Health Journal Online

Tag: Doctors

  • Indiana Doctors Go To Court To Keep Terminated Pregnancy Reports From Being Released To The Public

    Indiana Doctors Go To Court To Keep Terminated Pregnancy Reports From Being Released To The Public

    Two abortion providers in Indiana advocating against the release of individual terminated pregnancy reports have taken the matter to court, filing a lawsuit in Marion County to keep the records private.

    Licensed OB-GYN physicians Caitlin Bernard and Caroline Rouse filed the suit to prevent the Indiana Department of Health from releasing documents relating to terminated pregnancies under Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act, stating that such records are exempt and do not have to be divulged, Inside Indiana Business reported.

    If released, the reports would not reveal the names of the patients who terminated pregnancies, but would include other personal information such as age, race and county of residence. The reports would also list the name of the physician who performed the abortion.

    “We are once again in court defending our patients and their right to privacy,” Bernard and Rouse said in a joint statement, as reported by The Hill.

    “Everyone receiving medical care deserves to have their personal health decisions and pregnancy outcomes protected. There is no reason to release this sensitive information to the public. We will keep fighting to protect patients’ privacy and the trust between doctors and patients,” they continued.

    Bernard gained national attention after speaking out about a patient who she had helped to receive an abortion in 2022: a 10-year-old girl from Ohio who had reportedly been sexually assaulted.

    The Indiana Department of Health stopped releasing individual reports of terminated pregnancies following the state’s implementation of a near-total abortion ban, continuing only to release aggregate reports of terminated pregnancies within the state.

    From July to September of 2023, the IDOH reported 764 abortions. Only 17 of these were performed after August when abortion bans took effect. The agency then addressed concerns that identifying reports could be “reverse-engineered” to identify patients who terminated pregnancies due to the small number of abortions being carried out within the state.

    “Given that the report is populated with information that could be reverse engineered to identify patients — especially in smaller communities — (IDOH argues) that the required quarterly reports should suffice in terms of satisfying any disclosure and transparency considerations,” the December informal opinion from Public Access Counselor Luke Britt said.

    Pro-life advocacy group Voices for Life continued to sue the state of Indiana, demanding the release of individual reports. Voices for Life further stated it would file an appeal after the case was dismissed by a Marion County judge in 2024. However, in January 2025, Indiana’s newly elected Republican Governor, Mike Braun, demanded that the reports be publicized through executive order.

    IDOH, which settled and agreed to publicize the records, stated that they would make redactions to the reports that “adequately protect personal health identifiers and that do not inhibit examination of the terminated pregnancy reports to determine whether a physician performed an abortion in accordance with Indiana law,” per the Indiana Capitol Chronicle.

    The court has yet to set a hearing for the suit brought forward by Bernard and Rouse.

    Originally published by Latin Times.

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  • Thousands of Doctors Come Out Against Letting RFK Jr. Become Health Secretary: ‘He Is Actively Dangerous’

    Thousands of Doctors Come Out Against Letting RFK Jr. Become Health Secretary: ‘He Is Actively Dangerous’

    More than 15,000 doctors have signed a letter addressed to the Senate urging the legislature to vote against confirming Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

    “The health and well-being of 336 million Americans depend on leadership at HHS that prioritizes science, evidence-based medicine, and strengthening the integrity of our public health system,” the letter reads. “RFK Jr. is not only unqualified to lead this essential agency — he is actively dangerous.”

    The letter, published online by the Committee to Protect Health Care, cites numerous instances in which RFK Jr. voiced statements or beliefs incompatible with legitimate medical practice. These include unsubstantiated beliefs that accused vaccines are linked to autism and anti-depressants are linked to school shootings, reported NBC News.

    Kennedy was nominated for the Secretary of Health position by President-elect Donald Trump in November 2024. He has been meeting with senators in advance of his confirmation hearing.

    “This appointment is a slap in the face to every health care professional who has spent their lives working to protect patients from preventable illness and death,” the letter continued.

    “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be confirmed and those who are spending their time undermining him will have no place and no voice at HHS,” Katie Miller, Kennedy’s spokesperson within the Trump transition team, told NBC News. “Good luck and best wishes to them.”

    Kennedy has received criticism from other groups and institutions for his beliefs regarding medicine. Health care consumer advocacy group Community Catalyst said that Kennedy was a “wholly unqualified and a dangerous pick.” Furthermore, the nonprofit consumer rights group Public Citizen stated that Kennedy would “endanger people’s lives if placed in a position of authority over health.”

    Originally published by Latin Times.

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  • Pregnant Woman And Baby Saved After Doctors Identify Her Bad Cough, Breathlessness Was Rare Tumor In Chest

    Pregnant Woman And Baby Saved After Doctors Identify Her Bad Cough, Breathlessness Was Rare Tumor In Chest

    MaKenna Lauterbach from Illinois was 36 weeks pregnant when she received the shocking diagnosis of a large tumor in her chest, revealing the real cause of the persistent cough and breathlessness during her pregnancy. The 26-year-old, who was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma, is now stable and recovering, along with her healthy baby, thanks to the timely intervention and coordinated efforts of a dedicated team of doctors.

    When Lauterbach experienced a bad cough while she was expecting, she knew something was wrong. Simple tasks, like walking to the barn to feed her horses, left her unusually winded, as if she had just run two miles. However, doctors were initially hesitant to perform chest scans due to concerns about radiation exposure.

    When Lauterbach was almost due, the cough worsened to the extent that she started throwing up and had to be hospitalized for shortness of breath. The scans then revealed a grapefruit-sized tumor in her chest, blocking the artery to her right lung.

    By the time Lauterbach received the diagnosis, she was in respiratory distress, the tumor obstructing her airway, putting both her life and her baby’s at risk.

    After being airlifted to the intensive care unit at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, her condition worsened, she went into labor, her blood pressure spiked, and the baby began showing signs of distress during contractions.

    “Lauterbach was in real trouble, and we had to act quickly – this wasn’t something that could wait for Monday morning. When you’re pregnant with a baby that’s nearly full-term, your lungs already aren’t functioning at full capacity, and when you add a huge tumor on top of it, you run the risk of having respiratory collapse and cardiac arrest,” said Dr. Lynn Yee, maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Northwestern Medicine in a news release.

    Doctors quickly prepared Lauterbach for extracorporeal life support (ECMO) and performed an emergency C-section, successfully delivering a healthy baby boy.

    “Because of the tumor, the delivery happened so quickly. I was grieving the birth plan I had spent months preparing for, while also dealing with the news of my unexpected diagnosis,” Lauterbach said.

    While her newborn remained in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit, doctors performed an advanced bronchoscopy on Lauterbach. The procedure revealed that her tumor was stage 3 melanoma, prompting the medical team to immediately begin developing a treatment plan.

    “Lauterbach’s diagnosis was difficult to make because we weren’t sure if the melanoma started in the chest or somewhere else, and there isn’t much literature or published cases on how to best treat tumors like these, so we had to rely on the expertise that we’ve developed here at Northwestern Medicine,” said Dr. Kalvin Lung, a thoracic surgeon with the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute.

    The medical team decided on surgery to remove the tumor. Before the procedure, Lauterbach was given three cycles of immunotherapy which helped shrink the tumor from 13 centimeters to nine centimeters.

    “We think at some point, Lauterbach had a melanoma on her skin and her own immune system took care of it, but not before a cell or two may have escaped and eventually started growing inside her body,” explained Dr. Sunandana Chandra, medical oncologist with the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

    During the surgery, doctors had to remove her right lung parts of the main pulmonary artery, and lymph nodes. “The tumor was sitting on top of Lauterbach’s heart and extended into the right lung, impacting all three lobes and the entire main trunk of the pulmonary artery, which is why we had to remove the right lung,” said Dr. Lung who conducted the surgery along with Dr. Chris Mehta, a cardiac surgeon with the Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute.

    “It’s extremely rare to see this type of tumor invading into the major blood vessels of the heart. We may see something like this once every few years,” Dr. Mehta added.

    Lauterbach’s latest scans show no evidence of metastatic melanoma, and while her cancer remains stable with no new tumors, she will continue immunotherapy treatments for the next year.

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  • UCLA Student Sues Doctors, Claims She Was Misdiagnosed Of Gender Dysphoria, And ‘Fast-Tracked’ Into Transgender Surgery

    UCLA Student Sues Doctors, Claims She Was Misdiagnosed Of Gender Dysphoria, And ‘Fast-Tracked’ Into Transgender Surgery

    A 20-year-old UCLA student has filed a lawsuit against several California doctors, claiming she was misdiagnosed with gender dysphoria at age 12 and “fast-tracked onto a conveyor belt” of irreversible gender transition treatments.

    Kaya Clementine Breen accused the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles of misdiagnosing her with gender dysphoria, a condition that leads to distress when the gender identity does not match the sex assigned at birth, NBC News reported.

    Breen was sexually abused while she was young, which later led to anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. At just 11 years old, she began struggling with the idea of growing into a woman, believing life might be easier as a boy. Seeking help, she confided in her school counselor, who told her she was transgender and directed her to the hospital where she received the diagnosis and transition care.

    At just 12 years old, Breen was prescribed puberty blockers, followed by cross-sex hormones from ages 13 to 19. At 14, she underwent a double mastectomy to remove her breasts, a series of treatments she now claims were rushed and life-altering.

    Earlier this year, Breen began dialectical behavior therapy, a form of talk therapy aimed at helping individuals manage intense emotions. It was during these sessions that she started questioning her original diagnosis.

    Breen claimed that if she had received “real, genuine therapy first, instead of gender-specific therapy,” things would have been different. This realization prompted her to file a lawsuit against multiple California healthcare providers and hospitals involved in her diagnosis and treatment.

    “This case is about a team of purported health care providers who collectively decided that a vulnerable girl struggling with complex mental health struggles and suffering from multiple instances of sexual abuse should be prescribed a series of life-altering puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, ultimately, receive a double mastectomy at the age of 14,” the lawsuit said.

    Meanwhile, a spokesperson from the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles told NBC News that the treatment at the center is “patient- and family-centered, following guidelines from professional organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, and Endocrine Society.”

    “We do not comment on pending litigation; and out of respect for patient privacy and in compliance with state and federal laws, we do not comment on specific patients and/or their treatment,” the spokesperson reportedly said.

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  • Miscarrying Texas Mother Becomes Latest Woman to Die As Doctors Risk 99-Year Prison Sentence for Administering Life-Saving Drug

    Miscarrying Texas Mother Becomes Latest Woman to Die As Doctors Risk 99-Year Prison Sentence for Administering Life-Saving Drug

    A Texas mother became the third woman to die as a result of the state’s abortion ban when legislation prevented a doctor from administering life-saving care.

    In June of 2023, 35-year-old Porsha Ngumezi suffered a miscarriage at just 11 weeks pregnant, causing her to lose an immense amount of blood. Ngumezi, who already had young children, had been “passing large clots the size of grapefruit,” according to nurse’s notes obtained by ProPublica.

    “You need a D&C,” Hope Ngumezi, Porsha’s husband, was told by his mother who was a former physician. A dilation and curettage, also referred to as a D&C, is a common procedure by which a doctor removes the remaining tissue from a uterus in order to allow the uterus to close up and stop bleeding. The procedure addresses first-trimester miscarriages and abortions.

    However, the obstetrician on duty, Dr. Andrew Ryan Davis, gave Porsha misoprostol, a drug intended to help her body pass the tissue independently instead of administering life-saving care due to hospital policy.

    The drugs were not enough to stop the bleeding, and Porsha eventually passed away.

    Porsha’s death could have been easily prevented by a simple medical procedure that has become intertwined in state abortion laws because it is sometimes used to enact first-trimester abortions. Texas state law demands a prison sentence of up to 99 years for any doctor who violates legislation.

    Porsha’s death is the fifth preventable death caused by a lack of access to a D&C in the first trimester or a dilation and evacuation in the second. Three of these deaths occurred in Texas, according to ProPublica.

    Instead of administering D&Cs, doctors are giving patients misoprostol instead as the drug is often used to induce labor and treat postpartum hemorrhage, making it less directly related to abortion. However, the drug is not recommended to treat unstable patients.

    “Stigma and fear are there for D&Cs in a way that they are not for misoprostol,” said Dr. Alison Goulding, an OB-GYN in Houston. “Doctors assume that a D&C is not standard in Texas anymore, even in cases where it should be recommended. People are afraid: They see D&C as abortion and abortion as illegal.”

    “All Houston Methodist hospitals follow all state laws,” said a spokesperson for Houston Methodist, “including the abortion law in place in Texas.”

    Originally published by Latin Times.

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  • Texas Doctors Forced a Miscarrying Woman to Wait Nearly 2 Days Before Receiving Treatment. She Died of a Preventable Infection

    Texas Doctors Forced a Miscarrying Woman to Wait Nearly 2 Days Before Receiving Treatment. She Died of a Preventable Infection

    A woman in Texas reportedly died from a preventable infection because doctors “had to wait until there was no heartbeat,” according to state law, before treating her for a miscarriage at 17 weeks. She left behind a husband and 1-year-old daughter.

    At 17 weeks pregnant, Josseli Barnica was taken to a Houston hospital where doctors told her it was “inevitable” that she would miscarry her son. However, according to ProPublica, they had to wait 40 hours to remove the fetus, leaving her uterus exposed to infection, until there was no heartbeat due to the state’s abortion ban.

    During that time, Barnica prayed she would make it home to her 1-year-old “princess,” but she died the next day with her husband by her side, leaving him to raise his daughter as a single father while most of their family remained in Honduras.

    More than a dozen medical experts, including maternal-fetal medicine specialists, OB-GYNs, and researchers, said Barnica’s death was “preventable.” They also labeled her case as “horrific,” “astounding,” and “egregious,” ProPublica reported.

    Barnica died at HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest, which would not comment directly on her case to ProPublica, but HCA Healthcare stated, “Our responsibility is to be in compliance with applicable state and federal laws and regulations,” adding that physicians exercise their independent judgment.

    Originally published by Latin Times

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  • Key Tools and Strategies Residents Medical Provides for Aspiring Doctors Facing OSCE and Beyond

    Key Tools and Strategies Residents Medical Provides for Aspiring Doctors Facing OSCE and Beyond

    Dr. Michael Everest, founder of residency placement agency Residents Medical, has seen firsthand that the path to residency is simpler for some than it is for others. Those from developing countries often faced significant roadblocks, and that realization inspired him to create an industry-leading medical residency placement company.

    “What motivated me to create Residents Medical was the realization of the inherent bias and favoritism that exists toward certain races in medical schools, particularly when it comes to international doctors,” he says.

    “I saw the need to level the playing field and address the significant doctor shortage,” he continued. “To achieve this, I founded a foundation aimed at assisting international doctors and created a pathway to give them a fair chance.”

    Residents Medical gives international doctors that fair chance by offering personalized guidance, test preparation help, educational resources, and even real-world clinical placements to help maximize medical graduates’ chances of securing a residency.

    Clients can sign up for comprehensive programs that include digital curricula, hands-on externships, interview coaching, and even personalized residency application help.

    “When you have limited positions and thousands of applicants, many from prestigious institutions, it becomes challenging for individuals from countries like Sierra Leone or India to compete,” Dr. Everest says. “I sought to create opportunities and integrate these doctors into a program that provides the necessary support and test preparation.”

    What does that test preparation look like? Residents Medical clients can benefit from the guidance of physician mentors, but the platform also integrates cutting-edge AI tools that give students the benefits of on-demand objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) prep and a 24/7 study buddy.

    Recent research has highlighted AI’s promise as a preparatory tool for OSCEs, which are essential when it comes to evaluating clinical skills.

    However, because they’re time- and resource-intensive, they tend to be few and far between. They’re also incredibly difficult to prepare for — you can’t exactly set up multiple clinical stations as easily as you can review a textbook chapter.

    While AI models can’t perfectly replicate the clinical experience, they offer students an unprecedented opportunity to prepare for OSCEs and other essential tests. And thanks to its recent partnership with edYOU Technologies, Residents Medical puts a human face on AI — literally.

    Instead of relying on chatbots, Residents Medical relies on a team of “AI beings.” “I’ve developed advanced AI beings that mimic human life and hold natural conversational abilities,” Dr. Everest says.

    “These AI entities are so realistic that having a conversation with them feels just like talking to me. Everything is interactive, with no pre-recorded responses,” he elaborated.

    Members of Residents Medical can experience personalized study guidance from Hannah, edYOU’s flagship AI being. Because Hannah and the other AI beings communicate as humans would, you can use your study companion in the same way that you’d collaborate with a human study buddy.

    These AI beings can be especially useful when it comes to OSCE prep. They can help you identify gaps in your knowledge and even pose as example patients.

    By practicing clinical “role-play” and then receiving feedback, you can sharpen your clinical abilities. That’s a good thing if you have an OSCE looming, but even if you don’t, building better communication skills is always a good thing for a clinician.

    AI beings might be able to quiz you on your knowledge or help you practice clinical situations, but sometimes, informal interactions turn out to be the most beneficial.

    If you’re having trouble grasping a particular concept, you can discuss it with your virtual study companion just like you would with a human one. This feature can be especially helpful during late-night study sessions when you can’t reach a friend or colleague.

    It’s easy to prematurely dismiss AI in medical education as an impersonal solution. But as you’ll see if you have a chat with Hannah, the integration of AI beings follows Residents Medical’s mission of treating each client as unique.

    “What truly differentiates us is the integration of the individual,” Dr. Everest says. “We move away from treating applicants as mere numerical statistics out of thousands, and instead, we emphasize understanding the person behind the application.”

    That focus on truly understanding the individual is precisely what allows Residents Medical to boost even disadvantaged students’ chances of securing a residency.

    While guidance from human professionals will always be an integral part of the company’s services, individualized AI study companions are bringing in a level of customization never seen before.



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