HHS Boosts Loan Repayment for Primary Care Docs in Shortage Areas; Collins Pens Personal Op-Ed on Value of NIH Cancer Research; NASEM Releases Report on Caregivers in STEMM; and Other Items of Interest
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration, announced it has increased by 50% the initial loan repayment amount available to primary care providers — MDs and DOs, including OB-GYNs and pediatricians; nurse practitioners; certified nurse midwives; and physician assistants — who commit to practicing in areas with significant shortages of primary care providers. Eligible primary care givers can receive up to $75,000 in loan repayment, reported Fierce Health Care.
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Former National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins, MD, PhD, contributed an op-ed to the Washington Post this week, “Why I’m Going Public with my Prostate Cancer Diagnosis.” Reflecting on his own history working with patients waiting for results of potentially life-altering diagnostic tests and now being part of a large-scale NIH study while undergoing his own medical tests, Dr. Collins wrote, “Advances in clinical treatments have been informed by large-scale, rigorously designed trials that have assessed the risks and benefits and were possible because of the willingness of cancer patients to enroll in such trials… As a researcher who had the privilege of leading the Human Genome Project, it is truly gratifying to see how these advances in genomics have transformed the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.”
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In its coverage of a new National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) publication on “Supporting Family Caregivers in STEMM: A Call to Action,” Science quoted Elena Fuentes-Afflick, MD, MPH, professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, chair of the NASEM committee that wrote the report, and incoming AAMC chief scientific officer as of July 16. “All of our lives are touched by caregiving in some form, whether we have provided care or received it,” said Dr. Fuentes-Afflick.
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The new bipartisan American Privacy Rights Act of 2024 could have major implications for how providers, insurance companies, and others use sensitive data, reported Modern Healthcare.
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KFF Health News covered Congress’ struggle to decide the future of COVID-era telehealth policies. The goal is to make better sense of payment models and amounts for virtual visits between patients and their health care team — a practice that took on much greater importance during the COVID-19 pandemic, and many in health care wish to see it expand for Medicare patients among others.
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Researchers surveyed more than 7,000 nurses who recently left health care and found that, besides planned retirement, burnout, exhaustion, staffing shortages, and family obligations were the major reasons for the exodus, reported Becker’s Clinical Leadership.
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The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America is requesting a rehearing of the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit after the court upheld an Arkansas law prohibiting pharmaceutical company restrictions on pharmacies that participate in the 340B Drug Pricing Program, reported Bloomberg Law.
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Apparently, relieving people of their medical debt — even if it’s crushing and a burden on a credit score — isn’t necessarily the ticket to a generalized positive life impact. The New York Times reported on a study that describes the work of R.I.P. Medical Debt, a nonprofit that buys out the medical debt of people under financial distress, and found that debt relief alone does not necessarily improve their lives. The piece noted that other research shows improved mental health benefit from other debt relief, such as paying off student loans or a mortgage, and looks at whether the fact that people can continue to carry health care-related debt for years may influence how they feel about it.
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Chloe Nazra Lee, MD, MPH, a resident physician in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, wrote an opinion piece in MedPage Today on cultural barriers to addressing medical misconduct, such as a rejection of self-criticism, censorship of frank discussion, and attempts to conceal misconduct.
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Chief AI officer roles are proliferating at health care organizations, and two-thirds of health systems plan to boost spending on artificial intelligence by 25% or more in the coming three years, reported Modern Healthcare.
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Undark featured an interview with David Higgins, MD, MPH, an instructor in pediatrics and a pediatrician at the University of Colorado School of Medicine at the Anschutz Medical Campus and Children’s Hospital of Colorado, that touched on misconceptions around vaccine hesitancy — in short, that it may not be as widespread as many might believe.
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Lindsay Ryan, MD, an associate physician at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, wrote an op-ed in the New York Times reflecting on the tragedy that faces the poorest patients seen in safety-net hospitals, observing that a clinical cause may appear on a death certificate, but in Dr. Ryan’s words, it is “end-stage poverty” behind the death. “We needed to coin a phrase because so many of our patients die of the same thing,” she wrote.
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“Warming temperatures and other environmental factors have made seasonal allergens such as tree pollen, mold, and other spores worse over the past several decades. Not only are allergens thriving for longer periods than in the past — extending the pollen season by as much as three weeks in some parts of North America — they’re also reproducing at higher rates, intensifying allergy symptoms for many throughout the longer allergy season,” reported AAMCNews.
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Medical educators have begun to adapt curricula to better equip current and future clinicians to effectively navigate the health effects of climate change in the populations they serve. To support the community with integrating the topic into the curriculum, the AAMC offers several special collections focusing on climate change in medical education. This includes a collection of scholarly articles published in Academic Medicine with the latest peer-reviewed literature on this topic. The AAMC Virtual Communities also features a curated resource bundle that offers a range of articles, podcasts, and scholarship on this critical issue.
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A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that Black candidates for kidney transplantation “living in high-segregation neighborhoods had 10 percent lower access to live-donor kidney transplantation than their Black peers living in low-segregated areas,” reported the Washington Post.
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The AAMC Center for Health Justice is seeking up to five community collaborators to share their story of environmental injustice. Collaborators must be nonprofit organizations and/or individuals who will work with the center to produce their story over the next year. Applicants must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization or an individual who has been working with their community on an environmental justice issue for at least one year and is based in the United States (or U.S. territories). The deadline for applications is May 6. The center will host an informational webinar for potential collaborators to learn more on April 17 at 4 p.m. ET.
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Atul Grover, MD, PhD, executive director of the AAMC Research and Action Institute, was the guest on a new episode of Meharry Medical College’s podcast. Speaking with Meharry Medical College President and CEO James Hildreth, MD, PhD, Dr. Grover focused on the recent Supreme Court decisions on abortion and race-conscious admissions and their implications on the physician workforce.
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The Action Collaborative for Black Men in Medicine — an initiative of the AAMC and the National Medical Association — has launched the Illinois Black Men in Medicine Innovation Grant. The program aims to foster diversity and inclusion in the medical field and address the critical shortage of Black male physicians, and the organizations are fielding proposals for up to five grants. “This joint effort demonstrates the commitment of higher education and the health care communities to increasing physician workforce diversity and improving patient outcomes,” said David Acosta, MD, AAMC chief diversity and inclusion officer. The program is co-sponsored by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois’ Institute for Physician Diversity. Applications will be accepted through April 30.
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Roy Perlis, MD, MSc, a psychiatrist and associate chief for research in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, wrote an opinion piece in STAT calling for over-the-counter antidepressants. “In reality, many OTC products treat symptoms or rely on consumers to diagnose themselves — think yeast infections, acid reflux, or respiratory infections,” wrote Dr. Perlis. “In the case of major depression or generalized anxiety, screening surveys have been developed for primary care that could help people determine their likely diagnosis with at least the degree of confidence of many OTC applications.”
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A new study published by Health Affairs Scholar found an undercount in the workforce of pathologists as a result of omitting subspecialized training over several years. In the study, “Re-evaluation of the Methodology for Estimating the U.S. Specialty Physician Workforce,” authors from the AAMC and the College of American Pathologists suggested revisiting methodologies and definitions responsible for tracking the physician workforce as similar undercounts may exist in other physician specialties.
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The AAMC has updated its definition of holistic review and the related core principles. These critical components of the AAMC Holistic Review Framework are aligned with the June 2023 Supreme Court Harvard/UNC ruling on race-conscious admissions; reflect how the implementation of holistic review has evolved to remain a best practice in medical school admissions and selection; integrate experiences, attributes, and academic metrics with competency models used in undergraduate medical education (UME) and graduate medical education (GME) selection; and create a single framework written in broadly accessible, neutral language that can be utilized by both UME and GME communities.
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The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, is hosting a special fireside chat with former HHS Secretary Louis Sullivan, MD, on April 22, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. ET, to discuss the mission and work of this important institute and to highlight Dr. Sullivan’s record of improving scientific workforce diversity and reducing health disparities among underserved communities.
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The AAMC will present the last two webinars in its series on disability representation and inclusion in academic medicine April 22 and April 30. The April 22 session will feature disability resource professionals who will share their experiences and perspectives in supporting people with disabilities in academic medicine, explain the structures in place at health professions institutions to advance disability access and inclusion, and demystify the accommodation process for students and advanced trainees. On April 30, learners with disabilities will discuss their experiences applying to and entering medical school and residency, how they have found support and mentorship at their institutions, challenges they have faced on their journeys, and their work and leadership enhancing genuine disability access and inclusion in medicine.
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In another webinar hosted by the AAMC on April 30, panelists will explore emerging applications of AI that impact the classroom, including the development and delivery of medical education curriculum and the assessment of learning.
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The Arnold P. Gold Foundation has announced the 2024 recipients of its National Humanism in Medicine Medal. The honorees will be recognized on June 10 at the foundation’s annual gala, including Afaf Ibrahim Meleis, PhD, internationally recognized nurse scientist, sociologist, and transformational leader for global health and women’s health; Mona Hanna-Attisha, MD, MPH, pediatrician, activist, and author; and Michael Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health and gun violence prevention advocate.
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Anthony Francis has been appointed associate vice president for innovation and development in the Office of the Vice President for Research at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Francis previously served as executive director of the Office of Technology Management and Advancement at the University of California San Francisco.
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Michael Bouchard, PhD, has been appointed dean of the College of Graduate Studies at the Medical University of South Carolina, effective July 1. Dr. Bouchard is a professor of biochemistry, molecular biology, microbiology, and immunology at Drexel University College of Medicine.
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Jeffrey Peipert, MD, PhD, has been named chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the Robert Larner, M.D., College of Medicine at the University of Vermont. Dr. Peipert is Clarence E. Ehrlich Professor and chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Indiana University School of Medicine and Indiana University Health.
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Evan Scott, PhD, has been appointed as head of the University of Virginia’s Institute for Nanoscale Scientific and Technological Advanced Research. Dr. Scott holds appointments in both the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the School of Engineering.
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Amy McGaha, MD, has been appointed chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Nevada, Reno, School of Medicine and Renown Health. Dr. McGaha previously served as the Roland L. Kleeberger, MD Professor and chair of the Department of Family Medicine at Creighton University School of Medicine.
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Christian Pettker, MD, has been named chair and department executive officer for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine. Dr. Pettker is chief of obstetrics at Yale New Haven Hospital and a professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences and vice chair of quality and patient safety at the Yale School of Medicine.
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Alp Sener, MD, PhD, has been named the inaugural Andrew Lazarovits Chair in Immunobiology and Transplantation at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University. Dr. Sener is the Keith and Leanne Lavergne Chair, division head, and chief of urology at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry.
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Cassandra Pruitt, MD, has been named director of the Division of Academic Pediatrics in the Department of Pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Dr. Pruitt is a professor of pediatrics and has served as interim director of the division since July 2022.
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The Washington Post ran a piece about the mysterious power behind flotation therapy — drifting in an enclosed pod of super salty, buoyant water in an effort not just to relax, but perhaps to relieve medical and mental health problems. A growing body of peer-reviewed research suggests the practice may help with addressing anxiety, high blood pressure, and addiction behaviors, perhaps through enhancing interoception, a process that enables the brain to interconnect with the body.
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And finally, do you ever get so angry you just want to pick something up and rip it to shreds? Good! Forget flotation tanks, since a bit of violent document destruction may be an efficient way to deal with whatever’s bugging you. A paper published in Nature Scientific Reports describes the work of two psychologists with faculty appointments at Nagoya University in Japan. Their research found that if you divided a group of people into three subgroups and gave each of them a harshly written critique about their performance on a project, then asked Group One to save the critique on their desk, Group Two to discard the critique in the trash, and Group Three to physically destroy the critique by mashing it through a paper shredder, guess which group felt better after processing the criticism? Let’s just say they were the farthest from the flotation therapy crowd.
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Visit the CFAS Resources page for an archive of the previous edition of CFAS News as well as our People of Academic Medicine page, which features a running list of academic promotions, appointments, and departures.
Your comments and news tips are always welcome. Please email them to Eric Weissman at eweissman@aamc.org.
Read the previous edition of CFAS News.
Eric Weissman
Senior Director, Faculty and Academic Society Engagement
AAMC
eweissman@aamc.org
www.aamc.org/cfas