Ari B Friedman
@abfriedman.com
This is my personal account. Faculty at UPenn. Emergency doc, health economist, geriatrics and privacy researcher. Views are my own. RT does not imply endorsement.
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Ari B Friedman
@abfriedman.com
· May 20
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Janke, Delgado, and I in our new @annalsofem.bsky.social commentary conceptualize boarding as a ‘dose of delay:’ “Admission is ordered by the emergency care team and is not delivered in a timely fashion, and harm results.”
kwnsfk27.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F...
kwnsfk27.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F...
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
The state has now reported four measles-related deaths amid a growing outbreak that has sickened nearly 700 people this year.
Pennsylvania health officials confirm two new measles-associated deaths, bringing total to four as state outbreak grows
www.inquirer.com
September 15, 2026 at 6:31 PM
The state has now reported four measles-related deaths amid a growing outbreak that has sickened nearly 700 people this year.
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
The fallacy that University leaders pushing AI are falling into is thinking that the point of undergraduate research is to find things out. It isn't. What students find out is typically already generally known. The point of undergraduate research is to learn how to find things out.
September 14, 2026 at 9:48 PM
The fallacy that University leaders pushing AI are falling into is thinking that the point of undergraduate research is to find things out. It isn't. What students find out is typically already generally known. The point of undergraduate research is to learn how to find things out.
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
Amazon is officially shutting down Mechanical Turk next month. It feels like the end of an era.
I've written about the platform on and off for close to a decade. We wouldn't have the AI tools we do now if it weren't for the low-paid, largely invisible labor of MTurkers
I've written about the platform on and off for close to a decade. We wouldn't have the AI tools we do now if it weren't for the low-paid, largely invisible labor of MTurkers
August 25, 2026 at 11:00 PM
Amazon is officially shutting down Mechanical Turk next month. It feels like the end of an era.
I've written about the platform on and off for close to a decade. We wouldn't have the AI tools we do now if it weren't for the low-paid, largely invisible labor of MTurkers
I've written about the platform on and off for close to a decade. We wouldn't have the AI tools we do now if it weren't for the low-paid, largely invisible labor of MTurkers
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
Twenty years on from Gardasil vaccine launch, Australia on track to eliminate cervical cancer
Australia on track to eliminate cervical cancer 20 years on from vaccine launch
Twenty years on from the launch of the world-first vaccine against cervical cancer, Australian Immunisation Register data shows HPV vaccine coverage for girls and girls is dropping.
www.abc.net.au
August 27, 2026 at 7:39 PM
Twenty years on from Gardasil vaccine launch, Australia on track to eliminate cervical cancer
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
Science is awesome. We should fund it.
The FDA just approved daraxonrasib, a breakthrough drug for advanced pancreatic cancer that doubles survival time.
This is huge: pancreatic cancer was once thought untreatable.
The researchers received a standing ovation when they presented the trial results, unheard of at scientific conferences.
This is huge: pancreatic cancer was once thought untreatable.
The researchers received a standing ovation when they presented the trial results, unheard of at scientific conferences.
August 26, 2026 at 7:46 PM
Science is awesome. We should fund it.
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
Is AI being used in your healthcare? 🤖 🩺
Our new survey asked Americans about their views on #AI at the doctor’s office.
We found that they’re uncertain about whether it’s used in their healthcare, and they want to be informed if it is.
Our new survey asked Americans about their views on #AI at the doctor’s office.
We found that they’re uncertain about whether it’s used in their healthcare, and they want to be informed if it is.
August 26, 2026 at 8:10 PM
Is AI being used in your healthcare? 🤖 🩺
Our new survey asked Americans about their views on #AI at the doctor’s office.
We found that they’re uncertain about whether it’s used in their healthcare, and they want to be informed if it is.
Our new survey asked Americans about their views on #AI at the doctor’s office.
We found that they’re uncertain about whether it’s used in their healthcare, and they want to be informed if it is.
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
“Half a million dollars.
That’s about how much it cost several public health agencies to contain one small measles outbreak… Though it was a relatively modest cluster — a total of 10 cases involving nine children & one adult — it nevertheless consumed 6,785 hours of labor by state & local workers”
That’s about how much it cost several public health agencies to contain one small measles outbreak… Though it was a relatively modest cluster — a total of 10 cases involving nine children & one adult — it nevertheless consumed 6,785 hours of labor by state & local workers”
Fighting measles is expensive. See what it cost to contain 10 cases.
A week-by-week breakdown of why the public health response to outbreaks is so costly.
www.washingtonpost.com
August 26, 2026 at 8:19 PM
“Half a million dollars.
That’s about how much it cost several public health agencies to contain one small measles outbreak… Though it was a relatively modest cluster — a total of 10 cases involving nine children & one adult — it nevertheless consumed 6,785 hours of labor by state & local workers”
That’s about how much it cost several public health agencies to contain one small measles outbreak… Though it was a relatively modest cluster — a total of 10 cases involving nine children & one adult — it nevertheless consumed 6,785 hours of labor by state & local workers”
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
we all have mental rolodexes of patients we never forget
as an ER doc, I've taken care of quite a few patients where we found new -- almost always advanced -- pancreatic cancer
this is great news and a nice reminder of why we all chip in and hire the best scientists to find new & better tools
as an ER doc, I've taken care of quite a few patients where we found new -- almost always advanced -- pancreatic cancer
this is great news and a nice reminder of why we all chip in and hire the best scientists to find new & better tools
My grandma died of pancreatic cancer and, as I recall, it's one of the swifter, more devastating forms of cancer. She was gone within a couple months of the diagnosis.
This is absolutely incredible.
This is absolutely incredible.
The FDA just approved daraxonrasib, a breakthrough drug for advanced pancreatic cancer that doubles survival time.
This is huge: pancreatic cancer was once thought untreatable.
The researchers received a standing ovation when they presented the trial results, unheard of at scientific conferences.
This is huge: pancreatic cancer was once thought untreatable.
The researchers received a standing ovation when they presented the trial results, unheard of at scientific conferences.
August 26, 2026 at 8:18 PM
we all have mental rolodexes of patients we never forget
as an ER doc, I've taken care of quite a few patients where we found new -- almost always advanced -- pancreatic cancer
this is great news and a nice reminder of why we all chip in and hire the best scientists to find new & better tools
as an ER doc, I've taken care of quite a few patients where we found new -- almost always advanced -- pancreatic cancer
this is great news and a nice reminder of why we all chip in and hire the best scientists to find new & better tools
Today 1pm EST: Dr. Maya Yiadom (Stanford EM) shares her expertise on Considering Equity in Clinical A.I. Validation. Real-world emergency examples show how differences affect model performance. www.coretalks.org
Register here (free Zoom seminar):
pennmedicine.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Register here (free Zoom seminar):
pennmedicine.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
August 24, 2026 at 2:29 PM
Today 1pm EST: Dr. Maya Yiadom (Stanford EM) shares her expertise on Considering Equity in Clinical A.I. Validation. Real-world emergency examples show how differences affect model performance. www.coretalks.org
Register here (free Zoom seminar):
pennmedicine.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Register here (free Zoom seminar):
pennmedicine.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
So many things in healthcare and policy are like this chicken coop: surely it can't matter if the siding ends an inch too high? Yet the details matter in the long run, and that missing inch of siding costs an entire coop years later.
Ten years ago, I made this cute little chicken coop, by far the hardest carpentry project I’d attempted. I made a lot of mistakes, but I made one (1) especially foolish mistake, which I didn’t realized doomed this coop to an early death. Today, I broke ground on its replacement.
August 24, 2026 at 2:26 PM
So many things in healthcare and policy are like this chicken coop: surely it can't matter if the siding ends an inch too high? Yet the details matter in the long run, and that missing inch of siding costs an entire coop years later.
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
In a new NEJM Voices blog post, @iwashyna.bsky.social explains why physicians should make targeted, moderate-scale philanthropy a core task in their career development and why doing so is particularly urgent and valuable now. Learn more and sign up for email alerts: https://nej.md/3UzTlBt
August 15, 2026 at 4:00 PM
In a new NEJM Voices blog post, @iwashyna.bsky.social explains why physicians should make targeted, moderate-scale philanthropy a core task in their career development and why doing so is particularly urgent and valuable now. Learn more and sign up for email alerts: https://nej.md/3UzTlBt
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
"By writing, you are literally firing up your brain and therefore stirring up your conscious thoughts and something new emerges. You are not, or at least not always, transcribing something already present in your conscious thoughts.“
LOVE this piece. www.historians.org/perspectives...
LOVE this piece. www.historians.org/perspectives...
How Writing Leads to Thinking (and Not the Other Way Around) – AHA
Writing is stressful. Sitting in my computer chair my neck and shoulder muscles almost immediately tense up as I dig around in my brain for the best phrase or even any coherent string of words.
www.historians.org
August 19, 2026 at 11:04 AM
"By writing, you are literally firing up your brain and therefore stirring up your conscious thoughts and something new emerges. You are not, or at least not always, transcribing something already present in your conscious thoughts.“
LOVE this piece. www.historians.org/perspectives...
LOVE this piece. www.historians.org/perspectives...
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
Great to see this article highlighting the problems faced by patients in the hospital! Thanks @abfriedman.com and coauthors!
August 17, 2026 at 8:37 PM
Great to see this article highlighting the problems faced by patients in the hospital! Thanks @abfriedman.com and coauthors!
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
Does postpartum visit attendance vary by birth timing?
LDI/CHOP experts found that people with preterm or late/postterm births were more likely to miss postpartum visits than those with full-term births. Risk was highest after periviable births (22–23 weeks).
https://bit.ly/4hyOzhf
LDI/CHOP experts found that people with preterm or late/postterm births were more likely to miss postpartum visits than those with full-term births. Risk was highest after periviable births (22–23 weeks).
https://bit.ly/4hyOzhf
OBGYN
Introduction Approximately 40% of obstetric patients do not attend a postpartum visit. Postpartum parents of preterm infants (<37 weeks) are often sicker than parents of full-term infants. Nonethele...
bit.ly
August 17, 2026 at 7:03 PM
Does postpartum visit attendance vary by birth timing?
LDI/CHOP experts found that people with preterm or late/postterm births were more likely to miss postpartum visits than those with full-term births. Risk was highest after periviable births (22–23 weeks).
https://bit.ly/4hyOzhf
LDI/CHOP experts found that people with preterm or late/postterm births were more likely to miss postpartum visits than those with full-term births. Risk was highest after periviable births (22–23 weeks).
https://bit.ly/4hyOzhf
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
Some hospitals get inpatients to their inpatient teams fast
Some... do not
new in @jama.com by @abfriedman.com and an amazing team of folks
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Some... do not
new in @jama.com by @abfriedman.com and an amazing team of folks
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
August 17, 2026 at 6:06 PM
Some hospitals get inpatients to their inpatient teams fast
Some... do not
new in @jama.com by @abfriedman.com and an amazing team of folks
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Some... do not
new in @jama.com by @abfriedman.com and an amazing team of folks
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
🧠 The Role of AI in Dementia Care
PARC Research Associate Jason Karlawish explores its promise but urges caution in @statnews.com
https://www.statnews.com/2026/07/08/dementia-care-ai-artificial-intelligence-chatbots
https://ldi.upenn.edu/our-work/research-updates/the-role-of-ai-in-dementia-care
PARC Research Associate Jason Karlawish explores its promise but urges caution in @statnews.com
https://www.statnews.com/2026/07/08/dementia-care-ai-artificial-intelligence-chatbots
https://ldi.upenn.edu/our-work/research-updates/the-role-of-ai-in-dementia-care
What's the right role for AI in dementia care?
Three tricky questions about using AI in dementia care.
www.statnews.com
August 17, 2026 at 4:00 PM
🧠 The Role of AI in Dementia Care
PARC Research Associate Jason Karlawish explores its promise but urges caution in @statnews.com
https://www.statnews.com/2026/07/08/dementia-care-ai-artificial-intelligence-chatbots
https://ldi.upenn.edu/our-work/research-updates/the-role-of-ai-in-dementia-care
PARC Research Associate Jason Karlawish explores its promise but urges caution in @statnews.com
https://www.statnews.com/2026/07/08/dementia-care-ai-artificial-intelligence-chatbots
https://ldi.upenn.edu/our-work/research-updates/the-role-of-ai-in-dementia-care
Proud to announce the inaugural effort of RESQUE-Net (Research in Emergency Systems and Quality Using EHRs Network), led by Alex Janke, Adrian Haimovich, and myself, but with contributions from 17 health systems and 56 hospitals across the country.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Time to Inpatient Management for Boarding Emergency Department Patients
This study examines the patient- and hospital-level variation in time to initiation of inpatient management among patients admitted to general medical services.
jamanetwork.com
August 17, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Proud to announce the inaugural effort of RESQUE-Net (Research in Emergency Systems and Quality Using EHRs Network), led by Alex Janke, Adrian Haimovich, and myself, but with contributions from 17 health systems and 56 hospitals across the country.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
7. It's yet another thing that AI has stolen away from the current generation of scientists.
Yet again, AI proves to be an anti-egalitarian force in that these abuses force us to abandon the Mertonian norm of universalism for increased reliance on credentials, reputation, and personal connections.
Yet again, AI proves to be an anti-egalitarian force in that these abuses force us to abandon the Mertonian norm of universalism for increased reliance on credentials, reputation, and personal connections.
August 17, 2026 at 8:43 AM
7. It's yet another thing that AI has stolen away from the current generation of scientists.
Yet again, AI proves to be an anti-egalitarian force in that these abuses force us to abandon the Mertonian norm of universalism for increased reliance on credentials, reputation, and personal connections.
Yet again, AI proves to be an anti-egalitarian force in that these abuses force us to abandon the Mertonian norm of universalism for increased reliance on credentials, reputation, and personal connections.
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
6. When I was 24 years old, I wrote a long letter to my academic hero, John Maynard Smith, asking him for comments on a paper I'd written about one of his models.
He had never heard of me but my missive launched a (pen-and-paper) correspondence that ran hundreds of pages and lasted until his death.
He had never heard of me but my missive launched a (pen-and-paper) correspondence that ran hundreds of pages and lasted until his death.
August 17, 2026 at 8:38 AM
6. When I was 24 years old, I wrote a long letter to my academic hero, John Maynard Smith, asking him for comments on a paper I'd written about one of his models.
He had never heard of me but my missive launched a (pen-and-paper) correspondence that ran hundreds of pages and lasted until his death.
He had never heard of me but my missive launched a (pen-and-paper) correspondence that ran hundreds of pages and lasted until his death.
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
4. These emails violate that compact — and the consequences that they force me to stop doing something that I’ve always done for my colleagues. If someone I’ve never met writes me a long letter, asks me to look at their work, and it’s actually relevant, I do. But not anymore.
August 17, 2026 at 8:33 AM
4. These emails violate that compact — and the consequences that they force me to stop doing something that I’ve always done for my colleagues. If someone I’ve never met writes me a long letter, asks me to look at their work, and it’s actually relevant, I do. But not anymore.
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
3. I find this a profoundly cynical thing to do. The academic community relies on norms that enable productive interaction among community members, even if they have not met previously. It has always been the case that I can assume that a fellow academic contacts me is doing so in good faith.
August 17, 2026 at 8:31 AM
3. I find this a profoundly cynical thing to do. The academic community relies on norms that enable productive interaction among community members, even if they have not met previously. It has always been the case that I can assume that a fellow academic contacts me is doing so in good faith.
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
2. I guess this is the new form of academic engagement farming. Spin up some agents to search for relevant targets and then write each of them a letter, custom tailored to what the target has published, about whatever you’re trying to promote.
August 17, 2026 at 8:27 AM
2. I guess this is the new form of academic engagement farming. Spin up some agents to search for relevant targets and then write each of them a letter, custom tailored to what the target has published, about whatever you’re trying to promote.
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
1. Recently I’ve received lots of emails from people I don’t know personally, asking for my feedback on their books or papers. They explain the connection between my work and theirs and ask me to take a look.
The catch, of course, is that the emails are transparently, obviously, written by AI.
The catch, of course, is that the emails are transparently, obviously, written by AI.
August 17, 2026 at 8:25 AM
1. Recently I’ve received lots of emails from people I don’t know personally, asking for my feedback on their books or papers. They explain the connection between my work and theirs and ask me to take a look.
The catch, of course, is that the emails are transparently, obviously, written by AI.
The catch, of course, is that the emails are transparently, obviously, written by AI.
Reposted by Ari B Friedman
Because of global cuts to foreign aid, the Gates Foundation has predicted that 2025 will be the first year this century where child deaths will increase.
USAID fallout: In Nepal, when the aid workers stopped coming, the women and babies started dying
The U.S. government has repeatedly insisted that no one — and, particularly, no children — have died because of its funding cuts. But the AP has documented the deaths of women and children from Myanmar to Nigeria.
nbcnews.to
August 16, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Because of global cuts to foreign aid, the Gates Foundation has predicted that 2025 will be the first year this century where child deaths will increase.
PSA: If you've never worked through the math of bonds (duration and its many meanings, convexity, etc.), you should some time! Some really beautiful emergent properties from some very "simple" entities. Fabozzi et al has some nice classic handbooks that are good.
August 14, 2026 at 11:26 AM
PSA: If you've never worked through the math of bonds (duration and its many meanings, convexity, etc.), you should some time! Some really beautiful emergent properties from some very "simple" entities. Fabozzi et al has some nice classic handbooks that are good.