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Dean of Yale School of Public Health Megan Ranney has worked in violence prevention for most of her career. She started out as a Peace Corps volunteer in the late ’90s before heading to medical school to become an emergency physician and getting a masters in public health.

In the emergency department, she regularly saw victims of violence and self-harm. But one day in the 2000s was a “big transition point” for the doctor, when she cared for someone with a self-inflicted fatal gunshot injury.

Ranney noticed the healthcare industry wasn’t applying research-backed tools to reduce firearm injury in the emergency department, and so she decided to begin her own work to address this “uniquely American epidemic.” (According to the CDC, 44,447 people died from gun-related injuries in 2024.)

“No one was really talking about firearm injury or gun violence as a health problem,” she told us.

Fast-forward to 2026, and Ranney has held positions as deputy dean of the Brown University School of Public Health and chief research officer at the American Foundation for Firearm Injury Reduction in Medicine.

Ranney spoke with Healthcare Brew about her research to reduce firearm injury, from how physicians can help prevent harm to how social media can perpetuate youth violence, and how she’s working to build public trust in 2026.

Read the full interview here.—CM

      

Sponsored By Thermo Fisher Scientific

Even NFL pros aren’t immune to allergies. Just ask Landon Robinson, who dealt with a peanut allergy diagnosis throughout childhood.

The problem? Anaphylaxis from food allergy is a disqualifying medical condition for joining the US military, causing Landon's offer to play football for the Naval Academy to be rescinded.

Luckily, his clinician reevaluated his peanut allergy with ImmunoCAP^TM Specific IgE blood testing with allergen components and discovered his risk for anaphylaxis was low.

After he passed an oral food challenge, Landon's offer was reinstated, and he was able to confidently pursue his dreams, leading to a career in the NFL.

Learn more about testing with specific IgE allergen components and how they can help your patients.

Payers

Revolution Medicines

Employers are bracing for another year of higher health costs, according to recent industry reports.

The average health benefit cost per employee is set to rise by 8.2% in 2027, even when taking into account measures businesses may take to contain costs, according to a survey released by consulting firm Marsh on Aug. 31. This represents the steepest hike since 2003.

Similar reports released by Aon and Business Group on Health estimate that employers will see costs rise by upwards of 9% next year.

A new cancer drug recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration could further add to companies’ steep health costs.

The drug, called Rasonque, is designed to treat the most common form of pancreatic cancer. In clinical trials, patients who took Rasonque saw their median life expectancy double, from 6.7 months to 13.2 months.

But the promising treatment also comes with a hefty list price, at nearly $480,000 for a year’s supply (at $663 per tablet). This price falls in line with other cancer drugs, and represents a growing challenge for HR leaders, experts told us.

Keep reading on HR Brew.—CV

      

Tech

Brittany Holloway-Brown, Photo: Adobe Stock

Welcome back to AI 411, a monthly roundup of tech announcements from across the healthcare industry.

This month, health tech companies, like Abridge and Zocdoc, dominated the headlines.

Here’s your rundown for August.—CM

      

vital signs

Francis Scialabba

Today’s top healthcare reads.

Stat: 41%. That’s how much employment growth is expected for nurse practitioners over the next decade—the highest of any profession. (Becker’s)

Quote: “Unfortunately today, the federal government is not fulfilling that responsibility in the way that it historically has. But the need for that work has not disappeared. We cannot allow the breakdown of the federal process to create a vacuum in evidence-based vaccine guidance.”—Bruce Gellin, a doctor on the board of the Vaccine Integrity Project, on how medical experts are now creating their own vaccine guidelines (NPR)

Read: How doctors are discussing vaccines with skeptical parents. (Stat)

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