Primary care physicians at Mass General Brigham voted overwhelmingly in favor of forming a union on Friday amid a dispute with the hospital system over their bargaining unit's size. Of the 237 eligible physicians, 209 participated in the mail-in election earlier this month, with 88% of voters in favor of unionization. If certified, the union — representing all full-time, part-time, and per diem primary care physicians at Mass General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital — will join the Doctors Council, an affiliate of the SEIU. But the union will be unable to begin negotiating a contract until it resolves a legal battle with the hospital system over the size of its bargaining unit.
A previously healthy 71-year-old woman in Texas died within 2 weeks of using tap water from a recreational vehicle for nasal irrigation. She was diagnosed as having primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) a rare, often fatal brain infection caused by the ameba Naegleria fowleri, according to Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The CDC in its weekly update reported 42 measles cases, some tied to a large outbreak centered in West Texas and others linked to instances of community transmission or travel to other states or countries, lifting the nation's total to 1,088 infections. Two more states reported their first cases this week, Iowa and Nebraska, putting the number of affected jurisdictions at 33. The number of outbreaks remained at 14, and 90% of cases are linked to outbreaks.
An emergency physician is making a silent stand for federal cuts to healthcare by sitting on the State House steps for 25 straight hours. From the front lines to the front steps of the State House, Dr. Otto Liebmann said it was time to make a move to help his patients.
Doctors' associations, medical schools and student advocates warn that a proposal in the Republican-led budget bill being considered by Congress restricts graduate federal student loans and could worsen a national shortage of doctors. The new Republican proposal would limit federal student loans for "professional programs" – such as medical school – to $150,000, eliminate a federal graduate loan program and put limits on loan forgiveness.
A large prospective, randomized clinical trial in patients with advanced breast cancer has found that the use of liquid biopsy blood tests for early detection of a treatment-resistance mutation, followed by a switch to a new type of treatment, substantially extends the period of tumor control compared to standard care.