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A Computer Beats A Pen For Getting Prescriptions Right

Drug errors inside hospitals remain a big problem. By one estimate, 1 in 7 hospitalized patients suffers some form of error in care. Nearly a third of those mistakes are related to drugs. And those mix-ups can lead to longer hospital stays, unnecessary suffering, permanent damage or death. One way to reduce mistakes is to [...]

Many In High-Risk Insurance Pools Face Lifetime Coverage Limits

Thanks to the health care overhaul, most people no longer have to worry about getting sick and running out of health insurance coverage. The law eliminated lifetime limits, which ran in many plans from $1 millon to $2 million. Unfortunately, though, the change doesn’t apply to plans that enroll some of the sickest people: those [...]

More Than A Million Condoms Recalled In South Africa

The party may be over, but the trouble may just be starting in South Africa. The health department in Free State province is recalling 1.35 million condoms that may not be up to snuff. The affected condoms — a government brand called Choice — were distributed early this month as part of the festivities marking [...]

Gingrich Calls For Panel To Look At Rules For In Vitro Clinics

Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich is changing another of his positions in an effort to woo socially conservative voters. Over the weekend he told churchgoers in Florida that as president he’d work to ban research using stem cells derived from human embryos. Gingrich has long been a strong backer of federal funding for scientific research. [...]

A Bid To Replace Neglect For Tropical Diseases With Attention

Tropical diseases that have long been overlooked are getting their due. An ambitious new push to eradicate, eliminate or control 17 scourges over the next eight years was just unveiled in London. The initiative brings together the some of the world’s largest drugmakers, health-oriented foundations and nongovernmental organizations. Governments from the developed world and the [...]

StateImpact: Poverty Overwhelms Oklahoma Town

Woody Guthrie’s hometown residents struggle with poverty.

A Fan’s Notes On Pro Sports, Brain Damage

I will watch the Super Bowl next weekend, along with several billion other people. I expect to cheer, shout and have some guacamole. But as a fan, I’m finding it a little harder to cheer, especially for my favorite football and hockey players, without thinking: They’re hurting themselves. Not just breaks and sprains but dangerous, [...]

Heavy Doctors Avoid Heavy Discussions About Weight

Research already demonstrates that physicians are sometimes uncomfortable talking about weight with their obese patients. Now, a new study shows that the doctors’ weight makes a difference too. Physicians who pack on the pounds discuss weight loss less frequently with obese patients than doctors who have normal body mass indexes (18 percent versus 30 percent), [...]

Study: 1 in 14 People Has Oral HPV Infection

So how many people have human papillomavirus in their mouths? Quite a few, say researchers who got more than 5,000 volunteers across the country to spit into a cup and answer detailed questions about their sex lives. The bottom line: 6.9 percent of people in the U.S. (ages 14 to 69) have oral infections with [...]

Blood Doctors Call Foul On NCAA’s Screening For Sickle Cell

If you’re a college athlete who’s talented enough to play a Division I sport, the NCAA requires that you get a blood test to see if you have sickle cell trait. People with sickle cell trait carry one copy of a gene that can lead to an abnormal type of hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying molecule in [...]