Mpox emergency; MDMA rejected; developing a plan against burnout – Morning Medical Update

Mpox emergency

The World Health Organization director-general has declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. The upsurge of cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a growing number of countries in Africa prompted an Aug. 14 meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee of independent experts. They believe the disease could spread across further countries of Africa and possibly outside the continent. Here is the official news release and a resource page dedicated to mpox.

FDA vs. MDMA

In case you missed it, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this month rejected use of the drug MDMA for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. It’s a condition that affects millions of Americans, including those who served their country in uniform, and there have been no new treatments approved in decades. Here is the news release from Lykos Therapeutics, and expert analysis is here, here, and here.

Back-up against burnout

Overworked physicians may develop feelings of burnout, and that happens with other health care professionals too, including infection preventionists in hospital and health system settings. Here’s an article that outlines steps to create an action plan to find allies, assess workloads, resources and risks, and approach managers with a game plan to implement solutions. The lessons could apply to other specialties as well.