Inside Medicine: Five on Friday (February 16, 2024).
Trying something new here. “Five on Friday” will be a collection of top-of-mind things that don’t quite fit elsewhere. Some of the entries will be features you may recognize from the past (“Voices,” “Poll of the Week,” “What I’m Reading”) while some will be new.
Here we go!
Item 1. Voices.
I had a great conversation with an expert on AI in healthcare, Stanford’s Dr. Nigam Shah recently over on MedPage Today. I opened the conversation with a description of my fantasy for the future of AI in clinical care. How far from that are we, I asked? This was a truly fun and informative conversation—and far more enjoyable than much of what I’ve read on this topic, which (honestly) can be a little dry and vague at times. Here’s the link to my 13-minute (nicely edited) conversation with an expert whose insights and clear communication style were truly refreshing.
Item 2. CDC considers ending most Covid-19 isolation.
News broke this week that the CDC may drop its Covid-19 isolation requirements, moving instead in the direction that California and Oregon have gone. I’ve already written about this, so I didn’t again. But here’s my post from January covering the idea, in case you missed it, or want a refresher.
Long story short, while the concept of “harm reduction” should not be ignored, the science behind these recommendations is unclear. Will this increase economic productivity (earlier return to work) or actually decrease it (more sick days due to the virus spreading more freely)? If CDC modelers have done the math, they apparently aren’t sharing it in public. Also, protecting the immunocompromised—while quietly baked into the CA and OR guidelines—is going to be a whole lot harder with these policies in place. That’s not good.
Item 3. Today is National Caregivers Day.
Today, Friday February 16th, is National Caregivers Day. According to the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers, 53 million Americans are caregivers right now. If you want to recognize or thank one in your life, here’s a little press kit from the Carter Institute—or you can just post on the social media platform of your choice using the #ThankACareGiver or #NationalCaregiversDay hashtag.
Item 4. Poll of the Week results.
Here’s the results to the last Inside Medicine poll.
Item 5. Poll of the Week for this week!
And here is this week’s poll from suggestions by readers J Lee, Lyn Horan, and Susan Hayes. Thanks, you all!
(Note, if both of you got Covid from an outside source around the same time, you can put “No” as your answer. Also, please share any in-home outbreak stories you think may be of interest in the Comments section.)
That’s it. Your “Friday Five!”
Feedback! Did you like the “Five on Friday” format? Have any ideas for next week’s Poll of the Week? Any great articles you read elsewhere that you want to share with the Inside Medicine community? Other musings or thoughts?
Please contribute to the Comments!
I'm a big fan of the Five on Friday format!
My husband has had it twice (picked up during work travel). Both times, I was around him for a day or two when he had symptoms but had tested positive. Once he tested and got a positive result, he then isolated in a guest bedroom until he had a negative rapid test. I still have never had it (knock on wood).