@PJSkerrett

Editor, First Opinion for @STATnews

 Boston
statnews.com/staff/patrick-skerrett/
Joined April 2009
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  • Followers1.3K
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Most people volunteer, donate money or do other "prosocial" activities to help others. But it may also help the doers. I'm moderating panel on the topic at the @HarvardChanSPH Studio on December 5 from 1pm ET to 1:30 pm. Register here: hsph.me/altruism
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Noah Lyles collapsed after running the 200-meter dash even though he knew he had Covid. That shouldn't have happened says bioethicist @ArthurCaplan in a First Opinion for @statnews statnews.com/2024/08/09/noah…

Noah Lyles' collapse with Covid: How not to manage health at the Olympics

When Noah Lyles collapsed after the 200-meter dash, so did the credibility of those responsible for health at the Olympic Games.

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If you are a fan of @TheBearFX and work in medicine, or know someone who does, check out the First Opinion essay today in @statnews by @AbrahamNussbaum on how working in a hospital is like working in a restaurant. statnews.com/2024/08/06/rest…

How the restaurant drama 'The Bear' mirrors working in a hospital

Watching "The Bear" can help physicians figure out how to change medical training and pass along the craft of medicine without also transmitting dream-altering abuse.

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Biden and Trump have avoided official cognitive testing. If the moderators of the CNN debate do their jobs well, they could reveal "major cognitive and behavioral limitations," writes the past president of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. statnews.com/2024/06/25/bide…

CNN debate moderators could provide the cognitive tests that Biden and Trump have been avoiding

If CNN's moderators of the presidential debate do their jobs well and consistently, major cognitive and behavioral limitations of Trump or Biden will become apparent to viewers.

statnews.com
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Does the NIH need to be restructured? Key chairs of two Republican House committees believe so, and offer a reform and restructuring plan statnews.com/2024/06/14/nih-…

NIH needs reform and restructuring, key Republican committee chairs say

The only way to restoring trust in the NIH is through structural and policy reform that is thoughtful, strategic, and transformative.

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On tax deadline day 2024, Johns Hopkins professor @MartyMakary makes the case in a @statnews First Opinion essay that nonprofit hospitals that make profits should pay taxes on them. He's got a point! statnews.com/2024/04/14/nonp…

Hospitals that make profits should pay taxes

As diligent taxpayers breathe a sigh of relief that the hassle of filing their tax forms is over for another year, the Internal Revenue Service continues

statnews.com
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In March 2023 I retired from @statnews and the 9-5 working world. But I'm back at First Opinion for a few months while the amazing Torie Bosch @thekibosch is out on leave. I'm on the lookout for strong op-eds focused on biotech, pharma, health care , and the life sciences.
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Preterm births, maternal deaths, and C-section rates are far higher in the U.S. than they should be. One way to fix that: Call the #midwives @ACNMmidwives bit.ly/3MotuVd

Maternity care in the U.S. is in crisis. It's time to call the midwife

Midwifery care cuts cost, improves outcomes, and increases patient satisfaction. Removing barriers to it could make pregnancy and childbirth safer in the U.S.

statnews.com
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Karen Quandt's son Ty died of a rare disease before he could finish a clinical trial testing a treatment for it. She argues that the FDA needs a different mindset for evaluating rare disease trials. bit.ly/3D7eFn9

The FDA needs to be more flexible in assessing treatments for rare diseases, like the one that...

A paradigm shift is needed in the way the FDA assesses and approves drugs for rare diseases, which are held to the same standards and requirements as those for common diseases.

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In a few weeks, the U.S. will enter its third autumn with Covid-19. @statnews's @DrewQJoseph and @jaspar offer a look ahead. statnews.com/2022/09/01/a-th…

A third Covid autumn is upon us. Here’s a look at where we stand

Where things stand now with the pandemic, and who is being hurt the most, as the country prepares to enter its third Covid autumn.

statnews.com
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In a poignant First Opinion essay for @statnews, physician Christopher Hartnick explores the wrenching choice pregnant people sometimes have to make: Do I prioritize my baby's life or mine? bit.ly/3q2gBWp
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Today's First Opinion, on the culture of silence surrounding errors in medicine, marks the 3,000th @statnews First Opinion 🎉 statnews.com/2022/08/17/medi…

Medical error: An epidemic compounded by gag laws

Every disease comes in dozens of guises and new, sometimes complex treatments routinely emerge. The only way doctors can keep up is to share what they miss, to pinpoint how the real world diverges...

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And that's before the Orange Line shutdown!
Jeremy Siegel@jersiegel16 Aug 2022
An easy to understand map I made of transit/traffic around greater Boston next week You’re welcome
Calling all readers and listeners: If you have a minute to share with a good book or podcast related to medicine, biotech, or the life sciences writ large for the @statnews annual summer roundup, please drop it here. bit.ly/3y6Ketp

STAT wants to know your pick for a great summer read or listen

We want to hear from you! We're gathering recommendations for books and podcasts that deal with health, medicine, or the life sciences for our annual summer list. Fill out our reader form with your...

statnews.com
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The Americans with Disabilities Act is being used to help reduce discrimination against people with substance use disorders, writes my colleague @DrewQJoseph in a special report for @statnews bit.ly/3OrczkM
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Patrick Skerrett retweeted
STAT
@statnews20 Jun 2022
“What’s painful is I wasn’t allowed to make that choice for myself, ... It was stolen from me.” A STAT investigation found that Black residents either leave or are terminated from training programs at far higher rates than white residents. buff.ly/3y6cihA
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Vaccination against smallpox was an important advance in public health made possible in part by the exploitation of enslaved people, writes @jimdowns1 in a timely First Opinion essay. bit.ly/3QDQFN4

Never forget that early vaccines came from testing on enslaved people

The practice of vaccination in the U.S. cannot be divorced from the history of slavery.

statnews.com
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Scheduling an appointment at a hospital should be a private undertaking. A disconcerting analysis shows it may not be, with some hospitals sending Facebook a packet of sensitive data each time an appointment is made. bit.ly/3xqhD1y

Facebook is receiving sensitive medical information from hospital websites

A tracking tool installed on many hospital websites is collecting patients’ sensitive health information and sending it to Facebook, an investigation by @TheMarkup co-published with @statnews has...

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Technology may someday eliminate barriers to health care, but it won't help the billions of people without broadband internet access or digital literacy. @DrTedros and @AnnAertsNF explain how to ensure equitable access. bit.ly/39vWLOF
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As U.S. Covid deaths officially hit 1 million (a grim milestone that likely happened a few months ago), I talked with Alex Goldstein, founder of the moving @FacesOfCovid Twitter feed, this week on @statnews First Opinion Podcast. bit.ly/3FZeSrT

The faces of Covid at 1 million deaths and counting

This week's episode of the "First Opinion Podcast" takes a look at the @FacesOfCovid Twitter feed with the man who created it and keeps it going.

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