Approaching a van that distributes supplies for safer drug use in Greenfield, Massachusetts, a man named Kyle noticed an alert about xylazine. “Xylazine?” he asked, sounding out the unfamiliar word. “Tell me more.” Tapestry Health Systems nurse Katy Robbins hands bottles of water to Kyle as he visits the harm reduction mobile unit in Greenfield, … Read more
Two McMaster University researchers working on projects that address pandemic-associated posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among healthcare workers have received more than $4.5 million in Canadian federal funding. The projects include a website with evidence-based resources and a smartphone app that encourages early intervention and peer support. Together, the projects are expected to reach more than … Read more
In an unanimous decision, the US Supreme Court set aside the convictions of two physicians accused of violating the Controlled Substances Act (1970) and running “pill mills.” The cases were sent back to their respective jurisdictions to be reheard in order to consider whether the juries were properly instructed. If they were not, said the … Read more
On June 25, President Joe Biden signed into law the most extensive gun safety legislation in decades. Coming after a rash of mass shootings this year, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act expands background checks for gun purchasers younger than 21 years and stiffens penalties against so-called straw purchasers, who buy a gun and sell it … Read more
If you had to choose one person to let out a scream, the last guy you’d pick would be Harold Gouzoules. The Emory University professor has short white hair, glasses, and the demeanor of someone who’d return your wallet if you dropped it. Gouzoules, who holds a master’s in psychology and a PhD in zoology, … Read more
The murder earlier this month of John Cheng, MD, a family physician who died trying to disarm a shooter inside a Taiwanese church, has left members of the Asian American community in Southern California reeling. Cheng, 52, was struck with three bullets while rushing toward the gunman, according to a witness account published in The … Read more
As details emerge about yet another mass killing of children, America’s physicians have reacted with a mix of outrage, grief, and frustration to the murders. On Tuesday, an 18-year-old gunman shot and killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, a town of about 15,000 people almost 80 miles west … Read more
Edwina Valdo found herself on the receiving end of a desperate phone call last year on the suicide crisis line at Acoma Pueblo Behavioral Health Services in New Mexico. Valdo, whose regular job is as a grant manager, was filling in because the pandemic had left the facility short-staffed. “I did my best to keep … Read more
Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) is linked to a significantly increased risk for a host of subsequent cardiovascular, endocrine, neurologic, and psychiatric disorders, new research shows. Incident of hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke, depression, and dementia all began to increase soon after the brain injury and persisted over a decade in both mild and … Read more
Just days after Russia invaded Ukraine, child and adolescent psychiatrist Dennis Ougrin, MBBS, PhD, and his wife Roxanne Litynska, who are both originally from Lviv, drove their car full of critical cargo from London to Przemyśl — a Polish border town that was experiencing a huge influx of refugees fleeing the war. The vehicle was … Read more