Health Care
Former chairman resigns from Arkansas Medical Board facing scrutiny in state, federal probes
Northwest Arkansas psychiatrist Dr. Brian Hyatt resigned from the State Medical Board last week, two months after he stepped down as chairman. Hyatt’s resignation — confirmed by records obtained under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act — comes as he is under investigation by state and federal authorities. The scope of the criminal probes is […]
Arkansan becomes second person to receive neural-enhanced prosthetic hand
Earlier this year, an Arkansas resident became only the second person in the world to receive a prosthetic hand “that restores a meaningful sense of touch and grip,” the University of Arkansas announced. The recipient, whose identity remains confidential, has been learning to use the neural-enabled prosthesis at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville with the […]
DEA serves search warrant in investigation of former Arkansas Medical Board Chairman
Federal agents this week executed a search warrant in an ongoing investigation into former Arkansas State Medical Board chairman Dr. Brian Hyatt. The confirmation of a federal investigation by the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas expands the growing legal entanglement surrounding the Northwest Arkansas psychiatrist, who resigned as head […]
Fentanyl-related drugs permanently made criminal under bill passed by U.S. House
This story has been updated to clarify the cause of Zachary Cullen’s death. WASHINGTON — Lawmakers in the U.S. House passed bipartisan legislation Thursday in an effort to curb staggering overdose deaths from illegal fentanyl substances that are illicitly produced and up to 50 times stronger than heroin. The HALT Fentanyl Act, passed on a […]
GOP’s desired work requirements for federal aid would kick roughly 21M from anti-poverty programs
Congressional Republicans’ efforts to slash federal spending by tying work requirements to Medicaid and SNAP would have far-reaching consequences for people with mental health issues, chronic health problems, and some people with disabilities if enacted, policy experts on anti-poverty programs say. They say the work requirements as laid out by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s “Limit, […]
Appeals court judges embrace anti-abortion speculation
America’s major medical institutions and drug policy scholars have roundly denounced as “pseudoscience” many of the claims brought by anti-abortion groups in a high-profile federal lawsuit asking the Food and Drug Administration to revoke its 23-year-old approval of mifepristone, one half of a two-drug regimen that has become the most common form of pregnancy termination […]
Lawmakers debate violence against abortion clinics, anti-abortion pregnancy centers
WASHINGTON — Republicans at a U.S. House hearing aired frustration with the Department of Justice this week for what they contended is a lack of enforcement of a Clinton-era law that protects access to reproductive health care at anti-abortion pregnancy centers and abortion clinics. GOP lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee expressed anger the Federal […]
Three-judge panel in U.S. appeals court hears arguments in abortion pill case
NEW ORLEANS — A federal appeals court panel quizzed lawyers during oral arguments Wednesday over a Texas judge’s decision that could end access to the abortion pill nationwide. Observers see the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals as a legal way station for the case, in which anti-abortion groups sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, […]
Arguments on landmark abortion pill case to be heard Wednesday in appeals court
WASHINGTON — The lawsuit over access to the abortion pill goes before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Wednesday, the next step on a path that will likely end at the U.S. Supreme Court. The three-judge panel will decide whether to keep, overturn, or alter a ruling from U.S. District Court […]
Doctors can help teachers recharge, lessen burnout
Dr. Leah Joseph, Teladoc Health Summer vacation beckons a spirit of rest, not only for students but for teachers, who crave the respite as much (if not more) than their students. We’ve all seen the headlines time and again — our educators are overworked, and in turn, their mental health may be compromised. In the […]
Arkansas minority health commission ends diversity scholarship following lawsuit
Quinyatta Mumford credits an Arkansas Minority Health Commission scholarship with affording her the opportunity to finish her doctorate in public health with less stress. The single mother of three will graduate from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences next week and was disheartened to learn the Minority Health Workforce Diversity Scholarship is being discontinued […]
As the COVID public health emergency ends, prepping for a new pandemic is next
WASHINGTON — After more than three years and 1.1 million deaths, the United States on Thursday will end the public health emergency for COVID-19 — and Congress is attempting to better prepare for a possible resurgence of that virus or another. The expiration of the designation, originally put in place in January 2020, means alterations […]