Elise Viebeck

When you call the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which has primary responsibility for any investigations in Congress related to President Donald Trump, you get voicemail. Here’s what it says: “If you would like to provide information or make an inquiry relating to President Donald Trump, please press 1.” If you press 1, this is the message you receive: “Because of high call volume, we are unable to answer your call at this time.” If you leave your name, number and “any information you would like to provide,” the caller is promised their message will be “reviewed as soon as possible.” The caller is also told they can press 2 for “all other matters” or to speak with the staff of Chair Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah). So far, Chaffetz’s committee says it is not planning to probe anything related to Trump as part of its oversight mandate, and despite Democratic pressure. But even if they wanted to, staffers could be overwhelmed by the feedback collected on the committee’s voicemail.

President-elect Donald Trump appointed a handful of campaign loyalists to senior positions in his White House with responsibility for overseeing the administration’s outreach to the public and managing Trump’s sometimes hostile relationship with the news media.

• Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s campaign manager who was an unyielding promoter and defender of his on television, will serve as counselor to the president with direct access to advise him on his message strategy and political tactics across a broad range of issues.
• Conway will serve as a public face of the administration along with Sean Spicer, the Republican National Committee’s chief strategist and communications director, who was named White House press secretary. A veteran operative with deep relationships among Republican officials and political journalists, Spicer will ascend to one of Washington’s most coveted jobs, representing the president in briefings with the press corps.
• Also leading the communications operation will be Jason Miller, the Trump campaign’s senior communications adviser, who will serve as director of communications;
• Hope Hicks, Trump’s longtime spokeswoman who was at the candidate’s side nearly every day of his 16-month campaign, who will be director of strategic communications; and
• Dan Scavino, a onetime golf caddy who managed Trump’s presence on Twitter and Facebook during the campaign, who has been named director of social media.

Rep Mark Takai (D-HI) died July 20 after a nine-month battle with pancreatic cancer, his office announced. Takai, 49, was elected to represent Hawaii’s Oahu-based first congressional district in 2014.

In late October, he announced he had been diagnosed with a small tumor on his pancreas after experiencing stomach pains. At that time, Takai referred to his prognosis as “very good thanks to early detection.” He underwent surgery to remove the tumor in November. On May 20, he announced he would serve out the rest of his term but not seek reelection because the cancer had spread. Prior to his election, Rep Takai served in the Hawaii House of Representatives from 1994 to 2014, including two years as vice speaker. He leaves behind his wife, Sami, and two children.

A massive transformation of the nation’s medical system is underway as doctors and hospitals migrate to digital records.

The shift promises to fundamentally alter medical care in the United States by introducing standard information technology across the system.

A uniform electronic health record will give doctors a more complete picture of a patient’s medical history, including data from other clinical settings that might be missing in a paper record. But healthcare providers say they are struggling with the transition under the federal “Meaningful Use” incentive program that was designed to speed progress.

Four years after its rollout, hospitals and doctors say the electronic health records (EHRs) initiative is hampering their ability to deliver care.

“These software programs have deprived us of our efficiency, taken us away from interacting with patients and forced us to be secretaries and clerks,” said Dr Steven Stack, a past board chairman of the American Medical Association (AMA). “These are real frustrations for physicians, and they need to be addressed with a mid-course correction in the program,” he said.