HIT Consultant (1/5, Pennic) reports, “The AMA is urging Congress to pass permanent authorization of Medicare telehealth services before the current waiver expires on January 30, 2026.” According to HIT Consultant, “This advocacy follows a ‘tumultuous’ 2025 in which a 43-day government shutdown caused a 24% national drop in fee-for-service telemedicine visits, demonstrating the extreme sensitivity of patient access to legislative lapses.” In a recent statement, AMA President Bobby Mukkamala, MD, said, “Since the COVID-19 public health emergency, Congress has repeatedly extended telehealth flexibilities for Medicare patients-often at the last moment-creating uncertainty for millions of patients and their physicians.” Dr. Mukkamala added, “As the current waiver deadline approaches, Congress must finally act decisively to prevent a disruptive and abrupt halt to the expanded telehealth services that have improved care continuity, chronic disease management, and access for rural and underserved communities.”

Related Links:

— “AMA’s Strategic Push for Permanent Medicare Telehealth Reform,”Fred Pennic , HIT Consultant, January 5, 2026

Psychiatric News (1/5) reports a study found that “young people living in one of four states with flavoring bans for e-cigarettes were only half as likely as peers in other states without such bans to start vaping.” The research team “analyzed responses to the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study from four states that implemented sales bans for all flavored e-cigarettes – Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York – and compared them to 36 states without bans.” They observed that “among young adults (ages 18 to 24), e-cigarette flavor bans were associated with a more than 50% decrease in starting vaping from the pre-ban rate (6.05 percentage point decrease in initiation). However, no significant change was observed among adolescents (ages 12 to 17) or adults age ≥25 years.” Furthermore, they noted “flavor bans didn’t reduce initiation among disadvantaged subpopulations.” The study was published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “States Banning Flavored E-Cigarettes Reduced Initiation by Young Adults, Psychiatric News , January 5, 2026

CNN (1/5, Alaimo) reports a study found that American 13- to 18-year-olds “spend an average of 70 minutes of their school days on their phones.” Prior research “shows that’s merely one slice of the 8 ½ hours teens spend daily on screen-based entertainment.” According to the study, “the teens spent most of their phone time during the school day on social media apps such as TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat,” and they “spent an average of nearly 15 minutes of each school day on gaming apps and almost 15 minutes on video apps such as YouTube.” More schools are enacting policies to restrict phone use, but “the study suggested teens are finding ways to evade the rules.” Notably, the “study only tracked Android users, so it’s possible iPhone users have different phone use habits.” The study was discussed in a JAMA research letter.

Related Links:

— “Kids are spending a lot of their school days on their phones,”Kara Alaimo, CNN, January 5, 2026

Psychiatric News (1/2) reported the APA’s latest Healthy Minds Poll shows that “38% of adults say they plan to make a mental health-related New Year’s resolution, up 5% from the previous year’s survey.” Overall, 82% of respondents “planned to make at least one New Year’s resolution for 2026. Resolutions centered on physical fitness (44%), financial goals (42%), and mental health (38%) were the top areas of focus. Younger adults ages 18 to 34 (58%) and 35 to 44 (51%) were much more likely to plan a mental health resolution than adults 45 to 64 (32%) and 65+ (11%).” Additionally, “22% of U.S. adults rated their mental health as excellent in 2025, while 41% rated it as good, 28% as fair, and 8% as poor.”

Related Links:

— “Nearly 4 in 10 Americans Will Plan a Mental Health Resolution for 2026, Psychiatric News , January 2, 2026

MedPage Today (1/2, Monaco) reported a study found that “adding a daily fish oil supplement to psychotherapy showed no significant benefit over placebo for kids and teens with moderate-to-severe major depressive disorder (MDD).” The researchers observed that “average Children’s Depression Rating Scale-Revised (CDRS-R) scores similarly improved by week 36 among youth who underwent standardized psychotherapy with an omega-3 fatty acid supplement or with placebo.” Furthermore, “depression remission (CDRS-R score ≤28 points) actually occurred more often by week 36 with placebo than with the omega-3 supplement (31.9% vs 41.1%), as did the proportion meeting response criteria (31.2% vs 39.1% with ≥30% reduction in CDRS-R scores) by week 12.” The study was published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)