Penn Medical Ethics and Health Policy | In the News

November 22, 2021

When the hope goes: Talking with patients after withdrawal from cancer clinical trials

Cancer clinical trials remain underutilized by patients as a means of acquiring experimental drugs, tests and/or procedures that they otherwise might not be able to obtain. Connie Ulrich spoke to Healio about why people withdraw from clinical trials.

November 17, 2021

The Relationship between Health and Place: Expanding Use of Place-Based Disadvantage Indices Beyond COVID-19

While disadvantage indices are increasingly recognized as a valuable tool to help promote health and prioritize equity, future use of these tools must include investments in data infrastructure, community partnerships, and further evaluation. Harald Schmidt provides insight.

November 11, 2021

Why Schools Are Offering Money, and More, to Get Kids Vaccinated

Emily Largent speaks to TIME about vaccine incentives offered by schools hoping to encourage COVID-19 vaccination.

November 2, 2021

FDA authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children 5 to 11

On Friday, October 29, regulators authorized the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine for children 5 to 11 years old. A watershed moment celebrated by parents yearning for a return to normal life but viewed with ambivalence and outright skepticism by others worried about the potential risk of unknown side effects.

November 1, 2021

Virtual lecture with Susan Neiman: What I Learned After Writing 'Learning From the Germans'

The 36th Annual Joseph Alexander Colloquium in the Jewish Studies Program invites you to attend this lecture on confronting race and the memory of evil.

October 28, 2021

The US Should Change Payment To Make Health Care More Equitable

Medicare, Medicaid, and private payers have spent the better part of a decade reforming health care payment to emphasize value rather than the volume of care. But despite the benefits of these reforms, newer value-based payment approaches have not addressed deep-seated health inequities facing many Americans.

October 26, 2021

Raina Merchant receives Penn Medicine Award of Excellence

Raina Merchant is a recipient of one of the 2021 Penn Medicine Awards of Excellence

October 25, 2021

Emily Largent & Holly Fernandez Lynch have a new paper in JAMA Internal Medicine

"When patients have a diagnosis of desperation that leaves them facing a life-limiting disease without good treatment options, what role should their willingness to try a drug of unproven benefit play in regulatory decision-making?"

October 20, 2021

New paper from Holly Fernandez Lynch aims to address patients’ questions about treatment for non-COVID-19 diseases

Patients have legitimate questions surrounding treatment plans for non-COVID illnesses. If so much could move so fast to treat COVID-19, why can’t other treatments receive the same approval/access?

October 14, 2021

Atheendar Venkataramani co-leads new almost $10M NIH grant

The grant funds research to investigate the impact of neighborhood place-based and financial well-being interventions, targeting the root causes of structural racism that contribute to poor health in Black communities.

October 6, 2021

Our Faculty & Fellows to Present at 2021 American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH) Annual Conference

Several members of the Department of Medical Ethics & Health Policy will be presenting at the 2021 American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH) Annual Conference. Running from October 11...

October 4, 2021

How Government Data Is Being Misused to Question COVID-19 Vaccine Safety

Unverified reports linking the vaccine to deaths have been circulating on social and mainstream media for months

September 29, 2021

National Academy of Medicine Recognizes Dr. Roberto as a 2021 Emerging Leader in Health and Medicine Scholar

The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) has recognized Christina Roberto, PhD, as one of 10 Emerging Leaders in Health and Medicine Scholars.

September 24, 2021 | The New York Times

Biden Promised to Follow the Science. But Sometimes, He Gets Ahead of the Experts.

White House officials dismiss criticism that President Biden’s comments on booster shots amount to undue pressure on public health experts.

September 23, 2021

Dr. Jennifer J. Prah Named Director of the Ortner Center on Violence and Abuse

"I look forward to collaborating with faculty, staff and students to build on the critical mission and remarkable legacy of the Ortner Center to investigate the correlates and consequences of violence, abuse and control against women and girls as well as the conditions for women and girls to be healthy and flourish,” Dr. Prah said.

September 16, 2021 | Medscape

'Locker Room' Talk About Death: Time for Oncologists to Stop

Death is a routine, inevitable part of an oncologist's life, and over time, oncology training and practice hardens us to it.

September 15, 2021

NASEM Report on Behavioral, Social Science Research Questions Raised by the Use of Biomarkers for Pre-Clinical Alzheimer's

In June, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened an expert meeting that addressed behavioral and social science research questions raised by the use of biomarkers and other measures (e.g., digital/sensor data) for pre-clinical AD/ADRD diagnosis.

September 15, 2021

Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey wins Gustav O. Lienhard Award for Advancement of Health Care from National Academy of Medicine

This award recognizes individuals for outstanding achievement in improving health care services in the United States.

September 14, 2021 | The Philadelphia Inquirer

Pa. doctor offering free mask-exemption letter for parents faces possible discipline

Joel Yeager, whose practice is in Lebanon County, has since removed the form from his website. The state said it was referring such cases to the appropriate boards for potential disciplinary action.

September 10, 2021 | CBS News

Biden's new COVID-19 vaccine mandates include requirements for large businesses

President Biden's strategy to battle the coronavirus includes a vaccine mandate for federal workers and contractors, and new rules for businesses with 100 or more employees to require vaccines or regular testing.