Hospitals keep getting bigger, but how about better for their patients, too? The data suggest that the prices they charge are rising in part due to industry consolidation, but consumers also need to be extra skeptical of national, direct-to-patient appeals about the advantages of various institutions. Credit is due to the New York Times for….
Continue ReadingArchives for November 2018
With these holiday gifts, health-conscious may need to add dose of skepticism
Holiday gift-giving can be expensive, so the health-conscious may wish to exercise skepticism about some potential purchases with dubious or unexpected consequence. If you’re considering forking over more than a few dollars, think twice about: So-called “tall” or “standing” desks. They were supposed to be a response to growing research about workers’ heightened health risks….
Continue ReadingNHL short-changes players and medical science in concussion settlement
The National Hockey League, with its new settlement of claims on head injuries, has done the sport and its most important component — players, past, present, and future — no service. Instead, the game’s leaders have shown a disregard for factual medical science, and an excess appreciation for profits over people. In contrast to the….
Continue ReadingWith road deaths already a concern, a new spotlight shines on bad tires
With the nation’s road toll rising in already alarming fashion, Uncle Sam may need to step up information campaigns and even reconsider regulation of a greater than believed vehicle risk: aged and decaying tires. FairWarning, an independent investigative news site, and road safety advocates deserve credit for dogging the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)….
Continue ReadingStaying healthy, safe and thankful during the holidays
As we all race to groaning tables for one of the traditional and happier holidays of the year, here’s hoping the turkeys stay brown, tasty, and on the table. Sadly, food poisoning is a real issue, and not just for worry-warts. Cooks preparing this major feast may want to keep watch on growing reports from….
Continue ReadingFDA to play yet more catch-up to crack down on e-cigarettes and flavorings
Uncle Sam will rip a page from Big Tobacco’s marketing playbook, targeting the taste and buying-ease of nicotine-containing products with tough new restrictions aimed at better protecting kids. Will these latest steps, however, snuff out the increasingly risky youth vaping craze and long problematic menthol cigarettes and cigars? Or are officials too late and being….
Continue ReadingMisdiagnosis: a medical menace to quality and safety of patient care
If patients weren’t already unhappy with drive-by medicine, in which clinicians spend on average of 15 minutes with them in an office visit, safety experts warn that too many doctors’ providing of harried care can worsen a medical menace that’s already hard to ignore: misdiagnosis. Figuring out what ails a patient and taking a correct….
Continue ReadingHarms of medical bunk are real, as $105 million verdict affirms
The rising flood of health care hype, bunk, and conflicts of interst really can harm patients, as has just been emphasized by a $105-million jury verdict, the brave actions of a leading patient advocacy expert, and the commentary of an expert health researcher and New York Times columnist. In a more perfect world, a patient….
Continue ReadingVoters nationwide sent a powerful health care message. Will partisans heed it?
Last week’s election leaves two questions lingering about health care: Will politicians really hear what voters said? And, what help might beleaguered patients now expect from their elected officials? The Affordable Care Act, the central flash point of almost a decade of bitter political battles, appears stronger and more steadfast with Republicans losing the House,….
Continue ReadingBig Pharma shows off its big gall with risky products and dubious practices
Big Pharma is a broad commercial sector with many diverse enterprises large and small, but they keep showing they’re united in their giant gall when it comes to their unacceptable products and practices, as timely news reports demonstrate. Just consider: As the nation grapples with an overdose epidemic that kills tens of thousands of Americans….
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