Media Coverage
The work done by Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine faculty members (and even some students) is regularly highlighted in newspapers, online media outlets and more. Below you’ll find links to articles and videos of Feinberg in the news.
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U.S. News & World Report
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3 Reasons Behind the Meteoric Rise of Urgent Care Clinics
While urgent care clinics provide a wide array of services, patients shouldn’t use them as a substitute for a primary care physician, says Matthew Kippenhan, medical director at the Northwestern Medicine Immediate Care Center in Chicago. A primary care physician can help you ward off and, if necessary, manage chronic conditions like cancer, diabetes, heart disease and obesity, he says. “People with chronic medical issues should have a primary care doctor,” he says
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CNN
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Holiday hospitalization carries higher risks, study says
Dr. Seth Goldstein, an associate professor of surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, noted that “over the past few years, there’s been a bit of a spotlight on hospital systems and how to maintain quality of care 24/7. “I think what this study does is points out that it’s not unique to nights and weekends,” he said. He believes that reduced hospital staffing, and a time when patients are less likely to want to be in the hospital, could have this effect. Goldstein, who was not involved in the study, is also a pediatric general and thoracic surgeon at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.
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The Washington Post
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Telemedicine surging in US but still uncommon
It’s also possible the study underestimated how many people used telemedicine for care because it counted visits only covered by insurance, said Jeffrey Linder, a researcher at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago who wasn’t involved in the study. “It does not capture telemedicine visits for which there was not an insurance claim,” Linder said by email. “Patients could have paid out of pocket or, perhaps just as likely, the physician did not think or go to the trouble of submitting an insurance claim.”
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Reuters
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U.S. veterans’ hospitals often better than nearby alternatives
Limitations of the study include the use of regional hospital markets defined not by Hospital Compare, but by the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care. Another drawback is that VA and non-VA hospitals may have reported data to Hospital Compare using different methods, the researchers note.Hospital Compare is also an imperfect tool for examining hospital quality, said Dr. Ryan Merkow of the Feinberg School of Medicine Northwestern University in Chicago. “This study reports how VA and Non-VA hospitals that are located in the same regional market compare, based on Hospital Compare data which has significant limitations,” Merkow, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.
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National Public Radio
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Exercise Wins: Fit Seniors Can Have Hearts That Look 30 Years Younger
Dr. Clyde Yancy, spokesperson for the American Heart Association and chief of cardiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, says the findings suggest “a lifelong investment in health and fitness appears to be associated with a really sustainable benefit out until the outer limits of life.” Since we are living longer, maintaining a good quality of life is more important than ever. While the study was small and the findings need to be confirmed, they present a “strong argument” for lifelong exercise that is inexpensive and accessible for everyone. “If you can swim, do yoga, cycle, or walk,” you can benefit,” Yancy says.
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Chicago Tribune
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Fidget spinners full of lead, data-collecting dolls: A look at the year’s most dangerous toys
“Even small amounts of lead in toys can be ingested when transferred from fingers to mouth or from fingers to food,” said Dr. Helen Binns, a lead expert and professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “Lead harms the developing brain and is easily ingested through normal hand-to-mouth behaviors. Beware of these two fidget spinners, as they have dangerous amounts of lead,” Binns said.
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HealthDay
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HIV Strikes Black Gay Men More, Despite Safer Behaviors
Young black gay men are 16 times more likely to have HIV than whites, even though they have fewer partners, have less unsafe sex, and get tested for HIV more often, a new study shows.
“Our study illuminates how HIV disparities emerge from complex social and sexual networks and inequalities in access to medical care for those who are HIV-positive,” said senior study author Brian Mustanski. He is director of the Northwestern Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
“Their social and sexual networks are more dense and interconnected, which from an infectious disease standpoint makes infections transmitted more efficiently through the group,” Mustanski explained in a university news release.
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HealthDay
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Too Much Time in the Sun? Skin Patch Might Tell
“In the U.S., we’re in a skin cancer epidemic, which is driven by excessive UV exposure,” noted study author Dr. Steve (Shuai) Xu. He is a dermatology instructor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “Thus, this technology would be useful for the majority of individuals by empowering them to know how much UV they are actually getting,” he said. So, what does it look like and how does it work? Xu said the device weighs less than a single tic tac, is half the diameter of a dime, and thinner than a credit card.
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U.S. News & World Report
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Too Much Time in the Sun? Skin Patch Might Tell
“In the U.S., we’re in a skin cancer epidemic, which is driven by excessive UV exposure,” noted study author Dr. Steve (Shuai) Xu. He is a dermatology instructor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “Thus, this technology would be useful for the majority of individuals by empowering them to know how much UV they are actually getting,” he said. So, what does it look like and how does it work? Xu said the device weighs less than a single tic tac, is half the diameter of a dime, and thinner than a credit card.
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Chicago Tribune
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A tiny button that can save you from sunburn — Northwestern researchers release a next-wave UV sensor
This useful info comes courtesy of a tiny sensor developed by Northwestern researchers John A. Rogers and Dr. Steve Xu that can stick to your skin or clip onto your hat. “It’s smaller than a dime, thinner than a credit card,” says Xu, “and you can stick it or clip it anywhere, which allows people to customize it.” His favorite application? Using the sensor as nail art. (Scientists love the fingernail as a vehicle for a wearable device, he says, because it’s stable, durable and can stand up to adhesives.)
