Statistical bamboozlement with shingles vaccines
In this skill-testing question, tell me which of these statements is true: The shingles vaccine is 90% effective in preventing shingles. The shingles vaccine prevents shingles in ONE in every 32 people vaccinated. The other 31 people see no benefit. Answer: both are true. Guess which statement dominates the marketing of Shingrix, the most popular shingles vaccine in America? 90% effective. 90% effective. 90% effective. That’s the main marketing message coming from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discussing the efficacy of the vaccine. So common is this sort of statistical sleight of hand that the CDC doesn’t even seem to see any real problem in how those effects are...
The new enforcement net: How CMS is catching non-compliant providers via expanded exclusion checks
Historically, the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) acted as the sole gatekeeper for excluding bad actors from federal health care programs under Section 1128 of the Social Security Act. That dynamic has fundamentally shifted. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. officially delegated independent Section 1128 exclusion authority directly to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Working alongside broadened revocation powers under 42 C.F.R. § 424.535, CMS is no longer just processing enrollment forms, it operates as a primary enforcement agency with “force multiplier” authority to cut off billing privileges and exclude entities entirely. The mechanics of how providers are...
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Holy Cross Health receives Emergency Nurses Week Proclamation from City of Deerfield Beach
Emergency Nurses Week is October 11 to 17 Deerfield Beach, FL – In advance of Emergency Nurses Week, Holy Cross Health received a proclamation from the City of Deerfield Beach at the city’s commission meeting on October 6. Emergency nurses are the first line of defense in the health care system, providing lifesaving care to patients during their most vulnerable moments. This year's Emergency Nurses Week theme highlights the resilience, expertise and unwavering dedication these professionals bring to local emergency departments every day. “It is an honor for the City of Deerfield Beach commission to invite us to their meeting. This official proclamation means a great deal to our local...
Sexual assault survivors’ stories may shift over time – a psychologist explains why it doesn’t mean they’re lying
A majority of rape survivors don’t immediately recognize what they experienced as rape. Ryan Murphy/Getty Images ~~~~~ If a person’s story changes in the weeks following an alleged sexual assault, are they not telling the truth? It’s a criticism I’ve seen on social media and heard in the public conversation surrounding the lawsuit filed in September 2026 by a plaintiff known as Jane Doe, a former student at Cornell University, accusing seven male students of rape. Initially, Doe discussed events with a friend but reportedly didn’t identify them as assault. It wasn’t until weeks later, when her experience was labeled as a gang rape by others, that she came forward to authorities. Survivors...
