Vishal Khetpal, MD, MSc

The food nationalism of the new dietary guidelines The new food pyramid quietly reasserts what kinds of food count as real.

The federal dietary guidelines aren’t just about macronutrients.

They’re also about whose food counts as “real”.

I wrote about that tension here for @statnews.com. Thank you @thekibosch.bsky.social for publishing!

www.statnews.com/2026/01/30/n...

CMS’ new MAHA ELEVATE innovation model has a fundamental flaw CMS’ new MAHA ELEVATE innovation model has a fundamental flaw, The Workup columnist Vishal Khetpal writes.

Innovation models are how Medicare quietly reshapes clinical practice.

MAHA ELEVATE is great in theory, but deserves more scrutiny than it’s getting. For @statnews.com, I take a closer look.

www.statnews.com/2026/01/16/c...

Every doctor needs a basic level of AI literacy Every physician needs to have a basic level of AI literacy now. That might require some sort of licensing exam.

Every physician needs to have a basic level of AI literacy now. That might require some sort of licensing exam.
www.statnews.com/2025/11/19/d...

Every doctor needs a basic level of AI literacy Every physician needs to have a basic level of AI literacy now. That might require some sort of licensing exam.

AI tools often use a human-in-the-loop approach, counting on doctors as a backstop. Our training, however, doesn’t prepare us for this role. For @statnews.com, I argue that doctors should pass a driver’s license test for AI, to use it safely and effectively.

www.statnews.com/2025/11/19/d...

AI could predict who will have a heart attack Cardiologists often struggle to assess heart attack risk. New startups using AI could help.

Cardiologists often struggle to assess heart attack risk. New startups using AI could help.

AI could predict who will have a heart attack Cardiologists often struggle to assess heart attack risk. New startups using AI could help.

For @technologyreview.com, I wrote about AI-derived coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores—potentially a public health breakthrough, but with thorny ethical and financial implications. Special thanks to @adamrodmanmd.bsky.social

ter.li/VishalK

Why this cardiologist is cautious about the Apple Watch’s blood pressure feature “Hypertension notifications, alongside the growing suite of health metrics in the Apple ecosystem, are not population health tools,” a cardiologist writes.

Apple’s new “Hypertension Notifications” may be slick — but I see more caveats than headlines. My latest column for @statnews.com explores how this sits uncomfortably between wellness and medicine. Thanks @thekibosch.bsky.social for editing and publishing!

www.statnews.com/2025/10/13/a...

Make statins available without a prescription Many people who would benefit from statins don’t take them. Making them more accessible would help.

For a generation, statins have been among the most powerful tools we have to prevent heart disease.

But too few people take them.

In my first column for @statnews.com, I argue for an overdue step: making them available over the counter.

www.statnews.com/2025/09/02/s...

Tariffs will make it even more expensive for Americans to eat healthy Mexican and Canadian fruits and vegetables are ubiquitous in American grocery stores. Tariffs will put them further out of reach for many Americans.

Healthy eating is already too expensive—now with tariffs, it’s about to get much worse.

My latest for @statnews.com: www.statnews.com/2025/03/10/t...

Thanks @thekibosch.bsky.social for publishing!

It signals to the world that we're no longer a trusted partner, and trashes the good will these programs engendered. It will be tough, if impossible, to recover from this.

Health Programs Shutter Around the World After Trump Pauses Foreign Aid Lifesaving treatment and prevention programs for tuberculosis, malaria, H.I.V. and other diseases cannot access funds to continue work.

Maybe a more controversial take: it's legitimate for the new admin to consider taking a different approach to American global health involvement.

But to implement a haphazard 'pause' in this way belies an understanding of how this work, and will kill people.

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/01/h...

Behind the Chaotic Attempt to Freeze Federal Assistance The potential for devastation is made plain by another order, concerning the crucial work of U.S.A.I.D.

My @newyorker.com piece on the ongoing, likely unconstitutional funding freeze at USAID now imperiling millions: “This is not a pause. It is a destruction.”

USAID is also where the Administration is testing out its playbook for eviscerating other agencies.
www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...

This is a tragic and must-read article about the total devastation that the 90 day stop work order is causing internationally. In that time for example an estimated 136,000 babies could acquire HIV.

Trump Is Ruining Our Health on a Global Scale Now Presidents in both parties have historically regarded global health initiatives as a way to ensure security and fulfill a moral imperative to help others in need. That's all going to hell now.

www.vice.com/en/article/t...

PEPFAR, the acclaimed anti-HIV program, faces loss of funds as part of U.S. aid pause On Friday, a memorandum signed by Marco Rubio called for a 90-day cessation of foreign aid. That would likely put on hold the work of PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

Leaving the WHO, freezing PEPFAR and the USAID... the US is abandoning it's global health leadership, leaving the world a less safe place and creating a vacuum for China and other actors to fill

www.npr.org/sections/goa...

How Jimmy Carter's global health efforts elevated 'the art of the possible' Former President Jimmy Carter, who died Sunday at age 100, gave visibility to devastating health problems that are often invisible.

RIP Jimmy Carter, whose global health efforts, as @helenbranswell.bsky.social writes, articulated the art of the possible. He, and the Carter Center, arguably forged a model of the outward-looking post-presidential activities continuing to do so much good today.

www.statnews.com/2024/12/29/h...

A few thoughts on the shock killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO - and the fallout Reflecting on a divisive moment in America and what comes next

Seven months ago, I stood in a Senate hearing room and watched protesters yell at UnitedHealth’s CEO about care denials.

It’s a moment I couldn’t get out my head this week. Been reflecting on that and other reactions in the wake of Brian Thompson’s shocking death — what it means and where it goes.

It's Jover The Inswinger Era, Saka's levels, Jorginho's anticipation, Ødegaard's movement, Rice's legs, why that first half felt static, Saliba!, Raya's distribution, and a lot more

🔥 This week's Arsenal long-read is up.

Observations, stats, and diagrams on: the Inswinger Era, Saka's levels, Jorginho's anticipation, Ødegaard's movement, Rice's legs, why that first half felt static, Saliba!, Raya's distribution, and a lot more. 6,000+ words, just for you:

RFK Jr. and MAHA should champion a Marshall Plan for obesity Opinion: RFK Jr. should look to what his uncle might have done: a large-scale public health program meeting people where they are.

For @statnews.bsky.social, I wrote about RFK Jr.’s nomination, his disqualifying views, the MAHA movement, and why America needs a Marshall Plan for obesity—not wellness conspiracies. Thanks @thekibosch.bsky.social for publishing!

www.statnews.com/2024/11/25/r...