MEDICINE AND RX

The U.S.’s hospital bed shortage is in danger of reaching a ‘critical threshold’

There is a shortage of beds in hospitals across the United States. NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with doctor Arjun Venkatesh of Yale School about it.

A letter from Mark Cuban. COST-PLUS DRUGS

Find and afford the drugs you need Know what your medication costs Track your order in real time COSTPLUSDRUGS.COM – We started Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company because every American should have access to safe, affordable medicines. If you don’t have insurance or have a high deductible plan, you know that even the most basic medications can cost a fortune. Many people are spending crazy amounts of money each month just to stay...

FDA Approves Drug to Treat Pain Without Opioid Effects

The drug, Journavx by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, blocks pain signals to the brain, making it nonaddictive.

There could be a new definition for obesity. A doctor explains why this matters

CNN – For years, medical experts have defined obesity primarily based on body mass index, which measures stored fat by calculating height and weight, to determine a person’s health risks. Major public health organizations, including the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, define adult obesity as a BMI of 30 or greater and overweight as a BMI between 25 and 29.9. Recently, an international commission proposed a revised definition of...

So Many Days Lost at the Doctor’s Office

"The understanding that medical care can become a wearying treadmill for older patients has led researchers to look more closely at the consequences of so-called burdens of treatment."

Drugmakers hiked prices for hundreds of drugs in early January

Heard on All Things Considered – Drugmakers raised the list prices on 575 name-brand drugs in just the first two days of the new year, according to drug price research firm 46brooklyn. Drugs for diabetes, HIV, cancer saw price hikes, among others. For years a 10% annual price hike was fairly normal, but they've started coming down in recent years. This year's median price hike so far is only 4%, says Antonio Ciaccia, CEO of 46brooklyn. "While...

The FDA Hasn’t Inspected This Drug Factory After 7 Recalls for the Same Flaw, 1 Potentially Deadly

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. The drug potassium chloride has been on the market for decades, widely prescribed to help the nerves and muscles — including the heart — function properly in patients with low potassium. Too much of it, however, can kill you. At high doses, it is so effective at stopping the heart that some states have used injections of it for executions. So the danger was obvious in May,...

Clinicians’ phones a cybersecurity risk, says study

La Trobe University – A new study led by Dr. Tafheem Wani, a La Trobe lecturer in Digital Health Information Management, showed that clinicians' phones (and other digital devices) contained sensitive patient information, which was not often protected by antivirus software and passcodes. Dr. Wani said the use of personal devices for work purposes, known as "bring your own device" (BYOD), had significantly increased in hospitals because clinicians needed efficiency and mobility while at work. "Some...

Removing a Splinter? Treating a Wart? If a Doctor Does It, It Can Be Billed as Surgery

KFF HEALTH NEWS – When George Lai of Portland, Oregon, took his toddler son to a pediatrician last summer for a checkup, the doctor noticed a little splinter in the child’s palm. “He must have gotten it between the front door and the car,” Lai later recalled, and the child wasn’t complaining. The doctor grabbed a pair of forceps — aka tweezers — and pulled out the splinter in “a second,” Lai said. That brief tug...

What Doctors Like Myself Know About Americans’ Health Care Anger

The killing of Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, the country’s largest health insurer, has reignited people’s contempt for their health plans.

Medication Prescribed to 23 Million Americans May Cause Bone Loss

Taking levothyroxine may put patients at risk of bone loss, which may lead to conditions such as osteoporosis: a bone disease characterized by weak bones that break more easily.

How Corporate America Kicked Nuns Out Of Hospitals

ST. LOUIS — Inside the more than 600 Catholic hospitals across the country, not a single nun can be found occupying a chief executive suite, according to the Catholic Health Association. Nuns founded and led those hospitals in a mission to treat sick and poor people, but some were also shrewd business leaders. Sister Irene Kraus, a former chief executive of Daughters of Charity National Health System, was famous for coining the phrase “no margin,...

Mayo Clinic Minute: Clean out old medications safely

MAYO CLINIC NEWS NETWORK – Leftover or expired medications can be dangerous if not disposed of properly. Safely getting rid of unneeded prescriptions, like opioids or expired drugs, is essential to prevent misuse and accidental harm. Dr. Tina Ardon, a Mayo Clinic family medicine physician, says proper medication disposal helps safeguard your home and community from unnecessary risks. Learn why it's important to clean out old medications safely. Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute Is your medicine cabinet lined with...

One in 14 American Patients May Be Harmed by Hospital Diagnosis Mistakes

US Population: 345,992,498 Percent of persons with overnight hospital stays: 7.9%. Projected number of persons with overnight hospital stays: 27,333,407 Projected number of persons harmed by hospital diagnosis mistakes: 1,952,386 NEWSWEEK – Harmful diagnostic errors may occur for as many as one in every 14 hospital patients receiving medical care, a new study based on a single medical center in the U.S. has found. As many as 85 percent of these errors may...

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MEDICINE AND RX

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