health care

As more doctors' offices give patients electronic access to their medical records, both patients and their physicians are asking: Exactly how much of your medical record should you get to see?

Health & Safety

Open Medical Records Can Spur Frank Talk Between Doctors And Patients

4:41pm August 23, 2018

by Mara Gordon

As more doctors' offices give patients electronic access to their medical records, both patients and their physicians are asking: Exactly how much of your medical record should you get to see?

Nationally gathered statistics suggest that nearly half of graduating physicians in 2017 owed more than $200,000 in student debt.

NYU's Move To Make Medical School Free For All Gets Mixed Reviews

5:00am August 23, 2018

by Julie Rovner

New York University students cheered, but critics say waiving tuition isn't the best way to ease student debt or boost the number of primary care doctors from diverse backgrounds.

"We would not be able to foster without Medicaid," says Sherri Croom of Tallahassee, Fla. Croom and her husband, Thomas, have fostered 27 children in the past decade. They're pictured here with four adopted children, two 18-year-old former foster daughter

Health & Safety

Foster Parents Often Struggle To Find Doctors To Treat The Kids In Their Care

7:20pm August 22, 2018

by Phil Galewitz

Foster children can have extraordinary health needs. Some states are testing a coordinated approach to care to keep these kids from slipping through the cracks.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, is eager to preserve an expansion of Medicaid that he pushed through, despite opposition from other members of his party.

Health & Safety

Ohio Gov. Kasich Stumps Again In Support Of Medicaid Expansion

6:50pm August 21, 2018

by Karen Kasler

An analysis by the state shows Medicaid expansion has cut in half the number of uninsured Ohioans. Most recipients said the expansion made it easier to find work and care for their families.

The Natural Cycles smartphone app figures out the days of the month when a woman is likely to be fertile.

Health & Safety

FDA Stirs Contraception Debate With OK For 'Natural' Birth Control App

5:35pm August 21, 2018

by Michelle Andrews

Critics worry a new contraception app, which allows women to track body temperature and menstrual cycle to avoid pregnancy, isn't as effective as other methods. But some women welcome another option.

Dispatches From A 'Dopesick' America

4:08pm August 21, 2018

by Dave Davies

Author Beth Macy details opioids' odyssey from medicine to scourge, in her book about young heroin users, their long-suffering parents, doctors, drug company executives, cops, judges and drug dealers.

Queue Listen Now

A man holds a sample of the opioid antidote Narcan during a training session at a New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene office in March.

Health & Safety

Poll: Most Americans Know About Opioid Antidote And Are Willing To Use It

3:29pm August 21, 2018

by Scott Hensley

While a majority of Americans know about naloxone, there is confusion about the fact that in most places a prescription isn't required to obtain the emergency overdose treatment.

Researchers are trying to understand why black and Latino children are more likely to die of certain cancers.

Why Are Black And Latino Kids More Likely To Die Of Certain Cancers?

7:02pm August 20, 2018

by Erin Blakemore

There's a big survival gap between white and minority children when it comes to some childhood cancers. It turns out growing up in poverty explains a lot of the difference.

Nationwide Children's Hospital developed Career Gateway Homes, a combination low-income housing project and employment-training center.

Why Hospitals Are Getting Into The Real Estate Business

11:59am August 19, 2018

by Paul Chisholm

These days hospitals are looking for ways to improve health in their communities to prevent illness and control costs. One hospital in Ohio decided that health might start with affordable housing.

The Role Of Lawsuits In Addressing The Opioid Crisis

8:27am August 18, 2018

States are battling the pharmaceutical industry in court to curb the opioid epidemic. NPR's Jennifer Ludden asks Richard Ausness, a law professor at the University of Kentucky, about the tactic.