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Over the past decade and a half, the government has spent more than $35 billion attempting to modernize health data-sharing. Yet the typical patient experience has hardly improved. Designing a saner, more user-friendly system isn’t only a matter of convenience; it should improve care, boost efficiency and lay the groundwork for technological advances to come. (2/5)

Stephan Lewandowsky, a psychologist at the University of Bristol who has studied conspiracy theories, said more data rarely brings satisfaction. “There’s always going to be more that people think you’re hiding,” he said. That said, more transparency about the Covid vaccines and mandates might have prevented the increasing distrust driving some parents to forgo well-established childhood immunizations for their kids. (F.D. Flam, 2/5)

In an era punctuated by school shootings and ongoing debates about gun control and gun rights, America’s public schools continue to be riddled with safety concerns. According to the New York Times, “Since 2017, tens of millions have been spent by the federal government on mass shooter training, and states have spent even more.” The result of our culture’s focus on crisis management over prevention is more security staff in high schools than there are full-time registered nurses. (Sherrie Page Guyer, 2/6)

Despite efforts to address health care disparities in recent years, Hispanic and Latino Americans continue to face uphill battles. As a 2023 commentary by Yanira Cruz pointed out, the nation must change “a health care system that systematically marginalizes Hispanic lives.” (Tayla Mahmud, 2/4)

In recent months, the bankruptcies of Steward Health Care (May 6, 2024) and Prospect Medical Holdings (Jan. 11, 2025) have drawn heightened attention to private equity ownership of hospitals. It’s understandable. Today, about 460 community hospitals, or 8% of U.S. hospitals, are owned by private equity funds. But that number is increasing as most independent community hospitals face shrinking margins and higher costs. (Paul Keckley, 2/3)