Public Health

NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue has launched a “mystery patient” program to help healthcare facilities strengthen preparedness for avian influenza and other infectious diseases. The program will send trained clinical evaluators posing as patients with symptoms and exposure histories consistent with…

Sixteen years after the ACA was signed into law, the program is facing renewed political scrutiny, rising costs and coverage shifts. Federal policymakers have proposed changes to ACA structure and oversight, while the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits has…

The FDA has launched its first two real-time clinical trials in partnership with Houston-based University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania, AstraZeneca, Amgen and Paradigm Health. The real-time clinical trial model allows the FDA to review…

South Carolina has declared an end to a measles outbreak totaling 997 cases — the largest in the U.S. in more than 35 years — with officials crediting healthcare workers, schools and families for preventing wider spread. The outbreak began…

The White House recently dismissed the board members for the U.S. National Science Foundation, which funds a significant portion of research across colleges and universities, The New York Times reported April 25.  Established in 1950, the National Science Foundation is…

Austin, Texas-based Ascension Dell Children’s Medical Center received the “National Child Passenger Safety Team of the Year” award for its work around car seats. The award was presented by the National Child Passenger Safety Board and recognizes Dell Children’s dedicated…

More than 130 medical, public health and patient advocacy organizations are raising concerns about recent changes to the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel, warning the updates could affect vaccine access and public confidence. The concerns follow an April 1 renewal of…

A majority of the general public believes at least one unproven or false health claim, according to an April 22 survey from the Edelman Trust Institute. The survey is based on insights from more than 16,000 respondents across 16 countries,…

After a yearlong, unexplained hiatus for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which provides clinical preventive health recommendations to Congress every year, HHS is seeking new task force members.  During a dayslong gamut of multiple Congressional committee hearings, HHS Secretary…

A CDC report on COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness that the agency delayed in March has now been blocked from publication entirely, The Washington Post reported April 22. The report found the vaccine reduced the likelihood of emergency department visits and hospital…