Kevin Griffith

🚨 New pub in @PLOSONE led by @gero5! Physical therapy is an alternative to opioids for musculoskeletal pain However, referral requirements may be a barrier Physical therapy direct access laws were associated with fewer opioid prescriptions LINK: journals.plos.org/plosone/articl…

Remember: If you want good public transit, you need extremely low crime and good public order on trains and buses.

Removing standardized tests has been a disaster for many top colleges. Seven years ago, the University of California system appointed an 18-member committee to study the use of standardized tests in its undergraduate admissions. The committee included professors from all 10 campuses and a range of disciplines. They spent a year studying the issue and published a 225-page report full of evidence and recommendations. The committee concluded that scores on the SAT and ACT, the main standardized tests for college admissions, did a better job measuring student readiness for college than high school grades. High test scores were particularly good at finding talented students from low-income families and underrepresented minority groups. For these reasons, the committee recommended the system continue to require applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores. The university’s leaders disregarded the report. A few months after its release, early in the Covid-19 pandemic, the system’s Board of Regents voted to stop using the tests in undergraduate admissions. Initially, the university planned to make the submission of SAT and ACT scores optional, as many other colleges did during the pandemic. Almost immediately, though, the University of California began refusing to accept SAT or ACT scores, even from students who wanted to submit them. The policy was known as “test blind.” University leaders wrongly claimed that it would make admissions fairer and more equitable. The results have been terrible. At the University of California, San Diego, a faculty group last year reported “a steep decline in the academic preparation” among entering students. Last fall, for example, nearly 12 percent of first-year U.C.S.D. undergraduates were not qualified to take pre-calculus, a low-level class, up from only 0.5 percent in 2020. “The key problem is that many of the students coming in do not know algebra,” said Mina Aganagic, a Berkeley physics professor. More than half of entering Berkeley students who took a math placement test incorrectly answered basic questions (such as solving for x in x²> 4). nytimes.com/2026/07/06/opi…

🚨BREAKING🚨: new study shows that congestion pricing literally saves lives by improving emergency response times

To most people “capitalism” is just the name for the status quo so the badly broken housing status quo facing young people discredits capitalism in their eyes — we need to actually fix this and not just explain that socialism won’t fix it. slowboring.com/p/to-save-capi…

This is a big deal because HOPD imaging is a MAJOR margin driver for most health systems (and also why they spend massive money getting the newest, flashiest imaging equipment)

Why is it ‘cancelled’ in the U.K. but ‘canceled’ in the U.S.? Because we gave them that L in 1776.

Nicotine pouches now have Modified Risk Tobacco Product status. How much less risk? Well, a systematic review shows the lifetime risk of cancer is <0.1% from pouches compared to cigarettes. That is lower than NRT, called an essential medicine by the WHO. f1000research.com/articles/9-1225

The good news is health care jobs are propping up the labor market. The bad news is more health care jobs means higher health care costs.

🔥 Published today, and just in time for summer conferences, here are your guidelines for presenting badly

I genuinely find it puzzling why buildings set temperatures *against the seasons* They set it to 68F in summer, then like 74F in winter. You never get to acclimate to the natural temperatures and it's always uncomfortable Why not let it be 74F in summer and 70F in winter

Is this the most lopsided one of these we've had?

How about we tax them for every additional mile I've had to hike versus the stated trail length

Confirmed again, for a fourth time: the greatest anti-dementia treatment ever discovered is the Shingles vaccine.

Norway fans are doing a “Viking Row” up the escalator at Boston’s South Station before heading to the World Cup Adding this to the list of things I’ve never seen before and probably never will again

@JeromeAdamsMD Nope. x.com/AssumeNormalit…

Major alcohol study just released (after unexplained delay from HHS): Even 1 drink per day linked to higher risks of serious illness & premature death - including liver cirrhosis, certain cancers, and injuries. No net health benefits found at any level. This taxpayer-funded review adds to evidence that alcohol harms start low. It’s sparking fresh questions about past U.S. dietary guidelines and potential industry influence. Key takeaway: Less is better for long-term health! statnews.com/2026/06/09/sup…

It doesn't show this, full stop, and the researcher bias erodes trust in science I discussed this previously x.com/AssumeNormalit…

Do read @CitizenCohn on that ASPE report, quoting three former top appointees of the office. "If you read the report itself... you can detect the whiff of serious, longtime HHS analysts trying their best to produce a truthful document." thebulwark.com/p/donald-trump…

.@iu_naher sharing new work at #ASHEcon2026 - did Medicaid expansion crowd out private coverage for Mexican Americans? She found expansion increased Medicaid coverage by 9.%, decreases private coverage by 2.8% (~30% crowdout)