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Not that long ago, there was little difference between a physician and a preacher, a clinic and a chapel, a patient and a proselyte. Instead of prescribing medications, healers chanted hymns; instead of prescribing painkillers, they offered prayers. Faith remains an integral part of human society and the modern hospital is a place where patients and physicians of all faiths work together. I am a Muslim physician who trained at a Boston hospital formed because none of the other local hospitals would offer Jewish doctors a job. On any given day, I see patients from myriad faiths, not to mention cultural backgrounds and sexual orientations. I worry that the Trump administration is turning back the clock to a time when religious beliefs were used to deny patients medical care. (Haider Warraich, 9/10),

For all the human brain’s mysteries, its development is quite well understood. Early childhood and adolescence are crucial times of unparalleled neural growth. Just as trust and stability can enhance that growth, fear and trauma can impede it. Institutionalization, in particular, can have profound and deleterious effects, triggering a range of developmental delays and psychiatric disorders from which recovery can be difficult, if not impossible. (9/9)

If your teenage daughter suddenly declares herself transgender, should you assume she’s mature enough to make decisions that will permanently affect her health, fertility and future? Or could she be influenced by societal and peer pressure? Physician and researcher Lisa Littman doesn’t have the answer, but transgender ideologues are trying to silence her for even asking the question. (Jillian Kay Melchior, 9/9)

Colleges that have banned hard alcohol say the step has helped combat some of the most pernicious effects of campus drinking. They report less consumption, fewer alcohol-induced medical transports, hospitalizations and arrests, as well as a decrease in binge drinking and other high-risk behaviors. So the recent decision by a major association representing fraternities to no longer allow hard liquor at chapter houses or events is a welcome step, even if it is long overdue. (9/9)

When President Barack Obama signed the landmark 21st Century Cures Act into law in December 2016, he was surrounded by elated Republican and Democratic lawmakers. At the time, Obama said the measure would bring “to reality the possibility of new breakthroughs to some of the greatest health challenges of our time.” Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander, who chairs the Senate’s Committee on Health, Education Labor, and Pensions, hailed the act as “a Christmas miracle … that will help virtually every American family.” ...But laws passed by Congress must be implemented through regulations. The Cures Act gave broad authority to the executive branch to execute and enforce both the spirit and the letter of the law. Nineteen months after the act became law, that task mainly remains undone. (Joel C. White, 9/8)

I’ll refrain from saying there’s an epidemic of health scares, because overuse of the word “epidemic” is a common scare tactic. But let’s just agree there are a lot of them. Is it too many? Well, when it comes to health scares, there’s probably no safe level. That phrase is another common tactic. Last month a study made the rounds of news sites warning readers that there’s no safe level of alcohol consumption. That could reasonably be said of heavy metals such as arsenic, and sometimes there are real epidemics, such as Ebola. But overuse of scary phrases can make it confusing for people to figure out how to live a healthy lifestyle. (Faye Flam, 9/7)

Before I specialized in palliative care, I thought the sheer vitality of nature might be an affront to patients so close to the end of life — a kind of impudent abundance. And yet, in the hospice where I work, I am often struck by the intense solace some patients find in the natural world. (Rachel Clarke, 9/8)

Remember the “good old days” when all cigarettes looked alike? We have seen an astonishing explosion of electronic smoking devices in many shapes and sizes. In fact, the proportion of U.S. high-school students using e-cigarettes went up 800 percent from 2011 to 2014. While there was a slight reduction in smoking, or vaping, e-cigarettes in 2016, today more youth in Kentucky and the U.S. smoke e-cigarettes than smoke traditional cigarettes. (Ellen J. Hahn and Melinda J. Ickes, 9/9)

Should children be allowed to play tackle football? With scientific studies showing a link between the sport and traumatic brain injuries that lead to lasting health problems, that question is being asked with more frequency and urgency across the country. Not surprisingly, the answer from many parents is that their children’s well-being is too important to risk for the sake of a game — no matter how bright the Friday night lights. (9/8)

“How long have you got?” This is what my boss asked me when I informed him, in July 2014, that I had early-onset Alzheimer’s. I had a file an inch thick with suggestions for how I would be able to keep my job as an administrator with the British National Health Service, one I had loved for more than 20 years. Whether out of panic or ignorance, my manager didn’t see it that way. A date for my early retirement was inked into his calendar; I would leave eight months later due to “ill health.” (Mitchell, 9/7)

We know it can be hard to persuade physicians to do some things that have proven benefits, such as monitor blood pressure or keep patients on anticoagulants. But it might be even harder to get them to stop doing things. In May, a systematic review in JAMA Pediatrics looked at the medical literature related to overuse in pediatric care published in 2016. The articles were ranked by the quality of methods; the magnitude of potential harm to patients from overuse; and the potential number of children that might be harmed. (Aaron E. Carroll, 9/10)

Last week, a California man was arrested for threatening to assassinate journalists at the Boston Globe newspaper.In a series of phone calls, the suspect lashed the Globe for its editorials critical of Donald Trump and parroted a phrase often bellowed by the President: “You’re the enemy of the people.”In one call, the suspect vowed “to kill every f------ one of you.” He owned several firearms and, according to authorities, had recently purchased a rifle. There was a time when I might have read about such a case and assumed the person was just another fuming, rambling misfit, all bluff. (Carl Hiaasen, 9/7)

As the nation grapples with the gun violence crisis, AB 2103 will ensure that California remains a leader in gun safety. It might seem like a small step, but evidence has shown that comprehensive gun safety — including live-fire training — can help keep our communities safer. (David Brame, 9/7)

A first-in-the-nation law signed by Governor Charlie Baker this past July will require elder service providers that receive either state funding or licensure to complete training in how to provide inclusive care to LGBT older adults. Only California has a similar law, but that training is limited to those working in the field of long-term care. (Lisa Krinsky, 9/7)

So this is how far we’ve come in the enlightened state of North Carolina in 2018: The Values Police raise hell if a city dares to even listen to complaints around discrimination for sexual orientation. Crippling North Carolina’s reputation with the discriminatory HB2 wasn’t enough. With that embarrassment erased from the books, the obsession with looking down upon gay and transgender people has to take other forms. (9/7)