100%

Ooh I've never considered that aspect of it before. That sounds deserving of its own story. I bet there's all kinds of therapies that just got grandfathered in

Impossible

Serum ammonia level determination in known cirrhosis

Universal secondary SBP prophylaxis (caveat, guidelines still recommend this)

Universal Abx prophylaxis after UGIB in cirrhosis (same caveat)

Is docusate high-stakes enough? I know it's true but its so blah

Lol

It feels like critical appraisal is about to have a bit of a moment... let's do it right, people!

One insurance denial for Teressa's husband stated, “your newborn does not meet the criteria for coverage.”

“This is when I really start to think they’re just denying,” she recalled. “They’re not even looking. They’re just ‘deny, deny, deny.’”

➡️ Full story: www.propublica.org/article/ment...

After a North Carolina man attempted suicide twice, his wife tried to get him help at an inpatient clinic.

But their insurance provider refused to cover the treatment, deeming it “not medically necessary.”

Thanks so much, Moises! We loved having you and I personally learned a lot!

Question for folks in medicine and science:

What are some of the best invited editorials you have ever read?

What made them so good?

Lots of gold in this list!

🥞 #496 Hotcakes are here! 🩺
www.thecurbsiders.com

We’re diving into:
🌿 CBD-induced liver injury
💉 IV iron for HFrEF
🛏️ Bedtime BP meds
✋ Carpal Tunnel & RA
❤️ FDA approval of finerenone for HFpEF

✨ featuring @paulnwilliams.bsky.social @rbganatra.bsky.social, Dr. Nora Taranto, Dr. Matthew Watto

“The study authors asked GPT 4o-mini to evaluate the quality of 217 papers. The tool didn’t mention in any of the reports that the papers being analyzed had been retracted or had validity issues.

In 190 cases, GPT described the papers as world leading, internationally excellent, or close to that”

Congratulations, Joel!! Well-deserved!

I have definitely made arguments that, in retrospect, were not persuasive enough. Someone telling me why they weren't persuaded would be very useful!

(I thought that was a more constructive response than "I'm not convinced! 😂)

"Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who oversees the CDC, did not make a statement the day of the shooting.

Late the following morning, more than 30 minutes after posting photos of fishing with his family, Kennedy posted condolences on his official X account..."

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/09/u...

I agree, it feels like we are living through a big shift in how people search for medical information.

I remember learning about using MeSH terms to search PubMed in medical school- how far we've come !

Fewer than 10% of published observational studies in this sample used DAGs to justify confounder selection.

This is a huge missed opportunity for both readers and researchers.

DAGs are invaluable in research design and critical appraisal.

“I can tell you personally, hot dogs are very slippery,” the fire chief said. “I did not know that.”

Why do treehoppers look so weird?! Our latest paper, out this week in @pnas.org, suggests a perhaps unexpected reason - static electricity ⚡ We show that treehoppers can detect the electrostatic cues of predators and that their crazy shapes may boost their electrosensitivity! doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

Im not sure why bluesky has me permanently tuned in to the Paul Williams show, but I'm here for it!

I mean, you have identified two of (im guessing) many important causes for the observation that many fewer people prescribe buprenorphine than could - very valuable!

Though I also wonder what else, besides prejudice and stigma, contributes to this "not my area" problem. Intimidation? Inertia? Suspicion of new drugs?

Great point Paul. I am reminded of physicians I worked with over the years who never really made it a priority to learn about HIV medications.