News in Brief Congress passes 21st Century Cures Act The legislation will boost medical research funding, expedite approval process for new drugs and devices. Dec. 7, 2016Wednesday AOA Staff Contact AOA Staff Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Congress approved the 21st Century Cures Act on Wednesday, authorizing additional medical research funding and expediting the approval process for new drugs and devices. The Senate approved the bill Wednesday following the House’s approval last week, according to U.S. News and World Report. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law later this week. Here’s a rundown of what the legislation includes, according to STAT: $1 billion in grants to fight the opioid crisis. $4.8 billion for the cancer “moon shot,” BRAIN Initiative, and the Precision Medicine Initiative. A $500 million increase for the Food and Drug Administration and a number of mental health programs, including those focused on suicide prevention and depression screening. Learn more about the health issues addressed in the legislation: US drug czar enlists DOs’ help in stanching nation’s opioid epidemic. President Obama calls for ‘moon shot’ approach to cure cancer. A dark trend: US suicide rate is on the rise. Cry for help: New moms and depression. More in Newsbriefs Applications now open for AOA’s new Physician Payment Policy Fellowship Apply for the AOA’s inaugural 18-month Physician Payment Policy Fellowship and deepen your expertise in healthcare payment systems. Applications are due Dec. 19, 2025. DO to lead Mississippi physician workforce office, DO student co-authors educational children’s book Richard Calderone, DO, MPH, is the new director of the Office of Mississippi Physician Workforce, and Brooke Birks, OMS IV, published a children’s book. Previous articleNASA’s top doc: DO oversees the health of astronauts, preps for Mars mission Next articleDO, student develop ambulance drones that could change disaster response
Applications now open for AOA’s new Physician Payment Policy Fellowship Apply for the AOA’s inaugural 18-month Physician Payment Policy Fellowship and deepen your expertise in healthcare payment systems. Applications are due Dec. 19, 2025.
DO to lead Mississippi physician workforce office, DO student co-authors educational children’s book Richard Calderone, DO, MPH, is the new director of the Office of Mississippi Physician Workforce, and Brooke Birks, OMS IV, published a children’s book.