Read article – An opinion piece by Cassie Kosarek, Geisel ’20, in which she shares three myths about medical school to help prospective students know what it is like to pursue a medical education.

Read article – Includes commentary by Ellen Meara, professor of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, in which she discusses the widening health gulf between those who get a college degree and those who don’t, and what colleges can do about it. “Colleges can devote resources and expand access to low-income students and students from less-educated communities. Once the students are admitted, colleges can help them navigate financial aid and curricular support to improve graduation rates,” says Meara.

Read article – An opinion piece by H. Gilbert Welch, professor of medicine and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, in which he discusses the problems with liquid biopsy tests. “The enthusiasm for finding things that might benefit people in the future ignores the fact that doing so can cause people to have problems now. In short, a bad test can do as much damage as a bad drug,” says Welch. “Worrisome liquid biopsies will start a cascade of subsequent, not-so-simple tests and procedures. People will be hurt in the process.”

Read article – A feature story about physician-scientist Steven Leach, MD, who is about five months into his new role as director of Dartmouth’s Norris Cotton Cancer Center. Leach talks about how important Dartmouth’s collaborative environment is to the Cancer Center’s ability to meet its multiple missions, and shares some of his goals regarding research, patient care, and recruiting.

Read article – Quotes H. Gilbert Welch, professor of medicine and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, about recent research he coauthored that examined how living in an area with high rates of CT scans affects nephrectomy risk. “Whether it entails radical or partial nephrectomy or renal ablation, treatment for an incidentally detected renal mass is associated with a significant risk of harm,” wrote Welch. “In addition to the perioperative case-fatality rates … all these interventions require general anesthesia, elevating the risk of cardiovascular events.”

Read article – Continued coverage of comments by Matthew Friedman, professor of psychiatry and of pharmacology and toxicology, about a new study on the effectiveness of the drug prazosin, which thousands of people with post-traumatic stress disorder have taken to ease their sleep. “I really think that we are beginning to recognize that sweeping everything under one PTSD rug may be more than one rug can cover, or should cover,” says Friedman, who was not involved in the study. “By better defining what the syndrome is that we’re treating, we can better identify medications that could be helpful.”

Read article – Quotes Damian Almiron Bonnin, an MD-PhD student, about research he led that successfully uncovered a therapeutic approach that targets aggressive brain cancer stem cells and could lead to improved patient survival. “The presence of glioma stem cells within high-grade gliomas is one of the reasons they are so difficult to treat,” says Almiron Bonnin.

Read article – As a guest on “The Exchange,” Jacob Borodovsky, a PhD candidate at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, discusses New Hampshire’s medical marijuana program.

Read article – Quotes Matthew Friedman, professor of psychiatry and of pharmacology and toxicology, about a new study on the effectiveness of the drug prazosin, which thousands of people with post-traumatic stress disorder have taken to ease their sleep. “I really think that we are beginning to recognize that sweeping everything under one PTSD rug may be more than one rug can cover, or should cover,” says Friedman, who was not involved in the study. “By better defining what the syndrome is that we’re treating, we can better identify medications that could be helpful.”

Read article – Continued coverage of research led by Valerie Lewis, associate professor of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, about how management partners—from national players like Optum and Walgreens to local groups focused on regions—have played a crucial, if little-scrutinized role in getting accountable care organizations off the ground. Thirty-seven percent of ACOs had a management partner, most of which shared in the financial rewards and risks. (Similar coverage in HealthcareFinance.)