As teens age out of pediatric care, there's often a lag that can stretch on for years before they enter the fold of adult primary care. For young adults with chronic illnesses, that gap poses real risks. A recent study outlines the scope of the problem, even as progress on the issue remains stalled.
New projections estimate that Obamacare will add more than a quarter-billion dollars in administrative costs by 2022. About two thirds of this added expense will go to private insurance companies via the insurance exchanges. In contrast, public insurance gives far more bang for the buck.
Unhealthy trans fats have long remained a staple in our food supply, but that’s slowly starting to change. Denmark provides a useful case study for what happens when countries move to limit the amount of trans fats in food.
The privilege that has allowed parents to refuse immunizations for their kids stems not from economic or educational status — it springs from the privilege of not having seen the horrific diseases that ravaged U.S. children just two generations ago, and continue to do so worldwide.
Health insurers will often limit the size of provider networks to control costs, frustrating patients who suddenly find their doctor is now out-of-network. But do such "narrow networks" mean poorer quality care and access? Not necessarily, says a recent study of California plans.
New research offers some much-need recommendations on how to curb MRSA infections among nursing home residents. As it turns out, the activities that pose the greatest risk of infection aren't always what you might think they'd be.
California is taking another run at requiring doctors to check a patient’s prescription history before prescribing potentially addictive drugs, with legislation passing the state senate yesterday. But will California legislators make the same kinds of compromises with providers that Oklahoma did?
Oklahoma is one of only a handful of states that require physicians to check a patient’s prescription history before prescribing potentially addictive drugs. How did Oklahoma enact this requirement when so many other states, such as California, have tried and failed?
Annie Brewster started Health Story Collaborative to give patients a voice, and to bring the human side of illness back into the practice of medical care and recovery. Research suggests that the way we narrate stories of illness can have a profound impact on our mental health.
In April, the governor of Oklahoma signed a bill that requires doctors to check a state-run database of patients and prescriptions before writing a new prescription for addictive medications. That makes the state a national leader in efforts to track such prescriptions and curtail abuse.
