Using Bulk Purchasing To Lower Prescription Drug Prices Getty/Andrew Lichtenstein
An elderly women begins her day taking her daily prescription medicine on December 24, 2017, in Phoenix, Arizona.
Colin Seeberger
Introduction and summary
COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of an effective government response to infectious diseases, epidemics, and pandemics. In the United States, the initial federal response to the coronavirus crisis was insufficient, causing up to an estimated 180,000 avoidable deaths.
1 And as the vaccine rollout continues to expand under increased federal efforts, the government must consider the tools it has to address not only COVID-19 but also pandemics and epidemics more broadly.
May 11, 2021
The annual meeting of the American College of Physicians was held virtually this year from April 29 to May 1 and attracted participants from around the world, including internists, adult medicine specialists, subspecialists, medical students, and allied health professionals. The conference highlighted recent advances in the prevention, detection, and treatment of illnesses in adults, with presentations focusing on updates in neurology, oncology, infectious diseases, endocrinology, and cardiology.
During one presentation, Michael Ashburn, M.D., of the Penn Pain Medicine Center in Philadelphia, discussed nonopioid treatment interventions for chronic pain, the use of opioids for acute pain, patient selection for the use of opioids to treat noncancer pain, and how to taper and discontinue opioids in patients with chronic noncancer pain.
Medically Reviewed
Low dose CT scanning for lung cancer can detect lung cancer at an earlier, more treatable, stage, or rule out the presence of cancer entirely, as in the images above.
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Computed tomography, commonly known as a CT scan, is a test that creates detailed pictures of structures inside your body.
A chest CT scan lets doctors look at your lungs to detect any unusual nodules, or lesions, within your lungs. These nodules can be either benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous).
Studies show that when doctors are able to detect lung cancer early, via CT screenings, they are more curable than if caught later, when they become larger, spread, and are more symptomatic. This is important because lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer-related death in the United States. According to Cedars Sinai, experts estimate that more than 80 percent of lung cancers can be cured if they are detected at a very early stage.
The year 2020 will be remembered as a time when COVID-19 disrupted all aspects of life, including medicine. As of mid-March, 2021, more than 500 000 people in t