Many internationally trained doctors immigrate to Massachusetts but are forced to work in lower-level jobs, even as the state faces a growing shortage of primary care physicians and psychiatrists. A newly passed law is looking to address both issues. The measure creates a track for internationally trained physicians who practiced medicine in other countries to be able to learn Massachusetts' medical standards through apprenticeships as they pursue full state licensure. In exchange, they must commit to working in underserved communities for two years.
The DOJ has accused Walgreens Boots Alliance of contributing to the U.S. opioid epidemic by filling millions of unlawful prescriptions for addictive painkillers and other drugs. The department intervened in a whistleblower lawsuit filed in federal court in Chicago and accused Walgreens of ignoring "red flags" and filling prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances that lacked a legitimate medical purpose.
HHS will award $590 million to Moderna to accelerate the development of influenza vaccines, including to protect against bird flu. The Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical company had previously developed a COVID-19 vaccine. Since 2023, Moderna has been working to create a 'pandemic influenza vaccine' which would help protect against certain viruses, including the H5N1 bird flu. The new funds build on the $176 million that HHS gave to Moderna last July. Moderna says the additional funding will help pay for late-stage development, licensure of the vaccines and expanding clinical studies for additional subtypes of pandemic influenza to prevent other potential public health emergencies.
To be sure, every presidential administration for the past 30 years has deported undocumented immigrants, though mostly at or near the border.
What feels different about this upcoming term — and why medical professionals will need to play a more active role in protecting their patients — is the scope. The specter of mass and potentially indiscriminate roundups feels more akin to the shameful internment of Japanese immigrants and Japanese American citizens during World War II.
Historically, health care workers have not always risen to the occasion when our patients have been targeted. Our recent history is tarnished by failures to report abuses or intervene at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo Bay, as well as by forced sterilizations of prisoners, women of color and people with disabilities.
But patient advocacy is integral to health care. Medical professionals constantly battle insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers to get our patients’ medical treatments covered. We tussle with our own institutions to expedite CT scans and medical appointments. We write advocacy letters for things like walkers and dental clearance and problems with bathroom mold and jury duty. But in this upcoming era we may have to face off against our own federal government.
Over the past several decades, various forces have eroded physician autonomy, leaving many dissatisfied and burned out. Artificial intelligence will likely further this trend.
Dr. Derrick Todd, a prominent Harvard-trained rheumatologist accused of sexually assaulting more than 200 patients over a number of years, will appear in Framingham District Court Friday morning where arrangements will be made for his Superior Court arraignment, Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan’s office said Friday. Todd turned himself in to Framingham Police Thursday night, where he was held on bail.