News
On Sept. 18, Satcher to discuss Highs and Lows of Public Health Practice
Sep. 17, 2019—Dr. David Satcher, founding director and senior adviser of The Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse University School of Medicine, will give the 10th annual David Satcher Lecture, part of the Flexner Dean’s Lecture Series at Vanderbilt, on Wednesday, Sept. 18. Satcher will discuss “Revisiting the Highs and Lows of Public Health Practice.”
MPH’s Schaffner: U.S. should expect moderate to severe flu season
Sep. 10, 2019—Public health experts say the United States should expect a moderate to severe flu season, noting how the influenza season has played out in Australia. Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University, said the U.S. can expect a moderate to severe flu season because Australia is weathering such an experience, but added that...
Diamond, MPH alumnus, named TNAAP Pediatrician of the Year
Sep. 3, 2019—Alex Diamond, DO, MPH, has many titles and serves in multiple roles — associate professor of Pediatrics and Orthopedic Surgery, director of the Program for Injury Prevention in Youth Sports (PIPYS) and team physician for Vanderbilt University, the Nashville Predators and the Nashville Sounds. But he favors one — advocate. Colleagues throughout the state agree,...
MPH’s Dusetzina: New Hepatitis C screening recommendations
Aug. 29, 2019—An estimated 2.4 million people in the U.S. are living with hepatitis C, according to the CDC, with 41,200 estimated new cases in 2016. The number of new cases increased more than threefold from 2010 to 2016, mostly among young, white people living in rural areas in the wake of the opioid epidemic. Cases have also...
MPH’s Schaffner comments on the U.S. measles outbreak
Aug. 29, 2019—When the World Health Organization declared in 2000 that the United States had eliminated measles, it was hailed as one of the biggest public health achievements in the nation’s history. Losing that elimination status would be a black eye to the United States, public health experts said. “We’re embarrassed. We’re chagrined,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a longtime...
Murry named University Professor of Health Policy
Aug. 26, 2019—Velma McBride Murry, who holds the Lois Autrey Betts Chair in Education and Human Development, has been named University Professor of Human and Organizational Development and University Professor of Health Policy. A University Professor is a faculty member whose work extends beyond traditional academic fields and disciplinary lines and who brings together diverse segments of...
Young: Naltrexone for opioid misuse may be safer for pregnant women
Aug. 22, 2019—A new study finds naltrexone may be safest option for pregnant women trying to stop using opioids. “Retrospective studies such as this one are prone to bias and patient differences that can influence outcomes,” Dr. Jessica Young, MPD, an associate professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told Healthline.
Schaffner comments on Hepatitis A outbreak in Tennessee
Aug. 22, 2019—Tennessee’s hepatitis A outbreak has spread to more than 2,200 people and resulted in at least 13 deaths, according to information released by the Tennessee Department of Health Tuesday. William Schaffner, a renown infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said the hepatitis A virus is particularly difficult to contain because infected people can be...
AP: MPH’s Dusetzina discusses brand-name drug price increases
Aug. 22, 2019—Drug companies are still raising prices for brand-name prescription medicines, just not as often or by as much as they used to, according to an Associated Press analysis. Stacie B. Dusetzina, a drug price expert and assistant professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University, thinks drugmakers may be trying to give Trump a political win...
Foster weighs in on in increasing cases of Hepatitis A in the US
Aug. 21, 2019—In the past three years, a series of hepatitis A outbreaks across the U.S. has led to more than 23,000 cases, more than 14,000 hospitalizations, and more than 200 deaths. Overall, the number of cases between 2016 and 2018 increased 300 percent compared with 2013 to 2015, according to the CDC. Only two states, California and Utah,...
Schaffner on Advancing Pneumococcal Vaccine Practice
Aug. 21, 2019—As William Schaffner, MD, previously explained to MD Magazine®: the current pneumococcal vaccine process is complicated. That doesn’t mean it’s without benefit, though. In the second part of an interview with MD Mag, Schaffner, a professor of Preventive Medicine in the Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, broke down the current impact of pneumococcal bacteria prevention measures—and...
VUMC Physician Spotlight: MPH’s Belcher
Aug. 14, 2019—Ryan Belcher, MD, has joined Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt’s Pediatric Department of Otolaryngology after completing a yearlong fellowship with the program. He also has a strong interest in global health endeavors, and this fall, he will be starting his Master’s in Public Health with a focus on Global Health at Vanderbilt University....
MPH’s Schaffner comments on the Legionnaires outbreak
Aug. 13, 2019—A widespread outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease has killed one person and sickened possibly dozens of others who were all guests at the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel. The hotel evacuated all its guests on July 15 and remains closed as of press time. Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia. People get sick inhaling microscopic water...
MPH’s Stevenson comments on the oversight of hospice care
Aug. 13, 2019—“Hospice oversight is fairly minimal,” said David Stevenson, director of health policy education at Vanderbilt University‘s School of Public Health Policy. Stevenson said the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services “does not have any immediate sanctions at its disposal — like fines … or installing temporary management.” Hospice agencies have been sued for Medicare billing...
MPH’s Clayton Discusses DNA Data
Aug. 13, 2019—Deals between drugmakers and hospital systems to mine the genetic profiles of hospital patients are triggering concerns over the control of valuable genetic data. “The data about them might not be as readily available for research as it might be otherwise,” said Vanderbilt University Professor Dr. Ellen Wright Clayton, who studies genetic-research ethics. “We have...