Written by kate@dcmsdocs.org on . Posted in Uncategorised
New guidelines released this week urge millions more people to be screened for hepatitis C. The call for expanded screening for Americans ages 18 to 79 is the first change since 2013 when U.S. health authorities recommended all baby boomers get a hepatitis C test because that age group appeared at particularly high risk. Prompting the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Monday recommendation for expanded testing is the rise in hepatitis C stemming from the opioid crisis. Sharing needles is the main way that hepatitis C spreads in the U.S.
Health experts estimate that only about half of people with hepatitis C know they are infected. Finding infection early is critical now that drug treatments are available that can cure most people and the cost of those medications has declined. The task force concluded that more widespread screening would ultimately save costs, giving its recommendation a rating that requires insurance companies to cover testing without patient co-pays. About 2.4 million people in the U.S. are living with hepatitis C, and there were an estimated 44,700 new infections in 2017 alone.
Written by kate@dcmsdocs.org on . Posted in Uncategorised
Our DCMS Governmental Affairs Committee hosted an exploratory discussion of the issues around a single-payer system on Wednesday January 8, 2020, helping members better understand the potential advantages and shortcomings of the option.
DCMS past president, Lawrence Schouten, MD, opened the dynamic session with a brief history of the major milestones in U.S. healthcare financing over the past century. Then John Perryman, MD, northern Illinois co-president of the Physicians for a National Health Program organization, shared how a publicly financed National Health Program (NHP) could fully cover medical care for all Americans, while lowering costs by eliminating the overhead expenses in the existing profit-driven private insurance system. Kara Murphy, president of the DuPage Health Coalition, described herself as "agnostic" about a single-payer system, but wholly supportive of an efficient and effective model of care – unlike the current system. She offered valuable perspective on how healthcare financing policy opinions and decisions are based on perceptions and politics, rather than evidence-based analysis.
Paul Erlich, a third year medical student at Midwestern University, noting that most students and physicians see healthcare as a human right, expressed dismay about the disparities in the existing system. He also worried about the high cost of medical education, which drives physicians in training toward more lucrative specialties rather than primary care. Following spirited discussion, attendees ended the session with a request that the Society continue to host explorations of related issues.
Written by kate@dcmsdocs.org on . Posted in Uncategorised
A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) last week found that overall life expectancy in the U.S. has declined for three consecutive years, driven down by suicides, drug overdoses, organ-system diseases, and other causes that have been rising over the past decade for young and middle-aged adults.
Other wealthy nations, meanwhile, continue to experience continued progress in extending longevity. The report notes that the U.S. has the worst midlife mortality rate among 17 high-income countries, despite leading the world in per-capita spending on health care.
The study's authors suggest that the nation's lifespan reversal is being driven by diseases linked to social and economic privation, a healthcare system with glaring gaps and blind spots, and profound psychological distress.
