How Health Care Dropped Out Of The Presidential Conversation
Health wonks were miffed about the lack of attention their beloved issue got in President Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night. “Health care still 1/6 of the economy and growing. Wouldn’t know it from #sotu,” tweeted an irritated Austin Frakt, a health economist at Boston University who yesterday co-authored a longer response to [...]
Home Births Grow More Popular In U.S.
The number of women delivering babies at home in the United States has increased significantly, according to the latest government data released Thursday. Home births increased by 29 percent between 2004 and 2009. The upward trend is being welcomed by some advocates of home births and midwives, but it’s also raising concern among some doctors. [...]
Start Early To Curb Heart Risks For A Lifetime
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the U.S. But who’s at the most risk? A study in the lastest New England Journal of Medicine offers a simple way to predict the risk of a fatal or debilitating heart attack or stroke for a middle-aged person over the rest of his or her [...]
L.A. Mayor Makes Condom Use The Law In Porn Films
In Los Angeles, the center of the U.S. adult film industry, condom use during the making of porn films will soon be required. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa signed the controversial ordinance into law this Monday. Now it’s up to the L.A. city clerk to post the new rule, which could happen this week, the Associated Press [...]
USDA To Require Healthier Meals In Schools With Updated Nutrition Standards
Less salt and fat. More whole grains, fruit, veggies and low-fat dairy. This is what kids can expect in the school lunchroom soon, according to new nutrition standards for school meals announced today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and first lady Michelle Obama. “When we send our kids to school, we expect that they [...]
Shortage Of Research On When There’s Too Much Health Care
There’s little doubt that the U.S. wastes a lot of money on unnecessary health care. But pinning down the worst offenders isn’t easy, as a fresh analysis of the scientific literature finds. Published research on overuse is in pretty short supply, so rooting out waste by looking at the existing studies can be a little [...]
Hospitals Take Page From Frequent Traveler Programs
These days, as hospitals elbow each other to attract your business, they’re offering patients — and those who might become patients — a whole range of perks. These loyalty programs can be as straightforward as free valet parking and discounts at the hospital gift shop. There are also educational sessions showcasing surgeons’ prowess, just in [...]
Not Your Grandmother’s Hospital Food
Hospital food, like airplane food, is the kind of institutional food we love to hate. But the days of jello cups and puddles of grayish gravy are numbered. A lot of people — from deep-pocketed foodies to fast-food lovers to locavores — aren’t standing for barely edible hospital food anymore. At one end of the [...]
Stem-Cell Therapy Seems To Reverse Vision Loss In Early Study
Two women losing their sight to progressive forms of blindness may have regained some vision while participating in an experiment testing a treatment made from human embryonic stem cells, researchers reported today. The report marks the first time that scientists have produced direct evidence that human embryonic stem cells may have helped a patient. The [...]
When It Comes To Depression, Serotonin Isn’t The Whole Story
When I was 17 years old, I got so depressed that what felt like an enormous black hole appeared in my chest. Everywhere I went, the black hole went, too. So to address the black-hole issue, my parents took me to a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She did an evaluation and then told me [...]
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