���ϳԹ���

During the first Trump administration, the Food and Drug Administration was widely viewed as a standout agency, enhancing and expediting drug regulation, regulating tobacco and vaping, and addressing food safety. In the first year of Trump’s second term, the FDA, along with many other health agencies, has turned into a politicized and demoralized agency. Conversely, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services  — which oversees $1.7 trillion in outlays for health care services, 24% of the federal budget — has become the shining star. (Ezekiel J. Emanuel and Merjan L. Ozisik, 2/9)

Given the growing harms from marijuana use, American lawmakers should do more to regulate it. (2/9)

When CBS News designates these influencers with deep commercial entanglements as “expert contributors” and widens their platform, it further perpetuates this cycle of pseudoscientific health consumerism being passed off as sound evidence-based health advice. (Dr. Adrian Chavez, 2/6)

For those without “kith or kin,” we may need to create a new profession skilled in serving as the “trusted other” (perhaps this is the same profession I’ve argued for to foster access to the technologies that support a person living with cognitive impairment). Law and medicine must work out important details, such as how to record the care partner in the electronic medical record, the conditions for contacting them, when they ought to attend a visit, and whether they should have private time with the clinician. (Jason Karlawish, 2/6)

A kid’s first joke reveals a complex mind. (Gina Mireault, 2/4)