As many as five million Americans already have Alzheimer’s and other dementia-related conditions, and their resulting loss of cognitive capacity and personal control rank among the top causes for health dread among those 55 and older, polls show. So it’s worth noting that new studies are showing that seniors 65 and older get on average….
Continue ReadingArchives for May 2018
Heart doctors under fire over their pricey practices
It’s one thing when modern medicine becomes so hidebound that it struggles over shedding a bit of traditional doctors’ garb. But new information emerging about cardiology’s entrenched reliance on maverick surgeons and evidence-light therapies in treating heart problems raises real questions: Exactly what’s going on in this costly area of care? Haider Warraich ── a….
Continue ReadingLet’s bust this myth now: Don’t expect insurers to help cut medical bills
Patients who expect their health insurer will work in their interests to contain costs by medical providers might just as well hope for assistance from leprechauns, unicorns, or the tooth fairy. Marshall Allen, a reporter for the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative site ProPublica, has just penned a strong myth-busting piece, cross-posted on the National Public Radio….
Continue ReadingExperts issue new cautions as hospitals and ERs treat a spike in teen suicides
Moms, dads, grandparents, teachers, and coaches all may need to increase even more the attention and concern they devote to teen-agers, especially young women, as hospitals and emergency rooms report dramatic increases in their treatment of youthful suicides. Multiple news organizations reported that, as the New York Times noted, “the proportion of emergency room and….
Continue ReadingOverrun by sports performance chatter? Can questions on MBI bust the bunk?
If you can get your favorite sports fans peeled away from the latest broadcast pro event ─ whether it’s the basketball playoffs, hockey championship series, golf tourneys, or the heating up baseball season ─ a conversation of sorts could be sparked by dropping numbers on them. See what kind of rise you can get by….
Continue ReadingFDA tries to prod Big Pharma on prices with a new ‘naming and shaming’ list
After critics called President Trump’s long-awaited plan to rein in Big Pharma’s rapacious prices disappointing, his administration launched a much-tried tactic against the industry: “naming and shaming.” The federal Food and Drug Administration issued a list of drug makers and the complaints against them about their expensive “shenanigans,” their efforts to undercut potentially cost-cutting competition….
Continue ReadingDangerous doctors rip off Medicare, creep out coeds, harm transplant patients
Callous institutional inertia can allow dangerous doctors to keep harming patients. But media digging deserves credit for raising needed alarms when professional caregivers and others fail to step up to protect individuals as disparate as taxpayers, seniors, coeds, and heart transplant recipients. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and MedPage Today performed a public service, reporting that they….
Continue ReadingVirginia, Maryland, and kids bear early brunt of partisan health care attacks
As the nation churns toward the midterm elections, the Trump Administration has sent stark messages to voters about how they may wish to respond to Republicans’ unceasing attacks on health care and health insurance for the middle class and the poor. The failed campaign to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, and….
Continue ReadingConcern swirls anew over health risks posed by nasty ‘third-hand’ smoke
It may not come as much more than a duh factor to nonsmokers with roomies with a heavy cigarette habit, but medical scientists are expressing growing concern about risks posed by “third hand” smoke, residual films left on all manner of environments and surfaces by burning tobacco, close and far. Multiple media outlets reported on….
Continue ReadingSkepticism reigns as Trump finally details plan to rein in prescription drug costs
Did you hear it? Was that a giant sigh of relief by Big Pharma executives around the globe? Or was it the air deflating from any Americans who still had high expectations that President Trump, as he had promised for more than a year, really would offer a quick, powerful, and effective public policy prescription….
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