Sports Medicine News

U.S. News announces 2026-2027 best hospitals

Andrew (Drew) Rhoades — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 12:03:57 Z

U.S. News & World Report released its 2026-2027 Best Hospitals rankings Tuesday.
This year’s edition features 505 hospitals across 49 states and Washington, D.C. “that have demonstrated superior patient outcomes for a variety of common procedures and conditions,” according to a press release.
“U.S. News’ performance-driven metrics ensure American families can confidently find and choose high-quality care, often right in their own communities,” Ben Harder, U.S. News’ chief of health analysis and managing editor, said in the release.
Harder added that this edition also includes four new

How a trip to the Amazon got me Hooked on ID

Luis A. Manrique, MD — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 15:31:39 Z

[Editor’s note: The following story is part of our “Hooked on ID” series. Tell us your story by emailing infectiousdisease@healio.com, with the subject line “Hooked on ID.”]
My interest in infectious diseases can be traced back to a formative experience I had in my native country of Peru. I began my 8-year-long medical school training as an aspiring physician. During my fifth year, I enrolled in a tropical medicine course that included a field trip to the Peruvian Amazon. It was there that I encountered indigenous communities facing health challenges such as parasitic infections and inadequate

‘Unlearning learned helplessness’ in medicine requires partnership of physicians, patients

Maddy Grieco; Hansa Bhargava, MD; Todd R. Otten, MD, FAAP — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 11:57:52 Z

In Healio Community’s June book club, Todd R. Otten, MD, FAAP, shared the impetus behind his book, Ripple of Change, a collaborative story of physician and patient burnout caused by an impaired American health care system in need of change.
Otten, a family physician and Naval flight surgeon, coauthored this book with his patient, Joshua Judy, to encourage stakeholders to reconceptualize the system and consider the well-being of both doctors and patients.
Hansa Bhargava, MD, chief clinical strategy and innovation officer at Healio, emphasized the book’s timely relevance.
“So many of us actually

Physician payment reforms ‘a step in the right direction,’ but further change needed

Andrew (Drew) Rhoades — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 16:08:55 Z

AMA recently reiterated its call for Congress to pass several reforms that would increase physician payment and improve health care accessibility.
During a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health meeting in May, the AMA advocated for these reforms:
Physician payment has declined 33% since 2001, after adjusting for inflation, “and physicians remain the only Medicare provider without an automatic annual inflationary payment update,” an AMA press release said.
“Many physician practices, particularly in rural areas, are being forced to limit the number of Medicare patients they see or close

HHS terminates COVID-19 emergency use authorization declarations

Andrew (Drew) Rhoades; Stephanie C. Viguers — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 19:41:13 Z

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is moving to terminate COVID-19 emergency use authorization declarations for drugs, biologics and medical devices, the agency announced.
“Americans deserve a regulatory system that is transparent, accountable and rooted in the rule of law,” Kennedy Jr. said in a press release. “By ending these COVID-19 emergency use authorization declarations, we’re reinforcing public confidence that emergency authorities are temporary and targeted.”
According to HHS, these terminations will take place over advanced notice periods “to ensure an orderly transition.”

USPSTF nears 1 year of silence, raising questions about HHS’ obligation to maintain it

Andrew (Drew) Rhoades; Carmel Shachar, JD, MPH — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 16:22:08 Z

It has been nearly a year since the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released new recommendations, and experts remain concerned about its future.
HHS removed the chair and vice chair of USPSTF last month, which came after three task force meetings were canceled under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s tenure.
Alex H. Krist, MD, MPH, a former USPSTF member, previously told Healio that the task force now consists of eight members, although no chairs or vice chairs remain. The USPSTF usually consists of 16 members, but it has been a while since new members were appointed.
The task force’s

Updates on prior authorization: What’s changed and will it make a difference?

Andrew (Drew) Rhoades; Shari M. Erickson, MPH — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 13:32:04 Z

Last year, HHS and dozens of health insurers announced an industry pledge to streamline and reduce prior authorization.
According to America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), that pledge has led to an 11% reduction in prior authorizations “across a range of medical services,” leading to 6.5 million fewer prior authorizations.
AHIP also announced that health insurers participating in the pledge will standardize the process for submitting electronic prior authorization requests for most services, including imaging services like CT scans and MRIs and orthopedic surgeries. These services span

Updates on prior authorization: What’s changed and will it make a difference?

Andrew (Drew) Rhoades; Shari M. Erickson, MPH — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 13:32:04 Z

Is MAHA ready for the health challenges of rural America?

Leonard H. Calabrese, DO — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 13:44:33 Z

This month’s Healio Exclusive focuses on one of the most complex — and frankly saddest — realities in American health care: the profound unmet needs of rural populations, particularly with respect to access to care.
We also explore whether HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) initiative is prepared to meaningfully address these challenges.
From the outset, I will attempt to approach this controversial topic by focusing on facts and avoiding, as best I can, the political maelstrom currently surrounding national health policy. That is easier said than done.

Q&A: New JAMA resource shows ‘labor of love’ behind clinical trials

Andrew (Drew) Rhoades; Alison J, Huang, MD, MPhil, MAS — Fri, 29 May 2026 14:55:40 Z

JAMA Network announced a new resource called JAMA+ Trials that is “designed to elevate the visibility, accessibility and understanding of trusted clinical trial research across medicine,” according to a press release.
The platform features a searchable collection of recent trials across the JAMA Network’s 13 journals, a rotating set of trial themes designed to stimulate conversation and debate about trials, as well as tailored educational resources on trial design, conduct and reporting.
Alison J. Huang, MD, MPhil, MAS, a clinical epidemiologist and trialist who has led

Healio partners with NPACE to integrate AI in continuing education

Andrew (Drew) Rhoades — Fri, 22 May 2026 13:40:36 Z

Healio has partnered with the Nurse Practitioner Associates for Continuing Education, or NPACE, to integrate its Healio AI tool into NPACE’s in-person and on-demand CME.
“NPACE is excited to further our collaboration with Healio and the new Healio AI tool,” NPACE Chief Operating Officer Josh Plotkin said in a press release. “AI is quickly ascending to the forefront of being used by advanced practice providers. Healio’s AI tool, being predicated on medical research, studies and professional insights, will enhance professional development and learning across NPACE platforms.”
Healio AI is a

Healio partners with NPACE to integrate AI in continuing education

Andrew (Drew) Rhoades — Fri, 22 May 2026 13:40:36 Z

RFK Jr. fires USPSTF leaders

Andrew (Drew) Rhoades — Thu, 21 May 2026 22:23:27 Z

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired the chair and vice chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, according to letters obtained by Healio.
The vice chair was Esa M. Davis, MD, MPH, FAAFP, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and the chair was John B. Wong, MD, MACP, a professor at Tufts University School of Medicine.
According to the task force’s website, Davis was appointed vice chair in March 2025. She previously served as a member from January 2021 to December 2024. Wong was appointed chair in March. He had served in the task force since

RFK Jr. fires USPSTF leaders

Andrew (Drew) Rhoades — Thu, 21 May 2026 22:23:27 Z

Experts question US response to hantavirus outbreak

Anthony Stitt — Thu, 07 May 2026 20:21:33 Z

Infectious disease experts on Thursday criticized U.S. health officials’ response to the hantavirus outbreak that killed three passengers on a cruise ship.
“I’m not overstating this, it is a travesty,” Infectious Diseases Society of America CEO Jeanne M. Marrazzo, MD, MPH, said in an IDSA press briefing.
According to WHO, three people aboard the MV Hondius have died and at least eight have been sickened by Andes virus, a type of hantavirus found in South America that can be transmitted person to person, but usually only through close contact, the CDC notes. There were 17 Americans onboard among

Hooked on ID with Lior Cohen-Yatziv, MD

Lior Cohen-Yatziv, MD — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 18:04:52 Z

Medicine is full of remarkable specialties, but for me infectious diseases is one of the most intellectually demanding and unpredictable among them, and that’s exactly why I love it.
ID has a way of showing up everywhere. At some point, almost every specialty hits a question that traces back to a bug, a host response or an antibiotic decision. You cannot be a good ID physician without understanding pharmacology, microbiology, immunology and the nuanced physiology of every organ system. Every consult is a lesson in critical thinking.
And just when you think you’ve started to master

Hooked on ID with Lior Cohen-Yatziv, MD

Lior Cohen-Yatziv, MD — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 18:04:52 Z

Poll: Public trusts career scientists over federal health officials

Anthony Stitt — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 18:26:42 Z

Americans have a greater trust in the scientists working in federal health agencies than the Trump administration-appointed leaders running them, according to a poll.
The poll from the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania showed that 67% of Americans expressed confidence in career scientists working at federal health agencies, compared with their 43% confidence in agency leaders.
“The findings are not surprising,” said Healio | Infectious Disease News Editorial Board Member J. Glenn Morris Jr., MD, MPH&TM, professor and former director of the Emerging Pathogens

Poll: Public trusts career scientists over federal health officials

Anthony Stitt — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 18:26:42 Z

Poll: Public trusts career scientists over federal health officials

Anthony Stitt — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 18:26:42 Z