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U.S. may speed approval of 'breakthrough' drugs
Posted On: 5/9/12
Experimental drugs that show a big effect early in development for treating serious or life-threatening diseases would get a faster and cheaper path to U.S. approval, under a proposal likely to become law this year.
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UK doc survey: Deny treatment to smokers, obese
Posted On: 4/29/12
A majority of doctors in a United Kingdom survey supported measures to deny non-emergency medical services to smokers and the obese, The Observer newspaper reported Sunday.
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FDA says focused on tracking drugs after approval
Posted On: 4/22/12
ATLANTA (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Saturday it now spends as much effort and resources on surveilling a drug after it is approved as it does in the pre-approval process.
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Emergency rooms designed for the older set
Posted On: 4/22/12
Hospitals around the country are creating customized emergency rooms for patients 65 years and older.
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FDA focuses on tracking drugs after approval
Posted On: 4/22/12
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said this weekend it now spends as much effort and resources on surveilling a drug after it is approved as it does in the pre-approval process.
» Click here for the full story.
VA to add nearly 2,000 to mental health staff
Posted On: 4/19/12
The Department of Veterans Affairs said Thursday it was increasing its staff of mental health professionals by roughly 1,900 to better serve veterans returning home from war.
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1 in 4 Americans without health coverage, study finds
Posted On: 4/19/12
As the U.S. Supreme Court ponders the fate of healthcare reform in the current election year, a study released on Thursday shows that one in four working-age Americans went without insurance at some point in 2011, often as a result of unemployment and other job changes.
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No proof bad gums cause heart trouble, experts say
Posted On: 4/18/12
While numerous studies have linked gum disease with and increased risk of heart disease and stroke, there is no proof that bad gums actually cause heart disease or strokes, an American Heart Association committee said after reviewing 500 journal articles and studies.
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Graying boomers get wired to cut healthcare costs
Posted On: 4/12/12
Baby boomers wired to their iPads and smart phones are giving U.S. health experts some new ideas about ways to cut the soaring costs of medical care in graying America.
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Young docs see gloomy future, says new survey
Posted On: 4/11/12
A majority of young doctors feel pessimistic about the future of the U.S. healthcare system, with the new healthcare law cited as the main reason, according to a survey released to Reuters on Wednesday.
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Teen dies after 'routine' wisdom tooth surgery
Posted On: 4/6/12
When 17-year-old Jenny Olenick went in to have her wisdom teeth removed, her parents weren’t worried. After all, wisdom tooth extraction is so common these days that it’s almost become a rite of passage for teens.
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Health care overhaul, year 2: What's coming
Posted On: 3/22/12
Friday marks the two-year anniversary of the 2010 health care overhaul law, and despite an upcoming challenge in the Supreme Court, it has already begun to be implemented.
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Fake Avastin shows little protects drug supply
Posted On: 3/11/12
As drug counterfeiters step up their sales of bogus medicines, global health regulators have few protections in place to prevent them from reaching patients. Globally, 10 percent of medicines may be fake.
» Click here for the full story.
Changing health care: It's never going to be easy
Posted On: 3/5/12
When it comes to the multiple challenges of health care reform, ideas that look good on paper -- such as electronic medical records and hospital safety ratings -- often do not turn out as planned in the real world.
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Bugs in drugs? Behind shortage of critical meds
Posted On: 2/29/12
In a move that highlights dilemmas plaguing the U.S. drug supply, federal regulators warned a major manufacturer about problems including bugs in vials of sterile drugs — insects, literally — the same day that officials let the firm to ramp up scarce medications for kids with cancer.
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Is that X-ray necessary or ‘medical gluttony’?
Posted On: 2/16/12
A leading group of U.S. doctors is trying to tackle the costly problem of excessive medical testing, hoping to avoid more government intervention in how they practice.
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Deadly rabies fear after man shows off bat in box
Posted On: 2/2/12
Health officials are warning people who were in downtown Providence last week that they may have been exposed to rabies when a man showed off a bat he had in a box.
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Man with locked-in syndrome wants right to die
Posted On: 1/23/12
Former rugby player Tony Nicklinson had a high-flying job as a corporate manager in Dubai, where he went skydiving and bridge-climbing in his free time.
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Complication in first triple limb transplant
Posted On: 1/22/12
A Turkish doctor whose 25-member team performed the world's first triple limb transplant — two arms and a leg — says the leg has been removed due to tissue incompatibility.
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FDA fines Red Cross $9.6 million for blood lapses
Posted On: 1/16/12
Food and Drug Administration officials have fined the American Red Cross nearly $9.6 million for sloppy and unsafe blood management practices, the second multi-million-dollar penalty levied against the agency in the last two years.
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Officials: Heart doc falsified red wine study
Posted On: 1/11/12
A University of Connecticut researcher known for his work on red wine's benefits to cardiovascular health falsified his data in more than 100 instances and nearly a dozen scientific journals are being warned, officials said Wednesday.
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Bioethicist: A final reason to lose weight
Posted On: 1/9/12
Need motivation to lose weight? Bioethicist Art Caplan says to consider that doing so will help others who want to learn from bodies after death.
» Click here for the full story.
America hits the brakes on health care spending
Posted On: 1/9/12
U.S. healthcare spending barely rose in 2010 from record-low recession levels, as high unemployment and the loss of private health insurance forced many Americans to delay or forego medical treatment, government officials said on Monday.
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Uninsured use Groupon for health care
Posted On: 12/30/11
Visitors to daily deal sites like Groupon are finding a growing number of markdowns on health care services such as teeth cleanings, eye exams, chiropractic care and even medical checkups.
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Preventive care: It's free, except when it's not
Posted On: 12/28/11
President Barack Obama's health overhaul encourages prevention by requiring most insurance plans to pay for preventive care. But there are confusing — and potentially expensive — exceptions.
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Do'h! Top science journal retractions of 2011
Posted On: 12/27/11
Pot dispensaries lead to a crime drop. Use antibiotics, not surgery, to treat appendicitis. Some startling research has been published in the last year - and then retracted. Read about the top five most egregious.
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D'oh! Top science journal retractions of 2011
Posted On: 12/27/11
Pot dispensaries lead to a crime drop. Use antibiotics, not surgery, to treat appendicitis. Some startling research has been published in the last year - and then retracted. Read about the top five most egregious.
» Click here for the full story.
Mentally ill flood ERs as states cut services
Posted On: 12/26/11
Across the country, emergency room doctors are facing a spike in psychiatric crises — attempted suicide, severe depression, psychosis — as states slash mental health services and the country's worst economic crisis since the Great Depression takes its toll.
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New powerful painkiller has abuse experts worried
Posted On: 12/26/11
Drug companies are working to develop a pure, more powerful version of a highly abused medicine, which has addiction experts worried that it could spur a new wave of abuse.
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12 million Motrin bottles pulled from shelves
Posted On: 12/21/11
Maggots speedier than surgeons at wound cleaning
Posted On: 12/20/11
The idea of putting maggots into open flesh may sound repulsive, but such a therapy might be a quick way to clean wounds, a new study from France suggests.
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Do you really want to know what your doc is writing about you?
Posted On: 12/19/11
Have you ever been tempted to sneak a peek at those notes your doctor is scribbling about you? If you have, you’re like most patients, new Harvard research shows. But chances are, your doctor would rather you keep your nose out of his notes.
» Click here for the full story.
Breast cancer trial could speed approval of new drugs
Posted On: 12/19/11
From the time a promising new cancer drug is discovered to when it is proven to work typically takes 10 to 15 years and can cost from $1 to $2 billion. But a clinical trial known as ISPY-2 is an attempt to shorten that process. NBC's Robert Bazell reports.
» Click here for the full story.
Do you want to know what your doc writes about you?
Posted On: 12/19/11
Have you ever been tempted to sneak a peek at those notes your doctor is scribbling about you? If you have, you’re like most patients, new Harvard research shows. But chances are, your doctor would rather you keep your nose out of his notes.
» Click here for the full story.
Many surgeons don't discuss end-of-life care
Posted On: 12/16/11
New method boosts blood-clotting for hemophiliacs
Posted On: 12/11/11
In what's being called a landmark study, researchers used gene therapy to successfully treat six patients with severe hemophilia, a blood-clotting disorder.
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Too promiscuous to donate an organ? Maybe
Posted On: 12/5/11
If you've had two or more sex partners in the last year, you could be a risky organ donor, at least according to a proposed federal health guideline that has drawn sharp protests from transplant experts who say it's far too broad.
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Needless MRIs may be moneymakers for docs
Posted On: 11/30/11
There may be good reason to ask about financial ties if your doctor orders an expensive imaging test for your aching back: Patients whose physicians own the equipment are more likely to get scans they might not need than those whose doctors have no financial interest, a small study suggests.
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Toothache lawsuit may stifle medical gag orders
Posted On: 11/30/11
A Maryland man who had a bad toothache has filed a class-action lawsuit against his New York dentist after she required him to sign a contract promising not to trash-talk her online — and then fined him thousands of dollars trying to enforce it.
» Click here for the full story.
When cameras are watching, more docs wash up
Posted On: 11/30/11
The number of doctors and nurses who washed their hands immediately after entering a patient's room shot from 7 to 88 percent when video cameras were installed in every room in their unit and the staff was continuously informed about hand-washing rates.
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Gunman hunted after fatal hospital shooting
Posted On: 11/25/11
A woman was shot dead at a hospital in Chicago late Thursday and a manhunt was under way for the shooter, according to a report.
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Man arrested after fatal shooting at Chicago hospital
Posted On: 11/25/11
A woman was shot dead at a hospital in Chicago late Thursday, according to a report. A man was arrested later after a routine traffic stop.
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Tiny overdoses of Tylenol can turn deadly
Posted On: 11/22/11
Taking even slightly too much Tylenol over a period of several days can lead to an overdose with deadly consequences, a new study says.
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Probation for program that transplanted infected kidney
Posted On: 11/15/11
The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network and the United Network for Organ Sharing have placed the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's transplant program on probation for up to a year because a living female donor had hepatitis when her kidney was transplanted into her male partner.
» Click here for the full story.
Feds reopen malpractice database, with caveats
Posted On: 11/9/11
The federal government reopened public access to a database of malpractice claims and damages paid by doctors, with new restrictions that would prohibit using it in any way to identify the physicians.
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Electronic medical records rarely encrypted: expert
Posted On: 11/9/11
Electronic medical records, which the Obama administration would like to see widely used, are rarely encrypted so a data breach could be triggered by the simple theft of a laptop or misplaced thumb drive, a privacy expert told lawmakers on Wednesday.
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No anthrax vaccine testing on children — for now
Posted On: 10/28/11
It will be a while longer before the government decides whether to test the anthrax vaccine in children.
» Click here for the full story.
Sponsored By: Moving Healthcare Forward with NEC
Posted On: 10/28/11
Our mission is to fulfill your vision of healthcare - in patient care, in staff collaboration, in business continuity, and in the efficient running of your institution. Learn how NEC's solutions & expertise can elevate your performance.
www.nec.com/healthcare
Ads by Pheedo
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Hospital safety practices unrelated to outcomes
Posted On: 10/18/11
Whether or not trauma centers meet national safety standards says little about a patient's risk of dying or getting an infection while there, according to new research.
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How safe is your hospital? Website lets you check
Posted On: 10/17/11
Patients can check the safety ratings of hospitals near them on a government website that tracks the rates of surgical complications, infections, mishaps and potentially avoidable deaths.
» Click here for the full story.
Double hand transplant recipient wants to feel grandkids' faces
Posted On: 10/14/11
After Richard Mangino lost his arms below the elbows and legs below the knees from sepsis in 2002, he longed to be able to feel his grandchildren’s faces and stroke their hair. Now, he'll get the chance to do that due to a double hand transplant.
» Click here for the full story.
Double hand transplant recipient says he got a 'miracle'
Posted On: 10/14/11
After Richard Mangino lost his arms below the elbows and legs below the knees from sepsis in 2002, he longed to be able to feel his grandchildren’s faces and stroke their hair. Now, he'll get the chance to do that due to a double hand transplant.
» Click here for the full story.
CooperVision, FDA step up recalled contact lens warnings
Posted On: 10/14/11
Nearly two months after problems were first announced, contact lens giant CooperVision and federal health regulators have amped up public warnings about more than half a million recalled contact lenses, urging users to return the potentially defective products and to seek medical care if they show symptoms of harm.
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Docs and nurses trade debt for service
Posted On: 10/13/11
The National Health Service Corps has more than tripled its members in the past three recession-fueled years.The program helps would-be primary care doctors, nurses and dentists pay for training — and repay medical debt — in exchange for working in rural areas.
» Click here for the full story.
1 in 5 surgeons insure their hands, poll finds
Posted On: 10/12/11
Surgeons rely on their training, experience and skill, but none of that matters if they develop a problem with their hands - the most basic item needed to do their jobs. So, to protect their assets, a number of them insure their hands, according to a new poll.
» Click here for the full story.
Stem cells created from cloned human embryos
Posted On: 10/5/11
Scientists for the first time have derived thriving colonies of embryonic stem cells from human embryos created using cloning technology.
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Worst hospitals treat larger share of poor
Posted On: 10/5/11
The nation's worst hospitals treat twice the proportion of elderly black patients and poor patients than the best hospitals, and their patients are more likely to die of heart attacks and pneumonia, new research shows.
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Millions must travel farther for trauma care
Posted On: 10/5/11
One hour can spell the difference between life and death for victims of severe injury, but about a quarter of Americans now have to travel farther to reach the nearest hospital trauma center, a study published Wednesday concludes.
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Lawmaker probes sellers on drug shortages
Posted On: 10/5/11
A Congressman investigating worsening shortages of hospital drugs is demanding that secondary drug distributors reveal where they're getting scarce, life-saving medicines — and explain the huge markups they charge hospitals.
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Time to shop: Some Medicare plan prices drop
Posted On: 10/5/11
The annual enrollment period for Medicare prescription drug and Advantage managed care plans is about to begin, and it's one of the best opportunities of the year for seniors to save money.
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Medicare prescription drug abuse a problem: GAO
Posted On: 10/4/11
Prescription drug abuse by elderly and disabled beneficiaries of Medicare cost the U.S. program nearly $150 million in 2008, highlighting an area where the government can seek to save health costs.
» Click here for the full story.
More counterfeit meds being sold to consumers
Posted On: 9/29/11
One in six Americans bought medicines on the Internet last year - but some online pharmacies are selling counterfeit drugs. Worldwide sales of counterfeit medicines topped $75 billion last year, up 90 percent since 2005, according to the World Health Organization.
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Wife sues after husband's brain is removed
Posted On: 9/22/11
The practices of a prestigious medical research institute that studies schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are on trial in Maine, where the organization collected at least 99 brains from organ donors.
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New law leads to more insured young adults
Posted On: 9/21/11
At least one part of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul has proven popular. With the economy sputtering, the number of young adults covered by health insurance grew by about a million as families flocked to take advantage of a new benefit in the law.
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U.S. to develop chip that tests if a drug is toxic
Posted On: 9/16/11
U.S. government researchers plan to design a chip that can check whether new drugs are toxic before they are tested in people, potentially speeding up the development of new therapies.
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Black child with aging disease hopes for future
Posted On: 9/12/11
The elfin child with the big personality and bright smile dreams of the future. But doctors say 12-year-old Ontlametse Phalatse has only, perhaps, another couple of years to live. Ontlametse is the first black child diagnosed with progeria.
» Click here for the full story.
Older pills often safer, but many think new is better
Posted On: 9/12/11
Many consumers mistakenly believe new prescription drugs are always safer than those with long track records, and that only extremely effective drugs without major side effects win government approval, according to a new study.
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FDA advisers consider time limit for bone drugs
Posted On: 9/9/11
Health advisers are considering a time limit for taking a class of drugs used by millions of women to prevent bone fractures, due to concerns over unusual fractures linked to the medicines and possible higher cancer rates.
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FDA panel backs new labels for bone drugs
Posted On: 9/9/11
Food and Drug Administration advisers voted Friday to require makers of widely used osteoporosis drugs to clarify how long patients should take them for the greatest benefit and least risk.
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Sky-high salaries, costly hips boost US health costs
Posted On: 9/8/11
High doctors’ salaries and climbing fees may be why health care costs are so much steeper in the United States than in other developed countries, a new study concludes. Orthopedic surgeons in the US earn $442,450 a year, compared with $154, 380 in France.
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First black child with aging disease hopes for future
Posted On: 9/8/11
The elfin child with the big personality and bright smile dreams of the future. But doctors say 12-year-old Ontlametse Phalatse has only, perhaps, another couple of years to live. Ontlametse is the first black child diagnosed with progeria.
» Click here for the full story.
Debt commission members rake in health money
Posted On: 9/7/11
Doctors, drugmakers and health insurers have spent millions wooing lawmakers who now are on the congressional panel finding a formula to control deficits and debt, analysis finds.
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FDA delivers blow to experimental stroke drug
Posted On: 9/6/11
Drug regulators said an experimental stroke preventer from Bayer and Johnson & Johnson is not ready for approval and raised questions about its effectiveness, sending Bayer shares down more than 7 percent.
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Paramedics filling health care gap as need grows
Posted On: 9/5/11
A select group of paramedics in several states is helping to provide primary health care by making house calls — an initiative encouraged by the federal health care law to address shortages in primary care and cut down on expensive visits to doctors and emergency rooms.
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Fewer baby boys getting circumcised, CDC says
Posted On: 9/2/11
The number of baby boys getting circumcised in hospitals has dropped slightly in the past decade, health experts said on Thursday.
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Decline in altruism could worsen organ shortage
Posted On: 9/2/11
Recent advances have given organ donors easier surgeries and faster recovery times, but the advances have not tackled one primary issue in organ donation: the limited supply of organs. A new paper argues that a trend in society toward less altruism bodes further problems for the availability of organs.
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Narcissists know they're annoying, study suggests
Posted On: 9/1/11
Narcissists are well aware of their me-first tendencies, a new study claims. This finding challenges the belief that people with super-sized egos lack self-insight.
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Roundup kills weeds, but does it harm us?
Posted On: 9/1/11
The world's most widely used herbicide was found in the air and water on some agricultural areas well beyond when it was applied, suggesting the potential for health impacts, two studies concluded.
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Repackaged Avastin leads to eye infections
Posted On: 8/31/11
Repackaged injections of the cancer drug Avastin, also known as bevacizumab, have caused a cluster of serious eye infections in the Miami, Florida area, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday.
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Ouch! Gardener survives after impaling eye socket
Posted On: 8/30/11
An 86-year-old Arizona man is expected to make a full recovery after being impaled through his eye socket with pruning shears.
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Pruning shear impalement: 'The pain was so bad'
Posted On: 8/30/11
An 86-year-old Arizona man who survived falling face-first into his pruning shears reflects on the harrowing ordeal.
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Nurses often exposed to toxic cancer drugs
Posted On: 8/23/11
Nurses treating cancer patients risk being exposed to chemotherapy drugs and their toxic effects, according to a new study.
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Benefits for severely disabled children scrutinized
Posted On: 8/18/11
The SSI program for children is rapidly expanding, with the biggest increase among kids with mental, behavioral and learning disorders, including ADHD, speech delays, autism and bipolar disorder. But the program is sparking criticism in Congress.
» Click here for the full story.
Blacks win fewer health research grants in U.S.
Posted On: 8/18/11
Black researchers are significantly less likely to win grant funding from the National Institutes of Health than white applicants, according to a new study. The director of the U.S. agency says it will take action to address the potential for "insidious bias" in the review process.
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New labels simplify health plan options
Posted On: 8/17/11
Insurers and employers will have to spell out plainly the costs and benefits of the health plans they offer starting next year.
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Training helps doctors talk to dying patients
Posted On: 8/17/11
Doctors are notoriously bad at delivering that tough message: You are going to die.
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Cargill sued over salmonella-tainted turkey
Posted On: 8/16/11
A Cargill Inc unit is being sued by an Oregon family who said their young daughter was hospitalized after eating Salmonella-contaminated turkey, the subject of one of the largest U.S. meat recalls ever.
» Click here for the full story.
Red Cross: Health workers targeted in war zones
Posted On: 8/11/11
Hospitals, health workers and ambulances are increasingly targeted in conflicts worldwide, depriving millions people of treatment, the International Committee of the Red Cross says.
» Click here for the full story.
New drug regulator asks Congress for more power
Posted On: 8/1/11
Drug companies should take more responsibility for the safety of ingredients sourced overseas, and Congress should make them if they do not, according to the new U.S. drug regulator for import safety.
» Click here for the full story.
Lawmakers may relax FDA drug conflict rules
Posted On: 8/1/11
U.S. lawmakers likely will change the criteria for advisers reviewing new medicines next year because of complaints that the rules meant to prevent conflicts of interest make it harder to find real experts.
» Click here for the full story.
Smallest med school in U.S. opens with 8 students
Posted On: 7/31/11
The University of Kansas hopes young doctors will be more willing to practice in small towns if they go to a rural medical school. The school will have the smallest four-year medical education site in the country when eight students begin classes Monday on a satellite campus.
» Click here for the full story.
U.S. advisers call for overhaul of FDA device approval process
Posted On: 7/29/11
An advisory group said the U.S. fast-track approval process for medical devices is fatally flawed and should be replaced, but the Food and Drug Administration said the recommendation was a non-starter.
» Click here for the full story.
Tylenol lowers dose to reduce overdose risk
Posted On: 7/29/11
Johnson & Johnson will lower the maximum daily dose for Extra Strength Tylenol to reduce risk of overdose, McNeil Consumer Healthcare announced on Thursday.
» Click here for the full story.
U.S. advisers: Overhaul FDA device approval process
Posted On: 7/29/11
An advisory group said the U.S. fast-track approval process for medical devices is fatally flawed and should be replaced, but the Food and Drug Administration said the recommendation was a non-starter.
» Click here for the full story.
Talk to hand: Hospital uses palm scans, not insurance cards
Posted On: 7/28/11
A New York City hospital has stopped asking many patients to dig out health insurance cards and fill in endless forms, instead identifying them by scanning the unique lattice of veins in their palm.
» Click here for the full story.
Hospital spending down after Medicare drug coverage
Posted On: 7/27/11
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - After Medicare began covering prescription drugs in 2006, spending on hospital and nursing home stays appears to have dropped for seniors who had limited prior coverage.
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Risky pelvic mesh highlights worried about FDA
Posted On: 7/26/11
A Texas woman implanted with a medical device that left her in pain and scarred in her most intimate areas illustrates growing concerns about a government process that allows products such as surgical mesh to be marketed with no testing on patients.
» Click here for the full story.
Risky pelvic mesh highlights worries about FDA
Posted On: 7/26/11
A Texas woman implanted with a medical device that left her in pain and scarred in her most intimate areas illustrates growing concerns about a government process that allows products such as surgical mesh to be marketed with no testing on patients.
» Click here for the full story.
Drug prices to plummet in wave of expiring patents
Posted On: 7/25/11
The cost of prescription medicines used by millions of people every day is about to plummet.
» Click here for the full story.
Abortions via 'telemedicine' safe, effective
Posted On: 7/20/11
A controversial abortion method that lets a woman terminate a pregnancy via so-called "telemedicine" is just as effective and acceptable to patients as a face-to-face office visit, a new study finds.
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Opinion: Attack on 'telemedicine' threatens abortion rights
Posted On: 7/20/11
Those who believe the million or more abortions each year in the U.S. are immoral seem willing to go to any length to restrict, discourage or hinder them — even, in some cases, if it means risking a woman's health or violating core values of health care, writes bioethicist Art Caplan.
» Click here for the full story.
Opinion: Attack on 'telemedicine' threatens women's rights
Posted On: 7/20/11
Those who believe the million or more abortions each year in the U.S. are immoral seem willing to go to any length to restrict, discourage or hinder them — even, in some cases, if it means risking a woman's health or violating core values of health care, writes bioethicist Art Caplan.
» Click here for the full story.
FDA plans oversight of some mobile medical apps
Posted On: 7/19/11
A fast-growing number of software applications offers doctors the chance to view X-rays or monitor heart rates from iPads or smartphones, prompting U.S. health officials on Tuesday to propose government oversight for some of the more complex health apps.
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And the top hospital is — Johns Hopkins, again
Posted On: 7/19/11
The title of "Best Hospital" in the United States goes to ... The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Again.
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New baby delivery strategies help cut health costs
Posted On: 7/15/11
At Utah-based Intermountain Healthcare, comparative research made physicians realize that inducing early childbirth in healthy women created unnecessary and costly risks for newborns.
» Click here for the full story.
Price breaks kick in for high-risk health insurance
Posted On: 7/8/11
Starting Friday, the Obama administration reduced the premiums by up to 40 percent in special high-risk insurance plans that the federal government is running in 17 states and the District of Columbia.
» Click here for the full story.
Man gets world's first synthetic trachea
Posted On: 7/8/11
Doctors in Sweden have performed the first-ever implant of a synthetic trachea. The organ, implanted in a 36-year-old Icelandic man suffering from tracheal cancer, consisted of an artificial, trachea-shaped scaffold that had been lined with the patient's own stem cells.
» Click here for the full story.
Ouch! Chronic pain's yearly costs are excruciating
Posted On: 6/29/11
Addressing chronic pain, a hard-to-treat yet highly common condition, costs the United States as much as $635 billion a year and requires a much more comprehensive strategy for curbing lost productivity and healthcare expenses, according to a new government report.
» Click here for the full story.
Insurance claim denied? Appeal, appeal, appeal
Posted On: 6/28/11
Nobody wants to get into a fight with a health insurer, but it may be worth your while. The odds are about 50/50 that if you appeal an insurer's decision, you'll win.
» Click here for the full story.
Nurse's suicide highlights twin tragedies of errors
Posted On: 6/27/11
The suicide of a Seattle nurse who accidentally overdosed a baby with 10 times too much medication has spurred new debate about how to treat medical providers who make serious, even fatal, errors.
» Click here for the full story.
Doctors work shifts as long as 28 hours
Posted On: 6/24/11
First-year residents may soon get a reprieve from grueling hospital shifts that last more than 24 hours, but that is not enough to prevent an alarming number of medical errors, according to a report released on Friday.
» Click here for the full story.
States stop circumcisions funds amid budget crisis
Posted On: 6/24/11
A nationwide debate about circumcisions for newborn boys, combined with cash-strapped public health budgets, has Colorado taking sides with 17 other states that no longer fund Medicaid coverage of the once widely accepted procedure.
» Click here for the full story.
Circumcision funds cut amid state budget woes
Posted On: 6/24/11
A nationwide debate about circumcisions for newborn boys, combined with cash-strapped public health budgets, has Colorado taking sides with 17 other states that no longer fund Medicaid coverage of the once widely accepted procedure.
» Click here for the full story.
Opinion: Court wrongly gave generic drugs a pass
Posted On: 6/24/11
Opinion: When the Supreme Court ruled that generic drug makers can't be sued for failing to list warnings, as long as they copied the exact warnings on the name-brand equivalents, it violated the spirit of the law and endangered consumers.
» Click here for the full story.
Supreme Court rejects generic drug labeling suits
Posted On: 6/23/11
The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that generic drug companies cannot be sued under state law over allegations that they failed to provide adequate label warnings about potential side effects.
» Click here for the full story.
Heiress's nurse inherits $30 million — can she?
Posted On: 6/23/11
Opinion: When the wealthy and reclusive copper heiress Huguette M. Clark died recently at the age of 104, she left $30 million to her personal nurse and $100,000 to her doctor. That raises serious ethical challenges, writes bioethicist Art Caplan.
» Click here for the full story.
Generic drugs not liable for warnings, court rules
Posted On: 6/23/11
The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that makers of generic drugs cannot be sued for failing to warn consumers of the possible side effects of their products if they copy the exact warnings on the medicines' brand-name equivalents.
» Click here for the full story.
Millions in middle-class could get Medicaid
Posted On: 6/22/11
President Obama's health care law would let several million middle-class people get nearly free insurance meant for the poor, a twist number crunchers discovered only after the complex bill was signed.
» Click here for the full story.
Man robs bank for $1 to get medical care in jail
Posted On: 6/21/11
A Gaston County man robbed a bank and then sat down on the floor to wait for police to arrest him.
» Click here for the full story.
AMA: Doctors shortchanged by insurers' mistakes
Posted On: 6/20/11
The nation's largest doctors' group says about one in five payments of medical claims by commercial health insurers is inaccurate, shortchanging physicians.
» Click here for the full story.
U.N.: Cancer, diabetes kill millions, cost trillions globally
Posted On: 6/20/11
Nearly two-thirds of deaths in the world are caused by noncommunicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart and lung disease which are rapidly increasing at a cost to the global economy of trillions of dollars, according to U.N. estimates and preliminary results of a new study.
» Click here for the full story.
UN: Cancer, diabetes kill millions, cost trillions globally
Posted On: 6/20/11
Nearly two-thirds of deaths are caused by noncommunicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart and lung disease, according to U.N. estimates and preliminary results of a new study.
» Click here for the full story.
MD's gather at AMA meeting amid reform uncertainty
Posted On: 6/17/11
Dr. Cecil Wilson is an avid sailor, a hobby that has served him well in navigating the nation's largest doctors' group through murky, uncharted waters.
» Click here for the full story.
Kids with government insurance wait longer for some care
Posted On: 6/17/11
BOSTON (Reuters Health) - Sick children covered by Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) must wait twice as long as youngsters with private insurance to get an appointment with a specialist -- if they can get an appointment at all, according to a new study of a few hundred specialty clinics in Illinois.
» Click here for the full story.
MDs gather at AMA meeting amid reform uncertainty
Posted On: 6/17/11
Medicare crises, looming doctor shortages, more patients without health insurance. And that doesn't even count the big changes coming from a revamped health care system.
» Click here for the full story.
Medicaid kids denied medical care, says study
Posted On: 6/15/11
Children on public insurance are being denied treatment by doctors at much higher rates than those with private coverage, according to an undercover study that had researchers pose as parents of sick kids seeking an appointment with a specialist.
» Click here for the full story.
Medicaid to quit paying for hospital mistakes
Posted On: 6/10/11
Starting next month, Medicaid will stop paying for about two dozen "never events" in hospitals, such as operations on the wrong body part and certain surgical-site infections, federal officials said.
» Click here for the full story.
Emergency care, but not at a hospital
Posted On: 6/8/11
Services at these facilities get high marks, but questions remain about whether they’re the best choice for some serious medical problems, such as heart attacks. And some policy experts say the facilities may not be serving the people who need them most.
» Click here for the full story.
Drug firms go online to test and sell medicines
Posted On: 6/8/11
Prompted by the soaring cost of developing and marketing their medicines, drug companies are embracing the Internet in a bid to drive down costs.
» Click here for the full story.
Healthcare reform: What's at stake
Posted On: 6/8/11
A U.S. appeals court in Atlanta will hear a lawsuit on Wednesday challenging the constitutionality of the healthcare reforms signed into law by President Barack Obama a year ago.
» Click here for the full story.
Obama lawyers in court fighting health challenge
Posted On: 6/8/11
Lawyers for President Barack Obama sought on Wednesday seek to stave off the biggest legal challenge yet to health care reform, his signature domestic policy achievement.
» Click here for the full story.
Many employers will drop health benefits, study finds
Posted On: 6/7/11
At least 30 percent of employers are likely to stop offering health insurance once provisions of the health care reform law kick in 2014, according to a study by consultant McKinsey.
» Click here for the full story.
Rates cut for hard-to-insure patients
Posted On: 5/31/11
The government is cutting premiums and making changes that will make it easier for people with pre-existing medical conditions to get health insurance.
» Click here for the full story.
Hospitals scramble as drug shortages rise
Posted On: 5/30/11
A growing shortage of medications for a host of illnesses — from cancer to cystic fibrosis to cardiac arrest — has hospitals scrambling for substitutes to avoid patient harm, and sometimes even delaying treatment.
» Click here for the full story.
Average drug label lists whopping 70 side effects
Posted On: 5/23/11
If you feel overwhelmed by the list of potential side effects on your medication, that's understandable. Drugs, on average, each list a mind-numbing 70 potential drug reactions, researchers say.
» Click here for the full story.
Hospital patients more likely to die on weekends
Posted On: 5/20/11
People admitted to the hospital on the weekend are 10 percent more likely to die than those who checked in during the week, according to a new analysis of nearly 30 million people.
» Click here for the full story.
Vermont requires insurers to cover home births
Posted On: 5/19/11
As a rural state with one of the higher rates of home births, Vermont will soon require private health insurers to cover the services of midwives who attend them, joining a handful of states with similar mandates.
» Click here for the full story.
NYC offers discount card for prescription drugs
Posted On: 5/18/11
New York City began offering a new card on Wednesday that lets people buy prescription drugs at big discounts, a step that could potentially increase drug sales and ease strains on the city's public hospitals.
» Click here for the full story.
Security gaps leave patient records exposed
Posted On: 5/17/11
The nation's push to computerize medical records has failed to fully address longstanding security gaps that expose patients' most sensitive information to hackers and snoops, government investigators warn.
» Click here for the full story.
Rural residents go under knife more than city dwellers
Posted On: 5/16/11
A surprising study of nearly 46 million Medicare patients says older residents in rural areas are more likely to have any of nine common surgeries than people in cities.
» Click here for the full story.
Rogue web pharmacies tied to rise in drug abuse
Posted On: 5/13/11
Access to rogue online pharmacies may be driving a rapid increase in the abuse in the United States of prescription drugs like powerful painkillers Percocet and Oxycontin, a new study shows.
» Click here for the full story.
Obama plan for health care quality dealt a setback
Posted On: 5/11/11
President Barack Obama's main idea for getting quality health care at less cost was in jeopardy Wednesday after key medical providers called his administration's initial blueprint so complex it's unworkable.
» Click here for the full story.
Drug makers seeking global guinea pigs
Posted On: 5/6/11
The clinical trials business has gone global as drug makers seek cheaper venues for studies and cast their net further afield for big pools of "treatment-naive" patients.
» Click here for the full story.
Diabetes, Parkinson's patients ponder group checkups
Posted On: 5/2/11
Group appointments aren't just for psychotherapy anymore. Put diabetes, high blood pressure and maybe even Parkinson's disease on the list.
» Click here for the full story.
Bone marrow transplant forever alters two lives
Posted On: 5/1/11
A decade after then-college student Marshal Davis decided to join the national bone marrow registry, he got a call that would change his life forever and save that of a boy named Jacob Kowalik.
» Click here for the full story.
Hospitals to get cash boost for better care
Posted On: 4/29/11
Hospitals that improve medical care for elderly patients, and reduce deadly errors, will get millions of dollars under an incentive program launched on Friday that aims to cut overall Medicare costs.
» Click here for the full story.
Culture barrier may affect surgeon job satisfaction
Posted On: 4/26/11
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study suggests that surgeons who treat a high proportion of Hispanic patients tend to be less happy with their jobs than their peers -- a difference, researchers say, that may have much to do with language and cultural barriers.
» Click here for the full story.
Pfizer says patient died in oral RA drug study
Posted On: 4/22/11
Pfizer Inc. confirmed that one patient who was taking its drug candidate tofacitinib, a pill designed to treat rheumatoid arthritis, died during a recent clinical trial and said the death was connected to the drug.
» Click here for the full story.
Ivory Coast crisis keeping ill from medical help
Posted On: 4/22/11
Kneeling family members bent in prayer over two little bodies wrapped in sheets on the grass in the hospital grounds. Then two women among them released heart-rending wails.
» Click here for the full story.
Ailing boy treated in US goes home to Canada
Posted On: 4/21/11
A 15-month-old boy deemed to be in a permanent vegetative state who received treatment in the U.S. aimed at extending his life after it was denied to him in his native Canada left the St. Louis hospital that treated him on Thursday, doctors said.
» Click here for the full story.
The worst side effect you've never heard of
Posted On: 4/20/11
It only took two small pills to alter the course of Veronica Zenkner’s life forever. A rare, but devastating drug reaction to ibuprofen left the young woman fighting for her life and sight in a hospital burn unit.
» Click here for the full story.
Millions in donated malaria drugs stolen
Posted On: 4/20/11
A global health fund believes millions of dollars worth of its donated malaria drugs have been stolen in recent years — perhaps even hundreds of millions worth, according to confidential documents obtained by The Associated Press.
» Click here for the full story.
US agrees to global vaccine-sharing deal
Posted On: 4/16/11
Virus samples will be shared globally in exchange for vaccines produced from them under a landmark deal to improve preparedness for a flu pandemic, diplomats at the World Health Organization said on Saturday.
» Click here for the full story.
Florida is 'ground zero' for healthcare fraud
Posted On: 4/13/11
If Peter Budetti gets his way, the criminals who gorge on the U.S. healthcare system, bilking the government out of billions of dollars a year, will soon be on a much leaner diet.
» Click here for the full story.
Feds push to improve hospital safety
Posted On: 4/12/11
Federal health officials are beginning a new push to improve hospital safety — aiming to save 60,000 lives over the next three years and save money at the same time.
» Click here for the full story.
Govt announces plan to reduce health disparities
Posted On: 4/8/11
From cradle to grave, minority populations tend to suffer poorer health and get poorer health care than white Americans. In a first-of-its-kind report, the government is recommending steps to reduce those disparities.
» Click here for the full story.
Chinese ministry, WHO warn of antibiotic overuse
Posted On: 4/7/11
Drug-resistant forms of diseases such as tuberculosis are on the rise in China because of the overuse of antibiotics and urgent action is needed to reverse the problem, the Health Ministry and the World Health Organization warned Thursday.
» Click here for the full story.
About 1 in 3 hurt by hospital errors, study finds
Posted On: 4/7/11
About one in three people in the United States will encounter some kind of mistake during a hospital stay, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.
» Click here for the full story.
Want pain pills? Be ready to sign a contract
Posted On: 4/6/11
To help monitor use of painkillers, some doctors ask patients to sign "pain contracts" or "opioid treatment agreements" that spell out the rules patients must follow to take these drugs safely.
» Click here for the full story.
Link sought between lab bacteria, deadly outbreak
Posted On: 4/4/11
Alabama health officials are trying to determine whether organisms found at a pharmaceutical company precisely match bacteria that caused an infection outbreak at a half-dozen state hospitals.
» Click here for the full story.
Arizona may add $50 tax for smokers, obese
Posted On: 4/1/11
Arizona's cash-strapped Medicaid program is considering adding a $50 tax on single patients who smoke, have diabetes or are overweight. Officials say the fee will push patients to take better care of themselves.
» Click here for the full story.
Many don't take prescriptions because of cost
Posted On: 3/30/11
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A significant portion of people - perhaps as many as one in five - don't take drugs a doctor has prescribed because they can't pay for them, according to a new survey of people visiting an emergency room.
» Click here for the full story.
How healthy is your county? New report tells
Posted On: 3/30/11
Startling differences in the health of residents living just a few miles apart are highlighted in a new health rankings report that assesses wellness in nearly all the nation's 3,000-plus counties.
» Click here for the full story.
For some primary care, try your pharmacist
Posted On: 3/24/11
For many people, their local pharmacist may be as familiar as their doctor — and often a lot easier to get time with.
» Click here for the full story.
Katrina offers lessons in caring for Japan's elderly, ailing
Posted On: 3/18/11
The crisis in Japan calls to mind America’s devastating natural disaster of 2005 — Hurricane Katrina.
» Click here for the full story.
Overdoses in US show gray area around party drugs
Posted On: 3/18/11
After nearly a dozen teenagers overdosed and one died from taking a hallucinogen at a house party, investigators determined the substance was a version of a banned rave-party drug that can be purchased online.
» Click here for the full story.
Despite new recall, FDA needs more time to act on wipes
Posted On: 3/18/11
A federal Food and Drug Administration official says the agency needs more time and analysis to decide what action to take regarding a Wisconsin medical supply firm after a new recall tied to different dangerous bacteria.
» Click here for the full story.
Plight of ailing quake victims renews Katrina questions
Posted On: 3/18/11
Commentary: The crisis in Japan calls to mind America’s devastating natural disaster of 2005 — Hurricane Katrina.
» Click here for the full story.
FDA delays action on recalled wipes
Posted On: 3/18/11
A federal Food and Drug Administration official says the agency needs more time and analysis to decide what action to take regarding a Wisconsin medical supply firm after a new recall tied to different dangerous bacteria.
» Click here for the full story.
Panicked Chinese mistakenly hoarding iodized salt
Posted On: 3/17/11
China's economic agency told shoppers Thursday to stop panic buying salt, blaming baseless rumors that the iodine in it can stop radiation sickness.
» Click here for the full story.
Popping potassium iodide already? Really bad idea
Posted On: 3/17/11
As demand spikes for potassium iodide in the wake of Japan’s nuclear crisis, U.S. poison control centers are starting to receive reports of illness in people who’ve ingested the drug aimed at protecting against radiation sickness.
» Click here for the full story.
Crisis prompts U.S. scramble for emergency kits
Posted On: 3/17/11
The twin catastrophes in Japan have prompted many in United States to look at their own homes, wonder if they are prepared for a disaster — and realize they're definitely not. In fact, many aren't even sure how to start putting an emergency kit together.
» Click here for the full story.
Japan radiation fears may mask cholera threat
Posted On: 3/16/11
Panic over radiation leaks at Japan's earthquake-damaged nuclear plant may be diverting attention from potentially worse threats to public health from a tsunami, like the cold and disrupted supplies of water.
» Click here for the full story.
Blue Shield Calif. withdraws planned rate hikes
Posted On: 3/16/11
Blue Shield of California, a nonprofit health insurer, has withdrawn plans to raise rates for its individual and family policies this year, citing a commitment to make reform work and keep costs down.
» Click here for the full story.
Doctor saves his wife's life ... twice
Posted On: 3/10/11
Treating a badly injured cyclist, Dr. Timothy Delgado looked at her face. "That's my wife," he announced in shock. Then five weeks later, she suffered a potentially life-threatening seizure. Alone at home, her husband needed to get a breathing tube into her throat -- without painkillers.
» Click here for the full story.
12 million in U.S. are cancer survivors, CDC says
Posted On: 3/10/11
The number of cancer survivors in the United States is increasing by hundreds of thousands a year, and now includes roughly one in 20 adults.
» Click here for the full story.
FDA cracks down on J&J sites linked to recalls
Posted On: 3/10/11
Federal officials said Thursday that the consumer health unit of Johnson & Johnson will be barred from resuming operations at a Pennsylvania manufacturing plant linked to millions of bottles of defective medicines until it meets quality standards.
» Click here for the full story.
State budget cuts decimate mental health services
Posted On: 3/9/11
Budget writers in U.S. states looking for cash to balance the books have stripped a cumulative $1.8 billion from mental health services over the last 2½ years, putting the public at risk as the mentally ill crowd emergency rooms and prisons, according to the nation's largest mental health advocacy group.
» Click here for the full story.
Federal family planning funding in jeopardy
Posted On: 3/9/11
As Senate Democrats square off with House GOP leaders over the current federal budget bill, family planning funding remains an important point of contention.
» Click here for the full story.
U.S. launches study of BP oil spill's health impact
Posted On: 3/1/11
The U.S. National Institutes of Health has launched a massive, long-range health study of people who helped clean up last year's BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
» Click here for the full story.
Agencies look at new kidney transplant rules
Posted On: 3/1/11
The rules that determine who goes to the top of the list for a kidney transplant could change dramatically under a scenario being considered by federal health agencies. Msnbc.com's Alex Johnson reports.
» Click here for the full story.
Health improving in doctor-patient relationships
Posted On: 2/27/11
In the past, patients who visited multiple doctors were seen as whiners who "doctor shopped" until they got the diagnosis they wanted or the prescriptions they set out to get.
» Click here for the full story.
FDA defends actions on tainted wipes
Posted On: 2/25/11
Problems with contamination and sterilization at a Wisconsin plant that made millions of recalled alcohol wipes did not rise to the level of a public health hazard — until a hospital detected potentially life-threatening bacteria.
» Click here for the full story.
Need surgery? Your city may decide your choices
Posted On: 2/24/11
When it comes to elective surgery in the United States, where patients live and which doctors they see play a big role how they are treated, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.
» Click here for the full story.
More outpatient surgery centers, more surgeries
Posted On: 2/23/11
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - As the number of outpatient surgery centers has increased, so has the number of potentially unnecessary surgeries, a new study finds.
» Click here for the full story.
House panel wants FDA documents in heparin probe
Posted On: 2/23/11
U.S. health regulators have failed to identify those responsible for the widespread contamination of the blood thinner heparin, three years after the drug made by Baxter International Inc was recalled, a House of Representatives panel said on Wednesday.
» Click here for the full story.
FDA cites Sanofi over drug side effect reporting
Posted On: 2/22/11
The Food and Drug Administration warned Sanofi-Aventis SA's U.S. unit for failing to tell the agency about reports of possible serious side effects in a timely manner.
» Click here for the full story.
Court rules against parents in drug vaccine case
Posted On: 2/22/11
The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a federal law bars lawsuits against drug makers over serious side effects from childhood vaccines.
» Click here for the full story.
More companies covering transgender surgery
Posted On: 2/21/11
When Gina Duncan decided to undergo the medical treatment that would make her a woman, she had plenty to fear.
» Click here for the full story.
Higher health-care costs curb use, says report
Posted On: 2/16/11
Health insurance plan changes that shift more costs to consumers are playing a larger role in curbing healthcare use, according to a report from Moody's Investors Service.
» Click here for the full story.
More Americans skipping, delaying health care
Posted On: 2/16/11
The number of Americans aged 18 to 64 who said they skipped or delayed needed medical care in the past 12 months because of cost rose to 15 percent in 2009, government researchers reported Wednesday.
» Click here for the full story.
Doctors order tests to fend off lawsuits, says study
Posted On: 2/16/11
CT scans, MRIs and other pricey imaging tests are often more for the doctor's benefit than the patient's, new research confirms.
» Click here for the full story.
Doctors hopeful as Giffords' brain starts rewiring
Posted On: 2/14/11
Gabrielle Giffords' recovery will be a tough journey, as it is for anyone with a significant brain injury. Doctors are encouraging her brain to rewire its circuits and are hoping for remarkable results.
» Click here for the full story.
Ariz. may require hospitals to check citizenship
Posted On: 2/14/11
Arizona lawmakers are trying to widen the state's illegal immigration crackdown with a proposal to require hospitals to confirm whether patients are in the country legally.
» Click here for the full story.
Seniors save as Medicare 'doughnut hole' closes
Posted On: 2/11/11
The widely unpopular "doughnut hole" — the coverage gap in the Medicare drug benefit — is headed for oblivion, under the new health law. Beginning this year, seniors who hit the doughnut hole will get substantial discounts on both brand-name and generic drugs.
» Click here for the full story.
Man dies feet from ER after hospital says to call 911
Posted On: 2/11/11
The death of a Cuban immigrant just feet from an emergency room has left his family in grief, upset police and drawn a request for an investigation from a congressman, all asking why an officer was told to call the emergency services number for a heart attack victim just outside the hospital door.
» Click here for the full story.
Daily diet soda tied to higher heart attack risk
Posted On: 2/9/11
People who drank diet soda every day had a 61 percent higher risk of vascular events, including stroke and heart attack, found a new study that followed 2,500 New Yorkers for nine years.
» Click here for the full story.
Giffords speaks, asking for toast with breakfast
Posted On: 2/9/11
Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has recovered enough from a bullet to the brain to ask for toast with breakfast.
» Click here for the full story.
Doctor: Goal for Giffords to see husband's launch
Posted On: 2/8/11
The doctor for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords hopes the wounded congresswoman can make enough progress to attend her husband's space launch in two months.
» Click here for the full story.
Health care fraud no longer a faceless crime
Posted On: 2/5/11
Health care fraud used to be a faceless crime — until now.
» Click here for the full story.
Health care fraud: Not a faceless crime any longer
Posted On: 2/5/11
Health care fraud once was a faceless crime. Now it has a mug shot, even a smile.
» Click here for the full story.
Tricks to tame dental bills
Posted On: 2/1/11
Nearly half of Americans lack dental insurance, and every visit carries the threat of a bill for thousands of dollars.
» Click here for the full story.
Hospital spending may pay off for some conditions
Posted On: 1/31/11
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) -- Hospitals that spend more money treating patients with acute illnesses may be better at keeping those patients alive, suggests a new study.
» Click here for the full story.
UK health agency warns over antibiotic resistance
Posted On: 1/29/11
British health authorities issued new guidelines on Saturday to try to halt the spread of "superbug" infections that are resistant to even the most powerful antibiotics, known as carbapenems.
» Click here for the full story.
Health law could affect fertility treatment coverage
Posted On: 1/26/11
Is health insurance coverage of infertility treatments an essential benefit to help people manage a medical disorder? Or is it a life-enhancing benefit, nice to have perhaps but not essential because it doesn't sustain a person's life?
» Click here for the full story.
Doctor incentives don't improve care, says study
Posted On: 1/26/11
Paying doctors financial rewards to meet targets for improving the care of patients made no discernible difference to the health or treatment of people with high blood pressure, a study has found.
» Click here for the full story.
Medicare official doubts health care law savings
Posted On: 1/26/11
Two of the central promises of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law are unlikely to be fulfilled, Medicare's independent economic expert told Congress on Wednesday.
» Click here for the full story.
Montel Williams pushes medical marijuana bill
Posted On: 1/25/11
Former talk show host Montel Williams is urging Maryland lawmakers to legalize medical marijuana, saying it has a role helping those with painful ailments such as his own.
» Click here for the full story.
Dial it down: Pesky CDC callers incite fury
Posted On: 1/25/11
Hundreds of people have posted online pleas begging the Centers for Disease Control to remove their phone numbers from lists used to conduct government telephone health surveys.
» Click here for the full story.
Going digital may not improve U.S. patient care
Posted On: 1/24/11
Electronic health records -- touted by the White House as a key way to improve healthcare in the United States -- may actually do little to improve quality, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
» Click here for the full story.
Ariz. first state to seek Medicaid waiver
Posted On: 1/21/11
Ariz. Gov. Jan Brewer signs a bill Friday so the cash-short state can seek a federal waiver to remove nearly 300,000 people from Medicaid rolls, the first such request by a state.
» Click here for the full story.
GOP-led House to vote on health care law
Posted On: 1/19/11
The new Republican-led House is poised to deliver an emphatic thumbs-down to President Barack Obama's landmark health care overhaul, with no ready substitute of its own.
» Click here for the full story.
Hospitals try to curb ER crowding
Posted On: 1/19/11
A growing number of emergency departments are trying new approaches to ease crowding. The efforts have added urgency as some experts predict the problem could worsen in coming years.
» Click here for the full story.
Hospitals try to curb emergency room crowding
Posted On: 1/19/11
A growing number of emergency departments are trying new approaches to ease crowding. The efforts have added urgency as some experts predict the problem could worsen in coming years.
» Click here for the full story.
Poor, minorities may lack access to trauma care
Posted On: 1/19/11
Many of the people most likely to need trauma care — including the poor and minorities — might find themselves furthest from hospitals that can provide it, suggests new research.
» Click here for the full story.
House nears vote to repeal health care law
Posted On: 1/19/11
The new Republican-led House is poised to deliver an emphatic thumbs-down to President Barack Obama's landmark health care overhaul, with no ready substitute of its own.
» Click here for the full story.
GOP-led House votes to repeal health care law
Posted On: 1/19/11
The Republican-controlled House voted to repeal the nation's year-old health care law, clearing the way for the second phase of the "repeal and replace" promise that victorious Republicans made to the voters last fall.
» Click here for the full story.
MDs fear healthcare reform: Thomson Reuters survey
Posted On: 1/18/11
Nearly two-thirds of U.S. doctors surveyed fear healthcare reform could worsen care for patients, by flooding their offices and hurting income, according to a Thomson Reuters survey released on Tuesday.
Health care reform - Association of American Medical Colleges - United States - Politics - Interest Groups
» Click here for the full story.
New hope for hep C, an often hidden disease
Posted On: 1/17/11
There's new hope for an overlooked epidemic: Two powerful drugs are nearing the market that promise to help cure many more people of liver-attacking hepatitis C — even though most who have the simmering infection don't know it yet.
» Click here for the full story.
Rare HIV transmission changed transplant practice
Posted On: 1/17/11
The rare transmission of HIV through transplanted organs to four Chicago-area patients made headlines in 2007.
» Click here for the full story.
Study: Errors lead surgeons to contemplate suicide
Posted On: 1/17/11
A study suggests medical errors, job burnout and depression lead surgeons to contemplate suicide at higher rates than the general public, and they're much less likely to seek help.
» Click here for the full story.
Poll shows raw feelings easing over health law
Posted On: 1/16/11
As lawmakers shaken by the shooting of a colleague return to the health care debate in Congress, an Associated Press-GfK poll finds raw feelings over President Barack Obama's overhaul have subsided.
» Click here for the full story.
Americans to avoid doctor again in coming months
Posted On: 1/14/11
Americans stepped up their use of medical services at the end of 2010, but are likely to hold back on healthcare spending again in the coming months.
» Click here for the full story.
Can't get health coverage? Some states have options
Posted On: 1/14/11
Are there other health insurance options besides high-risk pools for people who can't get coverage in the individual market because of a preexisting conditions? It depends on where you live.
» Click here for the full story.
Seniors may have to pay for Medicare home health
Posted On: 1/13/11
Medicare recipients could see a new out-of-pocket charge for home health visits if Congress follows through on a recommendation issued Thursday by its own advisory panel.
» Click here for the full story.
Number of young people in nursing homes rising
Posted On: 1/7/11
Adam Martin doesn't fit in here. No one else in this nursing home wears Air Jordans. No one else has stacks of music videos by 2Pac and Jay-Z. No one else is just 26.
» Click here for the full story.
Administration reverses on end-of-life counseling
Posted On: 1/5/11
Reversing a potentially controversial decision, the Obama administration will drop references to end-of-life counseling from the ground rules for Medicare's new annual checkup, the White House said Wednesday.
» Click here for the full story.
Recession slowed health care spending
Posted On: 1/5/11
It sounds like good news: The recession slowed the growth of the nation's health care bill to the lowest levels ever measured.
» Click here for the full story.
Online health info popular but often unchecked
Posted On: 1/4/11
LONDON (Reuters Life!) - The number of people looking for health information online is set to soar as workers return from holiday breaks, but few will check where the information comes from, according to an international survey on Tuesday.
» Click here for the full story.
FDA cites reports of fire with Invacare beds
Posted On: 1/4/11
Federal health regulators have issued a warning to Invacare Corp. for failing to report and address malfunctions with its electric beds, including electronics that allegedly caught on fire causing injury and death.
» Click here for the full story.
7 ways the new health law will hit home this year
Posted On: 1/3/11
Opponents of the new health care overhaul law are threatening to repeal, defund and kill it in court, but that isn’t stopping Washington from implementing a number of important provisions in 2011. While many people will welcome the new benefits, some will face higher costs as a result of the law.
» Click here for the full story.
Liver recipient, 13, on mission of thanks
Posted On: 12/30/10
Mikey Carraway's liver had failed — doctors had two weeks to find an organ donor. Two days later, they had one — Johnny Hernandez, 18, who was mortally injured in crash. Now the two families have forged a bond.
» Click here for the full story.
What you pay into Medicare won't cover costs
Posted On: 12/30/10
People only put a third of the amount into the Medicare system that they'll get back in benefits, finds a newly updated financial analysis that raises concerns about the growing gap.
» Click here for the full story.
Donor in first successful U.S. transplant dies
Posted On: 12/29/10
A man who donated a kidney to his dying twin brother 56 years ago in what's recognized as the world's first successful organ transplant has died.
» Click here for the full story.
Poll: Baby boomers fear outliving Medicare
Posted On: 12/29/10
The first baby boomers will be old enough to qualify for Medicare Jan. 1, and many fear the program's obituary will be written before their own.
» Click here for the full story.
Opinion: 'Death panels' alive — and healthy
Posted On: 12/29/10
When talk of end-of-life planning stirred a political storm over “death panels,” Democrats dropped it from the health care reform bill. Now, the plan is back in the form of Medicare regulation. Here's why you shouldn't be scared.
» Click here for the full story.
New SC law: Seriously ill can keep current doctors
Posted On: 12/29/10
South Carolinians with serious medical conditions get a new benefit Saturday with a health insurance law that bars insurers from charging them more for at least 90 days when they drop doctors from their provider networks.
» Click here for the full story.
Video: Dedicated doc still charges $5 for checkups
Posted On: 12/27/10
NBC’s Bob Dotson catches up with the small-town doctor of Rushville, Ill., who has never taken a day off and keeps his fees as they were in 1955. (TODAY show)
» Click here for the full story.
Boston hospital made 3 spine operation errors
Posted On: 12/24/10
A major Boston teaching hospital has been cited by federal and state health inspectors after doctors operated on the wrong location on three spine surgery patients.
» Click here for the full story.
2 states probe use of models to lure marrow donors
Posted On: 12/22/10
Justin Judkins was approached at a shopping mall by a pretty young model, "all dolled up," wearing high heels, a white lab coat and electric blue wig.
» Click here for the full story.
Congressman pushes FDA on chemical safety review
Posted On: 12/22/10
A Democratic Congressman is pressing federal regulators to complete their long-delayed safety review of an antibacterial chemical found in thousands of hand sanitizers, soaps and other products.
» Click here for the full story.
Ohio county fights extreme pill addiction abuse
Posted On: 12/22/10
Nearly one in 10 babies were born addicted to drugs last year in southern Ohio's Scioto County. Admissions for prescription painkiller overdoses were five times the national average.
» Click here for the full story.
US probes use of models to lure marrow donors
Posted On: 12/21/10
Justin Judkins was approached at a shopping mall by a pretty young model, "all dolled up," wearing high heels, a white lab coat and electric blue wig.
» Click here for the full story.
Most adults don't get the vaccines they need
Posted On: 12/21/10
Doctors may remind their patients to get flu shots, if they discuss immunizations at all, but that's where conversation usually ends. The rates of adult immunization are far below what they should be, new data shows.
» Click here for the full story.
US woman sues to overturn assisted suicide law
Posted On: 12/19/10
Living with a fatal degenerative disease, Susan Caldwell relied heavily on the support of a Georgia-based right-to-die group. She had tried to kill herself in 2008 by strapping on a helium-filled hood, and just knowing the group — the Final Exit Network — was there for her gave her peace of mind.
» Click here for the full story.
New gene variation predicts response to Plavix
Posted On: 12/19/10
German scientists have found a new genetic basis for why some patients respond better to the anti-clotting medicine Plavix, which could be used to test people before they get the world's second-biggest drug.
» Click here for the full story.
Speak plain English, health insurers told
Posted On: 12/16/10
Under a little-known provision of the health overhaul law, insurers will be required to provide their benefits information on a standardized chart using the same plain English terms as other companies to help shoppers understand and compare complicated policies.
» Click here for the full story.
Justice Dept. set to appeal healthcare ruling
Posted On: 12/14/10
The Justice Department said Tuesday it intends to appeal to a U.S. appeals court a ruling by a judge in Virginia declaring a key part of President Barack Obama's landmark healthcare law unconstitutional.
» Click here for the full story.
Justice Dept. to appeal VA court ruling
Posted On: 12/14/10
Long legal fight ahead for health law
Posted On: 12/14/10
President Barack Obama's historic health care overhaul was thrown into uncertainty Monday by a federal judge's decision to declare its central provision unconstitutional.
» Click here for the full story.
Fake doctor duped hospitals, universities
Posted On: 12/12/10
He seemed like Superman, able to guide planes through perilous skies and tiny tubes through arteries. As a cardiologist and United Airlines captain, William Hamman taught both doctors and pilots - until his M.D. degree turned out to be bogus.
» Click here for the full story.
Failure of 9/11 health bill may hurt clinics
Posted On: 12/12/10
The network of health centers providing free medical tests and treatment to 58,000 people exposed to World Trade Center dust faces a less certain future if Congress doesn't pass legislation aimed at helping victims of 9/11's toxic legacy.
» Click here for the full story.
Court to decide lawsuit over generic drug labels
Posted On: 12/10/10
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether generic drug makers can be sued for not warning about potentially dangerous side effects on their drug labels even when they follow federal rules that only require their labels to match those of their brand-name equivalents.
» Click here for the full story.
1.5 million to learn insurance is below standard
Posted On: 12/9/10
New rules require employers or insurers to send letters to at least 1.5 million people notifying them that their health plans fall short of meeting a key standard in the new health overhaul law — and by how much.
» Click here for the full story.
National kidney-swap program marks 1st success
Posted On: 12/9/10
A national pilot program that helps arrange so-called kidney exchanges has seen its first success with transplants performed in New Hampshire and St. Louis.
» Click here for the full story.
Congress votes to avert Medicare doctor pay cut
Posted On: 12/9/10
Legislation to avert a 25 percent pay cut for doctors treating patients covered by the federal Medicare health insurance program for the elderly won final congressional approval on Thursday.
» Click here for the full story.
Remote monitoring may help elderly stay home
Posted On: 12/7/10
Many people believe devices that allow doctors to monitor patients' vital signs in their homes offer a potential way to save health costs and allow older people to stay out of nursing homes.
» Click here for the full story.
Senate: Stent maker gave doctor crab feast
Posted On: 12/6/10
A U.S. Senate investigation has found a stent maker hosted a crab feast and barbecue at the home of a Maryland doctor accused of implanting the devices unnecessarily in hundreds of patients.
» Click here for the full story.
Medicare paid millions for unneeded stents
Posted On: 12/6/10
A Senate investigation found that Medicare spent millions of dollars for stents implanted by a Maryland doctor accused of putting them in patients who didn't need them, according to a report released Monday.
» Click here for the full story.
Daily aspirin may reduce cancer risk, study shows
Posted On: 12/6/10
A new report from British scientists suggests that long-term, daily aspirin use may modestly lower the risk of dying of certain cancers, though experts warn a daily dose can carry risks.
» Click here for the full story.
Hospital quality measures may miss the sickest
Posted On: 12/3/10
Public measures of hospital quality may not reflect care for the sickest patients -- or even the majority of patients in some instances -- suggests a new study of heart attack cases.
» Click here for the full story.
Patients pay based on value with new insurance
Posted On: 12/2/10
A new health care model completely covers many medications - but patients have to pay more out of pocket if they want certain procedures that their employers determine are "overused," like an MRI.
» Click here for the full story.
Health care providers urge less radiation
Posted On: 12/2/10
A safety campaign to stop the overuse of medical radiation on patients may lead to more review of protocols, more accreditation of imaging facilities and more widely shared standards on proper radiation doses, according to an expert panel at a radiology meeting Thursday.
» Click here for the full story.
Project extends organ recovery to home deaths
Posted On: 12/1/10
Families choosing whether to donate a loved one's organs usually have days to grapple with their decision. But they would have only about 20 minutes to make the choice in a new pilot program meant to recover organs from patients who die at home.
» Click here for the full story.
Improving Americans' health takes a community
Posted On: 12/1/10
The U.S. government's new 10-year blueprint to improve Americans' health aims to help whole communities get in better shape, not just those with sedentary life styles.
» Click here for the full story.
Cuts to doctor Medicare payments delayed
Posted On: 11/29/10
Congress agreed Monday to a one-month delay in Medicare payment cuts to doctors, giving a short-term reprieve to a looming crisis over treatment of the nation's elderly.
» Click here for the full story.
Congress votes to delay pay cut to doctors
Posted On: 11/29/10
Legislation to postpone for one month a hefty cut in payments to doctors who participate in the U.S. Medicare health insurance program for the elderly and disabled won final U.S. congressional passage on Monday.
Health care reform - Association of American Medical Colleges - United States - Politics - Interest Groups
» Click here for the full story.
Senate blocks repeal of health care provision
Posted On: 11/29/10
The Senate has rejected efforts to repeal a tax provision that helps pay for President Barack Obama's new health care law.
» Click here for the full story.
'Presumed consent' may reduce living kidney donors
Posted On: 11/28/10
Policies that presume people will donate their organs upon their death unless they specify otherwise — also known as presumed consent — may have the unwanted side effect of lowering the number of kidneys from living donors, a new study suggests.
» Click here for the full story.
Insurance for retirees may not cover adult kids to 26
Posted On: 11/24/10
A provision in the new health law allows adult children to stay on their parents insurance until they turn 26 - but not necessarily if the plan is made up of retirees. Find out what the options are.
» Click here for the full story.
Fake doctor saw ER patients for weeks
Posted On: 11/24/10
A North Carolina man faced criminal charges after police say he posed as a health professional and got involved with patients at a hospital emergency room.
» Click here for the full story.
La. health dept. plans for federal health overhaul
Posted On: 11/23/10
Even as Louisiana fights the federal health care overhaul law in court, state officials are quietly putting in place the building blocks to enact its provisions, if they are upheld.
» Click here for the full story.
Millions may be eligible for health care rebates
Posted On: 11/22/10
Millions of Americans could qualify for rebates starting in 2012 under regulations released Monday detailing the health care law’s requirement that insurers spend at least 80 percent of their revenue on direct medical care.
» Click here for the full story.
Stem cell trial offers hope for vision patients
Posted On: 11/22/10
Christopher Goodrich hopes to be one of the first patients enrolled in clinical trial that just got a go-ahead from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, only the second trial approved anywhere in the world to test human embryonic stem cells in people.
» Click here for the full story.
Nurse's diagnoses can be as accurate as doctor's
Posted On: 11/18/10
Specially trained nurses, known as nurse practitioners, may help speed the diagnosis and management of patients with back pain who would normally wait months to see a surgeon, according to a new study.
» Click here for the full story.
BC-US--Medicare Cuts, US
Posted On: 11/18/10
Lawmakers have struck a deal to postpone until early next year a massive cut in Medicare pay for doctors.
» Click here for the full story.
Deal made to postpone doctors' Medicare cuts
Posted On: 11/18/10
Lawmakers have struck a deal to postpone until early next year a massive cut in Medicare pay for doctors.
» Click here for the full story.
Senate votes to delay doctors' Medicare cuts
Posted On: 11/18/10
The Senate late Thursday voted to postpone a massive cut in Medicare pay for doctors, agreeing to pay doctors at current levels through Dec. 31.
» Click here for the full story.
HPV shot can prevent anal cancer, panel says
Posted On: 11/17/10
The Gardasil vaccine appears effective for preventing anal cancer, members of a U.S. advisory panel said. The FDA will decide whether to approve the shot for males and females ages 9 through 26 for preventing the cancer.
» Click here for the full story.
No pregnancy coverage in most individual policies
Posted On: 11/16/10
Individual health insurance policies generally don't cover maternity care, a recent investigation found, leaving many couples unexpectedly forced to pay thousands of dollars out of their own pockets.
» Click here for the full story.
Use waivers to opt out? Yes, but there's a catch
Posted On: 11/16/10
In the recent election, Republicans scored massive gains in governor races and state legislative races. Can Republican governors and legislatures use waivers to opt out of certain the new federal health care law?
» Click here for the full story.
1 in 3 cancer terminal patients die in hospitals
Posted On: 11/16/10
One third of U.S. patients dying of cancer end up getting costly but futile treatment in hospitals, when hospice care to ease their suffering would be more appropriate, researchers reported.
» Click here for the full story.
1 in 7 Medicare patients harmed at hospitals
Posted On: 11/16/10
Medicare's new chief called for more steps to improve patient safety Tuesday, in the wake of a government report that said one in seven hospitalized Medicare patients is harmed during their stay.
» Click here for the full story.
1 in 3 terminal cancer patients die in hospitals
Posted On: 11/16/10
One third of U.S. patients dying of cancer end up getting costly but futile treatment in hospitals, when hospice care to ease their suffering would be more appropriate, researchers reported.
» Click here for the full story.
Does House repeal vote leave benefits intact?
Posted On: 11/16/10
Next week, the House, with a Republican majority of 242, will vote to repeal the health care law signed by President Obama last year. But does that matter to you and me?
» Click here for the full story.
Transplant recipient struggles amid brother's loss
Posted On: 11/15/10
Chad Arnold balances between grief and hope as he lives with his brother's liver.
» Click here for the full story.
Transplant recipient struggles amid brother's death
Posted On: 11/15/10
Chad Arnold balances between grief and hope as he lives with his brother's liver.
» Click here for the full story.
Weighing risk, benefit of live-donor transplant
Posted On: 11/15/10
Live-donor liver transplantation is a lifesaving option for many suffering from end-stage liver disease but also a controversial procedure that raises questions about when it's appropriate to put a healthy person at risk to save another.
» Click here for the full story.
Sleeping pills, anxiety meds may shorten lives
Posted On: 11/15/10
Taking medications to treat insomnia or anxiety may shorten some people's lives, according to the results of a 12-year study in Canada.
» Click here for the full story.
More devices left behind during girls' gynecology surgery
Posted On: 11/15/10
Girls under 18 undergoing gynecological surgeries have four times the rate of instruments left behind than other kids who had surgeries, according to a new study.
» Click here for the full story.
Brother's transplant gift carries unbearable cost
Posted On: 11/14/10
When Chad Arnold needed a liver transplant, his younger brother Ryan offered part of his liver. Ryan Arnold died following the surgery, leaving Chad with the struggle of living his life without the person who saved him.
» Click here for the full story.
Doctors brace for possible big Medicare pay cuts
Posted On: 11/12/10
Breast cancer surgeon Kathryn Wagner has posted a warning in her waiting room about a different sort of risk to patients' health: She'll stop taking new Medicare cases if Congress allows looming cuts in doctors' pay to go through.
» Click here for the full story.
Checklists cut surgery deaths in half
Posted On: 11/11/10
Using an exhaustive hospital checklist prevents errors and cuts the risk of death nearly in half for patients who come in for surgery, researchers reported on Wednesday.
» Click here for the full story.
Time for drug price rethink for chronic diseases
Posted On: 11/10/10
The world's top drugmakers have slashed prices for medicines to fight AIDS and malaria. Now the debate is moving to the next level as pressure builds for them to do more against chronic diseases in poor countries.
» Click here for the full story.
Wrong-hand surgery leads doc to public mea culpa
Posted On: 11/10/10
Dr. David C. Ring, a Boston surgeon, described in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine how a series of personal and systemic mistakes led him to operate on the wrong hand of a 65-year-old woman.
» Click here for the full story.
Top drug recalls a bitter pill for consumers
Posted On: 11/10/10
With bugs in baby formula, glass flakes in intravenous drugs and foul odors emanating from Lipitor and children's Tylenol, a steady stream of high profile product recalls is undermining confidence in top drugmakers.
» Click here for the full story.
Surgery error leads doc to public mea culpa
Posted On: 11/10/10
Dr. David C. Ring, a Boston surgeon, described in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine how a series of personal and systemic mistakes led him to conducting the wrong surgical proceedure on the hand of a 65-year-old woman.
» Click here for the full story.
Health official: 'Obamacare' was once 'Romneycare'
Posted On: 11/10/10
Websites where consumers will be able to shop for health insurance are a lynchpin of the nation's new health care law and have a history of conservative support, a top federal official said Wednesday.
» Click here for the full story.
Nearly 59 million lack health insurance
Posted On: 11/9/10
Nearly 59 million Americans went without health insurance coverage for at least part of 2010, many of them with conditions or diseases that needed treatment, federal health officials said on Tuesday.
» Click here for the full story.
AMA chief says Medicare cuts will be catastrophic
Posted On: 11/8/10
The president of the nation's largest doctors' group says upcoming cuts in Medicare physician payments will be catastrophic for seniors.
» Click here for the full story.
Doctors to Congress: Halt Medicare pay cuts
Posted On: 11/8/10
The AMA wants Congress to stop Medicare pay cuts and has launched an ad campaign to show that if the government doesn't act, many doctors will be forced to see fewer elderly and disabled patients.
» Click here for the full story.
Now is the time to switch Medicare Part D plans
Posted On: 11/4/10
By investing time to evaluate options on the Medicare website, seniors can make sure they are are signed up for the plan that's best for them.
» Click here for the full story.
Retinal implant helps blind people see shapes
Posted On: 11/4/10
Scientists have developed an eye implant that allowed three blind patients to see shapes and objects within days of treatment in a trial and say the device could become routine for some kinds of blindness in five years.
» Click here for the full story.
Americans sicker but English die quicker, says study
Posted On: 11/4/10
* U.S. health system costs far more but may be better
» Click here for the full story.
GOP governors gain clout to fight health law
Posted On: 11/3/10
The Democrats’ ambitious health care overhaul is facing roadblocks from newly elected state officials who harshly criticized it while campaigning and who are now in a position to make good on their promises.
» Click here for the full story.
Retinal implant allows blind people see shapes
Posted On: 11/3/10
Scientists have developed an eye implant that allowed three blind patients to see shapes and objects within days of treatment in a trial and say the device could become routine for some kinds of blindness in five years.
» Click here for the full story.
Health insurance mandate on ballot in 3 states
Posted On: 11/2/10
Ballots in Arizona, Colorado and Oklahoma include proposed amendments to the states' constitutions that would prohibit the enforcement of the individual mandate and other provisions of the law. They echo a measure that Missouri voters approved by more than 70 percent in August. Legislatures in several other states, including Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana and Virginia, have also passed state laws with similar language.
» Click here for the full story.
LA clinic owner, docs charged in Medicare scam
Posted On: 10/29/10
Two doctors and a clinic owner have been charged in Los Angeles in a multi-million-dollar scheme to recruit mentally ill homeless patients for unnecessary treatments.
» Click here for the full story.
Surgeons convicted for running 'clinic of horror'
Posted On: 10/29/10
Three Italian doctors have been convicted of performing unnecessary surgeries, including amputations, on 83 patients, with the aim of getting large reimbursements from the health system.
» Click here for the full story.
Drug maker to pay $750 million for defective meds
Posted On: 10/26/10
GlaxoSmithKline, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical makers, has agreed to pay $750 million to settle a Justice Department lawsuit accusing the company of selling adulterated and improperly made drugs, federal officials say.
» Click here for the full story.
Drug maker to pay $750 million for tainted medicine
Posted On: 10/26/10
GlaxoSmithKline, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical makers, has agreed to pay $750 million to resolve Justice Department allegations that the company sold adulterated and improperly made drugs.
» Click here for the full story.
Man brain injured after nurse turns off ventilator
Posted On: 10/25/10
A quadriplegic English man has been left brain damaged after a nurse accidentally switched off his ventilator — an act caught on a camera the patient had reportedly installed because he was concerned about the quality of his care.
» Click here for the full story.
Could overhaul undermine employer health coverage?
Posted On: 10/24/10
The new health care law wasn't supposed to undercut employer plans that have provided most people in the U.S. with coverage for generations. But some employers are weighing the options.
» Click here for the full story.
Some Africans, poor no more, hit by new diseases
Posted On: 10/24/10
A growing urban middle class is defying the image of Africa as poor, underfed and under-medicated. And with the comforts of middle class life, afflictions familiar in the West are making inroads here too — obesity, diabetes, lung cancer, strokes, heart disease.
» Click here for the full story.
Surgery checklist saves lives, VA hospitals report
Posted On: 10/19/10
Answering basic questions from surgery checklists — and involving everyone as a team, even patients — saved lives in Veterans Affairs hospitals, according to one of the most rigorous studies of patient safety in the operating room.
» Click here for the full story.
FDA warns 8 companies marketing miracle cures
Posted On: 10/14/10
The Food and Drug Administration warned eight companies on Thursday to stop marketing miracle cures that claim to treat everything from autism to Parkinson's disease by flushing toxic metals from the body.
» Click here for the full story.
FDA admits mistake in approving knee device
Posted On: 10/14/10
The Food and Drug Administration says it made a mistake in approving a controversial knee implant against the advice of its scientific reviewers.
» Click here for the full story.
Pharmacy fined $75 million for meth ingredient
Posted On: 10/14/10
CVS Pharmacy Inc. has agreed to pay $75 million in fines for allowing repeated purchases of a key methamphetamine ingredient that led to a spike in Southern California drug trafficking, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
» Click here for the full story.
Open insurance season may bring sticker shock
Posted On: 10/13/10
Even benefits that are increasing under the health-care overhaul may come with financial strings attached.
» Click here for the full story.
Experts warn about genetic tests
Posted On: 10/13/10
Medical experts warned consumers in comments published on Wednesday to be cautious about genetic tests that purport to predict various diseases, saying they added little value beyond what consumers already knew.
» Click here for the full story.
Hispanics in U.S. outlive total population
Posted On: 10/13/10
Hispanic people in the United States live nearly three years longer than the population overall, says the first government study to confirm extended life expectancy in the nation’s largest minority group.
» Click here for the full story.
Health insurance claim denials rose by half
Posted On: 10/12/10
Coverage denials of individuals based on their medical histories by the nation's top for-profit health insurance companies rose by nearly half in recent years, according to U.S. lawmakers.
» Click here for the full story.
U.S. sends $727 million to community health centers
Posted On: 10/8/10
The Obama administration on Friday announced $727 million will go to help fix up community health centers across the country, the first of $11 billion for the centers promised by the U.S. healthcare reform law.
» Click here for the full story.
Foes of health-care law lose key court ruling
Posted On: 10/7/10
A federal judge on Thursday rejected an attempt to stop some key provisions of the new national health-care law, saying Congress has the authority to require people to get insurance by 2014.
» Click here for the full story.
APNewsBreak: Donation pledged for Ariz. transplant
Posted On: 10/6/10
An Arizona man who lost his eligibility for a state-funded transplant due to state budget cuts learned Wednesday he is the beneficiary of an anonymous donation to pay for the life-saving procedure.
» Click here for the full story.
Nurses need a more independent role, report argues
Posted On: 10/5/10
A new report released today may give nurses with advanced degrees a potent weapon in their perennial battle to get the authority to practice without a doctor's oversight.
» Click here for the full story.
Advanced imaging use in emergency rooms triples
Posted On: 10/5/10
Use of advanced imaging machines in hospital emergency departments tripled between 1998 and 2007, resulting in higher costs and longer emergency room stays, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
» Click here for the full story.
Judge approves Botox maker's $600M settlement
Posted On: 10/5/10
A federal judge in Georgia has approved Allergan Inc.'s decision to pay $600 million to settle a five-year-long federal investigation into its marketing of wrinkle-smoothing Botox.
» Click here for the full story.
New clue to sepsis as more aggressive care urged
Posted On: 10/4/10
It is one of the most intractable killers you probably never have heard of: sepsis, an out-of-control reaction to infection that can start shutting down organs in mere hours.
Sepsis - Infection - Organ - Music - Keyboard
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Health overhaul centerpiece endures growing pains
Posted On: 10/3/10
It's a centerpiece of President Barack Obama's health care remake, a lifeline available right now to vulnerable people whose medical problems have made them uninsurable.
Barack Obama - Health care - United States - President - President of the United States
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Past horrific human experiments stir concerns of today
Posted On: 10/1/10
As more medical testing is outsourced to other nations, there is a very real moral worry that we are still exploiting the poor to serve as guinea pigs so we can improve our medical care.
Guinea pig - Human subject research - Guinea - Africa - Business
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Reform to worsen doc shortage, group says
Posted On: 9/30/10
The U.S. healthcare reform law will worsen a shortage of physicians as millions of newly insured patients seek care, the Association of American Medical Colleges said on Thursday.
Health care reform - Association of American Medical Colleges - United States - Politics - Interest Groups
» Click here for the full story.
CDC chief picks 6 'winnable battles' in health
Posted On: 9/30/10
Where would you start if you were charged with keeping the nation healthy? Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has chosen six priorities — winnable battles, he calls them.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Health - United States - Tom Frieden - Thomas Frieden
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Costs spike when terminally ill leave hospice
Posted On: 9/29/10
The cost of care for terminally ill cancer patients who stopped hospice care was nearly five times higher than for patients who stayed with it, according to a study.
Hospice - Terminal illness - Cancer - United States - Medicine
» Click here for the full story.
Rookie doctors to work shorter hours
Posted On: 9/29/10
Maximum work shifts for first-year residents are being cut from 24 hours to 16 hours starting in July, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education announced.
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education - Health - Medicine - Education - Residency
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Newsweek: Health costs to rise to five-year high
Posted On: 9/29/10
Health insurance costs in 2011 are likely to be at their highest level in five years, according to data from Hewitt Associates, a global human resources consultant. An 8.8 percent average premium increase for employers is projected for next year, compared with 6.9 percent this year and 6 percent in last year.
Hewitt Associates - Insurance - Health insurance - Human resources - United States
» Click here for the full story.
Feds reopen probe into medical scanner approvals
Posted On: 9/28/10
Federal inspectors have reopened an investigation into complaints by Food and Drug Administration scientists who say they were pressured by their managers to approve high-tech medical scanners that could pose harm to patients.
Food & Drug Administration - Health - United States - Drugs - Medical
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Drug firms must speed major trial risk reports-FDA
Posted On: 9/28/10
* FDA rule requires more notification of safety problems
Food and Drug Administration - United States - GlaxoSmithKline - Government - Executive Branch
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Poll: Many think health law should do more
Posted On: 9/26/10
The new health care law has divided that nation, but an Associated Press poll finds that Americans who think the new health law should have done more outnumber by 2-1 those who think the government should stay out of health care.
United States - Health care - Law - Associated Press - Government
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First black physician in U.S. to be honored
Posted On: 9/24/10
He couldn't go to medical school in New York, so James McCune Smith went to Scotland for his degree and returned home to treat the city's poor.
Medical school - New York City - James McCune Smith - United States - New York
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Obama tries to humanize the healthcare debate
Posted On: 9/23/10
President Barack Obama launched a new attempt to convince Americans of the advantages of his healthcare overhaul on Wednesday, just six weeks before an election in which the plan has proved more of a liability than a benefit for his fellow Democrats.
Barack Obama - United States - Democratic Party - Health care - President of the United States
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Quality of care up at U.S. hospitals, report says
Posted On: 9/22/10
A report says treatment has improved substantially at U.S. hospitals for several ailments including heart attacks, pneumonia and children's asthma.
Asthma - Pneumonia - Health - Conditions and Diseases - United States
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Insurers stop selling new child-only health plans
Posted On: 9/22/10
Several health insurers say they will stop selling new child-only individual insurance policies as they face a health care reform provision that will prevent them from excluding children with potentially costly pre-existing conditions.
Health care - Pre-existing condition - Health insurance - United States - Insurance policy
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3 ways Republicans want to repeal health laws
Posted On: 9/22/10
Republicans are vowing to repeal or make major revisions in the health law that Democrats squeezed through Congress in March. But how difficult would it be to overturn that law?
Republican - Democratic - Law - United States Congress - United States
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More doctors moving to e-prescriptions
Posted On: 9/21/10
U.S. doctors increasingly are ditching pen and paper and sending prescriptions to pharmacies electronically, lured by up to $27 billion in government funds aimed at speeding the switch to electronic medical records.
Electronic health record - United States - Medical record - Health - Medicine
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Many Americans still don't know what's in health law
Posted On: 9/21/10
Six months after President Barack Obama signed the landmark health care law, the nation still doesn't really know what's in it.
Barack Obama - United States - Health care - President of the United States - President
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Hospital violence on the rise, agency warns
Posted On: 9/16/10
The shooting that left a doctor in critical condition Thursday at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore is the latest example of a rising trend of violence in health care settings, experts say.
Baltimore - John Hopkins Hospital - Hospital - Medical state - Medicine
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Number of uninsured Americans hits record high
Posted On: 9/16/10
Those without health insurance rose from 46.3 million in 2008 to 50.7 million last year — one of the largest single year increases since the Census started tracking in 1987.
Uninsured in the United States - United States Census - Census - Health care - United States
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Health reform begins — what changes mean to you
Posted On: 9/15/10
By Sept. 23, many of the health overhaul law’s provisions will be in effect, including no more lifetime insurance limits and longer coverage for adult kids. Here’s a look at what those changes mean for you.
Insurance - United States - Law - Politics - Health
» Click here for the full story.
No more running: Reform stabilizes one family
Posted On: 9/15/10
United States - Health care reform - Politics - Kaiser Family Foundation - Health care
» Click here for the full story.
Lawsuit on Obama health plan likely going to trial
Posted On: 9/14/10
A federal judge said Tuesday he will likely dismiss only parts of a lawsuit by 20 states challenging the Obama administration's health care overhaul as unconstitutional, though he didn't specifically say what portions.
United States - Presidency of Barack Obama - Health care - Lawsuit - Barack Obama
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Half of docs in training work while sick
Posted On: 9/14/10
More than half of doctors in training said in a survey that they'd shown up sick to work, and almost one-third said they'd done it more than once.
Train - Business - Education - Sports - Running
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Diet pill linked to heart attack could be banned
Posted On: 9/13/10
U.S. government health scientists are considering pulling Abbott Laboratories' diet pill Meridia off the market, based on data that it increases heart attack and stroke.
Abbott Laboratories - Heart disease - Health - Conditions and Diseases - Myocardial infarction
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US mulls pulling diet pill linked to heart attack
Posted On: 9/13/10
Almost a year after studies showed the diet pill Meridia increases heart attack and stroke risk, U.S. health regulators announced they will consider pulling the Abbott Laboratories' drug off the market.
Abbott Laboratories - Heart disease - Health - Conditions and Diseases - Myocardial infarction
» Click here for the full story.
Poll: Most still confused about health care
Posted On: 9/9/10
Most U.S. adults are still not sure when they will see certain changes from major healthcare reforms passed earlier this year, according to a new survey
Health care - United States - Health care reform - Politics - Health
» Click here for the full story.
Medical programs missing millions of kids: report
Posted On: 9/8/10
An estimated five million uninsured children in the United States were eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) but were not enrolled in either plan, according to a new report.
United States - Medicaid - Health insurance - Uninsured in the United States - Insurance
» Click here for the full story.
Kids eligible for, absent from, U.S. health programs
Posted On: 9/8/10
An estimated five million uninsured children in the United States were eligible for Medicaid or the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP) but were not enrolled in either plan, according to a new report.
United States - Medicaid - Health insurance - Insurance - Uninsured in the United States
» Click here for the full story.
It's a wrap? von Furstenberg designs hospital gowns
Posted On: 9/7/10
Fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg has helped the Cleveland Clinic create a more stylish hospital gown without the peek-a-boo back.
Cleveland Clinic - Diane von Fürstenberg - Fashion design - Fashion - Hospital
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It’s a wrap? Von Furstenberg designs hospital gowns
Posted On: 9/7/10
Fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg has helped the Cleveland Clinic create a more stylish hospital gown without the peek-a-boo back.
Cleveland Clinic - Diane von Fürstenberg - Fashion design - Fashion - Hospital
» Click here for the full story.
Expert warns of complacency after swine flu fizzle
Posted On: 9/5/10
A leading virus expert urged health authorities around the world Sunday to stay vigilant even though the recent swine flu pandemic was less deadly than expected, warning that bird flu could spark the next global outbreak.
2009 flu pandemic - Pandemic - Influenza - Health - Infectious Diseases
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Army studies concussions' effects on bomb techs
Posted On: 9/5/10
Army bomb testers based at Fort Campbell, Ky., are undergoing hundreds of hours of cognitive tests as part of the military's first-of-its-kind study of mild traumatic brain injury.
Traumatic brain injury - Concussion - Fort Campbell - Health - Conditions and Diseases
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Drug makers sneaking ads into social media
Posted On: 9/3/10
It wasn't what you would call a casual get-together. A popular New York blogger attended a brunch with fellow "frazzled moms." They took in tips from a style expert and listened to a nurse extol the virtues of Mirena, a birth control device sold by Bayer Healthcare. The nurse was on Bayer's payroll.
Birth control - Social media - Bayer Healthcare - Bayer - New York City
» Click here for the full story.
Drugmakers script social media to push meds
Posted On: 9/3/10
It wasn't what you would call a casual get-together. A popular New York blogger attended a brunch with fellow "frazzled moms." They took in tips from a style expert and listened to a nurse extol the virtues of Mirena, a birth control device sold by Bayer Healthcare. The nurse was on Bayer's payroll.
Birth control - Social media - Bayer Healthcare - Bayer - New York City
» Click here for the full story.
U.S. medical programs missing millions of kids: report
Posted On: 9/3/10
An estimated five million uninsured children in the United States were eligible for Medicaid or the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP) but were not enrolled in either plan, according to a new report.
United States - Medicaid - Health insurance - Uninsured in the United States - Insurance
» Click here for the full story.
Health care credit cards may add to your pain
Posted On: 9/2/10
These days, you may leave your dentist's office with more than a toothbrush and dental floss in your bag. Thousands of dentists are offering patients health-care credit cards to cover the work that needs to be done, with seemingly hard-to-resist repayment terms. If you need care and don't have insurance to cover it or cash in hand, it's tempting to sign up.
Dentistry - Toothbrush - Dental floss - Health care - Insurance
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FDA looks to curb abuse of cough medicine
Posted On: 8/31/10
Federal health regulators are weighing restrictions on Robitussin, NyQuil and other cough suppressants to curb cases of abuse that send thousands of people to the hospital each year.
Cough medicine - Robitussin - NyQuil - Health - Medicine
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Patients in clinical trials to get care covered
Posted On: 8/26/10
Beginning in 2014, the new health law will require health plans to pay for routine care costs for patients who participate in clinical trials for the prevention, detection and treatment of cancer and other life-threatening diseases and conditions.
Cancer - Clinical trial - Health - Conditions and Diseases - United States
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Atheist doctors more likely to hasten death
Posted On: 8/26/10
Doctors who are atheist or agnostic are twice as likely to make decisions that could end the lives of their terminally ill patients, compared to doctors who are very religious, according to a new study in Britain.
Atheism - Terminal illness - Medicine - Agnosticism - Health
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Lab-created corneas used to restore vision
Posted On: 8/25/10
Scientists in Canada and Sweden have used laboratory-made biosynthetic corneas to restore vision to patients in a small human trial, and shown for the first time that they can help to repair damaged eye tissue.
Canada - Health - Human - Eye - Medicine
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Some ERs post wait times by text, billboard
Posted On: 8/24/10
Need an X-ray or stitches? Online, via text message or flashing on a billboard, some emergency rooms are advertising how long the dreaded wait for care will be, with estimates updated every few minutes.
Advertising - Emergency department - Text messaging - Medicine - Health
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Colleges: New health law may imperil student policies
Posted On: 8/20/10
Colleges and universities say some rules in the new health law could keep them from offering low-cost, limited benefit student insurance policies — and they’re seeking federal authority to continue offering them.
Law - Education - Business - United States - Financial Services
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Remove what from where? Orifice surgeries expand
Posted On: 8/18/10
A California woman has become one of the latest patients to have 'natural orifice' surgery aimed at reducing scarring, pain, infection and recovery time. Connie Harris, 60, of Carlsbad, had most of her stomach removed through her mouth.
California - Carlsbad California - Surgery - Stomach - Health
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FDA questions wider approval of Lilly's Cymbalta
Posted On: 8/17/10
Federal health scientists are questioning whether the antidepressant Cymbalta is safe and effective enough to be approved for use against chronic pain.
Antidepressant - Food and Drug Administration - Health - United States - Conditions and Diseases
» Click here for the full story.
Surgery safe in conflict zones, aid group says
Posted On: 8/17/10
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - With a few simple precautions, surgery can be safely performed in conflict and post-conflict zones, doctors from an international aid group said Tuesday.
Surgery - NEW YORK - United States - Health - Medicine
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America's most medicated state? West Virginia
Posted On: 8/16/10
Open the medicine cabinet in anyone's home, and chances are good you find at least a couple — and perhaps many — plastic prescription drug bottles.
West Virginia - Prescription drug - United States - Pharmaceutical drug - Government
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Will Medicare checks in the mail help Democrats?
Posted On: 8/14/10
A check from Uncle Sam gets your attention, even if the money doesn't help that much with the bills.
Medicare - Democratic - Business - United States - Uncle Sam
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NYT: What Chinese hospitals need most: Police?
Posted On: 8/12/10
Forget the calls by many Chinese patients for more honest, better-qualified doctors. What this city’s 27 public hospitals really needed, officials decided last month, was police officers.
Hospital - Law - Police officer - Law Enforcement - Police
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U.S. works to shut down fake health care plans
Posted On: 8/11/10
U.S. regulators are cracking down on the growing number of companies that fraudulently sell so-called medical discount plans by telling consumers they work like health insurance and cover medical costs.
United States - Health insurance - Health care - Insurance - Health
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The doctor will see you now — in his van
Posted On: 8/11/10
About 2,000 mobile clinics around the U.S. bring convenient care to patients who otherwise might turn to hospital emergency rooms for treatment of chronic issues. Advocates say the approach can help control the rising cost of health care.
Hospital - Health care - Emergency department - United States - Medicine
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Deadly hospital staph infections decline in U.S.
Posted On: 8/10/10
Aggressive, drug-resistant staph infections caught in hospitals or from medical treatment are becoming scarcer, another sign of progress in a prevention effort that has become a national public health priority.
United States - Health - Staphylococcus - Medicine - Public health
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Assaults on ER nurses rise as programs cut
Posted On: 8/10/10
Emergency room nurse Erin Riley suffered bruises, scratches and a chipped tooth last year from trying to pull the clamped jaws of a psychotic patient off the hand of a doctor at a suburban Cleveland hospital.
Health - Hospital - Nursing - Nurse - ER
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Medicare's private eyes let fraud cases get cold
Posted On: 8/8/10
They don't seem that interested in hot pursuit. It took private sleuths hired by Medicare an average of six months last year to refer fraud cases to law enforcement.
Medicare - Fraud - Law - Barack Obama - Health care
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States defend suit challenging Obama health care law
Posted On: 8/6/10
Twenty states and a small business lobby plan to file their response Friday to the federal government's attempt to dismiss their lawsuit challenging the health care overhaul.
Health care - United States - Federal government of the United States - Politics - Health Care Reform
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Teachers want taxpayer-funded Viagra back
Posted On: 8/6/10
With the Milwaukee school district in a financial crisis and hundreds facing layoffs, the teachers union is taking a peculiar stand: fighting to get its taxpayer-funded Viagra back.
School district - Education - United States - Arkansas - K-12
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Health overhaul extends Medicare hospital fund by 12 years
Posted On: 8/5/10
The annual checkup of the government's big benefit programs for the elderly showed that the administration's sweeping health care overhaul will extend the life of the Medicare hospital insurance fund by 12 years.
Medicare - Health care - Hospital - Government - Health
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Doctor discounts: Do surgery on your medical bill
Posted On: 8/4/10
Looking to save money on health care? Consider asking your doctor for a discount.
Health care - Physician - Medicine - Health - United States
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Health reform preview? Program limits access to care
Posted On: 8/4/10
A company chosen by Massachusetts to provide health coverage for immigrants has few doctors who accept new patients, researchers said Wednesday, saying this could indicate what may happen under health care reforms enacted by President Barack Obama.
Barack Obama - Massachusetts - Health care - United States - President of the United States
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Foreign-trained docs as good as U.S. physicians
Posted On: 8/3/10
Physicians trained in other countries provide care just as good as U.S. doctors, according to new report in the journal Health Affairs. The study, of 244,153 patients, found those treated by foreign-born international medical graduates had the lowest death rates.
United States - Physician - Health - Medicine - International medical graduate
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Mass. to require insurance coverage for autism
Posted On: 8/3/10
Gov. Deval Patrick has signed a bill requiring Massachusetts insurance companies to provide coverage for a range of treatments designed to help autistic individuals.
Autism spectrum - Insurance - Mental health - Health - Disorders
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Wave of health reform changes set for September
Posted On: 8/3/10
Health care reform hits another milestone next month, with new provisions that include a coverage expansion for young adults and restrictions on an insurer's ability to impose annual coverage limits or to reject children with pre-existing medical conditions.
Insurance - Health care - Healthcare reform - United States - Politics
» Click here for the full story.
Mass. requires insurance coverage for autism
Posted On: 8/3/10
Massachusetts insurance companies will now be required to offer autistic people coverage for a range of treatments, under a bill Gov. Deval Patrick signed into law on Tuesday.
Autism spectrum - Insurance - Mental health - Health - Disorders
» Click here for the full story.
Heal thyself: Patients' use own stem cells
Posted On: 8/2/10
For all the emotional debate that began about a decade ago to allow the use of embryonic stem cells, it's adult stem cells that are in human testing today. Some are shown promise in treating various diseases.
Stem cell - Embryonic stem cell - Biotechnology - Biology - Human
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Heal thyself: Patients use own stem cells
Posted On: 8/2/10
For all the emotional debate that began about a decade ago to allow the use of embryonic stem cells, it's adult stem cells that are in human testing today. Some are shown promise in treating various diseases.
Stem cell - Embryonic stem cell - Biotechnology - Biology - Human
» Click here for the full story.
Doctors: Transplant advance in windpipe cancer
Posted On: 7/30/10
Doctors have successfully transplanted windpipes into two cancer patients in an innovative procedure that uses stem cells to allow a donated trachea to regenerate tissue and create an organ biologically close to the original, they said Friday.
Stem cell - Organ transplant - Vertebrate trachea - Cancer - Health
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Law creates paperwork fiasco for businesses
Posted On: 7/30/10
The House rejected an effort to repeal part of the new health care law that requires millions of businesses to file tax forms for every vendor that sells them more than $600 in goods.
Health care - Law - IRS tax forms - Tax - United States
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FDA warns of pneumonia risk with IV antibiotic
Posted On: 7/29/10
U.S. health officials warned Thursday about the risk of pneumonia with Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc's flagship antibiotic.
Pneumonia - Health - Food and Drug Administration - Conditions and Diseases - Brittany Murphy
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Should health plans offer free birth control?
Posted On: 7/27/10
This fall, the health care overhaul will require new health plans to begin providing a range of preventive health services at no cost to patients. Should contraception be included?
Birth control - Health care - United States - Health - Politics
» Click here for the full story.
Healthiest state for kids? New Hampshire, study says
Posted On: 7/27/10
New Hampshire again ranks No. 1 nationally in an annual survey on children's well-being. But the numbers also indicate a growing problem in the state: poverty.
New Hampshire - United States - Recreation and Sports - Business and Economy - Politics
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Faces of soldiers rebuilt through new program
Posted On: 7/27/10
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have brought a new kind of patient to the facial prothestics lab at the Lackland Air Force Base: wounded warriors, who have suffered heavy burns and multiple traumas. The lab is one of two of the Defense Department's facial prosthetic programs.
Lackland Air Force Base - Afghanistan - Iraq - United States - United States Department of Defense
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A sniff steers new wheelchair for paralyzed people
Posted On: 7/26/10
* Institute seeking ways to develop, distribute device
Wheelchair - Business - Disability - Products and Services - Mobility and Transportation Aids
» Click here for the full story.
Is fresher blood better for surgery?
Posted On: 7/26/10
Facing surgery? You could receive blood that's been stored for a week, or three weeks, or nearly six — and there's growing concern that people who get the older blood might not fare as well.
Surgery - Health - Medicine - Blood - Medical Specialties
» Click here for the full story.
American Medical Response adds chief doctor
Posted On: 7/26/10
A unit of Emergency Medical Services Corp. said on Monday that it has named Dr. Edward Racht to the new position of Chief Medical Officer.
Emergency medical services - American Medical Response - Health - Public Health and Safety - Emergency Services
» Click here for the full story.
Paralyzed may soon steer wheelchair with just a sniff
Posted On: 7/26/10
* Institute seeking ways to develop, distribute device
Wheelchair - Business - Disability - Products and Services - Mobility and Transportation Aids
» Click here for the full story.
Pharma seeks FDA clarity on risky drug safeguards
Posted On: 7/26/10
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration should better explain its reasons whenever it requires additional safeguards for risky drugs, a pharmaceutical industry group said on Monday.
Food and Drug Administration - Pharmaceutical industry - Pharmaceutical drug - United States - Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals
» Click here for the full story.
Personal DNA gene tests are bogus
Posted On: 7/23/10
Opinion: Resist the lure of genetic testing advertising and its promise to tell you about your ancestry, guide your love life, or predict your future. As the GAO found, it can't.
DNA - Genetic testing - Gene - Genetics - Science in Society
» Click here for the full story.
Some insurers stop writing new coverage for kids
Posted On: 7/23/10
Some major health insurance companies have stopped issuing certain types of policies for children, an unintended consequence of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law, state officials said Friday.
Barack Obama - Insurance - Health insurance - Health care - United States
» Click here for the full story.
Hospital bill not covered? Now you can appeal
Posted On: 7/22/10
Patients will find it easier to appeal the denials of health insurance claims under rules being issued Thursday by the Obama administration,
Health insurance - Insurance - Presidency of Barack Obama - Hospital - Business
» Click here for the full story.
Files indicate settlement in Paxil lawsuit
Posted On: 7/19/10
A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit filed against a pharmaceutical company by a Watertown woman who linked her prescribed use of Paxil to the death of her infant son, according to court files.
Lawsuit - Paroxetine - Business - GlaxoSmithKline - Puerto Rico
» Click here for the full story.
Pets may be the next frontier of health reform
Posted On: 7/19/10
While states across the nation grapple with national health care reform, a new population of patients is gaining attention in California: Fido and Fluffy.
California - Healthcare reform - United States - Politics - Health Care Reform
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Sponsored By:
Posted On: 7/19/10
Reading your doc's notes may improve care
Posted On: 7/19/10
Don't be offended if your doctor writes that you're SOB, or that an exam detected BS.
Reading - Education - Products and Services - Test Preparation - Cancer
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Will digital medical records save your life?
Posted On: 7/16/10
As far as medical health records go, we're kind of trapped in a weird state of transition that can be confusing, frustrating, and even dangerous for patients. The government is pushing for electronic records by 2014. Learn what you should do in the meantime.
Medical record - Records management - Health - Medicine - Services
» Click here for the full story.
'July effect' is real, new study shows
Posted On: 7/15/10
If you’ve made it halfway through July without being hospitalized, and avoided the ICU on a weekend, consider yourself lucky. Two new studies suggest that there are certain times when it’s dangerous, even deadly, to seek hospital care.
Hospital - Intensive-care unit - Medicine - Health - Facilities
» Click here for the full story.
Palliative care lacking in much of the world
Posted On: 7/14/10
Most people who are dying around the world have inadequate or no access to painkillers, hospice and palliative care, according to a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit on Wednesday.
Palliative care - Economist Intelligence Unit - Health - Medicine - Medical Specialties
» Click here for the full story.
Digital medical records get 5-year deadline
Posted On: 7/13/10
The Obama administration says it wants doctors and hospitals to move to computerized medical records within five years — with greater safety for patients and lower costs overall.
Medicine - Medical record - Hospital - Health - Services
» Click here for the full story.
Many docs don't report on addicted colleagues
Posted On: 7/13/10
A new study finds too many doctors who work with drunk, drug-addicted or incompetent colleagues fail to report them.
Drug addiction - Health - Drugs - Addiction - Substance Abuse
» Click here for the full story.
Help coming for uninsured part-timers, but not yet
Posted On: 7/6/10
None of Sarah Rose Nordgren's three part-time jobs offer insurance. But starting in 2014, the new health law will allow those like her to choose from a range of subsidized health plans.
Insurance - Health insurance - United States - Business - Financial Services
» Click here for the full story.
Q&A: Government's new health insurance website
Posted On: 7/1/10
Consumers shopping for health insurance get a boost today with the launch of a new federal website, www.healthcare.gov.
Insurance - Health insurance - Government - United States - Business
» Click here for the full story.
Uninsured? New 'high risk' premiums costly
Posted On: 7/1/10
President Barack Obama's new health coverage for uninsured Americans with health problems won't be cheap, according to a government website that went live Thursday.
Barack Obama - United States - President - Insurance - Health care
» Click here for the full story.
Q&A: Does health insurance website deliver?
Posted On: 7/1/10
Consumers shopping for health insurance get a boost today with the launch of a new federal website, www.healthcare.gov.
Insurance - Health insurance - Government - United States - Business
» Click here for the full story.
Newsweek: How mobile clinics could fix health care
Posted On: 7/1/10
Given how expensive most medicine is, how do mobile health clinics manage to save the system so much cash? Part of the reason is their sharp focus on a set of cheap, portable screening tools and questionnaires—for diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, hypertension, alcohol abuse, and depression—that are proven money savers.
Medicine - Obesity - Diabetes mellitus - Hypertension - Health care
» Click here for the full story.
When is a drug too risky to stay on the market?
Posted On: 6/30/10
The arthritis pill Vioxx was withdrawn but menopause hormones were not, even though both were tied to heart risks. A multiple sclerosis medicine was pulled and later allowed back on.
Rofecoxib - Multiple sclerosis - Health - Conditions and Diseases - Arthritis
» Click here for the full story.
What do hospitals charge? Costs confound patients
Posted On: 6/29/10
Consumers — especially the uninsured — face many difficulties when they try to shop for the best price for hospital services.
Hospital - Medicine - Health - Facilities - United States
» Click here for the full story.
Coverage for uninsured in poor health has a catch
Posted On: 6/29/10
The Obama administration is launching a special coverage program for uninsured Americans with medical problems this week, the most ambitious early investment of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
Barack Obama - Health care - United States - Presidency of Barack Obama - President
» Click here for the full story.
Many Americans overtreated to death
Posted On: 6/28/10
Americans increasingly are treated to death, spending more time in hospitals in their final days, trying last-ditch treatments that often buy only weeks of time, and racking up bills that have made medical care a leading cause of bankruptcies.
United States - Health care - Medicine - Hospital - Health
» Click here for the full story.
9 in 10 docs blame lawsuit fears for overtesting
Posted On: 6/28/10
Ninety percent of physicians in a new survey think doctors overtest and overtreat to protect themselves from malpractice lawsuits.
Malpractice - United States - Medicine - Services - Law
» Click here for the full story.
10 symptoms not to ignore
Posted On: 6/25/10
Low energy, backaches, AWOL periods. Sound familiar? You may need to see your doc, stat! “Harmless” symptoms like these can forecast scary health problems.
Energy - Technology - Health - Conditions and Diseases - Conservation
» Click here for the full story.
Is your doctor addicted?
Posted On: 6/24/10
Strung-out doctors and nurses imperil patients' lives every day. So why is no one trying to catch them?
Health - United States - Canada - Medicine - Los Angeles
» Click here for the full story.
FDA struggles to track foreign drug trials
Posted On: 6/22/10
The Food and Drug Administration is reviewing only a fraction of foreign drug trials, as companies increasingly move drug testing overseas to reduce costs, a report said.
Food and Drug Administration - United States - Health - Drug test - Substance Abuse
» Click here for the full story.
Lawsuit fears can lead to overtesting in ERs
Posted On: 6/21/10
Fast decisions on life-and-death cases are the bread and butter of hospital emergency rooms. Nowhere do doctors face greater pressures to overtest and overtreat.
Hospital - Emergency department - Lawsuit - Medicine - United States
» Click here for the full story.
Judge's innovation may offer malpractice fix
Posted On: 6/21/10
To settle medical malpractice lawsuits, Judge Douglas McKeon sometimes quietly listens to heartbroken family members vent their anger. He calls it "humanness."
Law - Medical malpractice - United States - Malpractice - Services
» Click here for the full story.
Prices jump for individual insurance premiums
Posted On: 6/21/10
People who buy their own health insurance have been hit lately with premium hikes that far exceed increases in the premiums for employer-sponsored coverage, according to a new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Insurance - Kaiser Family Foundation - Health insurance - United States - Business
» Click here for the full story.
Red Cross fined $16M over blood screening
Posted On: 6/17/10
Federal health regulators are fining the American Red Cross $16 million for sloppy screening of donated blood, the latest in a series of violations that have cost the group millions of dollars.
American Red Cross - United States - Red Cross - Organizations - Philanthropy
» Click here for the full story.
Number of uninsured rises slightly in U.S.
Posted On: 6/16/10
More than 15 percent of Americans lacked health insurance in 2009, a slight rise from 2008, according to U.S. government survey data released Wednesday.
United States - Insurance - Health insurance - Federal government of the United States - Financial Services
» Click here for the full story.
Woman received lungs of a 30-year smoker
Posted On: 6/15/10
The family of a 28-year-old British woman who unknowingly received a lung transplant from a smoker says she would have been "horrified" and have lodged a complaint.
Lung transplantation - Lung - Health - Surgery - Support Groups
» Click here for the full story.
FDA to disclose more safety info on new drugs
Posted On: 6/15/10
Doctors and patients will be able to get more information about the risks of the latest drugs as federal health regulators begin posting their safety reviews online. Some side effects only show up after millions have taken the medication.
Health - Food and Drug Administration - Drug - Adverse effect - Pharmacy
» Click here for the full story.
Biggest radiation threat is due to medical scans
Posted On: 6/14/10
We fret about airport scanners, power lines, cell phones and even microwaves. It's true that we get too much radiation. But it's not from those sources — it's from too many medical tests.
Radiation - Mobile phone - Microwave - Science and Technology - Cell Phones
» Click here for the full story.
1 in 5 health insurance claims wrongly handled
Posted On: 6/14/10
The nation's largest doctors' group says medical claims incorrectly processed by commercial health insurers often leave physicians shortchanged.
Insurance - Health insurance - Physician - Financial Services - Health
» Click here for the full story.
Obama faces defeat on health help for jobless
Posted On: 6/12/10
Not three months after lawmakers passed his $1 trillion insurance overhaul, Obama is facing a rare defeat on health care at the hands of his own divided Democrats.
Health care - Insurance - Democratic Party - Barack Obama - United States
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Moms to get more care under new health law
Posted On: 6/11/10
By the time women reach 44 years old, roughly 85 percent have given birth. Yet health insurance coverage and support services to keep mothers and babies healthy are often seriously deficient.
Insurance - Health - Health insurance - United States - Business
» Click here for the full story.
Insurer sues Pfizer for paying kickbacks to docs
Posted On: 6/11/10
A Texas health insurance company is suing Pfizer Inc. saying the drug maker deceptively marketed three of its top-selling drugs, illegally encouraging doctors to prescribe them for non-approved uses and paying kickbacks to doctors.
Pfizer - Insurance - Pharmaceutical industry - Health - Business
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Poor infection control at many surgery centers
Posted On: 6/8/10
A new federal study finds up to 70 percent of same-day surgery centers have serious problems with infection control, including failing to wash hands and wear gloves.
Surgery - Infection control - Hand washing - Health - Medicine
» Click here for the full story.
Free latte for docs? Not without disclosure
Posted On: 6/7/10
New limits on free gifts to doctors have hit the ubiquitous free lattes and coffee seen at major medical meetings like the one here of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Medicine - American Society of Clinical Oncology - Coffee - Health - Oncology
» Click here for the full story.
Look-alike, sound-alike drugs trigger dangers
Posted On: 5/28/10
Some 1,500 drugs have names so similar they're often confused with one or more other medications, contributing to an estimated 5 million wrong-drug errors that occur each year.
Health - Drug - Pharmacy - Drugs and Medications - Illegal
» Click here for the full story.
Teva won’t make more of powerful sedative
Posted On: 5/28/10
The drugmaker Teva said Friday it won't make any more of its sedative propofol, which could intensify a shortage of one of the most common anesthetics in the U.S.
Sedative - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries - Business - Teva - Food and Drug Administration
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Zyrtec vs. Zantac: Your soundalike drug stories
Posted On: 5/28/10
Readers wrote in with stories of the trouble with drug names that sound too similar; here are some of the best submissions.
Ranitidine - Health - Zantac - Drugs - Heartburn
» Click here for the full story.
Patients saved from huge ER bills by new law
Posted On: 5/21/10
Under the new health law, insurance companies can no longer pay less for emergency care at “out of network” hospitals.
ER - Emergency medicine - Medicine - United States - Insurance
» Click here for the full story.
9 Calif. hospitals fined for endangering patients
Posted On: 5/20/10
Nine hospitals in California face a combined $550,000 in penalties for endangering patients through medication errors, leaving sponges inside patients after surgery and other problems.
» Click here for the full story.
Most ER patients have some health insurance
Posted On: 5/19/10
One in five people in the United States visit an emergency room every year, and most of them have health insurance of some kind, according to a new U.S. government survey.
United States - Health insurance - Insurance - Federal government of the United States - Emergency department
» Click here for the full story.
Hospital nun rebuked for allowing abortion
Posted On: 5/15/10
A nun and administrator at a Catholic hospital in Phoenix has been reassigned and rebuked by the local bishop for agreeing that a severely ill woman needed an abortion to survive.
Abortion - Catholic - Bishop - Pro-Life - Essays
» Click here for the full story.
Hospice may no longer mean halting treatment
Posted On: 5/14/10
The new health law could lead to a major change in Medicare policy that allows patients to get aggressive treatment and hospice care simultaneously.
» Click here for the full story.
Don't like your diagnosis? Think about moving
Posted On: 5/12/10
Doctors in some parts of the United States are more likely to tell Medicare patients they are sick than in other parts, researchers said in a finding that could explain regional differences in health spending.
» Click here for the full story.
Health overhaul law potentially costs $115B more
Posted On: 5/11/10
Congressional budget referees say President Barack Obama's new health care law could potentially add another $115 billion over 10 years to government health care spending.
» Click here for the full story.
Coverage for young adults will raise premiums
Posted On: 5/10/10
The government says letting young adults stay on their parents' health insurance until they turn 26 will nudge premiums higher for employer plans.
» Click here for the full story.
Who gets $15 billion for disease prevention?
Posted On: 5/7/10
There’s a sharp divide over how to spend a $15 billion “prevention” fund over the next decade, with public health officials and nonprofit groups pushing competing strategies.
» Click here for the full story.
Most states sign up to offer new health coverage
Posted On: 4/30/10
A majority of states have told the Obama administration they want to take part in providing new coverage to uninsured people with medical problems — an early benefit of the health care overhaul law.
Health care - United States - Presidency of Barack Obama - Uninsured in the United States - Law
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Canadians boast longer lives, better health, eh?
Posted On: 4/28/10
Canadians live about three years longer and are healthier than Americans, and the lack of universal healthcare in the United States may be a factor, researchers said on Wednesday.
United States - Universal health care - Health - Health care in the United States - Health care
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Insurers agree to limit health care cancellations
Posted On: 4/28/10
Several health insurers said Wednesday they plan an early start on a slice of health care reform by pledging to limit the circumstances in which they cancel coverage when a customer gets sick.
Insurance - Health care - United States - Health Care Reform - Politics
» Click here for the full story.
Coverage this year for young adults? Not so fast
Posted On: 4/27/10
President Barack Obama is pushing to speed up insurance coverage for young adults in their twenties — a key early benefit of his prized health care overhaul — but the law's fine print suggests some won't be able to sign up until next year.
Barack Obama - Health care - Insurance - President of the United States - United States
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Wrong patient phone numbers trip up ER docs
Posted On: 4/26/10
Delayed test results and bad contact information — sometimes from patients who give fake names and numbers — are forcing more emergency room doctors to resort to registered letters and law enforcement visits to deliver urgent diagnoses.
Emergency department - Law - United States - Medicine - Health care
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Health reform's unfinished business: cost curbs
Posted On: 4/25/10
Many experts believe that the newly passed health care reform law falls short on taming costs, and that will force Congress to revisit health care in a few years
United States Congress - HealthCareReform - United States - Politics - Law
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U.S. tells insurer: Quit dropping cancer patients
Posted On: 4/24/10
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has called on health insurer WellPoint to stop dropping coverage for patients recently diagnosed with breast cancer, calling the practice "deplorable."
Breast cancer - WellPoint - United States Department of Health and Human Services - Cancer - Health
» Click here for the full story.
Report: Health overhaul will increase tab
Posted On: 4/22/10
President Obama's health care overhaul law will increase the nation's health care tab instead of bringing costs down, government forecasters concluded in a sobering assessment of the legislation.
Health care - Barack Obama - United States - Government - Law
» Click here for the full story.
Insurer targeted breast cancer patients to cancel
Posted On: 4/22/10
One after another, shortly after a diagnosis of breast cancer, various women insured through WellPoint learned their health insurance had been canceled. They didn't know company software had flagged their diagnosis and targeted them for investigation.
Breast cancer - Health - Cancer - Conditions and Diseases - Health insurance
» Click here for the full story.
New doctor code curbs industry sway and swag
Posted On: 4/21/10
No more letting industry help pay for developing medical guidelines. Restrictions on consulting deals. And no more pens with drug company names or other swag at conferences.
Pharmaceutical industry - Business - Health - Marketing and Advertising - Research and development
» Click here for the full story.
British group weighs paying organ donors
Posted On: 4/19/10
An influential British medical think tank is tackling the question of how far society should go to boost the number of organ and tissue donors, and is weighing a proposal to pay for body parts.
Organ - Think tank - British Empire - Arts - Music
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Low-cost coverage in health reform not for all
Posted On: 4/16/10
It's an eagerly awaited early benefit of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul: affordable coverage for Americans with medical problems who can't get a private insurer to even take a look.
Barack Obama - United States - Health care - President - President of the United States
» Click here for the full story.
Poll: Resistance to health bill jumped after signing
Posted On: 4/15/10
Opposition to President Barack Obama's health care law jumped after he signed it — a clear indication his victory could become a liability for Democrats in this fall's elections.
Barack Obama - Democratic - Health care - United States - President
» Click here for the full story.
Medical bills? Christian co-ops rely on faith
Posted On: 4/14/10
More than 100,000 people in the U.S. are members of health care sharing ministries, co-ops that provide medical care through faith that fellow Christians will foot the bills. The groups are exempt from pay-or-play fines in the new health care law.
United States - Health care - Christian - Law - Health
» Click here for the full story.
Doc deficit? Nurses' role may grow in 28 states
Posted On: 4/13/10
A nurse may soon be your doctor. With a looming shortage of primary care doctors, 28 states are considering expanding the authority of nurse practitioners.
Nurse practitioner - Primary care - Health - Nursing - Specialties
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1 in 4 heart docs orders tests out of legal fears
Posted On: 4/13/10
New research shows as many as one in four heart doctors say they order medical tests that might not be needed out of fear of getting sued.
Medicine - Heart - Research - Health - Heart disease
» Click here for the full story.
Hospital infection rates continue alarming rise
Posted On: 4/13/10
U.S. hospitals are losing the battle against life-threatening infections that patients can catch as a consequence of medical treatment, federal health officials said Tuesday.
Hospital - Nosocomial infection - Health - Medicine - Facilities
» Click here for the full story.
Newsweek: Health care abortion battle moves to states
Posted On: 4/12/10
While the Congressional fight over health care reform has wrapped up and legislators moved on, a new, state-level battle over abortion coverage has just begun.
Health care - Abortion - United States - Politics - Health Care Reform
» Click here for the full story.
UK reveals 800,000 organ donor list errors
Posted On: 4/10/10
Britain's transplant authority says it’s investigating hundreds of thousands of errors in its organ donor list stretching back about a decade.
Organ donation - Organ transplant - Health - Organ - Transplantation
» Click here for the full story.
Reader realities: True impact of health reform
Posted On: 4/9/10
Msnbc.com readers, like the Cooper family, reveal the real-world impact of changes coming to the health care system. Who benefits? Who pays? And when does it all hit home?
Health care - Msnbc.com - Politics - United States - Health Care Reform
» Click here for the full story.
Vulnerable Democrats tiptoe on health care
Posted On: 4/8/10
Tough votes for President Barack Obama's health care plan have further complicated the re-election prospects of dozens of already vulnerable freshman and second-term Democrats. There's even a chance the party could lose control of one or both houses in the midterm elections.
Barack Obama - Democratic - Health care - President of the United States - United States midterm election
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Nonprofit, dental board clash on poor patients
Posted On: 4/7/10
Alone in a meeting room, trustees of the Alabama Dental Association complained about Sarrell Dental Center, a nonprofit corporation that treats thousands of needy children on Medicaid.
Dentistry - Medicaid - Health - Non-profit organization - United States
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Scam alert issued on new health care law
Posted On: 4/6/10
President Barack Obama's top health official says scam artists are taking advantage of the new insurance law to peddle phony policies.
Barack Obama - Health care - President of the United States - President - United States
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Doctors face ‘expiration dates’ of specialties
Posted On: 4/5/10
The next time you're at the doctor's office, take a peek at those certificates hanging on the wall. Like gallons of milk, some of them are expiring.
United States - Milk - Health - Specific Substances - Dairy Products
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Fla. doc's sign warns off Obama supporters
Posted On: 4/3/10
A central Florida urologist has posted a sign on his office door warning supporters of President Barack Obama to find a different doctor.
Barack Obama - President of the United States - President - United States - Health care
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What the new health care law means for seniors
Posted On: 4/2/10
Last month's health care law contained some benefits for the nation's older population. It provided long-term care options to allow more seniors to stay in their homes and called for more publicly available information about nursing homes.
Nursing home - Health care - Health - United States - Population
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True or false? Top 7 health care fears
Posted On: 4/2/10
The IRS is manning up to hunt you down if you don't buy insurance. Military families are about to get dumped from their insurance. And there will soon be a waiting line to see your family doc. Which of these fears are actually true?
Insurance - Financial Services - Business - Agents and Marketers - Home
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2 million eager for health care on parents’ plans
Posted On: 4/1/10
In about six months, the new health overhaul law will allow at least 2 million young adults up to age 26 to be covered under their parents' policies.
Health care - United States - Law - Politics - Health
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Obama touts health bill’s business benefits
Posted On: 4/1/10
President Barack Obama urged Americans not to judge the nearly $1 trillion legislation he signed into law last week until the reforms take hold.
Barack Obama - President of the United States - President - United States - Law
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U.S. drug sales top $300 billion in 2009
Posted On: 4/1/10
Growth in U.S. sales of pharmaceuticals bounced back last year as rebates and low-cost generic drugs drove an increase in the number of prescriptions filled, according to data tracking firm IMS Health.
IMS Health - United States - Generic drug - Drug - Business
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1 in 4 will need health decisions made for them
Posted On: 3/31/10
A significant number of the elderly — more than one in four — will eventually need someone to make end-of-life decisions about their medical care, a new study suggests.
End-of-life care - Health care - Health - Medicine - Facilities
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5 years after Schiavo, few make end-of-life plans
Posted On: 3/30/10
Five years after the court fight over allowing Terri Schiavo to die, most Americans still don't draft the legal documents that spell out how far caregivers should go to keep them alive artificially.
Terri Schiavo case - United States - Terri Schiavo - Arts - Law
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Obama signs health care ‘fixes,’ student aid bill
Posted On: 3/30/10
President Barack Obama has signed a law that finalizes his health care overhaul and makes the government the issuer of all federal college loans.
Barack Obama - Health care - President of the United States - United States - President
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Video: Obama: 'Today we mark an important milestone'
Posted On: 3/30/10
President Obama seals his health care overhaul and makes the government the primary lender to students. Watch his speech. (NBC News)
Barack Obama - Health care - United States - NBC - President
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Video: Obama: Adjustments still needed on health care
Posted On: 3/30/10
In an exclusive interview with TODAY, President Barack Obama describes the recently enacted health care reform legislation as a ‘critical first step,’ but says that adjustments will need to be made to further reduce costs. (Today Show)
Barack Obama - Health care - President of the United States - United States - President
» Click here for the full story.
Youth may pay a lot more for health premiums
Posted On: 3/29/10
Health insurance premiums for young adults are expected to rise about 17 percent once they're required to buy insurance four years from now. That estimate is from an analysis by Rand Health.
Insurance - Health insurance - Financial Services - United States - Health
» Click here for the full story.
Insurers agree to fix gap in sick kids’ coverage
Posted On: 3/29/10
The insurance industry says it won't fight President Barack Obama over fixing a coverage gap for kids in the new health care law.
Barack Obama - Health care - Presidency of Barack Obama - United States - President
» Click here for the full story.
Newsweek: Health bill sows seeds of budget crisis
Posted On: 3/29/10
For two years, Obama and members of Congress have angrily blamed the shortsightedness and selfishness of bankers and rating agencies for causing the recent financial crisis. The president and his supporters were equally shortsighted and self-centered, though their quest was for political glory.
Financial crisis - United States Congress - Newsweek - Credit rating agency - United States
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Start the search for a doctor before the rush
Posted On: 3/28/10
Better beat the crowd and find a doctor. Primary care physicians already are in short supply in parts of the country, and the landmark health overhaul promises extra strain.
Primary care - Health - Physician - Medicine - United States
» Click here for the full story.
GOP's health care strategy: Repeal and replace
Posted On: 3/27/10
Repeal the new health care overhaul and replace it with something better, says the Senate's top Republican, who led a solid wall of GOP opposition to the Democratic plan.
Republican - Health care - United States Senate - United States - Politics
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Obama health insurance requirement taken from GOP
Posted On: 3/27/10
Republicans were for President Barack Obama's requirement that Americans get health insurance before they were against it.
Barack Obama - Health insurance - United States - President - Insurance
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Democrats send Obama final health measure
Posted On: 3/26/10
Congressional Democrats on Friday sent the final piece of landmark health care legislation to President Barack Obama, the last legislative chapter in the wrenching national debate over how to overhaul America's health care system.
Barack Obama - Health care - President of the United States - President - United States
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Video: Has the health care fight changed politics?
Posted On: 3/26/10
David Gregory, host of “Meet the Press,” weighs in on a battle Democrats and Republicans are vowing to take all the way to midterm elections. (Today Show)
David Gregory - Meet the Press - Health care - Today - United States
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New law unclear on coverage for sick kids
Posted On: 3/26/10
Health advocates and some insurers say the new health overhaul law does not clearly state that protections for children with pre-existing medical conditions would take effect this year.
Insurance - Law - Disease - United States - Health
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Parties trade blame over health bill threats
Posted On: 3/26/10
A top House Republican accused Democrats Thursday of “dangerously fanning the flames” of extremism and using reports of vandalism and death threats against pro-health reform bill lawmakers for political gain.
Democratic - United States - Vandalism - Politics - Health care
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Video: In victory lap, Obama returns to Iowa
Posted On: 3/25/10
In the same state where his road to the White House began, President Obama on Thursday dared critics of health care reform to repeal the bill he just passed. NBC's Savannah Guthrie reports. (Nightly News)
Savannah Guthrie - Barack Obama - NBC - Health care - President of the United States
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Video: Democrats get threats over health vote
Posted On: 3/25/10
The FBI is investigating acts of vandalism and alleged threats made to Democrats in Congress who voted in favor of health care overhaul legislation. NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell reports. (Today Show)
NBC - United States Congress - Federal Bureau of Investigation - United States - Today
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They saved his bill; can he save their seats?
Posted On: 3/24/10
Their votes helped deliver President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Now, dozens of Democrats are politically imperiled in a contentious environment where emotions are raw and likely to remain so.
Barack Obama - Health care - Democratic Party - President of the United States - President
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Law of the land: Health overhaul signed
Posted On: 3/23/10
Claiming a historic triumph that could define his presidency, a jubilant Barack Obama signs a nearly $1 trillion health care overhaul that will for the first time cement insurance coverage as the right of every U.S. citizen.
Barack Obama - Health care - President of the United States - United States - President
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Video: Health care reform: Signed, sealed, delivered
Posted On: 3/23/10
As President Obama signed his hard-won health care reform bill into law Tuesday, pro-health care reform groups launched a million dollar ad campaign to support Democrats who voted for the bill. NBC's Savannah Guthrie reports. (Nightly News)
Savannah Guthrie - NBC - Health care - United States - NBC Nightly News
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Video: Health reform frustration reaches beyond Beltway
Posted On: 3/23/10
As President Obama signed health care reform into law, many Americans made it clear that they remain confused and angry over the process. NBC's Janet Shamlian reports. (Nightly News)
Healthcare reform - NBC - United States - NBC Nightly News - Politics
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State attorneys general sue over health bill
Posted On: 3/23/10
The ink is still drying on the health care overhaul bill signed into law Tuesday by President Barack Obama, but attorneys general from at least 14 states have filed lawsuits to challenge the legislation.
Barack Obama - Health care - President of the United States - President - United States
» Click here for the full story.
Video: Critics continue fight against health reform
Posted On: 3/23/10
Following Tuesday's bill signing ceremony, Senate Republicans are fighting back with a flurry of proposed changes this week, saying their constituents are counting on them to keep up the fight. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reports. (Nightly News)
NBC - NBC Nightly News - United States - Republican - United States Senate
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What Americans really think about the overhaul
Posted On: 3/23/10
The day after an historic health care overhaul passed the House, Americans from all political affiliations remain confused over the bottom line of the bill and what it means for their lives. Here's a sampling of comments from msnbc.com users.
United States - msnbc.com - Health care - Politics - Health Care Reform
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Reconciliation: Let the debate begin
Posted On: 3/23/10
Reconciliation - Republican - Democratic Party - Indigenous People - Ethnicity
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Video: RNC’s Steele talks on bid to block health bill
Posted On: 3/23/10
Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele discusses his party’s opposition to health care overhaul legislation and Republicans’ plans going forward with TODAY’s Lester Holt. (Today Show)
Michael Steele - Republican - Republican National Committee - Health care - United States
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Newsweek: What does the GOP do now?
Posted On: 3/23/10
Republicans said stopping health care reform was a battle for the country's soul. So what do they do now that they've lost?
Health care - Republican - Newsweek - United States - Politics
» Click here for the full story.
Obama to sign health bill, take it on the road
Posted On: 3/23/10
President Barack Obama celebrates the crowning achievement of his presidency Tuesday as he signs into law a massive health care overhaul bill that had been seen as dead just two months ago.
John McCain - Democratic Party - Affordable Health Care for America Act - United States - Health care
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Immediate effects of health reform bill
Posted On: 3/22/10
Obama administration officials and wonks call them "early deliverables." They're the benefits of the health legislation that would kick in this election year.
Presidency of Barack Obama - United States - Politics - Health Care Reform - Health care
» Click here for the full story.
House sends health bill to Obama’s desk
Posted On: 3/22/10
A health care bill is headed to President Barack Obama for his signature as Congress takes the final steps in Democrats' improbable push for near-universal medical coverage.
Barack Obama - Health care - President of the United States - President - United States
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Check how your representative voted
Posted On: 3/22/10
Financial services - United States - Business - Merchant Services - Check Processing
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Health reform and you: A new guide
Posted On: 3/22/10
The health overhaul package passed by the House Sunday and sent to the Senate for final action is the most far-reaching health legislation since the creation of the Medicare and Medicaid programs. What does it mean for you?
Health care - United States Congress - United States Senate - Health - Congress
» Click here for the full story.
Video: 'Baby killer' yelled at Rep. Stupak
Posted On: 3/22/10
Msnbc's David Shuster reports that someone yelled "baby killer" at Rep. Bart Stupak on the House floor during the health care debate Sunday night. (Other)
Bart Stupak - House - David Shuster - United States - Government
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Video: How will health care win change Obama presidency?
Posted On: 3/22/10
NBC’s David Gregory talks to TODAY’s Meredith Vieira about how the Democrats' health care win will change the future of the Democratic party and the Obama administration. (Today Show)
Meredith Vieira - Democratic - Today - NBC - Presidency of Barack Obama
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The House passed the overhaul — now what?
Posted On: 3/22/10
On Tuesday, the Senate is expected to start its work on the fixes bill using reconciliation. For Republicans, it's their best chance at a derailment.
Republican - United States Senate - Senate - United States - Health care
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Abortion deal earns ire of critics on both sides
Posted On: 3/22/10
A compromise that swung a half-dozen anti-abortion Democrats behind President Barack Obama’s health care bill failed to placate outside activists on either side of the issue.
Barack Obama - President of the United States - Health care - Democratic Party - Pro-life movement
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Health bill opponents heckle top Dems
Posted On: 3/22/10
House Democratic leaders are heckled by opponents of health reform, a day after a raucous protest included chants laced with racial epithets aimed at black members of Congress.
Health care - United States Congress - House - Politics - United States
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Video: Fired-up Obama makes final health pitch
Posted On: 3/19/10
Congressional Democrats struck an optimistic tone as President Barack Obama let loose, giving a fiery speech on why his signature issue should pass. NBC’s Chuck Todd reports. (Nightly News)
Barack Obama - Chuck Todd - NBC Nightly News - NBC - President
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End in sight, Dems lobby health bill waverers
Posted On: 3/19/10
President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders lobbied intensively for historic health care legislation Friday, striving to resolve a last-minute dispute over Medicare while gaining precious "yeses" less than 48 hours ahead of a climactic vote.
Barack Obama - Health care - President of the United States - President - United States
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9 major changes in the new health care bill
Posted On: 3/19/10
In their attempt to pass a sweeping health care overhaul this weekend, House Democrats are pushing a package of legislative fixes to lure undecided or opposed members of their party to the "yes" category.
Health care - Democratic - Politics - United States - Health Care Reform
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Video: Down to wire: Getting 216 votes
Posted On: 3/19/10
“Meet the Press” moderator David Gregory discusses how close the Democrats are to getting the votes to pass the health care overhaul. (Nightly News)
DavidGregory - Meet the Press - NBC Nightly News - United States - Politics
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Newsweek: Health care wars have just begun
Posted On: 3/19/10
In both the short and long term, health care will continue to be front and center for the foreseeable future. Having driven the president's numbers into the floor with jack-hammer opposition to his reform crusade, Republicans are not going to let a little "yes" vote (if happens in the House) stop them.
Health care - House - Republican - United States - Newsweek
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Video: Obama: 'The time for reform is now'
Posted On: 3/19/10
An impassioned President Obama tells a George Mason University audience that while he doesn't know how health care will play out politically, he does know passing it is the right thing to do. (Other)
George Mason University - Barack Obama - Health care - President of the United States - United States
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First Read: What's in the $940B health bill
Posted On: 3/19/10
Health - Medicine - Facilities - Health Systems - United States
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A guide to the health care procedural dance
Posted On: 3/19/10
If the music and lyrics seem a little baffling to you, you’re not alone. Deeming? Whipping? Reconciling? Even staff members on Capitol Hill are trying to keep the steps straight: Whip, vote, vote, sign, debate, vote, sign.
Health care - Whip - United States - Arts - Democratic
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Newsweek: More med students opt for primary care
Posted On: 3/18/10
Today is Match Day, when graduating medical students nationwide are finding out where they'll be doing their residencies. And it's an encouraging day for family medicine, because 1,169 of this year’s American graduates have chosen to go into that field, a 9 percent rise from last year.
Medicine - Family medicine - Primary care - Medical school - United States
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Insurer revoked HIV patients’ coverage
Posted On: 3/17/10
Fortis, now known as Assurant Health, targeted policyholders with HIV, revoking their insurance shortly after diagnosis. The insurance company was ordered to pay $10 million.
Insurance - Fortis - Business - Financial services - Assurant
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Woman Obama championed can get health care
Posted On: 3/17/10
A woman championed as the Obama administration's emblem for health care reform does not have to choose between her home and her health, Ohio health officials say.
Health care - Ohio - United States - Presidency of Barack Obama - Politics
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Carrot-and-stick health plans reshape care
Posted On: 3/17/10
Some workers soon will be able to pick a new type of insurance that offers free care for some illnesses, such as diabetes or depression, but requires hefty extra fees for treatments deemed overused.
Diabetes mellitus - Major depressive disorder - Health insurance - Health - Insurance
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Obama confident on health bill
Posted On: 3/16/10
President Barack Obama said Monday that he is confident that House Democrats will rally together to pass sweeping health care reform legislation in a vote expected to take place this week.
Barack Obama - Health care - Democratic Party - President of the United States - President
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Ga. court upholds key medical malpractice law
Posted On: 3/15/10
A sharply divided Georgia Supreme Court on Monday upheld a key part of a sweeping 2005 law that made it more difficult for patients to win medical malpractice cases involving emergency health care providers.
Health care - Medical malpractice - Supreme Court of the United States - Law - United States
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Health care 101: Consumer guide to reform bill
Posted On: 3/15/10
It took lawmakers a year to shape President Barack Obama's health care bill. If it finally passes Congress, it'll take the better part of a decade to write the user manual for consumers and doctors, employers and insurance companies.
Barack Obama - Health care - United States Congress - Insurance - President of the United States
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Q&A: How Obama’s Medicare tax plan works
Posted On: 3/15/10
President Barack Obama, to help pay for his health care overhaul package, is proposing that high-income Americans pay Medicare taxes on the money they make on their investments. Here are some basic questions and answers about this little-discussed provision that could affect millions of people.
Barack Obama - Health care - Medicare - President of the United States - President
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Health care bill heads for make-or-break week
Posted On: 3/14/10
The House's chief Democratic headcounter said Sunday he hadn't rounded up enough votes to pass President Barack Obama's health care overhaul heading into a make-or-break week.
Barack Obama - Health care - President of the United States - President - Democratic Party
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Enough with all the medical tests, experts say
Posted On: 3/12/10
Too much cancer screening, too many heart tests, too many cesarean sections. A spate of recent reports suggest that too many Americans — maybe even President Barack Obama — are being overtreated.
Barack Obama - United States - President of the United States - President - Cancer
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Obama appeals for support on health care
Posted On: 3/9/10
President Barack Obama ratcheted up his attacks against insurance companies Monday in a last-ditch attempt to get a reluctant public and skittish Democrats behind his health overhaul legislation.
Barack Obama - Health care - President of the United States - President - United States
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Palin notes irony of using Canada health care
Posted On: 3/8/10
Sarah Palin has been no friend lately of socialized health care.
Sarah Palin - Canada - Health care - United States - Politics
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Stupak: Abortion fight can be resolved
Posted On: 3/8/10
Prospects are good for resolving a dispute over abortion that has led some House Democrats to threaten to withhold support of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, a key Michigan Democrat says.
Barack Obama - Health care - President of the United States - Democratic Party - President
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Abortion coverage dispute divides House Dems
Posted On: 3/5/10
On the other side of the obstacle course that President Barack Obama must clear to get his health care overhaul, a final trapdoor is lurking: the divisive politics of abortion.
Barack Obama - Health care - President of the United States - President - United States
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Obama nudges House Dems on health care
Posted On: 3/4/10
Support from his own party in doubt, President Barack Obama summoned more than a dozen House Democrats to the White House Thursday, pleading with them to put aside their qualms, seize a historic moment and vote for his massive health care overhaul.
Barack Obama - Health care - Democratic - United States - President Barack Obama
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'Reconciliation,' revisited
Posted On: 3/1/10
A little-known legislative procedure called “reconciliation” is making a fierce comeback as congressional Democrats’ best hope to end the Senate’s stalemate over health care reform.
Health care - Democratic - United States Senate - Health - Politics
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Ready to go it alone, Dems push on health care
Posted On: 2/26/10
"We know what happens if we do nothing: more and more people pay more," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Friday. "The president believes we still have to act."
Robert Gibbs - White House Press Secretary - Health care - United States - White House
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Dems, GOP may not 'bridge the gap' on reform
Posted On: 2/25/10
President Barack Obama concludes the unprecedented live talkfest on health care with the bleak assessment that accord between Democrats and Republicans may not be possible.
Barack Obama - Health care - President of the United States - Politics - United States
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Notable quotes from the health care summit
Posted On: 2/25/10
President Barack Obama leads a last-ditch bid to save his stalled health care reform, convening a televised summit with Democratic and Republican leaders.
Barack Obama - Health care - Democratic Party - United States - Republicans
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Health summit underscores unbridgeable gulf
Posted On: 2/25/10
PoliticsDaily.com's Jill Lawrence says the real divide between Democrats and Republicans in the health care debate is not political, it's philosophical.
Republican - Democratic Party - Health - Health Policy - Politics Daily
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Insurance nightmare: We need a better system
Posted On: 2/25/10
PoliticsDaily.com's Janet Battaile is in the fight of her life against a virulent form of cancer. Now she's met an obstacle that is harder to beat than cancer itself — her new health insurers.
Cancer - Insurance - Health - Conditions and Diseases - Organizations
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Democrats looking past summit to final talks
Posted On: 2/25/10
Reckoning the health care summit will amount to political theater, Democrats shift focus to intraparty negotiations on fate of health-care reform.
Health care - Democratic - United States - Health - Republican
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Compromise unlikely at health summit
Posted On: 2/24/10
Expect Republicans and Democrats to collide, not come together, at Thursday's health care summit.
Republicans - Democratic - United States - Health - Health policy
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A third of young adults uninsured in 2008
Posted On: 2/24/10
A third of young U.S. adults -- nearly 13 million people -- had no health insurance coverage in 2008, according to a government report released on Wednesday.
Insurance - United States - Health insurance - Financial Services - Business
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Poll shows less fear on health care overhaul
Posted On: 2/23/10
With President Barack Obama's health care overhaul in limbo, Americans' fears about its effect on them eased in January, according to a poll released as the president tries to revive sweeping Democratic legislation.
Barack Obama - Health care - Democratic Party - President of the United States - United States
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Docs cut hours as primary care shortage looms
Posted On: 2/23/10
Doctors have steadily cut their work hours over the past decade, a new study finds, something that experts say may only worsen the health care situation.
Primary care - Health care - Health - Medicine - United States
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Obama unveils revised $1 trillion health plan
Posted On: 2/22/10
President Barack Obama tried to rejuvenate his stalled healthcare overhaul on Monday with a revised plan designed to make coverage more affordable and bolster federal authority to regulate insurance premium hikes
Barack Obama - Insurance - Health insurance - United States - Politics
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Health care drama headed to daytime TV
Posted On: 2/20/10
Coming soon to daytime television: America's long-running civic drama over how to provide better health care to more of its people without breaking the bank.
Health care - Drama - Daytime television - Health - United States
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Sharp premium rise for Medicare private plans
Posted On: 2/19/10
Millions of seniors who signed up for popular private health plans through Medicare are facing premium increases of 14 percent this year — another sign that spiraling costs are a problem even for those with solid insurance.
Medicare - Insurance - Health insurance - Business - Health
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Opinion: Disability-free world may not be better place
Posted On: 2/18/10
Opinion: Genetic testing of parents and, in some cases, embryos, means fewer are born with Down syndrome and cystic fibrosis, but it also raises some difficult ethical challenges.
Cystic fibrosis - Genetic disorder - Health - Conditions and Diseases - Genetic testing
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Reid plans Christmas Eve passage of health bill
Posted On: 12/17/09
Senate Democratic leaders have laid out an ambitious timetable for passing the health care bill on Christmas Eve. But if they're successful with their strategy, the vote that matters most and sets the stage for final passage would happen on Monday.
Christmas - Christmas Eve - Democratic - Health care - United States Senate
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Dems vow to close Medicare 'doughnut hole'
Posted On: 12/17/09
Medicare's coverage gap for prescription drugs has steadily gotten bigger since the benefit's inception. But if Democrats have their way, the dreaded "doughnut hole" will shrink by $500 right away and go away altogether by 2019.
Medicare - Prescription drug - Medicare Part D coverage gap - Health - Health Policy
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Holdout senator rejects abortion compromise
Posted On: 12/17/09
Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson — the moderate Democrat whose opposition is holding up the Senate's health care bill — says new language on abortion doesn't satisfy his concerns.
Ben Nelson - Health care - United States Senate - Abortion - Health
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Air ambulances leave some with sky-high bills
Posted On: 12/17/09
In a country with dwindling health benefits and rising ranks of uninsured, where the rule is to fly first and ask questions later, some patients are finding emergency air flights may save their lives, but also contribute to medical debt they can’t pay.
Health insurance - Uninsured in the United States - Air ambulance - Health - Business
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Single-payer health care plan dies in Senate
Posted On: 12/16/09
The liberals' longtime dream of a government-run health care system for all died Wednesday in the Senate, but Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont vowed it will return.
Health care - Democratic - Christmas - Health - United States
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Dean urges defeat of emerging health care bill
Posted On: 12/16/09
Former Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean argued Wednesday that the health care overhaul bill taking shape in the Senate further empowers private insurers at the expense of consumer choice — a claim the White House rejected.
White House - Health care - Democratic - Howard Dean - Senate
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Drugmakers will pay more for health bill
Posted On: 12/16/09
Democratic senators said Wednesday they've been told the pharmaceutical industry will contribute billions of dollars more than it has previously promised for President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, with the money being used to close a gap in Medicare drug coverage.
Barack Obama - Health care - Medicare - Democratic - Pharmaceutical industry
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GOP demands full reading of amendment
Posted On: 12/16/09
United States - Law - Government - Constitution - Bill of Rights
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Public sours on health care overhaul, poll finds
Posted On: 12/16/09
Just 32 percent say President Barack Obama's health reform plan is a good idea, versus 47 percent who say it's a bad idea, the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds.
Barack Obama - Health care - President of the United States - NBC - United States
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1 in 5 in U.S. lost health insurance since 2008
Posted On: 12/16/09
Nearly 20 percent of the U.S. population — or almost 60 million people — went without health insurance at some point since January 2008, according to government estimates released Wednesday.
United States - Health insurance - Insurance - Financial Services - Health
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Senate rejects low-cost drug imports
Posted On: 12/15/09
The Senate rejects a plan to allow Americans to import low-cost prescriptions from abroad, handing drug makers a victory that may help secure passage of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
Barack Obama - United States - Health care - President of the United States - Senate
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Obama: Health reform at ‘precipice’ of passage
Posted On: 12/15/09
President Barack Obama meets privately with Senate Democrats and then declares they are close to enacting health care legislation that has eluded lawmakers for decades.
Barack Obama - Democratic - President of the United States - Health care - United States
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Feds arrest 26 in massive Medicare fraud
Posted On: 12/15/09
Federal agents arrest 26 suspects in three states, including a doctor and nurses, in a major crackdown on Medicare fraud totaling $61 million in separate scams.
Fraud - Medicare fraud - Health - Medicare - Health Policy
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Senate Dems may scrap Medicare expansion
Posted On: 12/14/09
Senate Democrats say they may jettison a proposed Medicare expansion from health care legislation they are eager to pass before Christmas.
Barack Obama - Health care - President of the United States - United States - White House
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Medicare buy-in plan runs into resistance
Posted On: 12/13/09
A plan to let people as young as 55 buy into Medicare, heralded as a breakthrough in the Senate's health care debate, runs into resistance from key lawmakers.
Medicare - Health care - United States Senate - Health - Senate
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Loophole would allow health coverage limits
Posted On: 12/11/09
A loophole in the Senate health care bill would let insurance companies place annual dollar limits on medical care for people struggling with costly illnesses such as cancer.
Insurance - Health care - Health - Senate - Business
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Report: Overhaul would raise health care costs
Posted On: 12/11/09
Democrats trying to push President Barack Obama's health care overhaul plan through the Senate got a sober warning Friday that costs will keep going up and proposed Medicare savings may harm the program.
Barack Obama - Health care - Medicare - President of the United States - Senate
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Internet users lured to oppose health bills
Posted On: 12/10/09
Internet users seeking free gifts, including virtual money for online games, have been enticed to send e-mails to members of Congress to express opposition to the health overhaul effort.
United States Congress - Games - Congress - Economic - Directories
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Lawmakers move to block mining of Rx data
Posted On: 12/10/09
Drug companies would no longer be able to mine pharmacy records to track which doctors are prescribing their medications, under a proposal unveiled Thursday by two Senate Democrats.
Pharmacy - Health - Pharmaceutical drug - Pharmacies - Stores
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Unions pressure Dems on health insurance tax
Posted On: 12/10/09
Unions leaders, among the most passionate backers of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, pressed Democratic senators Thursday to drop a tax on high-value insurance plans to pay for remaking the nation's system.
Prescription drug - Pharmaceutical industry - Drug - Presidency of Barack Obama - Health
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Get ready: There’ll be a price for health benefits
Posted On: 12/9/09
Have your checkbooks and credit cards ready. There's a price for health care security.
Credit card - Health care - United States - Business - Health
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Dems praise tentative health bill compromise
Posted On: 12/9/09
President Barack Obama on Wednesday praised a Senate health care compromise that would jettison a full-blown government insurance plan in favor of expanding Medicare and creating new private plans modeled on the federal employee program.
Barack Obama - Health care - President of the United States - United States Senate - United States
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U.S. tops world in health spending, results lag
Posted On: 12/8/09
The United States ranks near the bottom in life expectancy among wealthy nations despite spending more than double per person on health care than the industrialized world's average, an economic group said Tuesday.
Life expectancy - United States - Health - Developed country - Health care
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Senate votes on Medicare in Saturday session
Posted On: 12/5/09
Republicans force Democrats to vote in favor of cutting billions from providers of home care for older people as partisan debate flared Saturday during a rare weekend session.
Medicare - Home care - Democratic - Health - United States
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Surgeon general wants more minority docs
Posted On: 12/3/09
The new U.S. surgeon general on Thursday called for stepped-up efforts to increase the number of minority physicians.
United States - Medicine - Health - Math - U.S
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American health care: Proposals for change
Posted On: 9/4/09
5 examples of how health care reform could impact you.
Health care - United States - Health Care Reform - Politics - Republicans
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Interactive: Who's who in health care
Posted On: 7/15/09
A look at the key players shaping the national debate over health care.
Health - United States - Health care - Politics - Health Care Reform
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