Politicians almost by reflex decry the skyrocketing cost of U.S. health care by blaming much of it on waste, fraud, abuse. They, alas, really may be on to something, newly published research shows. Health care experts, including a medical leader of health insurer Humana, “combed through 54 studies and reports published since 2012 that estimated….
Continue ReadingArchives for October 2019
$8 billion Risperdal verdict? It’s not the money, it’s the message, Big Pharma
When regular citizens get together in the civil justice system to deliberate difficult claims about complex matters, they may not get everything just right to the satisfaction of the disputing parties. But jurors’ wisdom and findings should not be taken lightly, especially by Big Pharma. That’s why Johnson & Johnson — and other drug makers….
Continue ReadingVulnerable nursing home residents face yet another hazard: sickening food
To the myriad struggles that residents of nursing homes endure, from poor health to inattentive staff, add this new one: “crappy conditions” in kitchens and other areas where their food gets prepared and served. Marjie Lundstrom, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, conducted a five-month, nationwide investigation for the consumer web site Fair Warning, with the results….
Continue ReadingSafety concerns grow over cars’ high-tech braking and summoning features
Technology advocates may be ignoring due cautions as they put software ahead of safety in the push to make the vehicles of today and tomorrow more self-driving (aka autonomous). Car and truck owners, safety advocates warn, should proceed with care before relying on automatic emergency braking systems, especially as they purport to safeguard pedestrians. Restraint….
Continue ReadingFDA oversight looks shaky with drug recalls, rising vaping deaths and injuries
Tens of millions of Americans may have been startled in recent days by the much-publicized pulling from the shelves of widely used drugs like ranitidine (aka Zantac), an over-the-counter heartburn remedy, and select lots of the prescription blood-pressure medications losartan, valsartan and irbesartan. The actions occurred after cancer-causing chemicals known as nitrosamines — N-Nitroso-N-methyl-4-aminobutyric acid,….
Continue ReadingWhere’s the beef? Experts chew on meat-eating: Bad for you, unknown, or what?
The elite of public health organizations are up in arms about a new report from a group of international researchers who looked at red meat and its health benefits and harms, and more or less shrugged. The new take goes like this, reported the New York Times: “If there are health benefits from eating less….
Continue ReadingWith data and disclosures, experts, families, and friends battle suicide’s toll
Dogged medical detective work combined with public advocacy to dispel the shame that surrounds suicide — these may be productive ways to attack the public health nightmare of increasing numbers of Americans taking their own lives. This is a crisis that can’t be hidden or allowed to keep going up, with some experts estimating that roughly….
Continue ReadingHealth insurance? It’s now about the price of a new car each year.
Millions of Americans may sigh at Bertha, Barney, or Betty, or whatever they’ve nicknamed the beat-up family vehicle parked out front: “Wouldn’t it be great, if only we could afford a nicer, newer model?” A big obstacle to that wish, however, may be the increasingly costly and unaffordable health insurance they get at their workplace…..
Continue ReadingHealth care plagued by cases of a persistent pathology — unmitigated gall
There seems to be a never-ending outbreak of a certain kind of pathology in the United States. Big Pharma has it and spreads it around, a lot. So, too, do public health figures. Let’s call this scourge what it is — unmitigated gall. The problem with this nasty condition is that it afflicts the rest….
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