Happy to see ACOG take another step to separate themselves from the federal government (for now, anyway). Really hope we see more professional organizations do the same (for me, a neonatologist and pediatrician, would love to see AAP do the same and wouldn’t be surprised if that was coming soon).
We are truly witnessing the death of expertise. Thank you for the detailed reporting but I remain stunned at how destructive the administration is towards Medical Science and healthcare. I keep asking myself “Who benefits?”. The answer is no one will benefit from undercutting either science or medicine. The most benign explanation is that a different approach is needed , but if so why get rid of / undercut the expert panels. Without a transparent review process we will never know if changes in research funding and/or treatment recommendations are based on evidence or whim or grift.
These incredibly informative posts have given me a whole new "vocabulary" of abbreviations for groups of highly educated scientists who have until the very recent past served the public without regard for politics. Now we add the USPSTF to the list of potentially sidelined experts. We all need to be aware of this disregard for evidence-based medicine; it won't be long before these changes affect us all.
In addition to your updates, I follow Michael Osterholm, Caitlin Rivers, Katelyn Jetelina, Eric Topol, Helen Branswell, Anthony Fauci, Rick Bright, and a few others that I can't bring immediately to mind when it comes to public health and medical issues. I used to consider information coming out of the CDC, EPA, FDA, NIH, HHS, and other federal government entities as one of the gold standards of reliability. I would also consult The Mayo Clinic, maybe the Cleveland Clinic, and perhaps the equivalent CDC entity in other countries as well. Now, I find that I don't trust anything the U.S. federal government health organizations recommend unless one or more of my trusted sources agrees because of what the current regime has done to them. As we move forward, I, and no doubt many others, are counting on other sources to let us know when agencies like the CDC can be considered to be accurate and science based and when they cannot. It's a big ask, but millions of Americans and countless others around the world are counting on this. It's a really scary time to be aging in this country that's for sure. Thank you for all you are doing to help guide us.
Times of chaos and disruption are distressing and harmful. They are also times for opportunity and new institutions. Grateful for the work that you’re doing. I hope that it leads to a long term shift in the way that we as health workers engage with the cultural and political systems.
Once again, I ask you, when are you going to address the public health issues of the largest group of marginalized people in the world (WHO) and in this country as 1 in 4 adult Americans are DISABLED (28.7%)? This month (some of us know) is Disability Pride Month and we celebrate one of the most powerful powerful Civil Rights Movements in our history and the signing into law of the ADA. https://www.cdc.gov/disability-and-health/articles-documents/disability-impacts-all-of-us-infographic.html The destruction of Public Health thanks to Trump's Health cabinet of Horrors, the cuts to Medicaid, education for disabled students, the removal of the Fed agency for Independent living, cuts to housing aid, and threats by Trump's making homelessness a criminal act, the increasing need for mental healthcare coverage, increasing movements to institutionalize disabled people in the types of of horrid facilities that we finally removed in the 70's....we are really getting hit hard. At least Kaiser Family Foundation is addressing some of it and publishing it. https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/5-key-facts-about-medicaid-coverage-for-people-with-disabilities/ . Jeremy, you have asked us to put forth topics, and I have asked this many times with no response.
Thanks for the ever-thorough & always alarming reporting JF.
Oddly, I’m prepping a journal club presentation & my thoughts (.. & then PowerPoint) wandered over to Vinay Prasad.. so I spent the weekend reading his critiques of various oncology studies .. weighing their consequences & reading the “authors’ responses.”
Happy to see ACOG take another step to separate themselves from the federal government (for now, anyway). Really hope we see more professional organizations do the same (for me, a neonatologist and pediatrician, would love to see AAP do the same and wouldn’t be surprised if that was coming soon).
How hard is this gonna be to put together again? Jees!
RFK Jr. is delusional and incapable iof assessing the evidence in evidence-based medicine.
We are truly witnessing the death of expertise. Thank you for the detailed reporting but I remain stunned at how destructive the administration is towards Medical Science and healthcare. I keep asking myself “Who benefits?”. The answer is no one will benefit from undercutting either science or medicine. The most benign explanation is that a different approach is needed , but if so why get rid of / undercut the expert panels. Without a transparent review process we will never know if changes in research funding and/or treatment recommendations are based on evidence or whim or grift.
There’s an old principle called Hanlon’s Razor that often applies to government: “Never attribute to malice what can be attributed to incompetence.”
These incredibly informative posts have given me a whole new "vocabulary" of abbreviations for groups of highly educated scientists who have until the very recent past served the public without regard for politics. Now we add the USPSTF to the list of potentially sidelined experts. We all need to be aware of this disregard for evidence-based medicine; it won't be long before these changes affect us all.
In addition to your updates, I follow Michael Osterholm, Caitlin Rivers, Katelyn Jetelina, Eric Topol, Helen Branswell, Anthony Fauci, Rick Bright, and a few others that I can't bring immediately to mind when it comes to public health and medical issues. I used to consider information coming out of the CDC, EPA, FDA, NIH, HHS, and other federal government entities as one of the gold standards of reliability. I would also consult The Mayo Clinic, maybe the Cleveland Clinic, and perhaps the equivalent CDC entity in other countries as well. Now, I find that I don't trust anything the U.S. federal government health organizations recommend unless one or more of my trusted sources agrees because of what the current regime has done to them. As we move forward, I, and no doubt many others, are counting on other sources to let us know when agencies like the CDC can be considered to be accurate and science based and when they cannot. It's a big ask, but millions of Americans and countless others around the world are counting on this. It's a really scary time to be aging in this country that's for sure. Thank you for all you are doing to help guide us.
Times of chaos and disruption are distressing and harmful. They are also times for opportunity and new institutions. Grateful for the work that you’re doing. I hope that it leads to a long term shift in the way that we as health workers engage with the cultural and political systems.
Once again, I ask you, when are you going to address the public health issues of the largest group of marginalized people in the world (WHO) and in this country as 1 in 4 adult Americans are DISABLED (28.7%)? This month (some of us know) is Disability Pride Month and we celebrate one of the most powerful powerful Civil Rights Movements in our history and the signing into law of the ADA. https://www.cdc.gov/disability-and-health/articles-documents/disability-impacts-all-of-us-infographic.html The destruction of Public Health thanks to Trump's Health cabinet of Horrors, the cuts to Medicaid, education for disabled students, the removal of the Fed agency for Independent living, cuts to housing aid, and threats by Trump's making homelessness a criminal act, the increasing need for mental healthcare coverage, increasing movements to institutionalize disabled people in the types of of horrid facilities that we finally removed in the 70's....we are really getting hit hard. At least Kaiser Family Foundation is addressing some of it and publishing it. https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/5-key-facts-about-medicaid-coverage-for-people-with-disabilities/ . Jeremy, you have asked us to put forth topics, and I have asked this many times with no response.
Thanks for the ever-thorough & always alarming reporting JF.
Oddly, I’m prepping a journal club presentation & my thoughts (.. & then PowerPoint) wandered over to Vinay Prasad.. so I spent the weekend reading his critiques of various oncology studies .. weighing their consequences & reading the “authors’ responses.”
Your piece is so timely.
👏🏼