Dutiful sons and daughters may need to see their parents, uncles and aunts, and grandparents, if nothing else to shut off their cable television news, turn off the talk radio, yank them off social media, and put down their newspapers and magazines. That’s because the American Psychological Association warns that an onslaught of media coverage,….
Continue ReadingArchives for October 2016
Cuddle your newborn? That’ll be $39.35, please
“Skin to skin” therapy? That was the line item charge that appeared on the hospital bill for a young couple, and the dad decided to check it out. What he found has blown up across the Internet. It turns out that the Utah parents were charged $ 39.35 by their hospital just so the new mom….
Continue Reading‘Superbug’ infection raises key questions about hospitals, data on causes of death
California regulators have reversed themselves and decided to require hospitals to report outbreaks of “superbug” cases, rare infections that also can prove deadly. At the same time, officials in the Golden State haven’t moved to increase the information disclosed on death certificates−data that advocates suggest would give the public clearer outlines of just how severe….
Continue ReadingS. Dakota high court asked to pry open hospitals’ secret approval of brutal MD
South Dakota’s highest court has been asked to reject hospitals’ attempts to keep secret why a doctor, who also is a convicted burglar with a checkered medical past that could have easily been uncovered, passed a peer review that permitted him to perform brutal, excruciating, and unnecessary spinal surgeries on dozens of patients. A lower court rejected….
Continue ReadingAs Obamacare draws fire, millions more struggle with employer coverage
The Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare has been a vital path into health insurance coverage for millions of Americans. But the Houston Chronicle and other media deserve credit for reminding that most people in this country still get insured by employers−and Americans are struggling with the social experiment in which ever increasing costs of care get shifted….
Continue ReadingBig Pharma, undeterred, racks up a half-billion dollars in regulator penalties
Big Pharma’s dubious hype of its sometimes risky products marched on last week, with the industry racking up a half-billion in regulator penalties and settlements but no seeming end to its questionable strategies and tactics: $465 million penalty, settlement for EpiPen maker Mylan, the controversial maker of the EpiPen, settled with the U.S. Department Justice….
Continue ReadingCan winning re-designs help clear up maddening confusion of hospital bills?
After partnering with hospital systems, medical finance specialists, and AARP, the advocacy group for Americans 50 and older, Uncle Sam has chosen its top competitors who tried to answer the vexing question: Can anyone do anything to fix the infuriating confusion caused by the typical hospital bill? Sure, it’s a little gimmicky. A $5,000 prize….
Continue ReadingHospitals still failing to correctly ID patients and prevent mix-ups
As American medicine grows ever more complex, a basic of care is getting risky short shrift: Hospitals may be failing to protect their patients’ safety by ensuring they are clearly identified and their medical records don’t get mixed up. The Wall Street Journal provides a list of horror stories about wrong patient IDs and record….
Continue ReadingResearchers question FDA cancer experts’ ‘revolving door’ with Big Pharma
The numbers are small but the implications significant. A pair of academic researchers has tossed a conflict-of-interest grenade in the laps of the leaders of the federal Food and Drug Administration. Is there too much of a revolving door between Big Pharma and many of the top experts who play vital roles in giving the….
Continue ReadingCareful: Pets can bring joy, but carry infections too
As any pet owner knows, all the creatures great and small can add beyond measure to our lives. But it may be worth reconsidering some boundaries between beasts and people to prevent disease and to enjoy the full bounty that animals can bring. Parents, please take note. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,….
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