MedPage Today covers new evidence review by Roger Chou, M.D., and Tracy Dana, MLS, regarding the effectiveness of masks in reducing the risk of contracting COVID-19. Study updates initial living, rapid review from 2020 that was highlighted in OHSU News.

David Lieberman, M.D., provides comment for a STAT story on a ‘stunning’ change to United Healthcare’s colonoscopy coverage. Lieberman says: “Patients aren’t necessarily eager to have a colonoscopy. If you put a barrier in front of them to schedule that procedure, they may not end up completing.”

At a June 4 event on summer safety in Fairview, OHSU will provide education and information on melanoma prevention, including free skin checks.

Anastasia Shanks, a third-year OHSU Knight Cancer Institute intern, is named a Ford Family Foundation Scholar.

In an Inverse story about a science fiction TV series highlighting the still-experimental procedure known as ovarian tissue cryopreservation, Elizabeth Rubin, M.D., says, “Typically [it’s done] in situations in which people with ovaries are about to undergo an extremely gonadotoxic therapy, such as certain types of chemotherapy, or are known to have a condition, usually genetic, in which they will go through menopause, either around or even before the time of puberty.”

In an interview with Managed Healthcare Executive, James Lewis, Pharm.D., talks about mRNA technology used in vaccines for COVID-19 expanding to influenza and other viral diseases. He says, “As a health care system, we need to think about how can we effectively communicate to our patients that this is important, that it is safe and does work.”

Psychedelic Week story critiques proposed legislation sponsored by state Sen. Elizabeth Steiner, D-Portland, which proposes to engage OHSU to analyze the outcomes of psilocybin services. The story alleges that the bill misrepresents the voter-approved service as a medical therapy, as opposed to a service available to consenting adults.

In a video interview with OncLive, Chris Ryan, M.D., discusses the role of adjuvant therapy for patients with renal cell carcinoma.

In a Pharmacy Today story about prolonged stress since the COVID-19 pandemic, Lam Nguyen, Pharm.D., talks about OHSU’s pharmacy department creating part-time positions to reduce workplace stress. He says, “we actually realized ‘why not create five 0.8s?’ This allowed our staff to have more balance in [their] workload, and it’s been well-received.”

Alexander Witkowski, M.D., Ph.D., and Joanna Ludzik, M.D. Ph.D., discuss how to discern rare signs of skin cancer.