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<p>Here’s what we’re checking out today:</p> <p><strong>Radiation Worries:</strong> As if you didn’t have enough to worry about with all the controversy over whole-body airport security scanners, the New York Times’ Walt Bogdanich and Jo Craven McGinty examine possible <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/23/us/23scan.html?ref=health">radiation risks for children and teens</a> in the wake of lucrative dental diagnostic technologies both old and new.</p>
<p>Here’s what we’re checking out today:</p> <p><strong>Hospital Charges</strong>: BNET’s Ken Terry <a href="http://www.bnet.com/blog/healthcare-business/why-some-hospitals-make-th… the complexities</a> behind a new study showing “why some hospitals make the big bucks.” (Hint: It’s market power, not excellent care.)</p>
Here’s what we’re checking out today:
<strong>Painkillers:</strong> Popular (and highly addictive) painkillers Darvon and Darvocet – prescribed to an estimated 10 million Americans in 2009 – <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/sc-dc-1120-fda-darvon-we… be pulled from the market</a> because they have been linked to potentially fatal heart rhythm problems, reports Andrew Zajac for the Los Angeles Times.
<p>Here’s what we’re checking out today:</p> <p><strong>Rehab:</strong> Can the hallucinogen <a href="http://www.pitch.com/2010-11-18/news/ibogaine-helps-addicts-heroin-meth… help drug addicts kick the habit</a>? Keegan Hamilton reviews the evidence on ThePitch. </p>
<p>Here’s what we’re checking out today:</p> <p><strong>Gimme Insurance:</strong> Writing in the Columbia Journalism Review, Trudy Lieberman <a href="http://www.cjr.org/campaign_desk/the_education_of_congressman-elect_and… the astonishing case of a newly elected doctor-Congressman</a> who was irked because his new health insurance didn’t start on the very first day of his new job. Welcome to the rest of America, Rep. Andy Harris.</p>
<p>Health reform may go under the knife when Republicans take control of Congress in January – but reform-related scams likely will remain <a href="http://health.usnews.com/health-news/managing-your-healthcare/insurance… and well</a>. Here are some resources for reporting on these scams should they crop up in your community.</p>
<p>Here’s what we’re checking out today:</p> <p><strong>Alcohol Tax:</strong> Doubling the current tax on alcohol could <a href="http://inews.idsk.com/viewer/story.php?CLIENT=INFOMAILER&NEWSID=imn… alcohol-related deaths by about 35 percent</a> and deliver other public health benefits, according to new research released at the American Public Health Association meeting in Denver.</p>
<p>I was all set to write this post about how journalists could mine the burgeoning field of “health impact assessments” for stories when I noticed that Melissa Sweet of the excellent <a href="http://blogs.crikey.com.au/croakey/">Croakey health policy blog</a> already had written <a href="http://blogs.crikey.com.au/croakey/2010/11/11/how-are-health-impact-ass… great post on the topic</a>. Drat.</p> <p>Fortunately, Melissa was writing for Australians, so I still can add my two cents.</p>
<p>Here’s what we’re checking out today:</p> <p><strong>ADHD:</strong> Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnoses are on the rise, with nearly one in 10 kids being diagnosed with the condition at some point in their lives. NPR’s Scott Hensley <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/11/11/131243971/adhd-on-the-rise-1… the just-released CDC data</a>. </p>
<p>The recent debate over CT lung cancer screening for heavy smokers is a great example of how big the stakes can be when reporting on medical screening, and how important it is to get the story right. Remember last year’s <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/17/AR20091… arguments</a> over the merits of breast cancer screening mammograms for women under 50?</p>