The Good. The Bad. The Funny.

Information is coming at us faster than our brains can contain it. There’s a constant stream of HEALTHtEQUITY news that I want to share but before I do, my eyes dart to the next headline, while my hands try and peel my eyes away from headlines to start working on the next job application. 

In lieu of these competing interests and a desire to update my blog more regularly (while I finish a couple of new stories) I've decided to start a weekly roundup, sharing the best, worst, and funniest news I read each week. 

While the humorous bits might stray from our industry, the best and worst stories will always be efforts to inform about health tech and/or health equity.

The GOOD

Health Tech

My dentist once told me there’s not much variance in toothpaste brands, so long as it has the ADA stamp of approval on it. So, now I tend to pick out toothpaste based on which has the most impressive logo (usually Crest). That strategy is going to need an upgrade soon; Viome has launched a toothpaste with ingredients that can be tailored to your personal health needs. It’ll cost you more than $3.00, though. Is it worth it? Read more here. 

Health Equity

As a father of a toddler, those first few weeks of life are still relatively fresh in my head. We had a doula, who helped with the birth and came for a few visits after birth. Having her come and reassure us we were sane and our baby was normal was a huge sigh of relief for us. We paid for this out of pocket, though, and I tell everyone if you can afford it, having a doula is absolutely worth it. That’s what stuck with me when I read about the Oregon nurses. After-birth care is just as important as bringing the baby into the world (Ok, maybe a close second). Not enough can be said about the mental and physical toll a baby takes on one personally and their relationship. I sure hope Oregon can continue to fund this

The BAD

Some of the best memories I have from my days as a physician recruiter for Independent Medical Evaluations are from the work I did to recruit physicians in Texas, by expanding and building a competitive provider network there to support a satellite office based in the Lone Star state. There’s something about the friendly bluntness of Texans and their penchant for having a great time that appeals to me. I’m still hopeful that one day I’ll get to have a Beer-Rita with my old friend, Donna Walthall.

My fondness for Texas stops there. Their affront to policies of inclusion, empowerment, and any attempts to claw back the impact discrimination has had in a state that was the last to abolish slavery and continues to mythologize the Alamo as something different than what it was – a revolt to keep humans enslaved – are nothing less than disheartening.

Having studied historical social movements in college, I knew there would be a backlash to the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests and the impulse to actively shape a more inclusive society. The DEI backlash in health is particularly disturbing, though, given Social Determinants of Health cannot be untied from policies of racial segregation. Most recently, Axios reports that the University of Texas San Antonio has eliminated 21 programs and policies related to DEI since the state banned efforts to be actively inclusive, earlier this year; four of which are ran by UT Health San Antonio. Read more here. 

To better understand how racism has shaped healthcare as we know it and how efforts to diversify can improve that, I suggest following Oni Blackstock, MD (a NYT best-selling author), Joel Bervell (a medical student at Washington State University - Go Cougs! – and a social media influencer) or tune into Movement is Life podcast (an organization Mary O’Connor, MD helped launch).

The FUNNY

This might be how society eventually devolves into a Planet of the Apes. 

Visitors at the San Diego Zoo are being told not to show their phones to the gorillas because the gorillas are becoming addicted to the screens. In the unlikely event you ever find yourself on the verge of an attack by a gorilla, perhaps you can distract them by showing them how to take a selfie. Read more here:

Stephen Norris is a Business Development professional with demonstrated experience growing strategic provider partnerships for complex healthcare solutions and an interest in promoting health equity. He is currently #OpenToWork. His expertise ranges from creating scalable strategies to negotiating provider contracts to managing and building authentic relationships with stakeholders. He is a strategic problem solver with extensive experience collaborating with senior management, cross-functional teams and external partners to organically scale new markets. His background in writing and marketing provide him with a unique skillset to bring to strategic partnerships in healthcare.