Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, violence and abuse toward healthcare workers has skyrocketed. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that professionals in the healthcare industry experience violence at five times the rate of individuals in other branches of the workforce.

A bill to ban new physician noncompete agreements passed the Indiana Senate Health and Provider Services Committee on Jan. 25, Indiana Public Media reported.

Editor's note: This letter to the editor is in response to the article New York physicians push for aid-in-dying law. It has been lightly edited.

New Jersey's Hospital-based Violence Intervention Program secured a $10 million grant in the form of American Rescue Plan funds, TapInto reported Jan. 23.

Seattle-based University of Washington Medicine created a $20 million deanship to honor retired dean Paul Ramsey, MD. 

Physicians' happiness fell amid the pandemic and is not rebounding easily, according to Medscape's 2023 Physician Lifestyle and Happiness Report.

Nearly 75 percent of patients turn to online reviews as the first step when searching for a new physician. Despite their popularity, it's largely been unclear whether online ratings are reliable or signal quality information to patients. A new study suggests they do. 

An artificial intelligence chatbot that generates humanlike responses passed all three parts of the U.S. Medical Licensing Exam, according to findings published in the preprint server medRxiv. 

Acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (aTTP is also known as iTTP) is a rare, life-threatening medical emergency that can cause microvascular thrombi and consequent thrombocytopenia, hemolytic anemia, and organ ischemia.1,2,3 In the US, aTTP affects fewer than 2,000 adults each year.4 The disease course of aTTP is unpredictable and can be rapidly fatal, making its diagnosis and management an urgent need.1,5-7

A hospital performance report found deaths related to sepsis, heart attacks and respiratory failure rose in Pennsylvania hospitals, PBS affiliate WHYY reported Jan. 14.

Of active physicians in the U.S. in 2021, 46.7 percent were 55 or older, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges' "2022 Physician Specialty Data Report."

State auditors say they were blocked from completing a thorough audit of the North Carolina Medical Board's investigations into physician misconduct, public radio station WUNC reported Jan. 12.

Sports medicine as a specialty grew significantly from 2016 to 2021, while pulmonary disease fell most, according to the Association of American Medical College's "2022 Physician Specialty Data Report."

Albuquerque, N.M.-based Presbyterian Healthcare Services has selected a Tacoma, Wash.-based national staffing company to provide emergency department and hospital medicine physician and advanced practice provider services for its Santa Fe (N.M.) Medical Center, the Albuquerque Journal reported Jan. 11.  

The University of California's health system is renewing contracts with hundreds of outside hospitals and clinics, many with religious affiliations, and some of its physicians and faculty fear they could be barred from providing some forms of treatment to patients, the Los Angeles Times reported Jan. 11.

Black medical residents are much more likely to have any type of debt than other racial and ethnic groups, according to a new report from Health Affairs.

A study led by two economists suggested nurse practitioners may be less productive than physicians in the emergency department setting.

CMS is funding the creation of 200 new residency spots at 100 U.S. teaching hospitals located in underserved communities. The goal is to help bolster the healthcare workforce in these areas and increase patients' access to care, the agency said Jan. 9.

The American Medical Association and other groups are pushing back on the instant test results rules, saying they can harm the physician-patient relationship and have unintended consequences, Politico reported Jan. 9.

A survey found 71 percent of female physicians delay childbearing due to career goals and concerns.