Trump administration proposes fees on e-cigarette industry to fund FDA regulatory oversight; Scientists create bioprinter that allows creation of new skin to treat wounds; Medieval era diseases reappear in unsanitary locations among homeless populations and others.
The e-cigarette industry would face $100 million in annual user fees resulting from the Trump administration’s new budget proposal, The Washington Post reported. Accrued funds would be used to pay for regulatory oversight by the FDA. The measure must first be approved by Congress. Fees would be imposed upon manufacturers and importers of e-cigarette devices and e-liquids. Advocates for the industry have criticized the proposal, calling it a tax, as they continue to market e-cigarettes as a safe alternative to traditional smoking.
A new bioprinter that uses an individual’s own skin cells to produce new layers of skin has been created by scientists at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Medical News Today reported. The new skin would be used to treat wounds without requiring donor skin grafts. The procedure collects major skin cells, expands them, and mixes them into a hydrogel which is placed into a bioprinter. The technique aspires to replicate the natural function of skin and speed up the healing process.
Infectious diseases that were prevalent in the medieval era have reappeared within homeless populations in California and other unsanitary locations nationwide, Kaiser Health News reported. These dangerous diseases including typhus, hepatitis A, and shigellosis have spread widely and quickly in contaminated areas. Risk of contagion is not limited to the homeless population, creating the possibility for a public health crisis.
Navigating Health Literacy, Social Determinants, and Discrimination in National Health Plans
February 13th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the February 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on how health plans can screen for health literacy, social determinants of health, and perceived health care discrimination.
Listen
Similar In-Hospital, Long-Term Survival Rates Found Among Male, Female Patients With AECOPD
March 18th 2024This study analyzed sex differences among patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD), with findings indicating that female smokers experience worse hospital outcomes despite similar overall survival rates.
Read More
Drs Raymond Thertulien, Joseph Mikhael on Racial Disparities in Multiple Myeloma Care Access
December 28th 2023In the wake of the 2023 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition, Raymond Thertulien, MD, PhD, of Novant Health, and Joseph Mikhael, MD, MEd, FRCPC, FACP, chief medical officer of the International Myeloma Foundation, discussed health equity research highlights from the meeting and drivers of racial disparities in multiple myeloma outcomes.
Listen
AstraZeneca joins efforts to address high drug prices by capping out-of-pocket costs for its inhalers; Opill, the first OTC birth control pill, is now accessible through online sales; expansion prompts questions on the effectiveness and regulation of remote monitoring technology.
Read More