Weekend Longforms: Contaminated generic drug factories, an MS memoir, and bad patient experiences with endometriosis and deliveries
November 1, 2025
Here are some weekend longform articles for health policy wonks.
A. Contaminated generic factories
Propublica continues its reporting on quality control problems in factories abroad - which have led to massive recalls of some generic medications. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not been aggressive about enforcing quality standards, and has not been forthcoming in providing information to prescribers and patients. This could decrease confidence in generic drugs, which could raise medical costs substantially. In some instances, the FDA has allowed importation of drugs from factories that did not meet standards to avoid domestic shortages.
B. On my last leg - a memoir of living with multiple sclerosis
The New Yorker published an article by Lucinda Rosenfield about her multiple sclerosis, which first appeared when she was 28 years old. She went a quarter century without a recurrence, but the disease came back with a vengeance.
C. A scientist on a mission to improve care of women with endometriosis
Neel Shah, MD of the Preprint and Maven Clinic profiled and interviewed Linda Griffith, a groundbreaking MIT scientist who has turned her attention to engineering to improve women’s health. Her description of how she and a niece with endometriosis were treated by the medical community is heartbreaking. Shah also provides a link to a profile in the New York Times Magazine (2021- gift link).
D. Obstetrical care that is not women centered
New York Magazine has a disturbing first person article about abusive obstetrical care this week. Author Irin Camron describes women’s experiences in delivery and in abortion clinics, and concludes that labor and delivery clinicians could learn a lot from abortion providers.
Today’s Animal Photo:
Here are the two neighborhood coyotes photographed in late 2023.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend.