Read article – Features comments by Tim Lahey, associate professor of medicine, medical education, and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, in an article about a new policy in France that requires all children born January 1 or later to receive 11 mandatory vaccines. “We don’t see measles, mumps, rubella, polio so much anymore, so we don’t feel like we’re at risk and therefore the inconvenience, the cost, the very small risk of immunizations can feel like the bigger problem,” says Lahey.

Read article – Quotes James Stahl, associate professor of medicine and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, about a new study that found that menopausal women who practice yoga may experience more relief from symptoms like night sweats and hot flashes than their peers who don’t do this type of exercise. “All of the mind-body tools, yoga, acupuncture, qi gong, and meditation probably work through multiple mechanisms—through remodeling how the mind-body perceives sensations and signals, how the mind-body responds to those stimuli and finally through helping set or reset the mind-body’s steady state,” says Stahl, who wasn’t involved in the study.

Read article – An opinion piece by Julie Kim, assistant professor of pediatrics, in which she discusses how the myth of Santa can convolute fact and fiction in a way that can be dangerous.

Read article – An opinion piece featuring research conducted by H. Gilbert Welch, professor of medicine and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, that brings new evidence of the surprising frequency of overdiagnoses, including surprising data on the epidemic of overdiagnoses in rich countries like the U.S.

Read article – Features an interview with H. Gilbert Welch, professor of medicine and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, and professor of economics and adjunct professor of business administration, in which he discusses how our screening tests are not perfect and may at times be harmful.

Read article – Quotes H. Gilbert Welch, professor of medicine and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, in an article about the waste in health care spending. “There are a number of people who can imagine ways to solve things,” says Welch. “But the political will and the forces at work can stop them pretty easily.”

Read article – In an essay for JAMA based on her speech at this year’s White Coat ceremony, Kathryn B. Kirkland, MD MED ’86, a professor of medicine and the Dorothy and John J. Byrne, Jr., Distinguished Chair in Palliative Medicine, uses the metaphor of the erosion of shorelines to guide medical students, residents, and physicians to understand the reshaping through the erosive forces inherent with the professional formation and changes of a medical career.

Read article – Cites comments by Lisa Schwartz, professor of medicine, community and family medicine, and of health policy and clinical practice, about how decades of public awareness campaigns have convinced patients that cancer screenings are essential.

Read article – Quotes Jennifer Emond, assistant professor of biomedical data science and of pediatrics, about a new study that found that children’s waistlines have been expanding in lock step with the amount of time they spend with televisions, computers, smartphones and tablets. “Limit media time each day, no media in the bedroom and ensure the media children are exposed to is high quality,” says Emond, who was not involved in the study. “Regarding social media, parents should have access to their children’s social media sites and monitor their children’s interaction with social media – that has benefits beyond promoting a healthy weight.”

Read article – An opinion piece by Julie Kim, assistant professor of pediatrics, in which she discusses the pitfalls of giving the gift of DNA testing. “Before ordering a DNA test kit as a gift, make sure you know what is being tested, what the possible surprises could be, and consider whether you want or need know,” says Kim. “It may be enough to know you are lucky to share the holidays with those you love, those who support you, and whom you call family regardless of DNA and that you are enjoying the moment in its fullest.”