Cannabis legalized in Canada for recreational use; chief medical executive in Michigan receives public health award despite involuntary manslaughter charges in Flint crisis; and FDA approves mobile fertility app as method of contraception.
P.R.N. A weekly brief on the latest health care and medical news, p.r.n.






the briefing

Doc charged with involuntary manslaughter in Flint crisis wins top health award
Ars Technica
The chief medical executive at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services was honored with a top award described as the ‘highest individual award given by the local public health community’—despite ongoing involuntary manslaughter she’s facing in connection with the Flint water crisis. Flint officials were stunned, with the mayor calling it ‘disrespectful.’ [read more]

Fertility apps are increasingly being used as contraception and one has even gained FDA approval
CNBC
For the first time, the FDA will allow a mobile app to advertise itself as a pregnancy prevention tool. The FDA recently approved mobile fertility app Natural Cycles as a method of contraception, creating a new category called ‘software application for contraception.’ The app requires users to log information at the same time every morning for effectiveness, leaving some doctors concerned with the level of discipline involved. [read more]



Canada's giant public health 'experiment' with legalized cannabis begins
CBC News
Canada becomes the second country to legalize recreational marijuana on Wednesday, and public health officials say it will open the door for critical research into its effects on health. Public health experts will be closely watching use among adolescents and young adults, those at risk for mental illness, pregnant women, and seniors in addition to the general population. [read more]

Harvard investigation finds fraudulent data in papers by heart researcher
The Washington Post [article limits]
Cardiologist Piero Anversa and his team were credited with finding a population of cells that suggested the heart could potentially regenerate; but after conducting an internal investigation, Harvard Medical School says 31 scientific publications from Anversa’s laboratory based at Brigham and Women’s Hospital contain falsified or fraudulent data. [read more]

Amazon patents Alexa tech to tell if you’re sick, depressed and sell you meds
Ars Technica
Amazon filed a patent application in March 2017 that was just approved for technology that would allow Alexa to analyze users’ voices to determine their emotional state. The technology would analyze pitch, pulse, voicing, jittering, or harmonicity to detect if the user was feeling sick, happy, sad, and more to then suggest products for purchase. [read more]

Why MSF had to stop offering mental health care to refugees in Nauru
KCBX 
The charity Doctors Without Borders, or MSF under their French name, has been providing care to over 900 individuals from countries like Syria, Iran, and Somalia who are stranded in South Pacific nation Nauru with no passports and few education or employment opportunities. Doctors began offering mental health services to the asylum seekers and refugees, but Nauru’s government told MSF their care was ‘no longer required’ on October 5. [read more]

New wellness programs help USC medical students find balance
USC News
Keck Checks: 15-minute mental health check-ins with a clinical psychologist offered to all USC medical school’s first-year students. Leaders at the Keck School of Medicine of USC hope to help counteract burnout among medical students through a new established wellness curriculum. The initiative launched in 2016 and covers areas ranging from physical and mental health to academic performance and financial knowledge. [read more]

Zika spreads rapidly in India, with 94 cases confirmed
CNN
The first case of Zika virus in India was confirmed on September 23, which has grown to 94 confirmed cases. The director of the Indian Institute of Health in Gujarat says the government needs to ‘develop better public health facilities, train more people and put in more money’ to fight the virus. [read more]


from the amsa foundation

Editors

Pete Thomson
Christine Comizio

About the foundation

The purpose of the AMSA Foundation is to support the activities of the American Medical Student Association including education and career development, research projects and innovative community impact programs aligned with the strategic priorities of the organization.
Follow on Twitter   Friend on Facebook   Forward to Friend 
Copyright © 2018 American Medical Student Association, All rights reserved.
unsubscribe from this list   update subscription preferences