The CDC on Dec. 18 confirmed a patient in Louisiana has been hospitalized with a severe bird flu infection, marking the first human case of severe illness tied to the H5N1 virus in the country. 

Building trust in healthcare cannot be accomplished with a checklist. 

These days, everything appears doom and gloom. I’m tired of reading negative headlines, and I bet you are too. But in behavioral health, it’s hard to ignore:

Four-and-a-half years after its publishing date, ScienceDirect retracted a study that examined whether hydroxychloroquine could be a potential treatment for COVID-19. 

In November, NYU Langone clinicians successfully transplanted a gene-edited pig kidney into an Alabama woman.

By addressing employee concerns and embracing ambient listening technology, Sanford Health is advancing clinician well-being and promoting healthier work-life balance, according to Heather Spies, MD.

Advanced nursing students face an uphill battle securing clinical placements, often navigating a fractured educational system that can leave them unprepared to enter the workforce, Bloomberg Businessweek reported Dec. 16. 

A concern voiced by public figures — including President-elect Donald Trump and his nominee for HHS secretary, Robert Kennedy Jr. — is that the number of vaccines administered to children may overwhelm their immune systems and contribute to conditions such as autism. This claim was denounced by medical experts, who emphasized that vaccines are designed to be safe and effective, The New York Times reported Dec. 15. 

Respiratory virus activity is continuing to rise across the U.S. with flu, COVID-19 and RSV all contributing to increased healthcare visits, according to a  Dec. 13 CDC report. 

In 2023, 24.3% of U.S. adults reported having chronic pain, and in the past three months, 8.5% experienced high-impact chronic pain, according to the CDC. 

In 2023, the United States saw a slight decrease in obesity prevalence among adults, according to research findings published Dec. 13 in JAMA. 

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan has reversed an anesthesia reimbursement change that was implemented in Washington state last month.

Using personalized reference points in routine blood tests could improve patient health assessments and help diagnose diseases sooner, a recent Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital study found.

Despite reporting high levels of physical and verbal abuse, 92% of nurses are glad they went into the profession, according to a Dec. 12 Medscape report. 

Influenza surveillance systems that focus solely on in-hospital deaths may miss up to 50% of flu-related deaths because many occur post-discharge, according to a study recently published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. 

The overprescription and overuse of antibiotics have exacerbated antimicrobial resistance (AMR) globally. This poses a significant threat to modern medicine, as common infectious diseases are becoming increasingly difficult to treat.

Hospitals' drug testing policies can have unintended consequences for women who seek care during pregnancy or after child birth, according to an investigative report published Dec. 11.

Like many fields of medicine, pediatric research faces a shortage of physician-scientists, funding and mentorship opportunities. The impact of this shortage could extend far beyond patient care.

The Environmental Protection Agency has banned two solvents, trichloroethylene and percoethylene, marking a victory for environmental and public health advocates, The New York Times reported Dec. 9. 

Nearly seven years ago, when Johnson City, Tenn.-based Ballad Health was formed through the merger of Mountain States Health Alliance and Wellmont Health System, Amit Vashist, MD, a dual-boarded internist and psychiatrist, found himself contemplating a crucial question.