Doctors

Cut a tumor from a child's brain and you may save a life. But surgery can hurt the child if healthy brain cells are removed. A Seattle doctor is working on a substance that might help. It binds tightly to cancer cells and makes them glow, so they're easier to distinguish from healthy tissue.

Federal lawmakers have been unable to solve a widely acknowledged problem with the formula used to set the pay for doctors who treat Medicare patients. Now, after a series of temporary patches, a bipartisan solution may be at hand.

Many obstetricians make more money for C-sections than for vaginal deliveries. In a recent study, these doctors were more likely to perform the costly procedure than doctors paid a flat salary. But when the pregnant women were also physicians, doctors seemed less swayed by financial incentives.

For 20 years, Linda Smith was a successful ER doctor. But she started to regret doing painful procedures on patients without having the time to sit down and talk with them. So she became a palliative care doctor, one of a growing number helping people deal with life-threatening illnesses.

Paying doctors to prescribe particular drugs is illegal. But drugmakers pay some doctors to talk with their peers about prescription drugs. The speakers say they aren't influenced by the money they get for promoting the drugs. But data show many of them are top prescribers of the medicines.

People who are overweight or obese are much more likely to switch doctors, a study finds. That may be because doctors aren't helping them address weight issues. It may compromise their medical care, because of lack of continuity and preventive medicine.

Dr. Frank Dumont never thought of himself as being on the front lines of suicide prevention. But after the death of a patient he was particularly close to, he sees his role changing. He's seeking to reduce suicides by asking his patients about guns in their homes.

Stroke is usually a problem that comes with age, but a surprising number of children have strokes, too. Many kids have conditions that put them at higher risk. But surgeons have developed a technique that cuts the risk in some of these kids by giving part of the brain a new blood supply.

Some doctors are unhappy about switching from paper records to electronic ones. While the government is creating incentives for doctors to switch, some say the hassles and expense exceed the rewards.