Endocrine Society urges Congress to increase funding for NIH

The Endocrine Society—the world’s largest professional organization for endocrine scientists and physicians—is calling on Congress to pass the House Labor-HHS spending bill to ensure health agencies are funded before the start of Fiscal Year 2021 and to avoid the tumult and disruption of a continuing resolution and potential government shutdowns.

Nurses’ Use of Physician Term Anesthesiologist Misleading to Patients

The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) yesterday urged the New Hampshire Supreme Court to uphold the New Hampshire Medical Board’s decision that health care professionals using the term “anesthesiologist” must be licensed physicians and meet all the requirements to practice medicine in the state, according to an amicus curiae brief filed on behalf of ASA and the American Medical Association (AMA).

At the Heart of the Matter: ACSM Updates Recommendations to Prevent Cardiovascular Events at Fitness Facilities

American College of Sports Medicine’s new expert consensus statement updates guidance on training staff and establishing emergency plans to prevent cardiovascular events at fitness facilities, community and hotel fitness facilities and sporting event venues.

To Prepare the U.S. for Future Pandemics, AACC Calls on Congress to Enact 4 Recommendations

In response to the Senate health committee’s white paper on preparing for future pandemics, AACC sent a letter to committee leadership detailing four key steps the government should take to ready the U.S. for the next outbreak. AACC urges the health committee to address these recommendations in future pandemic legislation, as they are crucial to preventing another public health crisis like the one COVID-19 has caused.

Managing Abnormal Results on Cervical Cancer Screening: ASCCP Issues Updated Guidelines

Replacing guidelines for managing women with abnormal results on cervical cancer screening test from 2012, new recommendations from ASCCP emphasize more precise management based on estimates of the patient’s risk – enabling more personalized recommendations for diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up. The revised guidelines with updated recommendations are now available in the Journal of Lower Genital Tract Disease (JLGTD), official journal of ASCCP. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

New Seminar Series Aims To Expose, Explain Threats to U.S. Democracy

A group of political science scholars is launching a webinar series on Friday to highlight escalating threats to democracy that have been percolating for decades and boiling over ever since Donald Trump’s election.

Communication should be a vital sign, researchers argue

In an editorial published June 19 in the journal Critical Care Medicine, Lance Patak, an assistant professor of anesthesiology and pain medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and two faculty partners with The Ohio State University College of Nursing suggest that patient communications should be as standard and routine as any other vital sign

Majority of House of Representatives Supports Prior Authorization Relief Bill

Introduced by Reps. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), Roger Marshall, MD, (R-Kan.) and Ami Bera, MD, (D-Calif.), this legislation would help protect America’s seniors from unnecessary delays in care by streamlining and standardizing prior authorization under the Medicare Advantage program, providing much-needed oversight and transparency of health insurance for America’s seniors.

Banning Covert Foreign Election Interference

The United States is one of the countries that is most susceptible to foreign election interference. To safeguard the U.S. elections in November, Robert K. Knake argues that the United States and other democracies should agree to not interfere in foreign elections.

KIDNEY HEALTH INITIATIVE URGES INVESTIGATORS TO INCLUDE PEOPLE WITH KIDNEY DISEASES IN CLINICAL TRIALS FOR CORONAVIRUS 2019 (COVID-19) THERAPIES

People with kidney diseases are often excluded from clinical trials because of the complexity and high morbidity of kidney disease.

COVID-19 puts people with kidney diseases at a two to sixteen-fold increased risk of severe symptoms.

All investigators should include people with kidney diseases when developing vaccines, preventative therapies or treatments related to COVID-19.

Addressing Sexual Violence in Sport: American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Issues Position Statement

Sexual violence is a serious problem with potentially severe and lasting negative effects on the physical, psychological, and social well-being of victims – including athletes. A new American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) Position Statement on sexual violence in sport was published simultaneously in four leading sports medicine journals, including Current Sports Medicine Reports (CSMR), official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM); and the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine (CJSM), official journal of the AMSSM. Both CSMR and CJSM are published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

EPA Proposal to Change How It Evaluates Environmental Policy Ignores Science

The American Thoracic Society is extremely concerned with today’s announcement about changes in how the EPA evaluates the costs and benefits of environmental policy. While the details of economic analysis of environmental regulations are complex, the guiding principle is remarkably simple: compare all the costs and benefits of agency actions. The proposed changes in how costs and benefits are evaluated will sufficiently degrade the credibility of economic analysis conducted at the EPA to the point that it is no longer able to function as an objective policy analysis tool.

AACC Releases Guidance Document on Using Point-of-Care Tests to Improve Patient Care

AACC has issued a new guidance document detailing best practices that hospitals and other healthcare institutions should follow when running a point-of-care testing program. As point-of-care tests emerge for more and more conditions—including COVID-19—the guidance emphasizes that it is essential for laboratory professionals and clinicians to collaborate on point-of-care testing programs to ensure this testing benefits patients.

CAP releases 2020 edition of Laboratory Accreditation Program checklists used for inspection of medical laboratories

The College of American Pathologists (CAP) released the 2020 edition of its Laboratory Accreditation Program checklists on June 4, 2020. CAP inspectors use the checklists, with approximately 3,000 requirements, during inspections to ensure laboratories comply with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations and achieve accreditation.

First Do No Harm – Researchers Urge Halt in Prescribing Hydroxycholoroquine for COVID-19

Researchers urge a moratorium on prescribing chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine, with or without azithromycin, to treat or prevent COVID-19, and caution that the reassuring safety profile of hydroxychloroquine may be more apparent than real. Safety data derive from decades of prescriptions by clinicians, primarily for their patients with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, both of which are of greater prevalence in younger and middle age women, who are at very low risk of fatal heart outcomes due to hydroxychloroquine.

ATS Responds to the Death of George Floyd and Subsequent Events

Today, the American Thoracic Society issued the following statement regarding the death of George Floyd:

The recent tragic death of Mr. George Floyd in Minneapolis and subsequent protests throughout the United States and in cities around the world call on us to again examine the role of the American Thoracic Society. As an international professional organization whose members are on the front lines of providing care to all citizens, our members are now experiencing first-hand some of the effects of these events.

Bone Researcher Provides Expert Commentary in Publication’s Controversial Reversal of Long-Held Theory

The latest issue of PLOS Genetics includes two publications that challenge the basic assumptions behind 24 years of bone and metabolism research, and given the magnitude of the potential paradigm shift, the editors turned to Stavros C. Manolagas, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) to provide expert commentary and context.

KIDNEY HEALTH INITIATIVE URGES THE ACCELERATION OF HOME THERAPY TECHNOLOGY IN RESPONSE TO CORONAVIRUS 2019 (COVID-19)

The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the vulnerability of people with kidney failure who rely on in-center hemodialysis. People with kidney failure are at high risk of severe COVID-19 complications and are exposed to infection due to a kidney replacement therapy process that requires traveling to a dialysis facility multiple times a week.

To Prevent a Second Wave of COVID-19, AACC Calls on Senate to Include 5 Recommendations in Upcoming Coronavirus Bill

Now that the latest coronavirus relief package, known as the Heroes Act, has moved forward to the U.S. Senate, AACC has sent a letter to Senate leadership outlining five key recommendations that will improve COVID-19 testing capacity across the U.S. AACC urges the Senate to ensure these recommendations are addressed within the Heroes Act, as they are critical to preventing a second wave of the pandemic.

ACADEMY OF NUTRITION AND DIETETICS SUPPORTS INTRODUCTION OF MEDICAL NUTRITION THERAPY LEGISLATION IN CONGRESS

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics supports U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel (N.Y.) and Rep. Pete King’s (N.Y.) commitment to America’s health by introducing the Medical Nutrition Therapy Act of 2020. The bill would provide coverage for Medicare beneficiaries to obtain treatment from registered dietitian nutritionists and other qualified nutrition experts for many common and costly chronic diseases.

Transplant Patients Need to be Examined by a Dermatologist: The American Dermatologic Association endorses enhanced Screening, Surveillance, and Prevention of Skin Cancer and Skin Infection in Patients with Solid Organ Transplants

Skin cancer and skin infection are significantly more likely in solid organ transplant patients compared to patients with normal immune system function. Almost 40,000 organ transplants were performed in the United States in 2019, a 9% increase over 2018.

Optimizing Patient Access to Medications: The American Dermatological Association’s Position Statement on Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) and Patient Access to Affordable and Appropriate Medications

Access to healthcare has been at the forefront of social and political debate for decades. Reliable and equitable access to provider prescribed medications is tantamount to the delivery of appropriate healthcare, and the lifecycle of medication manufacturing, distribution, pricing and procurement has been shrouded in an incomprehensible array of transactions and involved stakeholders. Among the middlemen interspersed between pharmaceutical manufacturers and patients are pharmacy benefit managers (PBM). Initially tasked with administering drug plans for health insurers,1 the role of PBMs has expanded over time. They currently function in a lightly regulated area,2,3 with few requirements for business transparency. Three PBMs, CVS Caremark, Optum RX, and Express Scripts, control distribution of nearly ¾ of the medications in the United States.

During Virtual Hill Visits, Rheumatology Leaders Urge Lawmakers to Provide Targeted COVID-19 Relief for Healthcare Practices

In virtual meetings with lawmakers and on Twitter tomorrow, physician and health professional leaders from the American College of Rheumatology are sounding the alarm about the economic impact of COVID-19 on rheumatology practices and the urgent need for targeted relief to help specialty practices remain solvent and continue to serve patients.

APS ISSUES RARE RESOLUTION TO CONGRESS

For the first time in more than 60 years, the American Philosophical Society (APS), founded by Benjamin Franklin and the nation’s oldest learned society, has issued a public resolution calling on Congress to enact a National Defense Education Act for the 21st Century. The resolution has been sent to the bipartisan leadership of the House and Senate.

ASA Urges Secretary Azar to Implement a Moratorium on Health Insurer Contract Cancellations and Reinstatement of Cancelled Physician Contracts

Health insurance companies around the country are using aggressive negotiating tactics to terminate physician contracts, forcing physicians out of network with little or no notice and increasing the likelihood that patients will receive surprise medical bills. The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) has implored Alex M. Azar II, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to press insurers to reinstate terminated contracts and to implement a moratorium on cancellations and terminations during this national health emergency.

AANA Leaders Prove Now is the Time for Evidence-Based Policy in the VA, not Politics

AANA President Kate Jansky, MHS, CRNA, APRN, USA LTC (ret), and AANA CEO Randall D. Moore, DNP, MBA, CRNA—both veterans—addressed a series of “misleading” and “inflammatory” assertions made by the American Society of Anesthesiologists this week related to a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) directive allowing full practice authority for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) in the VA.

Physician Anesthesiologists Urge VA to Reverse Directive Jeopardizing Veterans’ Lives

The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) urges Americans to protect our nation’s Veterans by asking the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to reverse
its memorandum that dismantles the successful anesthesia care team, removes physician anesthesiologists from surgery and replaces them with nurses, lowering the standard of care for Veterans and jeopardizing their lives.

Fight for victims of dead multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein continues

University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law Professor Paul Cassell and attorney Bradley J. Edwards have filed a petition for rehearing en banc in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on behalf of sex abuse victims of multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein. The petition asks the full Eleventh Circuit to rehear its earlier divided (2-1) ruling, rejecting the victims’ appeal challenging a secret non-prosecution agreement.