Here’s another story with a satisfying ending and the take-home lesson that it’s a bad idea to cheat taxpayers and abuse medical resources. A chain of hospices agreed to settle a lawsuit over its overbilling of Medicare, and driving up payments by providing care to patients for whom it wasn’t appropriate. St. Joseph Hospice, which….
Continue ReadingArchives for September 2015
Is Your Heart Older than Your Body?
Even if your heart’s in the right place, it might be older than your body. At least in terms of a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The average man in the U.S. has a heart that’s 7.8 years “older” than his chronological age; the average woman’s “heart age” is….
Continue ReadingFDA Warns Companies About Powdered Caffeine
We Americans love our energy-boosting drinks, never mind that so many have been shown to pose threats of heart disease, high blood pressure and other problems for some people. The newest form of caffeine-infusion is a powder that the FDA has determined is potentially harmful enough to issue a warning. The feds sent the letter….
Continue ReadingBlood Pressure Study Halted Early for All the Right Reasons
The words “legendary,” “miraculous” and “unique” are so overused in common conversation they’ve almost lost their meaning. Describing a health study as “landmark” falls into the same category. Except for last week, when the initial results of a clinical trial sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) proved so impressive about the benefits of….
Continue ReadingWeigh In on the New Dietary Guidelines
When it comes to healthful eating, it seems, what’s good for you today might not be what’s good for you tomorrow. In an effort to convey the latest in nutrition science, and to make information easier to understand, the FDA is proposing updates to the Nutrition Facts label. The only major change to the label….
Continue ReadingPain Relievers Might Reduce the Risk of Colon Cancer … But Raise It for Other Problems
Taking the wonder drug we call aspirin and a host of other over-the-counter pain relievers might bring another benefit – a lower risk of colorectal cancer. An impressively large study in Denmark found that people who took one or two low-dose aspirin long term had a lower risk of colorectal cancer, according to the research….
Continue ReadingLogging On for Second Opinions
It’s always a good idea to get a second opinion when a health-care provider makes a serious diagnosis or treatment plan, or advises you to undergo anything more than a simple procedure. These days, this trust-but-verify practice is easier than ever. As reported in The Wall Street Journal, (WSJ) patient demand for online second-opinion services….
Continue ReadingPowerful Interests Kill Popular Malpractice Legislation
A bill introduced in the New York State Legislature aimed to help people who were grievously injured by medical malpractice. It had wide, bipartisan support, and passed one of the state’s two houses. But it’s unlikely ever to become law. As attorneys Thomas Moore and Steve Cohen wrote on the op-ed page of the New….
Continue ReadingMedical Studies — Separating the Good from the Crummy
Our friends at HealthNewsReview.org are devoted to helping consumers understand what is real and what is puffery in claims about health-care interventions. The HNR website is a wonderful resource for learning how to evaluate the often breathless claims the popular media like to call “news.” If you’re the kind of health news hound who wants….
Continue ReadingEven an Orthodontist Wouldn’t Apply His Own Braces
Orthodontic work is expensive and often not covered by medical insurance, so it’s understandable that some people might entertain the idea of do-it-yourself braces using tiny rubber bands. Don’t even think about it. A report that recently aired on WTHI TV in Indianapolis featured orthodontists cautioning against such a DIY project in response to videos….
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