin, Deidre McPhillips Organizations: CNN, US Centers for Disease Control, CDC’s National Center, HIV, CDC, San Francisco Department of Public Health, California Department of Public Health, San Francisco Department of Public, National Coalition, STD, “, New England, of Medicine, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, UCSF, University of Washington, Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Hennepin Healthcare, University of Minnesota, PEP, Food and Drug Administration, CNN Health Locations: United States, San Francisco, Seattle, King County, Washington, Kenya, Hennepin

☆ Virtual Healthcare Has Green Benefits
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Cecilia Butini | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

Virtual doctor’s appointments are helping healthcare companies reduce carbon emissions, though sustainability is mostly seen as a side benefit of telehealth rather than its main driver. The healthcare industry is responsible for about 5% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, of which the U.S. healthcare system alone accounts for a quarter. Similarly, in England, medicines, buildings, equipment and other supply-chain items generate most of the National Health Service’s emissions, according to official NHS figures. The company has designed an app for teleconsultations that is able to show patients the carbon emissions avoided through that consultation. In line with national data, the company said its Scope 3 emissions account for 75% of its total emissions.

Persons: telehealth, Cynthia Cox, KFF, ”, Colin Cave, ” Cave, Glyn Richards, Ben Phillips, BUPA, Marijka Grey, Kyle Zebley, — Dieter Holger, Cecilia Butini Organizations: McKinsey, Sustainable Business, Affordable, Energy, U.S . Agency for Healthcare Research, National Health, Kaiser Permanente, Permanente Kaiser Permanente, Spain —, CommonSpirit Health, CommonSpirit, American Telemedicine Association Locations: England, telemedicine, Kaiser, U.S, Northwest, U.K, Spain, Grey, Europe

☆ Immediate access to gender-affirming hormone therapy eases distress, depression, suicidal thoughts for transgender adults, research finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Giri Viswanathan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Prompt access to hormone therapy can be a key tool in improving the mental health of transgender people, according to new research. The researchers also found a clinically significant decrease in depression, with over a 50% reduction in suicidality among study participants who didn’t have to wait to start hormone therapy. Nolan’s team examined the impact of accessible testosterone therapy on the mental health of 64 transgender adults who were seeking treatment to become more masculine. Gender-affirming hormone therapy like this is considered “medically necessary” by the World Professional Organization for Transgender Health’s Standards of Care. The researchers also found less suicidal ideation among the fast-tracked group: Thoughts of suicide resolved in 11 – or 52% – of the people receiving immediate testosterone therapy who had indicated suicidal ideation on their initial screening.

Persons: ”, Brendan Nolan, Nolan’s, “, ” Nolan, Nolan, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, endocrinologists, we’ve Organizations: CNN, Endocrine Society, University of Melbourne, American Psychiatric Association, Transgender Survey, World Professional Organization, Transgender Health’s, Care, CNN Health Locations: United States

☆ Astronauts’ brains take a hit during long spaceflights
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Spaceflights lasting six months or longer take a toll on the brains of astronauts, and crew members may need to wait at least three years before returning to space, according to new research. Scientists compared the brain scans of 30 astronauts taken before spaceflights lasting two weeks, six months or a year with scans taken after they returned to Earth. During the analysis, the researchers determined that the degree to which the ventricles enlarged varied depending on how long the astronauts were in space. Seven of the astronauts with a shorter period of recovery between missions showed little ventricular enlargement after their most recent flight. However, astronauts have very specialized skill sets and training and there may be rationale to include them on additional missions before this time.”

Persons: CNN —, Artemis, ”, Rachael Seidler, Seidler, ” Seidler Organizations: CNN, International, Station, NASA, University of Florida, UF, Norman Fixel Institute, Neurological Diseases, “ Locations: ”

☆ This Nonprofit Health System Cuts Off Patients With Medical Debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Sarah Kliff | Jessica Silver-Greenberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Nonprofit hospitals like Allina get enormous tax breaks in exchange for providing care for the poorest people in their communities. Allina has an explicit policy for cutting off patients who owe money for services they received at the health system’s 90 clinics. A 12-page document reviewed by The Times instructs Allina’s staff on how to cancel appointments for patients with at least $4,500 of unpaid debt. The hospital system cuts off patients only if they have racked up at least $1,500 of unpaid debt three separate times. “Allina Health’s goal is, and will always be, to have zero patients go without services for financial reasons,” Ms. Bergerson said.

Persons: Allina, Allina’s, ”, Matt Hoffman, Conny Bergerson, “ Allina, Ms, Bergerson Organizations: New York Times, The Times Locations: Vadnais Heights, Minn

☆ CVS Health’s Sales Rise 11%; Oak Street Health, Signify Health Acquisitions Close
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Sabela Ojea | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Corporate giants from Amazon to CVS are investing billions into primary-care practices. Photo illustration: Amber BragdonCVS Health posted an 11% rise in sales during the first quarter as it closed its biggest acquisitions since its nearly $70 billion merger with Aetna in 2018. The healthcare company on March 29 completed the nearly $8 billion acquisition of Signify Health, adding in-home services to its offerings. On May 2, the company closed its $10.6 billion deal for Oak Street Health’s 600 primary-care centers. The newly added units will work together to expand the business, with Signify doctors checking up on home-care patients, who are then referred to either an Oak Street practice or a CVS in-store clinic.

☆ A drug company abandoned a treatment for ‘bubble boy disease.’ After a 5-year fight, this little girl is about to get it
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Elizabeth Cohen Lauren Mascarenhas | Elizabeth Cohen | Lauren Mascarenhas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +29 min

The Sulacks weighed their options: Have a transplant with a match that was less than ideal – far less – or wait for gene therapy to become available. The news release didn’t say anything else about the SCID gene therapy. Or was the company abandoning its plans for SCID gene therapy altogether? In February, 2021, the parents of more than 20 children who were waiting for the gene therapy treatment, including the Sulacks, wrote a letter to Gaspar. Insurance companies have sometimes balked at paying for gene therapy, which is typically given in one treatment.

☆ UnitedHealth flexes market and political power
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, April 14 (Reuters Breakingviews) - UnitedHealth (UNH.N) powered on in the first quarter. Revenue grew 15% compared with the same period last year as the firm added about 2 million customers to its insurance arm. The company’s Optum division, which provides medical care among other things, expanded even faster as it keeps adding services. Health insurance is a highly concentrated business, giving UnitedHealth power over markets in which it operates. Further cuts may be a risk, but history suggests UnitedHealth will keep chugging along.

☆ Spooked dealmakers scurry back into their foxholes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Jeffrey Goldfarb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

NEW YORK, March 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Jonathan Kanter, a lawyer by training, has become something of a magician. Pay closer attention, however, and Kanter is methodically rewriting a decades-old regulatory playbook. Last year, these breakup charges reached their highest level in a decade, at an average 4.5% of deal prices. The Department of Agriculture partnered with the DOJ on the case, another feature of Kanter’s plan of attack. As legal weaknesses emerge, dealmakers should be in position to better structure transactions and defend themselves at trial.

☆ Glencore Subsidiary Sentenced, Ordered to Pay $30 Million to Medical Company
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Dylan Tokar | Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

A Glencore lawyer on Tuesday said the company now expects to pay as much as $1.5 billion in total penalties, up from the $1.2 billion it initially agreed to pay last year. Glencore faced several restitution claims after agreeing to its settlement last year, including from Petróleos Mexicanos SA de CV, or Pemex, Mexico’s state-owned oil company. The negotiated monetary penalty paid by the Glencore subsidiary is lower than what is called for under federal sentencing guidelines, a reflection of Glencore’s cooperation, Judge Schofield said at Tuesday’s sentencing. Glencore gave prosecutors more than a million documents, including from overseas, where prosecutors lack subpoena power, the judge said. The company also agreed to overhaul its compliance program and will be under an independent monitorship for three years, she said.

☆ Erythritol, an ingredient in stevia, linked to heart attack and stroke, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —A sugar replacement called erythritol — used to add bulk or sweeten stevia, monkfruit and keto reduced-sugar products — has been linked to blood clotting, stroke, heart attack and death, according to a study. “If your blood level of erythritol was in the top 25% compared to the bottom 25%, there was about a two-fold higher risk for heart attack and stroke,” Hazen said. Clots can break off and travel to the heart, triggering a heart attack, or to the brain, triggering a stroke. “There appears to be a clotting risk from using erythritol,” Freeman said. In all three populations, researchers found that higher levels of erythritol were connected to a greater risk of heart attack, stroke or death within three years.

Persons: ”, Stanley Hazen, ” Hazen, “, erythritol, Andrew Freeman, ” Freeman, Robert Rankin, ” Rankin, Hazen, “ It’s, Erythritol, Hazen’s, Oliver Jones, ” Jones, You’ll, Health’s Freeman Organizations: CNN, Center for Cardiovascular Diagnostics, Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, People, Nature, Jewish Health, European Association of Polyol, Cleveland Clinic’s Center, Human, RMIT University, National Health, European Food Safety Authority, Food and Drug Administration Locations: Denver, United States, Europe, erythritol, Australia

☆ Returning pharma CEO has one prescription: M&A
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Robert Cyran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Feb 17 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Brent Saunders is back in charge of a pharmaceutical company, which usually means one thing: M&A. The buyer, Actavis, appointed Saunders CEO of the combined company. Bausch + Lomb remains a subsidiary of Bausch Health, which owns nearly 90% of the shares. Considering Bausch Health’s stake in Bausch + Lomb is worth more than $5 billion, the implication is that bondholders are in charge. Saunders was CEO of Bausch + Lomb from 2010 until 2013, when it was acquired by Valeant Pharmaceuticals.

☆ Risky Virus Research Needs Tougher Review, Government Advisers Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Liz Essley Whyte | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An advisory board at the Bethesda, Md.-based National Institutes of Health unanimously backed research-oversight proposals. Virus experts advising the federal government backed proposals to bolster oversight of research that could make pathogens more dangerous or contagious. The experts, members of the National Institutes of Health’s biosecurity advisory board, voted unanimously on Friday in favor of the proposals. The NIH helps to administer the board, which gives advice to the entire U.S. government.

When the virologist Kirsten St. George learned last summer that a paralyzed patient in New York’s Rockland County had tested positive for polio, she turned her attention to the state’s sewers. Polio is particularly stealthy because most infected people never develop symptoms but can still spread the virus. A wastewater-surveillance network established during the Covid-19 pandemic helped officials at the New York State Department of Health’s Wadsworth Center track polio’s spread in several counties.

Instead, this ketamine clinic feels like an oasis of zen, strewn with twinkle lights, lush greenery and comfy meditation pillows. Chere Scythes, right, listens to guided meditation during a ketamine session at Field Trip Health in New York City. “And so many of these clinics don’t have mental health professionals staffing them. When those mental health concerns pop up, they may not be equipped to respond appropriately.”Ketamine also isn’t a cure-all. “That deep dark depressive cloud started to lift.”In combination with her antidepressants, she has continued the ketamine treatments and now gets one every five weeks.

☆ Super Bowl-winning NFL player Ronnie Hillman dies from rare form of cancer at 31
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Drew Weisholtz | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Former Denver Broncos running back Ronnie Hillman, who helped the team win Super Bowl 50, died from a rare form of cancer, his family said Wednesday in a statement on Instagram. “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved son, brother & father, Ronnie K Hillman Jr.,” the family said in the post. “Ronnie quietly and peacefully transitioned today in the company of his family and close friends. “As a family, we hope beyond hope, and we have faith that can move mountains,” the statement said in part. He played the first four seasons of his career with Denver, helping the team win the Super Bowl in the 2015 season.

☆ Measles outbreak in central Ohio grows to more than 50 children, driven by ‘lack of vaccination’
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —A measles outbreak in central Ohio is growing, sickening more than 50 children, with many of them needing hospitalization, according to data updated Tuesday by Columbus Public Health. “Measles can be very serious, especially for children under age 5,” Columbus Public Health spokesperson Kelli Newman wrote in an email Monday. In the Ohio outbreak, the hospitalized children have been seen at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “For measles, it is the most infectious disease we have,” she said. Pediatric hospitals already strainedWhile the measles outbreak spreads across central Ohio, the United States has been battling a surge of respiratory illnesses, such as flu and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Participants who were offered cash incentives for either pounds lost or for completing certain activities were more likely to lose weight compared with those who were simply offered tools, such as diet books, fitness trackers and access to a weight loss program, the study found. On average, participants in the goal-directed group earned $440.44, as compared to $303.56 in the outcome-based group. “Even if less weight is lost, adopting lifelong physical activity or better eating habits may be more important,” she said. Kushner, who was not involved with the new study, agreed that low-income people face extra challenges when it comes to weight loss. What’s not clear, however, is how the strategy of offering cash for weight loss could be implemented in a real-world setting, outside of academia.

☆ Ohio Measles Outbreak Among Children Has Officials Urging Vaccination
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Kris Maher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Columbus Public Health’s Dr. Mysheika Roberts said that before this past June, the city had not seen a case of measles for more than 20 years. Ohio officials are stepping up efforts to contain a measles outbreak in greater Columbus, which has the largest concentration of cases of the highly contagious disease in the U.S.Officials have identified 46 measles cases in and around Columbus, up from 24 two weeks ago, according to Columbus Public Health. All cases have been among unvaccinated children, including 19 who have been hospitalized. Nationwide, there were 55 measles cases as of Nov. 24, the latest figures available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The totals are still well below previous spikes in cases over the past decade.

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