Opinion: Noah Lyles collapse with Covid: How not to manage health at the Olympics
Noah Lyles, a 27-year-old from Gainesville, Florida, has had himself quite an Olympics. He won…
Category: First Opinion
Opinion: Medicine needs fiction, especially now
The American medical system needs fiction because, as Albert Camus supposedly said, “Fiction is the…
Opinion: Removing barriers to split liver transplants will save lives
The liver is one of the few organs that need not be transplanted whole. It…
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Opinion: Give pharmaceutical execs the benefit of doubt — but they need to work for it
The polarized debate over drug pricing has generated cartoonish, sometimes colorful caricatures of the biopharmaceutical…
Opinion: When life mirrors research: What a fall on the ice taught me about being Black and in pain
As I hurried to an important meeting about my Ph.D. dissertation one day in 2015,…
Opinion: Congress is unprepared for the post-Chevron world. It needs help from subject matter experts
The U.S. Congress needs help. It lacks the expertise to do its job in the…
Opinion: How the restaurant drama ‘The Bear’ mirrors working in a hospital
Many chefs describe the television series “The Bear” as an accurate portrayal of the demands…
Opinion: Cost-effectiveness of health interventions may be perpetuating health disparities. Here’s how to fix that
As an epidemiologist and physician, I’ve long been concerned about how health interventions for marginalized…
Opinion: Diversity statements should not be required for federal STEMM grant funding
Federally funded research in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) is a crown jewel…
Opinion: Phasing out the ‘D-word’
As I roamed the meeting rooms and halls of the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in…
Opinion: Performance-enhancing drugs or placebos? The myth at the heart of anti-doping
With Chinese swimmers getting 200 drug tests over 10 days ahead of the Paris Olympics,…
Opinion: Letters on Sonya Massey’s death, vaccine injuries, and much more
First Opinion is STAT’s platform for interesting, illuminating, and maybe even provocative articles about the…
Opinion: The coronavirus lab leak hypothesis is damaging science
Where and when the Covid-19 pandemic began — in Wuhan, China in late 2019 —…
Opinion: Trump gave patients a ‘right to try.’ It hasn’t helped them
As Donald Trump seeks a second presidential term, front and center among the achievements he’s…
Opinion: ACL tears in women: Too many injuries and too little research
Some of the world’s finest athletes were sidelined by a torn anterior cruciate ligament (the…
Opinion: Address liquid biopsy disparities today to ensure equity in outcomes tomorrow
The promise of scientific and medical innovation often comes with a downside: improvements in care…
Opinion: Make caregiving a defining issue of the 2024 election
Kamala Harris, the current vice president and now Democratic candidate for president, made a bold…
Opinion: Rising rates of skin cancer: The cost of FDA’s inaction on novel sunscreen products
A decade after Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) authored the Sunscreen Innovation Act, which became law…
Opinion: PBMs aren’t opening access to lower-cost biosimilars. Reform is needed now
The Federal Trade Commission presents on Thursday its interim staff report, “Pharmacy Benefit Managers: The Powerful…
Opinion: DNA data security requires robust protections, not rhetoric
The BIOSECURE Act, now rolling through Congress, aims to protect the DNA data of Americans…
Opinion: Cost counseling and stewardship need to be part of medical school curricula
In my third week as a medical intern, I learned a vital lesson about the…
Opinion: How artificial intelligence can bolster Europe’s competitive edge in biopharma
In a year marked by European Parliament elections and setting of the European Union’s priorities…
Opinion: Mark Cuban’s company won’t fix drug costs, but it can still help rectify America’s drug shortages
Americans are facing at least two prescription drug crises simultaneously. One is the outrageously high…
Opinion: Leveraging scientific excellence to improve investment decisions
To invest is to embrace an unpredictable future, filled with risks and uncertainties. To navigate…
Opinion: Survey: Neurologists split on prescribing new Alzheimer’s treatments
As more than 7,500 clinicians and researchers converge in Philadelphia for the Alzheimer’s Association International…
Opinion: Medtech compliance — not regulation — is stifling innovation
“Regulation is stifling innovation” seems to be a prevailing opinion among medtech leaders who believe…
Opinion: Without federal oversight, nursing homes will put profit ahead of care
About 5% of Americans require skilled care at some point as they age. The horrific…
Opinion: Sponsored genetic testing programs are under fire, further complicating life for people with rare diseases
It takes years for most people with a rare disease to learn what is ailing…
Opinion: Adding psychotherapy to drug therapy works, but the FDA may not be able to handle it
Many people were stunned when an FDA advisory committee voted “no” on a new drug…
Opinion: STAT+: Cell donors are essential for new therapies. They need to be taken care of
Cutting-edge FDA-approved therapies made from human cells are now being used to treat cancer, diabetes,…
Opinion: An aging geriatrician wonders: Who will care for me?
In 1988, I became one of the first U.S. physicians certified in the new specialty…
Opinion: Fixing the reimbursement and coverage divide between ‘breakthrough’ drugs and medical devices
The Food and Drug Administration designates as “breakthrough” technologies certain drugs and devices. This designation…
Opinion: To get a fair deal on Wegovy, buying Novo Nordisk might not be Medicare’s worst option
Medicare and Medicaid are facing a familiar quandary: how to provide coverage for new weight…
Opinion: NIDA should beware of funding companies that violate people’s privacy
In a ground-breaking settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, two online addiction and mental health…
Opinion: The newest tool to prevent STIs is not available to everyone: A call for participatory and inclusive research
In the midst of an “out of control” epidemic of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in…
Opinion: Readers respond to essays on philanthropy and nursing schools, opioid overdoses, and more
First Opinion is STAT’s platform for interesting, illuminating, and maybe even provocative articles about the…
Opinion: The ‘Risky Research Review Act’ would do more harm than good
In an era of rapid scientific and technological advances when politicians and scientists are struggling…
Opinion: Supreme Court’s nondecision jeopardizes emergency abortion care
By dismissing a case that would have determined whether emergency abortion care is encompassed under…
Opinion: To overcome the overdose crisis, addiction treatment must be integrated into the health care system
The first time I saw Maya (not her real name) huddled under blankets in a…
Opinion: Real-time vital signs data: a hidden source of value in medical AI
If data represents the next gold rush for health care, a vast treasure trove of…
Opinion: IRBs fail to assess trials’ scientific merit, putting participants at risk
Thousands of people volunteer for clinical research trials in the United States every year. They…
Opinion: Listen: Empathy should be the first response to people with vaccine injury, fears
For scientists and medical professionals well versed in the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, it…
Opinion: OB-GYN board certification shouldn’t require traveling to Texas, a state hostile to abortion and abortion providers
Taking the oral examination is the final step in becoming a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist…
Opinion: Addressing the dual epidemics of hepatitis C and opioid use
Hepatitis C and opioid use disorder are both chronic but treatable conditions. Yet many Americans…
Opinion: Why aren’t philanthropists stepping up to support nursing education?
Michael Bloomberg’s donation of $1 billion to Johns Hopkins University to support medical education goes…
Opinion: Medicare drug pricing rules will delay access to promising therapies
Medicare’s new guidelines cover how it will conduct the drug price negotiations authorized by the…
Opinion: Functional neurological disorder is not an appropriate diagnosis for people with long Covid
Long Covid — the name adopted for cases of prolonged symptoms after an acute bout…
Opinion: Letters from readers on schools and bird flu, opioid ‘overprescribing,’ and more
“Preparing schools for the H5N1 bird flu they’re likely to face,” by Mario Ramirez Having…
Opinion: Adaptive trial designs will increase clinical trial speed, safety, and effectiveness
Health care is undergoing an important and well-needed shift from a one-size-fits-all approach to more…
Opinion: Unsettling truths about maternal mortality in the U.S.
Grave warnings of a crisis in maternal deaths are being slightly eroded by articles suggesting…