Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson raised plenty of eyebrows on Friday when he tweeted, "The Bears NEVER ONCE talked to me" before the 2017 NFL draft. But that's not what Watson said at the time. Prior to the 2017 draft, Watson said in an interview with Rich Eisen that the Bears had talked to him. "I've [more]

Production vs. volatility: Can a quarterback outproduce a bad turnover-worthy throw rate?

As it turns out, America's Team prefer not to excessively travel the country for which they are named. When fans and media get their eyes on the schedule, they immediately look for certain specific things. During a Friday visit to the PFTPM podcast, Cowboys COO, executive V.P., and director of player personnel Stephen Jones addressed [more]

Interview with Alex R. Kemper, MD, MPH, MS, author of Follow-up Testing Among Children With Elevated Screening Blood Lead Levels, published in the May 11 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. Summary Points: 1. About half the children (six years and younger) with elevated blood lead levels did not receive follow up testing. 2. Nonwhite children, and those living in urban as well as high-risk lead settings, were less likely to receive follow up testing compared to their counterparts. 3. Follow-up testing for children with high blood lead levels is essential for managing lead poisoning and for maximizing cognitive development. 4. Interventions are needed to overcome disparities in care.

Interview with Michael E. Pichichero, MD, author of Combined Tetanus, Diphtheria, and 5-Component Pertussis Vaccine for Use in Adolescents and Adults, published in the June 22/29 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. Summary Points: 1. Need: The combined tetanus-diphtheria 5-component pertussis vaccine is needed; There has been a 300% increase of pertussis among US adolescents in the last three years. 2. Safety: The combined tetanus-diphtheria 5-component pertussis vaccine is safe, as the reactions are the same as the tetanus vaccine. 3. Universal: On June 30, 2005, the American Academy of Pediatrics (ASAP), America Academy of Family Physicians (AFAR), and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACID) all recommended the universal use of the combined tetanus-diphtheria 5-component pertussis vaccine or its competitor vaccine for adolescents.

Interview with Judith K. Ockene, PhD, MEd, author of Symptom Experience After Discontinuing Use of Estrogen Plus Progestin, published in the July 13 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. Summary Points: 1. Of the women who stopped E plus P, 21.2% had menopausal symptoms (hot flashes or night sweats) after stopping study medication compared to 4.8% of women who were on placebo. 2. Of the women who had menopausal symptoms when they started the study (about 12%) and were in the active hormone group, over 50% had a recurrence of symptoms after they stopped MHT compared to 21% of placebo users who had a recurrence of symptoms. 3. Women in the E plus P group reported higher rates of pain or stiffness (36.8%) after they stopped study medication compared to women who had been on placebo (22.2%). 4. Women who had symptoms after they stopped study medication reported using a wide range of strategies to manage symptoms and a large proportion found the strategies to be helpful.

Interview with Matthew H. Samore, MD, author of Clinical Decision Support and Appropriateness of Antimicrobial Prescribing: A Randomized Trial, published in the November 9 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. Summary points: 1. Repetitive use of a diagnostic and treatment algorithm to ingrain new prescribing habits was a valuable part of this practice change intervention. 2. Clinical decision support systems (CDSS) are feasibly implemented in practice settings that lack electronic medical records, including rural communities. 3. CDSS needs to be integrated with tools that save clinicians' time to be sustainable.

This Viewpoint attributes improved understanding of the role of autoantibodies and B-cell activity in MS pathogenesis and the development of effective therapies to the ability of physician-scientists to bring clinical insights to laboratory research and it emphasizes the importance of supporting and encouraging these investigators to reinvigorate science at the bedside.

This Viewpoint proposes a framework for international cooperation among governments and organizations to replace competition and hoarding with equitable global distribution of COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccines as they are developed.

This Viewpoint proposes that universal respiratory precautions in the operating room—use of respirators with face masks and eye protection—could protect staff from possible coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection and facilitate resumption of elective surgeries canceled during the first wave of the pandemic.

This population epidemiology study characterizes trends in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test positivity for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Washington State and the Seattle area between March 1 and April 16, 2020, before and after statewide physical distancing guidelines and stay-at-home orders.

This Viewpoint discusses considerations that might lead physicians to change their practice based on RCTs reporting non–statistically significant differences in primary outcomes, including trial methodology, totality of evidence, cost, invasiveness, and labor-intensiveness of the interventions being compared.

In this narrative medicine essay, a primary care physician describes his patient’s struggle with obesity, sees himself in his patient, and wonders if his own struggles with weight loss impede his patient’s efforts to lose weight.

In this narrative medicine essay, a family physician shares the beginning and ending of a near 12-year journey with a patient, helping him reach sobriety that led to a full though short life and feeling humbled to have been so entrusted to travel with him.

In this narrative medicine essay, an attending physician shares his observations of how the changing nature of electronic medical record (EMR) hospital progress notes—often entered out of sequence and becoming ever longer and more unreadable—can hamper interacting with patients and providing patient care.

In this narrative medicine essay, a physician reflects on the rise of professional boundaries; on the ways in which such boundaries can in some instances foster uncaring patient-physician relationships; and on ways physicians might balance providing objective medical care and addressing social and economic injustices in the lives of their patients.

In this narrative medicine essay, a medical student reflects on individualized teaching practices in medicine, such as “the Socratic method,” in the context of her intervening course work related to a PhD in ancient history.

In this narrative medicine essay, the author discusses the inaccuracies of generational stereotypes and unfounded criticisms about trainees, and the problems that faculty members who voice these criticisms can cause among physicians.

This narrative medicine essay summarizes ways in which physicians can use polite and scripted interruption to help patients effectively communicate their medical concerns, encourage further details, improve accuracy of the diagnosis, and set the agenda for the medical visit.

In this essay, Don Berwick considers moral choices physicians face personally, organizationally, and globally and exhorts them to understand that the health of humanity depends on their speaking out against the social injustice of overpricing drugs and services, mass incarceration, and the lack of environmental responsibility.

In this essay, a critical care pediatric hospitalist finds herself on the other side of the office table advocating for the specific medical care needed to address her son’s rare skeletal dysplasia and her search for a pediatric specialist with whom to travel on this quest.

In this essay, a young medical student describes her struggle with depression and how the experience of vulnerability has bred a deep compassion for her patients and peers.