The hottest Healthcare Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Health Politics Topics

The ICU is Traumatic For Everyone

The Frontier Psychiatrists • 275 implied HN points • 07 Jan 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health Healthcare Trauma
  1. A stay in the ICU can be traumatic for patients due to various factors like machines, confusion, and hallucinations.
  2. ICU workers are also at risk of developing PTSD due to exposure to human suffering, with rates increasing, especially after the pandemic.
  3. The prevalence of PTSD among ICU patients and workers is significant, emphasizing the need for research and treatment options to address this trauma.

Large study shows high BMI not associated with serious top-surgery complications

Weight and Healthcare • 479 implied HN points • 15 Nov 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Healthcare Studies Weight Surgery BMI
  1. A large study indicated that a high BMI is not linked to serious complications in top surgery.
  2. The study suggested reevaluation of BMI cutoffs for patients undergoing chest masculinization surgery.
  3. Surgeons and patients should engage in shared decision-making conversations to discuss potential risks with higher BMI, without holding healthcare hostage for weight loss.
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The Concept of “Non-Compliance” and Weight Loss Recommendations

Weight and Healthcare • 1058 implied HN points • 02 Aug 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Loss Healthcare Body Acceptance
  1. Non-compliance labeling in healthcare can have negative implications on patients, especially when it comes to weight loss recommendations.
  2. There is a strong emphasis on the importance of reframing health as supporting behaviors rather than just focusing on weight loss as a measure of compliance.
  3. Many weight loss interventions lack long-term efficacy and can result in weight cycling, leading to patient dissatisfaction and potential harm.

Not Blaming Fat People For Failed Weight Loss Isn't Enough

Weight and Healthcare • 738 implied HN points • 23 Aug 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Loss Healthcare Weight Stigma Fat Activism Body positivity
  1. Healthcare practitioners often blame and shame fat patients for failed intentional weight loss, creating barriers to compassionate care.
  2. The weight loss industry acknowledges the failure of behavioral weight loss interventions, but their push for risky methods like drugs and surgeries is dangerous.
  3. Instead of blaming fat people for weight loss failure, healthcare should focus on respecting and affirming their humanity while supporting their health.

Life on the Social Security Plantation

donaldjeffries • 1257 implied HN points • 27 Feb 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Social Security Healthcare Government
  1. Social Security and Medicare are seen as entitlements, but workers pay into these systems their entire working lives.
  2. There are ideological differences in views on Social Security, with conservatives aiming to end it and liberals revering it as sacrosanct.
  3. The current Social Security system faces criticism for its sustainability, lack of means testing, and income cap, highlighting the need for reform.

Goff on the Cost Disease

Bet On It • 140 implied HN points • 02 Feb 24
🚌 Education Economics Healthcare Higher Ed
  1. Prices and expenditures in medical care need to account for quality and income levels
  2. Healthcare services have improved in quality over the years, impacting prices
  3. Education has evolved into a consumption-driven industry with a demand for the 'college experience'

The Truth About ObesityWeek - Part 2

Weight and Healthcare • 439 implied HN points • 28 Oct 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Obesity Weight Loss Healthcare Research Mental health
  1. ObsityWeek focuses on promoting the weight-centric paradigm in healthcare by connecting weight with health and disease, potentially leading to harmful practices.
  2. Corporate influence is prevalent at ObsityWeek through sponsored symposia and key lectures, where pharmaceutical companies push for weight-centric treatments like medications and surgeries.
  3. There is a disconnect at ObsityWeek between celebrating weight loss industry figures and the lack of progress in reducing the population of higher-weight individuals, highlighting the profit-driven nature of the field.

Anthony Fauci Defended NIH Culture Of Secrecy: The $325M Third-Party Royalty Complex... Now We Know More Details.

OpenTheBooks Substack • 779 implied HN points • 09 Aug 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Government Corruption Transparency Healthcare Research
  1. Anthony Fauci defended NIH culture of secrecy regarding third-party royalty payments.
  2. Chinese and Russian companies paid NIH for licensing technologies developed with U.S. taxpayer money.
  3. Companies like Purdue Pharma paid royalties to NIH scientists, raising questions about conflicts of interest.

The Problem with the Edmonton Obesity Staging System – Part 1

Weight and Healthcare • 539 implied HN points • 27 Sep 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Obesity Healthcare Weight Stigma Mental health
  1. The Edmonton Obesity Staging System focuses on categorizing fat people based on weight-related health issues, despite lacking evidence of the benefits of aggressive weight management.
  2. Critics argue that the system pathologizes bodies solely based on size and overlooks other factors like weight stigma, healthcare inequalities, and weight cycling.
  3. The system's stages imply that health issues are directly tied to obesity but fail to address the fact that these issues affect people of all sizes, suggesting a need for a shift in focus toward holistic health support.

NYT Ethicist's Weight Stigma Hypocrisy Part 2

Weight and Healthcare • 918 implied HN points • 05 Jul 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Stigma Ethics Healthcare Body positivity Mental health
  1. The column discusses weight stigma and hypocrisy in healthcare, pointing out discrimination based on body size.
  2. It highlights the importance of respecting boundaries and being cautious with compliments related to body size manipulation.
  3. The response from the Ethicist regarding concerns about weight loss drugs brings to light inconsistencies and potential ethical issues.

A Few Things — Friday Link List

Design Mom • 825 implied HN points • 07 Jul 23
📰 News Social media Healthcare Politics Shopping Books
  1. Threads is a new social media platform launched by Instagram aiming to compete with Twitter and has gained 55 million users in a short span of time.
  2. There are concerns about platforms trying to replace Twitter, like Mastodon and Bluesky, lacking a large user base for quality content.
  3. The author shares interesting shopping links, like a popular $35 polka dot dress at Target and a $40 boilersuit, that resonated with readers.

Reducing Stigma by Ending the Pathologizing of Fatness - Part 1

Weight and Healthcare • 718 implied HN points • 12 Jul 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Stigma Healthcare Research Interventions
  1. Pathologizing fatness contributes to weight stigma and can dehumanize fat individuals, perpetuating discrimination and exclusion.
  2. Traditional weight stigma reduction methods that shift blame or rely on empathy fail to address the root cause of pathologizing fatness and are ineffective in dismantling weight stigma.
  3. Efforts to eradicate weight stigma should focus on depathologizing fatness, creating interventions that challenge stigma's underlying foundations and embracing collaboration with stigmatized communities.

Why Identity in Healthcare Sucks

Health API Guy • 609 implied HN points • 03 Aug 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Healthcare Identity Privacy Technology Modernization
  1. Identity in healthcare is facing challenges in the digital era, with traditional methods like access codes and knowledge-based questions showing flaws.
  2. Healthcare organizations need to modernize their identity verification processes to provide a low-friction, secure, and private user experience.
  3. Increasing digital engagement through improved identity flows can benefit both patients and healthcare providers, leading to higher satisfaction and improved access to healthcare data.

Sunday Brunch for March 17

Xavi Benjamin • 39 implied HN points • 17 Mar 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Legislation Elections Government Intelligence Healthcare
  1. The TikTok ban poses serious concerns about government overreach and its impact on freedom of speech and internet control.
  2. There is a need for transparency and discussion about fast-tracked bills that could affect the American people, especially in areas like universal healthcare.
  3. Being informed about potential government actions and their implications is crucial for advocating for policies that align with individual beliefs and values.

Friday Q&A: COVID, flu & RSV - oh my!

Are You Okay? • 479 implied HN points • 18 Aug 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Vaccines Healthcare Well-being Prevention
  1. The latest COVID sub-variant, EG.5, is becoming a dominant strain in the U.S., but it doesn't seem to be more contagious or cause more serious disease than prior variants.
  2. Vaccines still offer good protection against serious disease from EG.5, and the new booster expected at the end of September should provide good coverage against severe outcomes from this variant.
  3. To protect yourself this fall/winter, it's advised to get vaccinated, care for underlying health issues, prioritize sleep, exercise, healthy eating, and have regular check-ups with your doctor.

AI and the privatisation of everything

imperfect offerings • 259 implied HN points • 04 Nov 23
🕹 Technology AI Data Privacy Healthcare Education Government Relations
  1. Generative AI can reshape relationships at personal and societal levels through its integration into everyday life and work.
  2. The use of AI in privatising public goods like healthcare and education raises concerns about data control, accountability, and the concentration of knowledge and power in the hands of few corporations.
  3. AI facilitates the privatisation of public services through the capture of expertise, turning professionals into consumers of recycled expertise and potentially diminishing the role of teachers and healthcare providers in favor of automated systems.

On the Ohio State study showing vaccinated Covid patients had a HIGHER risk of death than the unvaccinated

Unreported Truths • 54 implied HN points • 27 Feb 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Vaccination COVID-19 Research Immunity Healthcare
  1. Vaccinated Covid patients in the Ohio State study had a higher risk of death compared to the unvaccinated, even after matching by age and comorbidities.
  2. Studies have shown that vaccinated Covid patients may not have a survival advantage once they are hospitalized. Other research supports the finding that vaccinated patients had higher mortality rates.
  3. The mRNA vaccines may not provide significant protection against severe disease or death in Covid-hospitalized patients according to multiple studies, contradicting previous claims about the effectiveness of the vaccines.

Weight Loss Surgery and Kids Part 1

Weight and Healthcare • 519 implied HN points • 29 Jul 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Loss Children Surgery Healthcare Obesity
  1. The study questions the effectiveness of nonsurgical weight management programs in children and emphasizes the need for long-term outcome data, especially regarding weight loss surgery.
  2. The conflict of interest with the authors, who have significant ties to weight loss companies and surgery programs, raises concerns about the objectivity of the study's findings.
  3. Lack of control groups, short follow-up periods, and small sample sizes in the research undermine the conclusions supporting weight loss surgery for children.

Looking for your keys under the light

Trevor Klee’s Newsletter • 671 implied HN points • 13 Jun 23
🔬 Science Research Biology Models Healthcare
  1. When searching for something, we tend to look where it is easiest to see, even if it might not be the best place to find it.
  2. This behavior can lead to wasting time and effort on ineffective or inefficient search strategies.
  3. It is important to be mindful of not getting stuck looking in familiar or visible places, but to explore all possibilities.

Subscriber Bonus - Behind the Scenes at the AMA Ethics Podcast

Weight and Healthcare • 319 implied HN points • 02 Oct 23
🎙 Podcasts Ethics Healthcare Interview Health Issues
  1. The post discusses a behind-the-scenes look at the American Medical Association's Ethics Podcast and the conversation around BMI-based healthcare denials and BMI issues.
  2. The speaker was pleasantly surprised to receive questions in advance for the podcast interview, which was noted as a relatively short interview.
  3. Access to the full content of the post requires being a paid subscriber.

Letter To Med Students Doing a Weight-Stigma Capstone – Guest Post by Rachel Fox

Weight and Healthcare • 678 implied HN points • 03 Jun 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Stigma Medical education Fat Activism Healthcare
  1. Medical students should re-evaluate weight-stigma projects to make a real impact.
  2. Addressing systemic fat oppression in healthcare requires tangible actions like reviewing curriculum and infrastructure.
  3. Med students possess a unique position to challenge anti-fat practices and bring about meaningful change.

Introducing DrGupta.AI

Martin’s Newsletter • 707 implied HN points • 20 Apr 23
🕹 Technology AI Healthcare Investors Regulation AGI
  1. Healthcare costs are high due to limited supply of healthcare professionals, but AI could help increase efficiency.
  2. Investors are not as important for a startup's success as team motivation and technology advancement.
  3. Accelerationism advocates for technology benefits without excessive regulations, and AGI still faces challenges in planning and execution.

Amazon, Dr. Gupta, Lilly and Other Thoughts

Martin’s Newsletter • 687 implied HN points • 10 May 23
💼 Business Technology Healthcare Finance Media Journalism
  1. Amazon has had negative free cash flow but is worth $1T, proving traditional valuation models may not apply.
  2. Dr. Gupta's AI healthcare system has received positive feedback with interest for nationwide deployment, highlighting the need for innovative healthcare solutions.
  3. Lilly's Mounjaro product showed impressive sales potential, indicating a shift in the pharmaceutical industry.

The Cost of Changing Course

Dana Blankenhorn: Facing the Future • 78 implied HN points • 29 Jan 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Economy Energy Healthcare
  1. America's economy is built on incentives favoring oil and gas, making it difficult to transition to renewable energy.
  2. Wealthy individuals and big corporations often benefit the most from government aid and investments, rather than the intended recipients.
  3. Challenges in implementing new policies arise due to resistance from established industries and fear of disrupting the capitalist system.

The Problem With “Classes” of “Obesity"

Weight and Healthcare • 678 implied HN points • 10 May 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Obesity BMI Healthcare Weight Stigma
  1. The concept of 'obesity' based on BMI can be problematic and does not account for individual health variations.
  2. Classifications of obesity, especially in healthcare, can lead to biased treatment recommendations favoring weight loss over evidence-based, weight-neutral care.
  3. The arbitrary nature of BMI 'classes' for obesity can result in significant differences in treatment recommendations with just small changes in weight, perpetuating weight stigma and inequality in healthcare.

Weight Loss Surgery and Kids - Part 4

Weight and Healthcare • 339 implied HN points • 09 Sep 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Obesity Surgery Healthcare Research
  1. Conflicts of interest exist among authors and funders, and data sources used lack adequate subjects and follow-up time to support recommendations.
  2. Surgery recommendations based on correlation between weight and health issues, rather than exploring confounding variables or comparing surgical interventions to health-supporting behaviors.
  3. Long-term safety and efficacy of bariatric surgery for children and adolescents is not fully supported by the limited data available, raising concerns about the validity of the recommendations.

Unraveling Alzheimer's Inequalities: From New Drugs to Healthcare Disparities

American Inequality • 393 implied HN points • 07 Aug 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Alzheimer's Healthcare Inequality Data Analysis Caregiving
  1. Alzheimer's is a major problem in the US, affecting millions and expected to double in the next 25 years.
  2. Inequality plays a significant role in Alzheimer's, with different communities and demographics being impacted differently.
  3. More focus is needed on training caregivers, analyzing data on minority communities, and educating about new drugs to address Alzheimer's inequalities.