The hottest Healthcare Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Health Politics Topics

The WHO Pandemic Agreement may be worrying, but it is also really stupid

eugyppius: a plague chronicle • 160 implied HN points • 23 Feb 24
🌍 World Politics Global Health International Law Bureaucracy Healthcare Pandemic response
  1. The WHO Pandemic Agreement raises concerns but also appears impractical, focusing on bureaucratic procedures rather than concrete solutions.
  2. The Agreement involves bloated language and vague aspirations, lacking clear strategies to improve global healthcare.
  3. Key components, like the WHO PABS System and Global Supply Chain Network, reveal convoluted bureaucratic efforts with little practical benefit.

The Vague Future Health Threat Mistake

Weight and Healthcare • 459 implied HN points • 03 Jul 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Body positivity Healthcare Weight Stigma Research
  1. The Vague Future Health Threat (VFHT) is a problematic argument used against weight-neutral health, combining healthism and fatphobia.
  2. Health issues should not be used to threaten, taunt or insult someone and attributing all health problems to body size is scientifically invalid.
  3. Intentional weight loss methods often lead to weight cycling, with potential negative impacts on health, and the VFHT is not a valid justification for fatphobia.

Weight Loss Surgery - Long-Term Outcomes and Informed Consent

Weight and Healthcare • 519 implied HN points • 11 May 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Loss Informed consent Healthcare
  1. Weight loss surgeries, such as the Lap Band procedure, have serious risks and high rates of complications and re-operations.
  2. Long-term outcomes and informed consent for weight loss surgeries lack substantial research beyond ten years, making it difficult to have fully informed conversations.
  3. Informed consent for weight loss surgeries should involve a detailed discussion on the transformative impact on the digestive system, lack of long-term data, potential negative health implications, and the importance of considering weight-neutral healthcare options.

Intentional Weight Loss is Incompatible with Eating Disorders Prevention and Treatment – Even if Weight Watchers Disagrees

Weight and Healthcare • 499 implied HN points • 21 May 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Loss Eating Disorders Healthcare Obesity Diet Industry
  1. There is no evidence-based weight loss intervention; most people regain weight after short-term losses.
  2. Pathologizing higher-weight bodies contradicts ending weight stigma and providing ethical treatment.
  3. Promoting intentional weight loss requires ignoring failure rates, risks, and harms, incompatible with true health support.
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Atrium Health halts lawsuits against patients for unpaid medical bills

The Charlotte Ledger • 137 implied HN points • 16 Oct 23
🏥 Health Politics Healthcare Medical Debt Patient Advocacy Hospitals
  1. Atrium Health has stopped suing patients for unpaid medical bills, a practice criticized for targeting vulnerable individuals.
  2. The change comes amidst increasing concern over medical debt burdens on Americans.
  3. Despite halting new lawsuits, Atrium still pursues payment for existing judgments, leaving some patients struggling with debt.

Reader Question - What's the Difference Between Fat Activists and the Diet Industry?

Weight and Healthcare • 459 implied HN points • 08 Jun 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Body positivity Diet Industry Weight Stigma Fat Activism Healthcare
  1. The main difference between fat activists and the diet industry is their ultimate goals: Fat activists aim to end the weight-centric paradigm to affirm and accommodate fat individuals, while the diet industry seeks profit and perpetuates harmful practices.
  2. Fat activists focus on making information accessible without money as a barrier, prioritizing helping people over profit. In contrast, the diet industry prioritizes profit margins and is willing to take risks that harm fat individuals for financial gain.
  3. The approach to health by fat activists is grounded in thorough research, whereas the diet industry often pathologizes body size, creates misleading studies, and makes errors in correlation vs. causation analysis.

The Research Post

Weight and Healthcare • 439 implied HN points • 18 Jun 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Healthcare Research Resources Weight-neutral care
  1. Weight-neutral care is gaining support among healthcare experts and studies show its effectiveness in improving health outcomes regardless of BMI.
  2. There are significant issues with traditional weight-loss and dieting interventions, as research suggests high long-term failure rates and minimal health benefits.
  3. Additional resources are available to combat weight stigma and healthcare inequalities based on BMI, supporting a more inclusive and holistic approach to health.

Doctors Must Stop Telling Higher-Weight Patients to "Eat Less and Exercise More"

Weight and Healthcare • 319 implied HN points • 28 Sep 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Healthcare Eating Disorders Body positivity Exercise
  1. Healthcare practitioners should avoid stereotypes and practice medicine based on facts, not assumptions
  2. Eating disorders can affect people of all sizes, so generalized advice can be harmful
  3. Telling higher-weight patients to 'eat less and exercise more' is not evidence-based and may lead to negative outcomes

Canada Is Stealing Senior's First Pension Check!

C.O.P. Central Organizing Principle. • 24 implied HN points • 01 Feb 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Government Policy Social Issues Pensions Legal Actions Healthcare
  1. The Canadian government delays seniors' first pension check, which is seen as unfair and harmful. This system leaves many seniors struggling financially right at the start of their retirement.
  2. Low-income seniors are already burdened by taxes on their pensions, making the delayed payment even more difficult to accept. Many people believe this policy shows a lack of care for seniors in Canada.
  3. There are concerns that government policies, similar to those in the U.S., ignore the needs of vulnerable groups like seniors. This raises questions about the ethics and priorities of political leaders.

October 30, 2024

Letters from an American • 17 implied HN points • 31 Oct 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Elections Economy Healthcare Immigration Government
  1. If Trump wins, Elon Musk wants to cut a ton of government spending, which could hurt programs people rely on, like education and housing.
  2. The economy is currently doing well, but some believe that Trump's plans could cause serious problems down the line, despite initial growth.
  3. Trump's campaign is worried about losing support, especially with past decisions on healthcare and women’s rights making some voters uneasy.

Doctors and patients raise alarm about prior authorization

HEALTH CARE un-covered • 319 implied HN points • 01 Feb 23
🏥 Health Politics Healthcare Insurance Patient Care Policy Medical Ethics
  1. Prior authorization can cause major problems for patients, leading to delays or denials of necessary treatments. This can sometimes result in serious health issues or even death.
  2. A lot of doctors believe that the prior authorization process actually worsens care for patients. Most doctors say these requirements can make patients abandon their treatment plans.
  3. Insurance companies aren't really cooperating with doctors to fix these issues. This makes it hard for patients to access the care they really need.

The Cost of Changing Course

Dana Blankenhorn: Facing the Future • 79 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.

Big Insurance in-fighting: why it's so important that Cigna is suing CVS

HEALTH CARE un-covered • 319 implied HN points • 30 Jan 23
🏥 Health Politics Insurance Healthcare Lawsuit Regulation
  1. Cigna is suing CVS to stop them from hiring a former executive, citing a non-compete agreement. This shows how competitive the big insurance companies are over valuable staff.
  2. Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are key players in health insurance, making more money than some health plans. They act as middlemen between patients and drug companies, but their operations are often unclear.
  3. Both political parties are focusing on reforming PBMs because they're seen as raising drug costs. There's growing legal pressure and proposed bills aimed at improving transparency and fairness in their practices.

Compassion for Fat Patients Doesn't Replace Actual Healthcare

Weight and Healthcare • 379 implied HN points • 20 Jul 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Obesity Healthcare Compassion Weight Stigma
  1. Compassion is important, but it should not replace evidence-based healthcare for fat patients.
  2. Believing that being in a higher-weight body is a health condition rooted in weight stigma is problematic.
  3. Fat patients deserve compassionate, ethical, evidence-based healthcare that supports their health without focusing solely on body size.

The 48-Hour Sprint To Try And Put Medical AI in Every Phone

Nano Thoughts • 1 implied HN point • 23 May 25
🕹 Technology AI Mobile Healthcare Software Innovation
  1. Creating a powerful AI for medical use on smartphones can be tough, especially when there are limits on memory and processing power. The teams needed to be creative and flexible to make it work within a small device.
  2. Using Apple’s open-source tools let the developers adapt and troubleshoot the AI better than the options available on Android. With the right tools, they could fix problems directly instead of being stuck with rigid systems.
  3. The main goal is to make healthcare AI accessible in places where it's needed most, like rural areas with few doctors. This way, community health workers can get immediate help without needing a strong internet connection.

Neurotech Notables #2: Feb 2024

NEUROTECH FUTURES • 59 implied HN points • 14 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Neurotech Artificial Intelligence Healthcare Wearables Innovation
  1. Neurotech industry news: Companies like Elemind, Brain Scientific, Healium, and more are making advancements in neurotechnology with new products and FDA clearances.
  2. Industry analysis and activities: Discussions and events are happening around topics like investing in neurotech startups, brain scanning technology, and advancements in deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease.
  3. Community engagement: Aside from the serious industry news, there are fun and interesting neuroscience-related studies and activities for people to enjoy, such as research on penguin microsleep and a neuroscience poetry contest for kids.

Understanding Weight Stigma in Healthcare Practice

Weight and Healthcare • 279 implied HN points • 19 Oct 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Stigma Healthcare Research
  1. Weight stigma in healthcare is pervasive and harmful, affecting fat individuals at every level and it is rooted in racism and anti-Blackness.
  2. Different forms of weight stigma and bias exist, including intrinsic and structural biases, and these can lead to inequalities in healthcare access and treatment.
  3. Healthcare practitioners often display high levels of bias, which can harm higher-weight patients, and lack of accommodation for fat patients is a common issue that impacts their access to healthcare.

How to Get the Correct Size Needle for Vaccines As A Higher-Weight Person

Weight and Healthcare • 319 implied HN points • 31 Aug 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Vaccines Weight Healthcare Safety
  1. Higher-weight individuals might need longer needles for safe and effective vaccinations, including COVID-19 shots.
  2. Accessing the correct size needle can be a challenge, with providers sometimes unaware of the need for longer needles.
  3. Creating personalized cards and using a scripted phone call can help higher-weight individuals advocate for longer needles during vaccinations.

Stop telling fat patients to “just try” a too-small blood pressure cuff – Weight Stigma in Practice

Weight and Healthcare • 379 implied HN points • 25 Jun 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Stigma Healthcare
  1. Using a too-small blood pressure cuff on fat patients can lead to inaccurate readings, potentially causing misdiagnoses of high blood pressure.
  2. Healthcare professionals should ensure they have properly-sized cuffs and appropriate training to provide accurate care for fat patients.
  3. Fat patients should be proactive in advocating for themselves during medical appointments to ensure proper blood pressure measurements are taken.

Reader Question - What's the Difference Between Weight-Neutral Health and Weight-Inclusive Health

Weight and Healthcare • 319 implied HN points • 27 Aug 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Research Body positivity Healthcare Equality
  1. Weight-neutral health focuses on providing the same interventions to people of all sizes without using weight loss as a healthcare strategy.
  2. Weight-inclusive health aims to create interventions and practices that are developed for bodies of all sizes, including research, tools, equipment, and best practices.
  3. Inclusive care is essential not only for fat individuals but also for marginalized groups like people of color, trans and nonbinary individuals, cis women, and others.

Open Letter to Insurance Companies re: BMI-Based Incentives/Penalties

Weight and Healthcare • 339 implied HN points • 27 Jul 22
🏥 Health Politics Insurance Healthcare Incentives Discrimination
  1. Charging more for health insurance based on metrics like BMI can create financial inequalities and harm marginalized groups.
  2. BMI is not an accurate measure of health as people with the same BMI can have different health statuses.
  3. BMI-based incentives/penalties can potentially decrease health, disproportionately affecting People of Color and those with lower socioeconomic status.

The Role of AI in Healthcare

Rod’s Blog • 59 implied HN points • 29 Jan 24
🏥 Health & Wellness AI Healthcare Medical Professionals Challenges Future
  1. AI in healthcare helps improve patient care through predicting health trajectories, recommending treatments, guiding surgical care, monitoring patients, and population health management.
  2. Benefits of AI in healthcare include reducing errors, enhancing diagnosis, personalizing treatment, increasing adherence, and preventing disease, leading to cost savings and revenue generation.
  3. Challenges of AI in healthcare include data access, bias, scaling and integration, lack of transparency, and privacy, which can be addressed through improving data quality, standards, transparency, education, and collaboration.

The PacBio Benchtop - The Vega

ASeq Newsletter • 14 implied HN points • 07 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Biotechnology Genomics Instrumentation Data Analysis Healthcare
  1. The new PacBio Vega is a benchtop DNA sequencer that provides 60Gb of data in just 24 hours and costs $169,000. There's also a lower cost option for labs that need less capacity.
  2. When compared to Oxford Nanopore's PromethION, the Vega appears to deliver better accuracy and more consistent results, making it a suitable choice for smaller labs needing reliable output.
  3. The launch of the Vega could help PacBio increase revenue and broaden its market presence, as it appeals to labs that want access to high-quality sequencing without breaking the bank.

What's the Problem With BMI And How Do We Solve It?

Weight and Healthcare • 359 implied HN points • 11 Jun 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Body positivity Healthcare Weight Medical Industry
  1. BMI was created in the 1830s by Quetelet, with problematic intentions and math issues.
  2. BMI has been manipulated by the weight loss industry, leading to denial of healthcare for higher-weight individuals.
  3. BMI is unnecessary and can be dropped, promoting individualized care and focusing on supporting patient health rather than manipulating body size.

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 Conversation - The Perfect Doctor's Appointment

Weight and Healthcare • 479 implied HN points • 21 Jan 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Healthcare Body positivity
  1. The post discusses the challenges in healthcare appointments and what we wish practitioners would do differently.
  2. Being a paid subscriber adds the value of accessing exclusive content and the opportunity to request specific topics for the author to write about.
  3. The author expresses gratitude for the support of paid subscribers and welcomes suggestions and questions via the provided contact email.

Neurotech Takes The Stage At JPM 2024

NEUROTECH FUTURES • 59 implied HN points • 19 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Neurotech AI Healthcare Innovation
  1. Neurotech companies are focusing on new business models and innovation in care models, storytelling and fundraising, AI, data generation, and reputation-building.
  2. The 'killer app' for neurotech could be a reliable diagnostic test for Alzheimer's and investment in VR technology for mental health and wearables.
  3. Neurotech is impacting life sciences by advancing digital biomarkers for cognitive health, exploring treatments for Alzheimer's, and focusing on precision neurology and bioelectronics.

Abortion in Cuba vs US shows which country is truly democratic

Geopolitical Economy Report • 299 implied HN points • 23 May 22
🌍 World Politics Abortion Democracy Socialism US Politics Healthcare
  1. Cuba's healthcare system, including abortion rights, is free and enshrined in a constitution voted on by the people, in contrast to the US where decisions are made by unelected judges.
  2. Cuba's democratic process involves grassroots participation and direct input from the masses in debates and referendums, showcasing a more participatory form of democracy compared to the US.
  3. Socialism in Cuba has led to the full actualization of reproductive rights for women, emphasizing the importance of socialism in ensuring democratic and reproductive freedom for all.