The GRAS loophole lets food companies add untested chemicals to your food without telling the FDA. RFK Jr talks a big game about closing it, but you can’t fix a regulatory void while gutting the agency meant to fill it. @gfriedman.bsky.social @medpagetoday.com www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco...

Opinion | The 'GRAS' Loophole That Swallowed the Law

And why Secretary Kennedy won't fix it

medpagetoday.com

To limit antibiotic overuse, we may be able to apply lessons from the opioid epidemic: #IDsky #Medsky @medpagetoday.com @gfriedman.bsky.social www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco...

Opinion | To Limit Antibiotic Overprescribing, Take a Page From the Opioid Epidemic

Both drugs are dangerous when misused

medpagetoday.com

The HHS nutritional competencies for medical education dropped and there are many reasons to be skeptical. It virtually erases RDNs and elevates unregulated professions to work as part of the care team. Thanks to @medpagetoday.com and @gfriedman.bsky.social. www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco...

Opinion | The Wellness Devil in the Details: HHS' Nutrition Plan

Questionable science and little recognition of dietitians should give us pause

medpagetoday.com

👀Live webinar TODAY at 12 PM ET! Join Dr. Mike, @pauloffit.bsky.social, & @jeremyfaust.bsky.social for a candid discussion about how doctors can best respond in the age of misinformation. Register now! (Can’t make it live? Register anyway to receive the recording.) ehgroup.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Dr. Mike vs Paul Offit: Should Physicians Engage With Misinformation?

Should physicians engage with people who spread misinformation -- or avoid confrontation? In March 2025, family medicine physician and social media personality Mike Varshavski, DO, also known as "Dr....

ehgroup.zoom.us

Running CDC is not a part time job or an afterthought and the agency needs stable leadership @medpagetoday.com @gfriedman.bsky.social @altcdc.altgov.info

Opinion | I Was a CDC Senior Leader. From What I Saw, No One Should Run Two Agencies.

Placing Jay Bhattacharya in charge of both NIH and CDC raises concerns

medpagetoday.com

My new piece for @medpagetoday.com, in which “Ob” Wan battles ultrasound droids through sand-swept maternity deserts #MedSky @gfriedman.bsky.social www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco...

Opinion | These Aren't the Ob/Gyn Droids We're Looking For

Oz's recent comments missed the mark, but obstetric telerobotics is worth considering

medpagetoday.com

My latest for @medpagetoday.com “Religious liberty” is no excuse for lazy work. I argue that students like Samantha Fulnecky don’t belong in medicine. We won’t have high-quality care if fragile students throw tantrums over academic standards. #medsky #TPUSA www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco...

Opinion | Fragile Students Won't Last in Medicine

The Samantha Fulnecky controversy should remind us to keep medical standards high

medpagetoday.com

I've been keeping tabs on a terrible study for over a year and corresponding with the publishing journal. Getting a bad article retracted is a lot of work. Read more about my journey in @medpagetoday.com. Thanks to @gfriedman.bsky.social! www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco..

"When the call came to stop, it didn't feel like closure. It felt like losing a patient I'd spent a lifetime caring for." A CDC doctor writes in @medpagetoday.com about what it was like to be RIF'd. Read on: www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco... @medpagetoday.com @firedbutfighting.bsky.social

Opinion | Being Fired From CDC Is Like Losing a Patient

A physician's reflections on being RIF'd

medpagetoday.com

"Here's what concerns me most: the absurdity of the notion that an artificially generated, non-sentient avatar could be a reasonable companion for a child. It goes against everything we know about developmental theory." -- Jon Slater, MD www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco... @medpagetoday.com

Opinion | No, That AI Chatbot Is Not Your Friend

It's time for adolescent screening and strict chatbot regulations

medpagetoday.com

The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), aka the "voice of CDC," isn't publishing during the federal government shutdown. According to sources, this marks a departure from past shutdowns, when MMWR staff were allowed to be exempt from furloughs. ⬇️

No place is immune to extreme weather. In a new #ClimateCheckup, 2025 Climate & Health Equity Fellow Dr. Janelle White urges healthcare providers to be prepared to help their patients and communities stay safe. @medpagetoday.com

Opinion | It Can Happen Here

No one is immune to extreme weather. Physicians must be prepared.

medpagetoday.com

Attention, nurses! Big news. Introducing: ✨The Nurses' Station ✨ A brand-NEW discussion board for nurses, brought to you by MedPage Today! 🩺

"Open minds, combined with expert input, are crucial for developing effective and beneficial policies. Please stop the war on expertise and give briefings a chance, Secretary Kennedy. And please listen." -- Steven Grossman, JD www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco... @medpagetoday.com

Opinion | Give Briefings a Chance, Secretary Kennedy

Open minds and expert input are crucial for policymaking

medpagetoday.com

RFK Jr. Has Declared Full-Blown War on CDC — The agency needs to be strengthened, not torn down @medpagetoday.bsky.social @gfriedman.bsky.social www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/the-...

Opinion | RFK Jr. Has Declared Full-Blown War on CDC

The agency needs to be strengthened, not torn down

medpagetoday.com

"We dropped to the ground and scrambled to the opposite side of the building. Then we heard noises in the stairwell. We told everyone: 'Get into offices. Lock the doors.'" A CDC employee shared what it was like inside CDC during the shooting: www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco... @medpagetoday.com

Opinion | I Was Inside CDC During the Shooting. I Can Still Hear the Bullets.

Attacks on public health will continue until federal rhetoric changes

medpagetoday.com

"Based on data and past experience, we can expect the labeling changes to have little to no effect on meaningfully reducing overdose rates. The administration would be wise to concentrate its efforts elsewhere." -- @ryanmarino.bsky.social www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/toxi... @medpagetoday.com

Opinion | FDA's Opioid Labeling Initiative Is Smoke and Mirrors

The administration has done little to nothing to meaningfully reduce overdoses

medpagetoday.com

Editorial on the FDA panel’s misleading claims on SSRIs and congenital anomalies. @medpagetoday.com @gfriedman.bsky.social @acog.org #MedSky www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco...

Opinion | A 'Black Box' Warning for SSRIs in Pregnancy Would Do More Harm Than Good

An FDA panel discussion failed to accurately reflect medical expertise

medpagetoday.com

Sometimes, there is a difference between what is legal & what is right. Do we want a world where doctors can refuse to care for a patient purely based on the patient’s marital status? #medsky #obsky #oped www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco...

Opinion | The Right to Discriminate Against a Patient

Tennessee's vague conscience protections offer an avenue for legal discrimination

medpagetoday.com

A Tennessee physician allegedly denied a pregnant woman prenatal care because she’s unmarried. The doctor claimed it conflicted with her Christian beliefs. Is this who we want to be as a field? #medsky #obsky My #oped for @medpagetoday.bsky.social on the case: www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco...

Opinion | The Right to Discriminate Against a Patient

Tennessee's vague conscience protections offer an avenue for legal discrimination

medpagetoday.com

"Understanding what went well and what didn't can lead to lives saved the next time. Because if there's one thing that we're learning, it's that there will be a next time." -- Mary Meyer, MD, MPH www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/cala... @medpagetoday.bsky.social #texasflood #disastermedicine

Opinion | A Watershed Moment for Texas

The recent flood offers some tough lessons on disaster preparedness

medpagetoday.com

My latest for @medpagetoday.bsky.social Hard topic that needs nuanced discussion: how patients’ choices may sabotage their care. Something very important to me in this climate of misinformation & undermining doctors We can’t fix everyone #medsky #mentalhealth www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco...

Opinion | Dear Doctor: You Can't Fix Everyone

Navigating the therapeutic relationship with unlikeable patients

medpagetoday.com

Thirty percent of U.S. adults would not or might not test for suspected COVID-19, according to a cross-sectional online national survey. www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdi...

Many U.S. Adults Wouldn't Test for Suspected COVID, Survey Shows

Findings reveal factors that may shape self-test decisions

medpagetoday.com

In an #OpEd, @ameshaa.bsky.social argues that #ACIP has abandoned scientific integrity by voting to recommend only thimerosal-free flu vaccines -- despite no evidence of harm -- signaling a troubling shift toward anti-vaccine influence under RFK Jr. www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco...

Opinion | ACIP's Thimerosal Vote: The Committee Has Lost Its Value to Medicine

While the vote won't impact U.S. vaccine delivery, it has broader implications

medpagetoday.com

Here's my longer take on the FDA Commissioner's National Priority Voucher program. The key question is this: how fast is too fast for reasonable FDA drug review? www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco... @medpagetoday.bsky.social (Thanks for reaching out, @gfriedman.bsky.social!)

Opinion | How Fast Is Too Fast for FDA Drug Review?

'Common sense' and the FDA Commissioner's National Priority Voucher Program

medpagetoday.com

Holly Fernandez Lynch@hollylynchez.bsky.social · last yr.

Makary makes many claims here that sound like "common sense" but are problematic. 1st he says FDA's reg reqs have made the US "less competitive in the global race for new drugs and treatments." I'm not aware of any sponsor planning to skip the US market. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

In @medpagetoday.bsky.social yesterday, I wrote about the hypocrisy embedded in the budget bill taking aim at Medicaid. The party that ostensibly wants to leave policies to the states wants to penalize states for being more generous with their own state funds. www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco...

Opinion | Will States' Rights Go the Way of Medicaid Funding?

Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' bolsters federal power

medpagetoday.com

"In an administration that maintains that government should be run like a business, it is odd that someone who misrepresented his intentions as blatantly as Kennedy did is still in his position." -- Robert Schooley, MD, in @medpagetoday.bsky.social www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco... #medsky

Opinion | Have You No Sense of Decency, Secretary Kennedy?

Ousting all 17 ACIP members won't restore public trust

medpagetoday.com

BREAKING: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he's disbanding the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) in order to "restore trust" in U.S. vaccine science. www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdi...

RFK Jr. Ousts All of CDC's Vaccine Advisors

Kennedy says the move is needed to restore trust in U.S. vaccine science

medpagetoday.com

Former President Biden's cancer diagnosis comes at a troubling moment for research funding. www.medpagetoday.com/special-repo... @medpagetoday.bsky.social #oncology #medsky

Biden Has Confronted Cancer Before. Now He Faces an Uncertain Future

The former president's diagnosis comes at a troubling moment for research funding

medpagetoday.com

Like many, I can’t stay silent when we are living through unprecedented attacks on science and health. My #oped is now live on #medpagetoday in collaboration with Natoshia Cunningham and in support of many colleagues and friends. www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco...

Opinion | What's Lost if We 'Play the Game' to Get Research Funding?

Our journey to understand and treat childhood pain in a new reality

medpagetoday.com