State acts on simultaneous surgeries | Boston Globe
The Massachusetts medical board approved a new regulation on Thursday requiring surgeons to record every time they enter and leave an operating room, and approved a rule requiring they identify the backup surgeon who will take over when the primary surgeon leaves. The move was prompted by an investigation into simultaneous surgeries, a practice which is common in many specialties but which few patients are aware take place.
Guardant Health raises $100 million in series D funding | Tech Crunch
The maker of blood tests for cancer that are currently used by physicians and pharmaceutical companies internationally has now raised nearly $200 million in the last two years. Guardant's cofounder and CEO discusses the blood biopsy, which requires just about two teaspoons of blood to test, the future of the company, and whether Guardant is worried about the troubles of another high-profile blood-testing company, Theranos.
Why cancer screening has never been shown to “save lives”—and what we can do about it | BMJ
A new analysis argues that claims that cancer screening helps save lives are inaccurate because the claims are based on fewer deaths due to the cancer in question, not a reduction in overall mortality. The authors say reduction in overall mortality should be the benchmark, and that bigger studies are required to determine whether screening, which has been shown to cause downstream harms such as overdiagnosis and overtreatment, actually reduces risk of death.
Heartburn pills may help grow infection-causing bacteria in gut | Reuters
Proton pump inhibitors for heartburn could be making some people more susceptible to bacterial infections, like C. diff and pneumonia, according to a new study in the journal Gut. The drugs, which are available over-the-counter and taken by millions of people around the world, help reduce stomach acid, but that allows some bacteria that would otherwise be inhibited by the acid to proliferate.
