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Colleges: New health law may imperil student policies

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 18:36:52 GMT

Colleges and universities say some rules in the new health law could keep them from offering low-cost, limited benefit student insurance policies â?? and theyâ??re seeking federal authority to continue offering them.
Law - Education - Business - United States - Financial Services

Deadly hospital staph infections decline in U.S.

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 20:35:10 GMT

Aggressive, drug-resistant staph infections caught in hospitals or from medical treatment are becoming scarcer, another sign of progress in a prevention effort that has become a national public health priority.


United States - Health - Staphylococcus - Medicine - Public health

Teachers want taxpayer-funded Viagra back

Fri, 6 Aug 2010 19:32:40 GMT

With the Milwaukee school district in a financial crisis and hundreds facing layoffs, the  teachers union is taking a peculiar stand: fighting to get its taxpayer-funded Viagra back.


School district - Education - United States - Arkansas - K-12

Health care credit cards may add to your pain

Thu, 2 Sep 2010 13:55:22 GMT

These days, you may leave your dentist's office with more than a toothbrush and dental floss in your bag. Thousands of dentists are offering patients health-care credit cards to cover the work that needs to be done, with seemingly hard-to-resist repayment terms. If you need care and don't have insurance to cover it or cash in hand, it's tempting to sign up.
Dentistry - Toothbrush - Dental floss - Health care - Insurance

Lab-created corneas used to restore vision

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:19:43 GMT

Scientists have created a laboratory-made biosynthetic corneas to restore vision to patients in a small human trial, and shown for the first time that they can help to repair damaged eye tissue.

Canada - Health - Human - Eye - Medicine

Will Medicare checks in the mail help Democrats?

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 16:55:55 GMT

A check from Uncle Sam gets your attention, even if the money doesn't help that much with the bills.

Medicare - Democratic - Business - United States - Uncle Sam

Assaults on ER nurses rise as programs cut

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 19:14:29 GMT

Emergency room nurse Erin Riley suffered bruises, scratches and a chipped tooth last year from trying to pull the clamped jaws of a psychotic patient off the hand of a doctor at a suburban Cleveland hospital.

Health - Hospital - Nursing - Nurse - ER

Atheist doctors more likely to hasten death

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:53:11 GMT

Doctors who are atheist or agnostic are twice as likely to make decisions that could end the lives of their terminally ill patients, compared to doctors who are very religious, according to a new study in Britain.
Atheism - Terminal illness - Medicine - Agnosticism - Health

Doctor discounts: Do surgery on your medical bill

Wed, 4 Aug 2010 13:38:39 GMT

Looking to save money on health care? Consider asking your doctor for a discount.
Health care - Physician - Medicine - Health - United States

FDA looks to curb abuse of cough medicine

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:36:19 GMT

Federal health regulators are weighing restrictions on Robitussin, NyQuil and other cough suppressants to curb cases of abuse that send thousands of people to the hospital each year.


Cough medicine - Robitussin - NyQuil - Health - Medicine

Sponsored By:

Fri, 3 Sep 2010 07:01:40 GMT

U.S. medical programs missing millions of kids: report

Fri, 3 Sep 2010 07:01:40 GMT

An estimated five million uninsured children in the United States were eligible for Medicaid or the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP) but were not enrolled in either plan, according to a new report.
United States - Medicaid - Health insurance - Uninsured in the United States - Insurance

Health overhaul extends Medicare hospital fund by 12 years

Thu, 5 Aug 2010 20:51:28 GMT

The annual checkup of the government's big benefit programs for the elderly showed that the administration's sweeping health care overhaul will extend the life of the Medicare hospital insurance fund by 12 years.
Medicare - Health care - Hospital - Government - Health

Foreign-trained docs as good as U.S. physicians

Tue, 3 Aug 2010 14:27:32 GMT

Physicians trained in other countries provide care just as good as U.S. doctors, according to new report  in the journal Health Affairs. The study, of 244,153 patients, found those treated by foreign-born international medical graduates had the lowest death rates.
United States - Physician - Health - Medicine - International medical graduate

America's most medicated state? West Virginia

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 19:50:04 GMT

Open the medicine cabinet in anyone's home, and chances are good you find at least a couple â?? and perhaps many â?? plastic prescription drug bottles.


West Virginia - Prescription drug - United States - Pharmaceutical drug - Government

Wave of health reform changes set for September

Tue, 3 Aug 2010 19:46:42 GMT

Health care reform hits another milestone next month, with new provisions that include a coverage expansion for young adults and restrictions on an insurer's ability to impose annual coverage limits or to reject children with pre-existing medical conditions.
Insurance - Health care - Healthcare reform - United States - Politics

Law creates paperwork fiasco for businesses

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 23:48:54 GMT

The House rejected an effort to repeal part of the new health care law that requires millions of businesses to file tax forms for every vendor that sells them more than $600 in goods.
Health care - Law - IRS tax forms - Tax - United States

Health reform preview? Program limits access to care

Wed, 4 Aug 2010 22:12:14 GMT

A company chosen by Massachusetts to provide health coverage for immigrants has few doctors who accept new patients, researchers said Wednesday, saying this could indicate what may happen under health care reforms enacted by President Barack Obama.


Barack Obama - Massachusetts - Health care - United States - President of the United States

Patients in clinical trials to get care covered

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:39:08 GMT

Beginning in 2014, the new health law will require health plans to pay for routine care costs for patients who participate in clinical trials for the prevention, detection and treatment of cancer and other life-threatening diseases and conditions.
Cancer - Clinical trial - Health - Conditions and Diseases - United States

U.S. works to shut down fake health care plans

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 19:36:59 GMT

U.S. regulators are cracking down on the growing number of companies that fraudulently sell so-called medical discount plans by telling consumers they work like health insurance and cover medical costs.
United States - Health insurance - Health care - Insurance - Health

FDA questions wider approval of Lilly's Cymbalta

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 16:38:38 GMT

Federal health scientists are questioning whether the antidepressant Cymbalta is safe and effective enough to be approved for use against chronic pain.

Antidepressant - Food and Drug Administration - Health - United States - Conditions and Diseases

States defend suit challenging Obama health care law

Fri, 6 Aug 2010 06:37:06 GMT

Twenty states and a small business lobby plan to file their response Friday to the federal government's attempt to dismiss their lawsuit challenging the health care overhaul.
Health care - United States - Federal government of the United States - Politics - Health Care Reform

Mass. requires insurance coverage for autism

Tue, 3 Aug 2010 22:33:44 GMT

Massachusetts insurance companies will now be required to offer autistic people coverage for a range of treatments, under a bill Gov. Deval Patrick signed into law on Tuesday.


Autism spectrum - Insurance - Mental health - Health - Disorders

Heal thyself: Patients use own stem cells

Mon, 2 Aug 2010 13:37:31 GMT

For all the emotional debate that began about a decade ago to allow the use of embryonic stem cells, it's adult stem cells that are in human testing today. Some are shown promise in treating various diseases.

Stem cell - Embryonic stem cell - Biotechnology - Biology - Human

Medicare's private eyes let fraud cases get cold

Sun, 8 Aug 2010 16:14:48 GMT

They don't seem that interested in hot pursuit. It took private sleuths hired by Medicare an average of six months last year to refer fraud cases to law enforcement.

Medicare - Fraud - Law - Barack Obama - Health care

Sponsored By:

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 23:48:54 GMT

Surgery safe in conflict zones, aid group says

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 21:45:55 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - With a few simple precautions, surgery can be safely performed in conflict and post-conflict zones, doctors from an international aid group said Tuesday.
Surgery - NEW YORK - United States - Health - Medicine

The doctor will see you now â?? in his van

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 19:49:51 GMT

About 2,000 mobile clinics around the U.S. bring convenient care to patients who otherwise might turn to hospital emergency rooms for treatment of chronic issues.  Advocates say the approach can help control the rising cost of health care.
Hospital - Health care - Emergency department - United States - Medicine

Some ERs post wait times by text, billboard

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 12:12:05 GMT

Need an X-ray or stitches? Online, via text message or flashing on a billboard, some emergency rooms are advertising how long the dreaded wait for care will be, with estimates updated every few minutes.

Advertising - Emergency department - Text messaging - Medicine - Health

Drugmakers script social media to push meds

Fri, 3 Sep 2010 13:44:13 GMT

It wasn't what you would call a casual get-together.  A popular New York blogger attended a brunch with fellow "frazzled moms." They took in tips from a style expert and listened to a nurse extol the virtues of Mirena, a birth control device sold by Bayer Healthcare.  The nurse was on Bayer's payroll.

Birth control - Social media - Bayer Healthcare - Bayer - New York City

Remove what from where? Orifice surgeries expand

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:00:57 GMT

A California woman has become one of the latest patients to have 'natural orifice' surgery aimed at reducing scarring, pain, infection and recovery time. Connie Harris, 60, of Carlsbad, had most of her stomach removed through her mouth.

California - Carlsbad California - Surgery - Stomach - Health