Happy new year! Before kids head back to school is a good time to get flu vaccines for kids who don’t have them yet Flu hospitalizations trending up for all, & kids <5 especially at risk Home flu tests also help with rapid detection to start Tamiflu & to reduce spread gis.cdc.gov/GRASP/Fluvie...

I express concern… www.cnn.com/2025/12/31/p...

The Daily Northwestern reports on @gowder.io & my legal concerns over NWern's "deal" w Trump admin. And take note, Bari Weiss: the intrepid student journalists sought comment from the U & the Trump admin. but did NOT spike the story when neither responded. dailynorthwestern.com/2025/12/21/c...

Huge thanks to the research team: @doctorrachael.bsky.social, Julia Szymczak, Madeline Farrell, Karen Howard, Brandi Muller, Andrea White, @angiefagerlin.bsky.social, and @valerievaughnmd.bsky.social #AntibioticStewardship #PatientEducation #ASB #InfectiousDiseases

📢 New in OFID! Many adults ≥65yrs have harmless bacteria in their urine (ASB) often misdiagnosed as a UTI ⏩ harmful antibiotic use. We found US adults ≥65 given an educational leaflet were more comfortable avoiding antibiotics for ASB & less likely to mistake ASB for UTI! 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/ofid...

RFK Jr. has cancelled grants to the American Academy of Pediatrics because “they no longer align with departmental priorities”. The grants were on such topics as “reducing sudden infant death, rural access to health care, and mental health…” The AAP has criticized RFK Jr. That’s the real reason.

Congrats to first author @gemmaaltinger.bsky.social and the team on an Oustanding Publication Award from Sydney Health Partners Musculoskeletal Clinical Academic Group. #MedSky #BehavioralScience #Nudges @nufeinbergmed.bsky.social @nuintmed.bsky.social qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/earl...

Unlike, say, nuclear weapons, fentanyl has legitimate medical use. Got it right here at the hospital and at pharmacies in our neighborhood. Also, of course, this executive order has nothing about TREATING or HELPING our fellow Americans who are using illicit fentanyl.

Ran into @mhallsworth.bsky.social's @behscientist.bsky.social post in a year-end summary list. He makes an interesting case for "using simple tools in expert ways" and having "an appreciation for the value of judicious simplicity." behavioralscientist.org/why-simplici...

There's a cross-platform uniformity to how LLMs bullshit you. Today I was designing an exercise for a responisble-use of-LLMs course we are designing for NIH trainees. I asked ChatGPT to complete one of Claude Shannon's original guessing games: "There is no reverse on a __(10 letters)__"

Thanks @byrdnick.com! @joseph-ladines-lim.bsky.social @kaopingchua.bsky.social

What predicted inappropriate antibiotic prescribing in Japan's #primaryCare clinics? - Acute bronchitis, common cold (acute upper respiratory), and rhinitis diagnoses - Older male clinicians - Telehealth and regular (vs. after) hours appointments doi.org/10.1136/bmjp...#primaryCare #AMR

"We don't have banned word lists." -- Jay Bhattacharya, November 13, 2025

Just ran into this quote by Joseph McCarthy talking about, of all people, Gen. George Marshall. Sound familiar? How is Marshall remembered? McCarthy?

FAR from the most important thing going on today, but Calibri looks like cartoon writing to me. In the original change's defense, I was not aware of the accessibility issues about the otherwise better-looking Times New Roman. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/u...

Thanks to the @startribune.com for publishing this. So damn infuriating www.startribune.com/readers-writ...

On an otherwise pretty dark day for ID and public health, great to see this is out. Thanks to my Co-Leads ("the Michaels") and special thanks to Dipleen Kaur and the IDSA Staff! TL;DR: use a scoring system for GAS. @idsainfo.bsky.social @nuintmed.bsky.social academic.oup.com/cid/advance-...

Many thanks to @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social for covering the ACIP meeting. (And, I have to admit, as horrifying as all of this is, I smile inside a little bit everytime I read "Temu ACIP.") Thank you.

I'm surprised the number of concierge and direct primary care clinicians is not higher. It FEELS like there's a big move to concierge care. www.healthaffairs.org/doi/abs/10.1...

Not surprising, but very stark! In US counites, increasing medical debt was associated with decreases in colorectal and breast cancer screening rates and more DEATHS from cancers with guideline-recommended screening. www.healthaffairs.org/doi/abs/10.1...

Oh boy. As if it wasn't already hard enough to trust online research and polling... ...AI has the potential to futher corrupt the whole system. @bescipol.bsky.social @pennchibe.bsky.social @behscientist.bsky.social www.404media.co/a-researcher...

Medical Grand Rounds about Antimicrobial Stewardship by our new Chief of ID #stewardship @nuintmed.bsky.social

Join us and Dr. Jennie Kwon TOMORROW for our next #MedicalGrandRounds !

In which I comment… I like the title as the information released is, at best, confusing. Memo From Trump’s Doctor Cites ‘Excellent’ Scan but Offers Little Clarity www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/h...

Another update: as of November 28, Northwestern has entered into a Resolution Agreement with the Administration. No admissions "by either Party, and Northwestern expressly denies liability regarding the allegations." www.northwestern.edu/president/do...

The main problems identified feel exponentially worse for academia: 1. Unaligned hiring teams 2. Ambiguous job descriptions and unclear criteria 3. Amplified bias 4. Uncomparable interviews 5. Communication voids @behscientist.bsky.social behavioralscientist.org/the-trust-eq...

Really good. And an important reminder. As odd as the beliefs held by those interviewed to those of us steeped in biomedical science, it is an important reminder that everone is simply looking for: Comprehension, Control, and Community... www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/o...

Lost a bet to Jeff Gerber when @chicagofirefc.bsky.social lost to @philadelphiaunion.com. Had to do a talk in a Union jersey☹️ Thankfully, a small audience, but included the CDPH CMO and the CDPH Antimicrobial Stewardship Pharmacist 😬 #VamosFire!! #antibioticstewardship #publichealth #medsky

Really looking forward to this from @zkepharmd.bsky.social at @cdph.bsky.social Antimicrobial Stewardship Conference! #antibioticstewardship #publichealth #medsky

Great to hear from Karen Alroy from @nychealthsystem.bsky.social and see @nychealthcommr.bsky.social at the @cdph.bsky.social Antimicrobial Stewardship Conference #antibioticstewardship #publichealth #medsky

ScholarOne: Sometimes Infuriating. Always Annoying

Between February and August 2025, 1 in 30 NIH-funded clinical trials lost grant funding, affecting over 74,000 participants, with disproportionate impact on prevention, infectious disease, and behavioral trials. ja.ma/4i4tSYx

This study shows that working with talented people outside your own discipline (including the healthy skeptics of “nudging”) genuinely strengthens the quality and relevance of your research. Excited to see more work in this space! @jefflinder.bsky.social @wiserhealthcare.bsky.social

Simple #design changes in EHR alerts, like presenting two or three good options instead of just one, could help #doctors provide #bettercare. But if these systems rely on outdated evidence, they risk doing more harm than good. #besci #medicine jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Fun to work with @gemmaaltinger.bsky.social, Adrian Traeger, Chris Maher, @caitlin-jones.bsky.social, and others at @sydney.edu.au Institute for Musculoskeletal Health on this! How we present choices to physicians influences their decision-making. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

In time for the @pennchibe.bsky.social meeting, our paper about how the number of alternatives influences physician decision-making. #MedSky #BehaviouralScience jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

➡️ More alternatives (suggestions) = higher likelihood of choosing an NSAID over the opioid in a situation of chronic low back pain flare-up. 🔗 jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Just in time for the @pennchibe.bsky.social meeting, a new paper with @gemmaaltinger.bsky.social in @jamanetworkopen.com. We found that offering physicians MORE alternatives encouraged them to select one of the alternates.

Was meeting Jeff Gerber and ran into @mhallsworth.bsky.social in Philly.

It will be my honour and pleasure to give this grand round in Northwestern, Chicago, next week!

I met a friend at the Omni Hotel on the "Miracle Mile Shopping Center" this morning on the way to work. It was horrible. A snowy morning. The people going to work. The Christmas lights. Shoppers. Tourists.

More terrific work on PAD by Mary McDermott and her team! @nuintmed.bsky.social @ipham.bsky.social @nupress.bsky.social

Please join us on Nov. 12th for our next #MedicalGrandRounds ! We will be joined by @drkerribaker.bsky.social from @rcpedin.bsky.social !

Please join us on Oct. 15th for our next #MedicalGrandRounds ! We will be joined by C. Ronald Kahn, MD from Joslin Diabetes Center for our Rollin T. Woodyatt Lectureship!

Another bike commute into the urban hellscape today…

This was great! My two favorite posters were, 1) this one, as I treated myself for a muscle strain, and…

Endorse. @shwinyo www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/w...

Affidavit from Maywood ASA Jose Villarreal, testifying under oath that the presence of ICE/CPB is harming his office's prosecution of crimes.

To the TSA agents at a fully staffed PIT — was through security in 5 min — this afternoon who are working without pay… …on behalf of all American taxpayers… Sorry. And thank you. 🫡

One of the things I really liked about S2 of “Andor” was how few Imperial Stormtroopers there were. Lucas put them in masks for two reasons, IMHO: 1) it made them terrifying, their inhuman faces frozen in frowns, with no pity, feeling, etc. Echo of his enforcer robots in THX-1138.