The AMHP Community Blog

One might contend that the US health care system is like patchwork, with various components stitched together. In reality, the US health care system is more akin to a spider web, with strings being pulled by various stakeholders and interests groups. According to Grumbach, the U.S. health care system is not a system per se, but rather a free market where health care is a commodity regulated by market forces. There are no fixed regulations on pricing and everything revolves around demand and supply. These market forces are key to understanding why the U.S has the highest quality health care available and spends the most on health care, yet according to the World Health Organization still ranks very poorly amongst developed nations in access to care. Research...

 If you are coming to the ISNA conference, please do let us know.  We have two super events lined up: (1) ”Helping Our Community Conquer Addiction, Vices, and Grief Through Worship and Counseling“–our panel discussion on Sunday 2 Sept at 2:30pm. Click through for additional information! (2) “Muslim Health Forum“–our inaugural TED talk-style event which features several exciting presenters spanning social health policy, epidemiology, environmental health, and entrepreneurship.  (This event is free at Busboys and Poets, which is a few blocks away from the Convention Center.). Click through for additional...

“How did you get involved with AIDS work?” I asked a muhajiba in the prayer room of the International Conference on AIDS.  “I’m positive,” was her response.  I thought that I did not hear her properly.  “Positive?” About what? This Nigerian sister’s own words are powerful.  Her name was Agbaje.  She traced for me the pivotal moments in her life and her encounter with the virus.  She grew up as the daughter of an imam and fell in love with a man whom she later married.  After two daughters of her own, she learned in 1999 that she had HIV.  Her husband had infected her, but the family (including her husband) accused her of wicked charms that brought the disease.  In the final days of her husband’s life, he even prohibited her from visiting...

Our system of food production is becoming more and more complicated and we are becoming less and less confident in the quality of what’s going inside our bodies. Understanding food today is much more than reading nutrition facts labels. Last month, thousands of people on facebook posted a guide to decoding produce stickers.  Four numbers means chemically treated, five numbers starting with an ‘8’ means genetically modified, and five numbers starting with a ‘9’ means organic. Learning and adhering to our Prophet’s diet is one way to maintain confidence in what we’re eating and to shift to a more uncomplicated foodstyle.  There are three practices of Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) that I find especially helpful (and relatively easy!). 1)  Eat...

On the first day of Andrew’s neurology rotation, his attending turned to him and asked, “Name one thing that has been scientifically shown to prolong life.” Andrew, a newly minted 3rd year medical student, replied in his naivete, “Antibiotics, of course.” The attending shook his head no.  “Ok, vaccines?” he tried a second time.  Another head shake no.  “Um…surgery?”  No again. The attending finally replied that the answer was, in fact, decreased caloric intake. Fasting is an age old tradition of many faiths and cultures, particularly within the Abrahamic faiths. Greek Orthodox Christians fast for a total of 180-200 days each year (the main fasting periods are the 40 Nativity Fast days prior to Christmas, the 48 days of Lent prior to...

I had the pleasure of representing AMHP at the White House’s first Minority Health Summit.  Secretary Kathleen Sebelius offered remarks which gave context to comments by a panel which included members of Latino and black media, famed restaurateur B Smith, and health policy analysts.   AMHP the government’s policy team the following questions submitted to us by our members:   1).What will be the fate of free clinics?  Does the Administration see any funds and non-financial resources coming to free clinics in the short run? The Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Free Clinics Federal Tort Claims Act Program (FTCA) extends medical malpractice liability coverage under the FTCA to individuals who meet Program and statutory requirements...

In 2010, the Obama administration signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA), enacting several important health reforms. A key provision of the act is an individual mandate that will come into effect in 2014.  The individual mandate is a law that would require all legal residents of the United States to have health insurance. Individuals who fail to secure coverage will be taxed a penalty that would depend on their income level, with exemptions for those experiencing financial hardship. The individual mandate has been a very contentious part of the ACA; consequently, a majority of states collectively challenged the constitutionality of the act in federal court.  On Thursday, June 28th, the Supreme Court upheld the ACA, with one significant caveat.  The Supreme Court...